32. Hem

[Pastor Ralph]

Please share your thoughts on one or more of the questions in this lesson. 

[Katy]

Q1.This lady had a numbers of things against her: Because her bleeding was continuing she was regarded as “unclean” all the time according to Leviticus 15v25-27. Her bed, her chair and anything she touches is unclean. Any person she touches is considered unclean. They would have to carry out the prescribed rituals to become clean again. They would have to bathe themselves and wash all there clothes to be considered clean again. Because of this people would have shunned her. She couldn’t take part in everyday life without affecting those around her. She couldn’t do a simple thing like going to the market or attending synagogue. She is doomed to a life of isolation and loneliness. She is also poor as she has spent anything extra she had on going to Doctors trying to be healed.

Q2.Jesus would not have healed her if it was just superstition that motivated her to touch his hem. Many people touched Him but we are told about one lady who was healed because her faith was exceptional. She was used to going around alone unnoticed, not drawing attention to herself. This occasion was to be no different but Jesus intervened. Jesus said in verse 48. ‘ Daughter your faith has healed you’.
Q3. I do think there was a flow of power in verse 46 of our passage Jesus said” Someone touched me?”; I know that power has gone out from me”. Jesus tells us that power went out of Him. 

Q4.Jesus was not being unkind her He was helping the lady to be able to get past her shame and lift the huge burden she has been carrying all these years. He is accepting of her , He blesses her with God’s peace He calls her His Daughter,and He gives her back her standing in her community.

Q5.This lady was determined to get to Jesus because she believed beyond doubt that He would heal her and this was her chance she just had to touch Him, not bother Him by speaking to Him but she had to touch His hem. She was not going to be put off by the crowd or the fact she had to go near people this was her opportunity to be healed and she was going to take it no matter what happened.People fail in prayer for many reasons but lack of true faith is probably one of the main reasons. They pray for a while and become weary. They don’t hold on to the many great promises in God's word about prayer.”If you remain in me, and my word remains in you ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you” John 15v7. If we are asking for something out of God’s will , God in His mercy will not give it to us. We always must trust Him to answer if it is for our good and not answer otherwise or maybe He will answer in a different way or He may keep us waiting for some time.

 

 

[Irmela]

1. What things did the lady in our story have going against her?

She was bleeding for 12 yrs already. According to Jewish custom, she was unclean. Where she slept, was unclean. Anything she sat on was unclean. Any person she came in contact with was unclean. She was shunned by all who knew about her condition. (She no longer fitted in in society). She was probably a very lonely woman. 

She was weak because of her condition. 

She had seen many doctors and no one could help her. 

Because of the above she was no longer well-to-do. Dr's had drained her resources. 

2. Do you think she was superstitious about touching Jesus clothes? How would you assess the quality of her faith?

I don't think so. I think she truely believed that Jesus could heal her. I think she probably did not want to put Him in the position of being unclean and felt touching His garment would be enough. If she did it without being noticed He would be safe and so would any and everyone whom she had come into contact with in the jostling crowd. 

Her faith was extreme

3. Why did Jesus stop? Do you think there was an actual transfer or flow of power?

Jesus stopped because He had felt that healing power had gone from Him. Yes I do believe there was a transfer of power. 

4. Why do you think Jesus caused her the embarrassment of having to tell her story openly?

Jesus stopped and acknowledged her. He showed that He accepted her. He blessed her with 'Peace'. He showed that He did not despise her, He even called her "daughter". Finally He even acknowledged that it was "her faith" that had brought about her healing.

5. Few people have had the gumption and nerve to push their way to Jesus the way this woman did. Why is this so? Why do many fail to receive answers to their prayers?

We are afraid it will not  happen as we hope. Faith is obviously not great. We have not because we ask not. 

