Heard the Word

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. It emphasizes rejecting fear and embracing faith in God. The story focuses on a woman who had been sick for 12 years and believed that Jesus could heal her. Despite societal restrictions, she courageously touched Jesus' garment and was immediately healed. The message highlights the power of hearing about Jesus and having faith in Him. It encourages readers to seek Jesus, trust in His love, and walk in His peace. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Luke 8.48 He said to her, Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace. What do we know about this woman? She'd been sick for a long time. She had suffered from a flow of blood for 12 years. Interesting to note that Jairus' daughter, the other female in this incident that we're not getting to today, was sick and dying at 12 years of age. That's an interesting shadow. This woman should not have been out and about in this place at this time. She'd spent all of her money on physicians. She believed Jesus could heal her. That's about it. The word tells us only what we need to know, and it doesn't distract us with anything else. Not her age, occupation, marital status, appearance, or nationality. Nothing. Now, she had once had money, because verse 43 tells us she'd spent all of her living. Verse 44 tells us she came up on Jesus from behind. Add to that verse 47, where she's trying to stay hidden, realizes that she can't, and goes to Jesus trembling. And you know that she wasn't supposed to be there. If she was Jewish, she should not have been outside around people without proclaiming that she was unclean. She had a flow of blood outside of normal menstruation, so she was ritually unclean. Nothing wrong with her, and they could interact with her on a personal level. But if anyone touched her, or anything she touched, they would have become that way too, until they ritually bathed and the sun set. And that could really impact what happened if they went to the temple to sacrifice or worship. Now, this was a huge deal. So, she should have been in her dwelling, and that dwelling should have been apart from the main community of Jews. Not because they didn't value her as a person. Not because they were shunning her in some way, because she was female, or bleeding, or anything. It was because of their fear that they wouldn't be able to go and get clean with the Lord at the temple. Now, if she was Gentile, she shouldn't have been mixing with the Jews. Especially while sick. I mean, maybe she didn't live apart because she was a Gentile, and lived somewhere in the city. I mean, it's possible. After all, if she was unclean and healed, she would have needed to bring a sacrifice to the temple about it. Leviticus 15, 29-30. And Jesus didn't remind her to do that as he did with some others, like Matthew 8, verse 4. Now, she may or may not have been welcomed with open arms as a Gentile in the first place. They didn't mix. Jews never went into Gentile homes. They stayed separate, and were serious about being separate. They would not have smiled on her here. Now, since she was sick, and the pickiness of the Jews was legendary, she would have known better. So, no matter how you slice it, she should have been anywhere but this place. But she was. She was here because she'd heard about Jesus. Now, two chapters before this, Luke 6, verse 19, it tells us, All the multitudes sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all. She must have heard about this. People from Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon had heard about Jesus and traveled to see him. He had a reputation. Here in chapter 8 of Luke, it says, The multitudes were thronging him. This isn't a small group of fans. Considering that there's nothing new under the sun, Ecclesiastes 1.9, think of this as the earliest evidence of mania. Do you remember Beatlemania? Have you seen news recordings? It was something the modern world had never seen before. But the ancient world had. They thronged Jesus in the same way. Massive crowds, the screaming after his attention, the begging for help and assistance, and the desperate desire to touch him and get a bit of the power that clearly came out from him to heal. It was pandemonium. Now, why else would the Pharisees and Sadducees again and again want to kill or arrest Jesus, something they could easily do but didn't because of the fear of the crowd? Now, Matthew 21.46 is an example of that. The religious leaders could excommunicate people, ruin their lives, cast them out, break up communities. People were terrified of them. John 12.42, for example. For them to fear a crowd, it would have to have been a big crowd. But this woman had heard about Jesus, and she was desperate. Jesus in today's verse tells her that her faith had enabled this healing. The Bible tells us that faith comes only by hearing the Word of God. Romans 10.17. That it is a gift of God alone. 2 Peter 1.1. Now, whether she was an unclean Jew unable to enter the synagogue, or an unclean Gentile outside of the community of the Jews, when was it she was going to hear the Word read out? People rarely had scrolls at home. She knew about Jesus, but Jesus wasn't mentioned by the human name He was known by in the Old Testament scrolls or Torah. So how did she hear? She heard about Jesus by word of mouth. A friend or acquaintance talking through a window or doorway. Hearing the gossip in the streets from her yard or kitchen window. She heard about Jesus and everything Jesus did. I find this remarkable. And God pointed out to me a verse from John when I read this account this time around. The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw His glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father full of grace and truth. John 1.14. Jesus was the Word made flesh. She heard about Jesus. Since Jesus is the Word, as she heard about Jesus, she got faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word. Hey, did you hear what Jesus said? Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Luke 6.21. Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful. Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free. Luke 6.36-37. He said this only a little while before. And then he went to Capernaum and healed a Roman centurion's servant. Now this is key. Romans were scorned by the Jews. Gentiles were avoided. Jesus interacted with a Gentile who was Roman and healed his servant. The interaction was very public. Word must have spread. It was not one of the instances where Jesus asked for it to be kept quiet. Instead, Jesus proclaimed in Luke 7.9 to the multitude who followed him that this Roman centurion had greater faith than any he encountered in all of Israel. That word would have spread. What happened next? Still with the multitude following him, Jesus went to the city of Nain. And there he interrupted a funeral and raised the young man from the dead. Verse 17 says, This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region. Even John the baptizer in prison in Jerusalem heard about it. Jesus cured many diseases and plagues, gave sight to the blind, and cast out evil spirits. The Pharisees heard of this report. Word spread. Jesus was not operating in the dark, but shining like a lamp on a hill. The beginning of Luke 8 says, Jesus went through cities and villages preaching and healing. Verse 4 tells us that a great multitude was forming around him made up of people from every city. Now it says people, not Jews, so there could easily have been Gentiles among them. So whether a woman is Jewish or not, she has a multitude of avenues to hear about Jesus, even though she was unclean and had this issue. Blind seeing. Demons cast out. Plagues healed. Diseases healed. Dead raised. Gentiles healed. Jews healed. This is what she heard. Jesus can heal. Jesus can set free. Jesus can renew. Jesus can restore. Jesus is a great prophet. God has visited his people in Jesus. Mercy. No condemnation. Freedom. Can you see why she snuck out? Can you see why she was daring the crowds, daring the wrath of the religious leaders? She'd heard about Jesus. She had heard the word. She was beginning to believe. Mixed multitudes came, and this man Jesus set none above the others. He dealt with all who came before him. He went to towns. He went to cities. He taught, but he walked the talk he taught. No one else did these things. No one else said these things. This was stuff that shook her to her core. Remember, she'd spent all her living through Gate 43. She had nothing left. She was still sick. She still had a problem. She was at the end of her rope. She had nowhere else to fall to. She was at rock bottom. But Jesus. Oh, this Jesus. Healing. Saving. Freeing. She must have started to see it. Started to see that since he healed everyone, he could heal her too. He clearly had authority. That was known too. Matthew 7, 29. Now, Jewish men wore a tallit, which was a prayer shawl. They wore it kind of poncho-like and draped it over their head when they prayed. On this tallit was sewn, well, not really sewn, but placed fringes. God had commanded them to do it so that they would constantly remember him and his commandments. Deuteronomy 22, 12. These fringes were almost always made out of white wool and must be spun with the sacred intention that they be used for prayer. They must be tied onto the garment. On each corner, four threads are threaded through a hole and looped over so that there's eight strings hanging down. A series of double knots and coils then join the first few inches of each corner's tassel into a single cord. The remainder of the eight threads are then free to hang down. The eight strings and the five knots are a physical representation of the five books of the law and the 613 commands of the Lord that are contained therein. Now, each letter of the alphabet, of the Hebrew alphabet, has a corresponding numerical value. And the numerical values of the five letters that comprise the Hebrew word for the tassels add up to 600. Add the eight strings and the five knots of each tassel and you also get a total of 613. Now, in the whole ancient world, the hem of one's garment was significant. It played a role in Babylonian marriage. In Cappadocia, hems were held as a kind of legal tender to ensure that a contract be fulfilled. In many places, the hem was viewed mystically as representing the whole person. Now, Jews didn't look at their hems that way, but they were a personification of the law and the relationship that they had with Yahweh God. And since Jesus taught with authority, and since Jesus taught from the law, and since Jesus was always pointing to his Father in heaven, it's not surprising that the woman got the idea that she only needed to touch the hem of Jesus' garment to benefit from the power that Jesus walked in. Now, this is, of course, theologically, like, not quite there. Even considering that in Acts 19.12, they were sending out handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul had touched in order that people were healed and evil spirits driven out. Now, I'm not 100% sure how it all works, and how it did, but, I mean, it isn't clothing that does the