Mark 5:24-29
I Must; I Can; I Will
Outline:
I. \\#Mark 1:1-15\\ Introduction
A. \\#1:1-8\\ Jesus Was Announced
B. \\#1:9-11\\ Jesus Was Authenticated
C. \\#1:12-13\\ Jesus Was Proven
D. \\#1:14-15\\ The Bridge
II. \\#Mark 1:16-2:28\\ Meet Jesus
A. \\#1:14-2:12\\ Jesus’ Authority
1. \\#1:16-20\\ Jesus Has Authority over Men
2. \\#1:21-22\\ Jesus Has Authority in Doctrine
3. \\#1:23-28\\ Jesus Has Authority over Demons
4. \\#1:29-39\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sickness
5. \\#1:40-45\\ Jesus Has Authority over Disease
6. \\#2:1-12\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sin
B. \\#2:13-28\\ Jesus Cares for Sinners
C. \\#2:13-28\\ Jesus Is Not Like Others
1. \\#2:13-17\\ He’s not like everyone else.
2. \\#2:18-22\\ He’s not like the disciples of John or the
Pharisees.
3. \\#23-28\\ He’s not like the Pharisees.
III. \\#Mark 3:1-35\\ Things Are Changing
A. \\#3:1-6\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the Pharisees
B. \\#3:7-12\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the People
C. \\#3:13-19\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and His Disciples
D. \\#3:22-30\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the Scribes
E. \\#3:31-35\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and His Family
IV. \\#Mark 4:1-10:52\\ The Words and Power of Jesus
A. \\#4:1-20\\ Bad Weeds Kill Good Seeds
B. \\#4:21-34\\ Parable Epilogues
C. \\#4:35-41\\ Faith
D. \\#5:1-43\\ The Tormented Delivered
1. \\#5:1-20\\ Tormented by Demons
2. \\#5:21-24, 35-43\\ Tormented by Death
3. \\#Mark 5:24-34\\ Tormented by Disease
We are literally in the middle of another story and near the end of a
series of miracles, all of them seeming occurring the same day. The
calming of the Sea of Galilee, casting the demons out of the Demonic
of Gadara, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the healing of this
woman are all seem to be recorded by Mark as happening on the same
day. Mark’s reason for recording these miracles is to inform and to
impress us. I for one am impressed.
You will notice that the woman’s name is not given. We are not told
which tribe or nationality she was (although we suppose her to be a
Jew). We do not know anything that would help us identify her. Why
does God do that in the Bible? She was a real person. This miracle
did happen. Why not identify her? Because this woman’s story is
also our story.
Just two main thoughts tonight.
I. \\#24-29\\ The Sinner’s Attitude toward Jesus. Her attitude can
be summed up in three phrases: "I Must," "I Can," and the "I
Will."
A. The "I Must."
1. The Bible describes the world that we live in as one of
problems.
Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of
few days, and full of trouble.
Ecclesiastes 5:17 All his days also he eateth
in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath
with his sickness.
2. This woman definitely had problems.
Mark 5:25 And a certain woman, which had an
issue of blood twelve years,
a. She suffered physically.
(1) The had an issue of blood.
(2) The word for "issue" is "a flux of blood."
(3) The American Dictionary defines flux as "a
continued flow; a flood."
(4) Of course, this condition was and is not normal.
(5) We don’t know but the bleeding was most likely
related to her reproductive system.
(6) For 12 long years she had continually bleed.
(a) This probably caused physical pain.
(b) I’d say it also caused emotional pain.
(c) I feel certain it caused embarrassment.
(7) All of this tells me that this woman suffered
physically for all this time.
b. She had also suffered spiritually.
(1) Interestingly, there were not many topics that
the Old Testament law did NOT touch on. This
topic is discussed in \\#Lev 15:19-30\\.
(2) This condition made this woman unclean.
(3) The procedure when you are unclean seems to be:
(a) separate yourself from the source of
uncleanness.
(b) wash in water.
(c) stay apart until evening.
(d) offer a sacrifice.
(4) However, this woman could not separate herself
from the source. She was the source.
(5) That meant she could not have worshipped during
all of those years.
(6) Consider this - The woman’s religion, which one
would think should help and comfort her,
actually kept her from coming to God when she
needed Him most!
(a) Her state of uncleanness denied her access
to God.
(b) But then, is that not what every man’s
condition does to him? Lock him out of the
presence of God?
c. She suffered socially.
(1) Uncleanness spreads.
(2) \\#Lev 5:2\\ Everything and everyone that she
touched became unclean.
(a) Her linens
(b) Her bed
(c) Her children
(d) Her husband
(3) This spreading effect would have further isolated
the woman for anyone or anything that touched
her family after she did or those things after
she touched them, became unclean too.
(4) This meant the woman was not very popular with
anyone.
(a) No one was going to visit.
(b) No one was going to enter her home.
(c) No one was going to offer to help her.
(d) Some speculate that her husband would have
likely divorced her and taken the children.
d. She had suffered many things of her physicians.
Mark 5:26 And had suffered many things of
many physicians, and had spent all that she
had, and was nothing bettered, but rather
grew worse,
(1) She wanted only to be made whole but those she
went to only caused her more pain.