[hanks]

1. What things did the lady in our story have going against her?

Women were viewed by Jewish law as ceremonially unclean during menstruation, but this women had a chronic discharge outside her normal period. This had been going on for about 12 years, which meant she had been ceremonially unclean all this time. She was desperate and broke, having spent all her savings on medicines and doctor’s bills. To some degree she was a social outcast, unable to worship at the temple, and people who knew of her condition would have avoided her.

[hanks]

2. Do you think she was superstitious about touching Jesus clothes? How would you assess the quality of her faith?

Being desperate she fought her way through the crowd in order to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. The news of Jesus’ healing power had spread among the people, so much so that He was besieged with sick people. Wherever He went, people carried the sick on mats to marketplaces hoping that He would pass by and that they could get close enough to touch the hem of His garment. Believing that all who touched Him would be instantly healed (Mar 6:56). She must have heard/seen about the power of Jesus and was among those who placed all her faith in His healing power, convinced that if she would be permitted to touch the hem of His garment she would be immediately healed. Which is what happened. This wasn’t all superstition or illogical thinking, there was a measure of faith also. She had heard about Jesus’s power or even perhaps witnessed it. This was some superstition mixed with a persevering faith, on her part, in our Saviour. What was for all to see was Jesus’s power that enabled Him to heal all, and whose heart, filled with sympathy, was impelling Him to do just that. Imagine her joy as she reached out and touched His garment and experienced the healing for which she had prayed and hoped for twelve years!

[hanks]

3. Why did Jesus stop? Do you think there was an actual transfer or flow of power?

Jesus stopped because He knew that someone had indeed touched Him, touched Him in faith, with a purpose to be healed. At that moment it happened, healing power had gone out of Him and people were immediately cured of their diseases. There was an actual transfer or flow of power. This was not without cost to our Lord, when touched, there was an outflow of divine power, “by His wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5); "He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases" (Mat 8:17); “at once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him” (Mark 5:30); “and the people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all” (Luk 6:19). This shows us again that Jesus has authority over all evil powers and all earthly diseases.

He also has power and authority to conquer sin. Sickness and evil are consequences of living in a fallen world. But in the future, when God removes all sin, there will be no more sickness and death. Jesus' healing miracles were a taste of what the whole world will one day experience in God's Kingdom.

[hanks]

4. Why do you think Jesus caused her the embarrassment of having to tell her story openly?

Jesus asked the question “Who touched Me?”, before she could steal away quietly. Certainly, Jesus knew who had touched Him, but He wanted the woman to step forward and identify herself. He did this not to embarrass her, but to teach her and the crowd a lesson, that His cloak did not have any magical properties, it was her faith in Him alone that had healed her. He also wanted the people to know that she is now no longer to be regarded as “unclean” and not to be excluded from mixing socially. In obedience to the Lord, the woman came trembling and knelt down in front of Him. She told everyone why she had touched Him and that she had been healed immediately. Here we notice that no one ever touches Jesus by faith without Him knowing it, and without receiving a blessing.

[hanks]

5. Few people have had the gumption and nerve to push their way to Jesus the way this woman did. Why is this so? Why do many fail to receive answers to their prayers?

When we live by faith, we persevere and don’t give up so easily, we pray constantly, continually keeping our requests before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. We know that He may delay answering our prayers, knowing that His delays always have a good reason, and are always in our best interest. To persist in prayer does not mean endless repetition of lengthy prayers. As we persist in prayer, we grow in character, faith, and hope. In Matt 7:7-8 we are told to ask, and we will receive. Search, and we will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for us. Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. We ask in humility, expecting an answer for we pray with faith in God the Father who can, does, and will answer. To seek implies earnest petitioning and becoming active in trying to fulfil our need. Have we examined the Scriptures, is our request in harmony with God’s will? To knock means to knock again and again until the door is opened. An answer to the kind of prayer that is accompanied by seeking and knocking is promised to every sincere follower of the Lord. God does answer every prayer, and the answer may be a “no”, a “wait”, or a “yes” if it is according to His will – that is anything that honours or glorifies Him.