healing. Touch Jesus' hem, touch Jesus' elbow, touch his sandal. It would all be the same because it's the Holy Spirit residing in Jesus, wielding the power that Jesus directed under obedience to the Father. But, this is theological musings, and this woman wasn't doing that. She was simple in her faith. Jesus healed. She needed healing. People had been healed by touching Jesus. She only needed to touch Jesus. So she went on a mission, and she was successful. She managed to get through the crowd of screaming, cheering, begging, shouting people, and touched Jesus. She touched him, and was healed. Immediately. Luke 8.44. And Jesus stomped, and she was exposed. But no condemnation, no judgment, no punishment, no talk of being a bad Jew, or a presumptuous Gentile. Simply, go. Your faith has healed you. So, don't be afraid. Cheer up. She didn't need to fear repercussions. She didn't need to worry, or to be anxious. She didn't need to doubt that it worked. She wasn't going to get stoned by the crowd. She didn't need to doubt that she was healed. Not now, not ever. She didn't need to doubt anything. Jesus said she could go in peace. He said it to her. He says it to us. The Word brings faith, and strengthens our faith. Why do we preach Jesus, teach Jesus, talk Jesus? Why did God tell us to speak about the Word all day, every day, when sitting, and walking, and lying down, and rising, and going in, and going out, and all of that? Because the Word is Jesus, and Jesus is the Word. She didn't scour the scriptures. She started by hearing about Jesus. Just Jesus. And everything came from that. Do you think she stopped there? Do you think she never did another thing about it? Of course not. She was touched by Jesus. She was going to know more. She was going to walk in peace. He granted that to her. Maybe she would go to the synagogue, if she was Jewish. She'd go to the temple. Even the temple had a region for Gentiles, so she was covered there, if she was, in fact, a Gentile. She could hear teaching of the Torah in those courts. She could talk with people about it. Learn about it. Given a few months, she would have been able to join the church. She could have been among those saved on Pentecost. I mean, after she was healed, she could have joined the multitude that followed Jesus all over the place. She could have been among the believers praying for Peter when the angel broke him out of prison. She could have been a participant in the church. We don't know. She doesn't have a name. We can't follow her journey. But I do know this. I do know that when God touches you, you're forever changed. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13.8 If you hear about Him, it can change how you think. It can change what you believe in. It can move you in ways you never thought you would move. Do what you never thought you could do. Free you in ways you never thought you could be free. Read the Word. Hear it. Let Him touch you today. Let His peace meet your faith gained by grace through and from Jesus. Walk in it in cheer, smiling, because He has made you glad. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Mark 10, 49-52. Now this guy, this blind guy, was being mocked, told to shut up, rebuked harshly, as only someone self-important can rebuke. But Jesus stopped walking. Jesus asked for him to be called. He got the attention of Jesus. Jesus heard him call and wanted to know what he could do. Nothing happened until the man came to Jesus, told Him what he wanted, and demonstrated that there was faith behind the asking. If Jesus couldn't have done anything for him, He wouldn't have called the guy over. Jesus never does anything the Father doesn't tell Him to do. So He didn't promise a fulfilled request. Right? He just said, what can I do for you? He didn't guarantee all this guy's problems would be over. He didn't promise him easy sailing. In fact, often when healed, the people were given a harder time than they got when they were sick. The religious leaders hated people that Jesus healed. But it didn't stop those people from walking in that healing, that renewal. And it didn't stop the early church from walking in their salvation, even though some of them lost their lives. Is it stopping you? Your unbelief? Other people's opinion of you and your situation? Is it keeping you in your comfy chair? Is it keeping your tongue captive? Only letting you complain or accept failings? Moses walked up mountains at 120 years old. How are you doing at 60? Is it God's will that we rely on Him for strength? Yes! It is God's will that He is our source for everything. We only get to do what the Father wills. He has the power. He has the ability. He does it all. We do nothing. Does He want you weak and wobbly? Does He want you sick and sneezy? No. Nothing tells us that. We're new creations. We are the righteousness of Christ in Him. We all have to do what the Father wills. And the Word is the revealed will of the Father. I see nothing in there about us being sick or downtrodden or defeated. No specifics beyond this. We are victorious over all things in Jesus, by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus. Let's start acting like He loves us. Let's start correcting our behavior according to what we find in the Word. Let's start walking in Jesus. It's where we should be. Always. Because He loves us. As we close, remember that you have birth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us that God has sent His only-born Son into the world that we might live through Him. And this is love. Not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.