Come, Touch the Robe (Luke 8:43-48)

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Come, Touch the Robe: Luke 8:43-48

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 18, 2024

I think that most of us know of Mother Theresa. We know how she ministered to the people left out. I probably simply must mention her name in order to make us think of the ministries she would lead and take part in in India. I saw a video once showing her decades ago asking United Nations to let her in to a war-torn area in order that she could serve the people there. United Nations would not let her in unless there was a cease fire. She prayed and there was a cease fire. But she didn’t only lead others in the ministry of service, she was a part of the service to others. She was a model example. Praise God for examples such as her.

Today, we begin a special series for Lent. We are stepping away from the book of Acts for the next several weeks. My Lenten theme is going to be that the Gospel is for everyone, amen??? Congregation respond by saying amen if you agree. My theme for this season is that Jesus went to the marginalized, the left out, the people who were unclean. I hope that is encouraging, but I also hope that compels all of us to take the Gospel to everyone as well. I also hope that through this Lenten series, we are all reminded that we serve a “mighty Savior.”

So, some of us need encouragement today. We need to remember that the Gospel is for us as well. We may feel that we are marginalized, unclean, or left out. I hope this series and today’s message encourage us.

Whether we realize it or not, we do marginalize people. We have presuppositional thoughts about other people, and we must realize today that the Gospel is for everyone. Jesus does not marginalize.

Read with me:

Luke 8:43–48 (ESV)

43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

  1. In the Gospel, we find that the Gospel is for everyone, and we see Jesus’ mighty power.
    1. If you look at Luke 8:1-2, we find out that Jesus was traveling from city to city proclaiming and preaching the Kingdom of God, and women were with Him. Even though there were certain cultural ideas regarding women, Jesus allowed them with Him. They were even part of His circle, so to speak. One of the proofs of the Gospel’s truth is that the Gospels would not include women if they were not true. Women would hurt the credibility of the Gospels. Jesus was open and accessible to all.
    2. Now, this is a narrative: Jesus is on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter, and He is interrupted. Do we notice that interruptions can be of God?
    3. Verse 42 tells us that Jesus was traveling and the crowds were pressing against Him. If it was today Jesus could travel in a limousine. He could have traveled in a private plane. He could have guards to keep people away.  Jesus does not do that. Even in His day Jesus could have set Himself apart from the people, but He didn’t. Sure, there are times, such as Mark 1:35, when Jesus goes into seclusion to recharge, but here we see Jesus with the people. Jesus was no respecter of persons. Jesus did not show prejudice. Jesus came to serve. The Gospel is for everyone.
    4. So, in verse 43, this woman has a hemorrhage for 12 years. Imagine what it was like for her. We do not know how she was bleeding, but it was likely a type of female ailment. This probably caused her to be physically weak. We do know based off Leviticus 15 that she would have been considered unclean. She was an outcast. She was marginalized. She was physically weak and maybe in pain. She was emotionally scarred by being looked upon as an outcast. She was spiritually excluded from the Temple and synagogue. For 12 years, she suffered from this. In my translation, it says that she could not be healed. In other translations, it says that she exhausted all her money trying to get better. Unfortunately, some of you know how she feels. Let me tell you that Jesus heals her physically, but most importantly, emotionally and spiritually. He will do the same for all of us.
    5. Verse 44 tells us that she came up behind Him and touched the hem or fringe of His garment. The wording here makes it sound like she simply brushed by or tapped His garment. But in the original language, she grabbed and held onto it. After 12 years, she wanted to be made well. After 12 years of physical problems, emotionally being an outcast, and spiritually being an outcast, she wanted to be made well. She is “immediately” made well. No delay. We serve a mighty Savior who came for everyone.
    6. You know what? By touching her, Jesus could be unclean. Even if an unclean person simply brushed by a clean person that would make the clean person unclean (Lev. 15).
    7. Anyone in the crowd could be unclean. Jesus was willing to risk that to make this woman well. Jesus never rebuked that, either.
  2. Jesus responds…
    1. Verses 45-46 have Jesus asking who touched Him. But Peter speaks up, stating that there is such a crowd they couldn’t know.
    2. Jesus says that He felt power go out. We must understand this correctly. Jesus did not have a loss of power. Jesus is all-powerful; He could just know that something happened.
    3. Verses 47-48 are key: The woman comes trembling and falls down before Him.
    4. Imagine how she felt. She has been an outcast socially. She has been an outcast from Jewish practices. She has been in pain and physical turmoil. This has gone on for 12 years. 12 years! Now, she was instantly made well.
    5. I wonder what it was like, the instant relief she felt???
    6. But the instant relief was likely matched by her instant fear going before Jesus, what would He say? What would He do? Would He make her sick again? Would He strike her down? What went through her mind? Was there a combination of tears of joy and tears of fear?
    7. Verse 48, Jesus calls her “daughter.”
    8. Get that! This is the only time in the New Testament Jesus addresses a woman as “daughter.” Wow! She was an outcast all those years, but to Jesus, He considers her as family.
    9. How did she feel now? We all know that words have meaning. I wonder if she instantly felt some type of joy.

So, we think of Mother Theresa; she served the people left out; who do we need to go to? What mindset do we need to change?  Jesus came for everyone.

So, as we look towards Easter, as we look towards the cross, it is important that we all realize that Jesus came for us, and Jesus came for all. We must be reminded that the Gospel is for everyone. Jesus came for the marginalized, the sick, the hurting. Jesus came for the unclean. We must be available and even go to the marginalized, the sick, and the hurting as well.

I like what one preacher says:

He wasn’t done with her. She needed to be restored physically. She needed to be restored socially. She needed to be restored spiritually. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace, not psychological peace, go in peace with God, objective peace. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. You have made peace with God. Matthew 9:22 said, “He said, ‘Be of good comfort.'” Eusebius, the church historian says, there’s a statue of this lady in his day, in her town as a living testimony that she became a believer in Jesus Christ. Listen, Jesus knows you. He knows your hurts, your needs. He is accessible to you. He is available to you. He is interruptible by you. And He is inexhaustible in meeting your need. And it’s personal with Him. He feels the flow of power into your life. This is our God manifest in Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.

Pray

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