[haar]

1.    What things did the lady in our story have going against her?

She had the issue of blood that made her unclean and this barred from mingling in the crowd so that she wont touch any one or be touched. Yet she violated that law by mingling with the due to her determination to get through the crowd to get her healing by daring to even touch the Messiah in her defiled stage!! 

2.    Do you think she was superstitious about touching Jesus clothes? How would you assess the quality of her faith?

No, she was not superstious. She had great faith that if she could only tough the hem of the Lord Jesus Christ's garment, she would be healed.

3.    Why did Jesus stop? Do you think there was an actual transfer or flow of power?

He stopped because He felt power left Him. Yes I believe there was actual transfer of power from Him to the woman. 

4.    Why do you think Jesus caused her the embarrassment of having to tell her story openly?

I don't think He embarrassed her. He wanted to teach the disciples and the crowd that great faith is rewarded and that he had the power to respond to such great faith.

5.    Few people have had the gumption and nerve to push their way to Jesus the way this woman did. Why is this so? Why do many fail to receive answers to their prayers?He

Most people give up easily without much effort. But victory is all about the ability to be steadfast in faith so as to get what is needed no matter the obstacles on the way to meeting the needs. Similarly, many including me pray for a while and give up. The lesson from this woman of great faith is that we should be praying until the answer comes just as the Lord Jesus Christ taught the disciples (and us) in Luke 18:1, to keep on praying until the answer comes.

I

[shaunaduty]

Why do you think Jesus caused her the embarrassment of having to tell her story openly?

Is it embarrassing to share a testimony? Yes, at first. To admit guilt, even if it's not your fault, is embarrassing. But her admission of her condition (and uncleanliness):

• Was a testimony to anyone around, just as our testimony to Christians and unbelievers can have a significant impact on their spirit.
• Gave opportunity for Jesus to validate her experience and credit it to her faith in him, so there could be no incorrect spiritual assumptions about the event. 
• Revealed that everyone who'd touched her or her clothing (even those who were unaware) were "unclean" now. Even Jesus (not possible). It makes me think, if I were there, I'd start to wonder how anyone was ever truly clean, because so many factors in daily life could make one unclean. We now know, only Jesus makes us clean -- as he did for this woman -- and we all come to his throne dirty and ashamed. Perhaps this seed was planted in the minds of one or more witnesses. 
• All things work together for good, for we who love the Lord. What could be interpreted as being "called out" by Jesus -- a potentially embarrassing moment of shame and guilt -- was surely for the good of the healed woman, for Christ's ministry, and many who witnessed the event. 

Thank you so much for your time and commitment to this teaching ministry, Pastor Ralph. God bless you and the work of your hands!

Shauna Duty

Roanoke, TX

[Old Jerry]

What things did the lady in our story have going against her?

 

A. One she was a woman and women didn’t have any standing in Jesus’ day. Two she was unclean because of her bleeding. Three she was in a crowd and she had to push her way to Jesus.

 

Do you think she was superstitious about touching Jesus clothes? How would you assess the quality of her faith?

 

A. I do not think that she was superstitious but she knew that Jesus could heal because she had probably heard about his healing he had been doing during his ministry. Therefore she had the faith that Jesus could heal her.

 

Why did Jesus stop? Do you think there was an actual transfer or flow of power?

 

A. Jesus stopped because he could feel the transfer of power. I do think that there was a transfer of power because the woman was healed immediately.

 

Why do you think Jesus caused her the embarrassment of having to tell her story openly?

 

A. He wanted her to tell her story because he wanted the people to know that he was from God and that if you faith in Jesus that you can also be healed.

 

Few people have had the gumption and nerve to push their way to Jesus the way this woman did. Why is this so? Why do many fail to receive answers to their prayers?

 

A. It might be that they don’t believe in Jesus the way that this woman did. The reason that many fail to receive answers to their prayers is because of their belief. They probably did receive an answer but they didn’t like the answer.

[Bailey]

1. Bailey Greetings 8/25/21       What things did the lady in this story have going against Her?  This lady suffered for twelve years with this problem, issue of blood, she was not able to touch anyone maybe spouse, children no one.  She had to isolate herself from people and I guess the isolation was very unbearable.  The discomfort from losing extreme amounts of blood was very draining.
2. Do you think she was superstitious about touching Jesus clothes?  How would you assess the quality of her faith?  I really don't believe she was in any way superstitious,  her is a woman suffering and for her to touch Jesus garment, her faith was great and it took guts.  She probably felt she had nothing to lose, her world was already in turmoil.
3. Why did Jesus stop?  Do I think there was an actual transfer or flow of power?    Jesus stop because he knew something had just touched his spirit.  I believe power left him or He would have never made that statement.
4. Few people have had the gumption and the nerve to push their way to Jesus the way this woman did.  Why is this so?  Why do many fail to receive answers to their prayers?   I can really relate to this story, because I myself many years ago, had the same problem with excessive blood loss due to fibroid tumors.  Believe me the day to day lifestyle changes you.  I had to undergo surgery and that was the time when blood was contaminated with aides/Hiv.  So I was worried about getting transfusions, my doctor insisted.  I quoted this scripture to her and explained that I felt like the lady in the bible who had and issue with blood, and If she trusted Jesus and I stood on his word and had faith that Jesus would bring me through this surgery without getting a transfusion.  Trust and believe, I did and we argued and I stood firm in my belief.   Needless to say I did not require any blood from anybody but Jesus.  The tumor was removed and it was the size of a 6 month old fetus and I didn't lose a drop of my blood during the procedure.  My doctors commented that I had great faith.  Jesus told the woman that her faith made her well.  I have learned that we must trust Him always and in all things.

[Godswriter]

1.    What things did the lady in our story have going against her?

She had an issue of blood that lasted 12 years and had not been healed and by this time she was probably weak and wore out from it. She could have died at any time but did not. She was also considered unclean which made her isolated from the public even her own family and friends. 

2.    Do you think she was superstitious about touching Jesus clothes? How would you assess the quality of her faith?

No I believe she was actually seeking her healing by doing what she did. I would say that her faith was very strong and extremely pure and also was tested by her situation.

3.    Why did Jesus stop? Do you think there was an actual transfer or flow of power?

As that scripture said, "He felt his holy power actually leave his body and knew that someone in the crowd actually touched the hem of his garment. Yes because he felt it leave him when his garment was touched. 

4.    Why do you think Jesus caused her the embarrassment of having to tell her story openly?

I don't think he caused her that but wanted to acknowledge to her that she was a child of His and through her faith she was healed. 

5.    Few people have had the gumption and nerve to push their way to Jesus the way this woman did. Why is this so? Why do many fail to receive answers to their prayers?

I believe that they are afraid of what people will think of them if they do it. However the only opinion that should really matter is the Lord's. I believe that they fail to continue to wait for the answers that they seek. They also don't sit before Him and become still so that they can truly know Him. 

[George L]

1. What things did the lady in our story have going against her? Religous custom, Jewish Torah uncleanness, a physical ailment for years. Marathon of unsuccessful medical attempts.
2. Do you think she was superstitious about touching Jesus clothes? There was a cultural belief in the tassels of christ’s robe having healing power. Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings;  How would you assess the quality of her faith? When you have no other hope, have given up on the natural then faith in Christ is the only way possible. Is that great faith. Desperation brings focus.  
3. Why did Jesus stop? To determine the recipient of the virtue. Do you think there was an actual transfer or flow of power? Yes.
4. Why do you think Jesus caused her the embarrassment of having to tell her story openly? Without testimony the event losses its spiritual value to the multitude.
5. Few people have had the gumption and nerve to push their way to Jesus the way this woman did. Why is this so?  Their social inhibitions overpower their need.  Why do many fail to receive answers to their prayers? They fail to meet the required follow through requirements. They do not persist, praise, thank and worship God. Reminding him of the effective promises and Gods inability to lie.