(2) Medicine in this day was more charms and potions
than science.
(3) While under the doctors’ care (and that is
plural), she only grew worse.
(4) This means the woman suffered medically.
e. \\#Mark 5:26\\ She suffered financially.
(1) She spend "all" that she had.
(2) We don’t know how much she had when she started
sing the doctors, but we know how much she had
when she stopped - nothing.
(3) The doctors either worked with her until she
spend all or until they realized there was
nothing else they could do or both.
Luke 8:43 …neither could be healed of any,
3. No one likes to suffer, to have needs, to have problems.
a. I could not tell you how many times in my life I have
heard someone who was being forced to rely on the
help of others make the statement, "I’m not used to
needing help. I’m used to being the one who helps
others."
b. I suppose we’d all rather be the helper than be
helped!
c. However those kinds of problems are needed.
(1) Those are the kinds of problems that can bring us
take us to the end of self.
(2) The end of self is where we learn we cannot help
ourselves; our friends and family cannot help
us; doctors, banks, governments can’t help us;
humanity can’t help us.
d. We need to come to that place because that is our best
hope bring us to the place where we realization we
need God.
(1) As long as we have false hope that we or another
can fix our problems, we will turn to humanity
instead of God.
(2) For most, it is only in the face of our
unsolvable troubles that we turn to God.
4. Notice this lady’s "I must."
a. She seemed determined to get to God.
b. Why do I say this? Because she was willing to "bend"
several taboos. (Bend not break)
(1) It was taboo for a woman to initiate a
conversation with a strange man in that society,
especially on a crowded city street!
(2) It was also inappropriate for a woman to touch a
man.
c. So this woman worked out a plan in her head to get
around those and still get to Jesus.
(1) She will not speak to Him at all.
(2) To avoid being noticed so much, she will come to
Jesus from the back.
(3) All she will do is touch His garment; in fact,
\\#Matt 9:20\\ says she touched the hem of His
garment.
d. A couple of thoughts about touching the garment:
(1) You can’t touch the hem and stand up.
(a) You will have to bend over or bow down.
(b) That requires some humility.
(2) This woman started a fad.
Matt 14:34 …they came into the land of
Gennesaret.
36 And besought him that they might only touch
the hem of his garment: and as many as touched
were made perfectly whole.
5. Why did she go through all of this?
a. She must.
b. There was no one else.
B. The "I Can."
1. But this was not just a case of woman who knew she MUST
get to God. It was the case of a woman who COULD get
to God.
Mark 5:27 When she heard of Jesus….
2. She had been "locked out" of God’s presence for 12 years,
her own condition keeping her away.
a. But now she does not have to go to God.
b. God has come to her!
3. We are not sure how far into Jesus’ ministry we are.
a. I would guess 1.5 to 2 years.
b. That means this woman was sick for 10 years before
Jesus ever began His ministry.
c. For 10 years there was no hope of her getting to God.
d. Now, she can.
(1) The invisible, inaccessible God had become
accessible to her.
(2) How her heart must have rejoiced when she
realized, "NOW I can get to God."
4. That is our story as well!
a. Everything that Jesus did makes our access to God
more ready and logical.
(1) The incarnation made God accessible.
(2) The cross made God viable.
(3) The resurrection made God capable.
(4) God sending Peter to Cornelius’ house made Jesus
attainable to us Gentiles.
(5) And our faith with repentance makes Jesus
applicable to OUR need and situations.
b. God has done all He needed and could do for us.
c. The only thing missing is that we would make our
request and repent that God might fix your problems
too!
C. The "I Will."
1. "I must" speaks of determination.
2. "I can" speaks of ability.
3. "I will" speaks of choice.
Mark 5:27 (This woman) When she heard of Jesus,
came in the press behind, and touched his
garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes,
I shall be whole.
4. "I will."
a. To will something is to make a determination, a
choice.
b. This woman followed up with the formulation of a plan
and followed through with it."
5. Question: What would she have done if her plan had
failed.
a. Would she have given up? gone home? quit?
b. I think not. I think she would have tried again.
(1) Maybe she would have adapted her plan.
(2) Maybe she would have scraped it altogether for
another, but she would have kept trying.
c. She had made a choice.
d. She was going to get to Jesus.
6. For us, getting to Jesus is not so difficult.
a. There are no social taboos. They are coming but they
are not here yet.
b. There are no physical barriers.
c. Jesus has come, died for your sins, and arose from the
dead.
d. All that is lacking is our choice to accept Him.
II. \\#30-34\\ Jesus’ Attitude toward the Sinner
A. \\#30\\ WHO did that?
Mark 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in
himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned
him about in the press, and said, Who touched
my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest
the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou,
Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had
done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing
what was done in her, came and fell down before
him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith
hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole
of thy plague.
B. Notice:
1. \\#30\\ Jesus knew a miracle had been done only because
"virtue" had gone out of Him.
a. The word means "might, power, strength."
b. In this case, it was not Jesus that healed the woman,
but literally the faith of the woman that healed her.
c. By that I mean there appears to have been no
conscious decision on Jesus’ part to heal her.
(1) Of course Jesus being in flesh was limited to
what God the Father and God the Holy Spirit
revealed to Him.
(2) And even though no conscious decision was made on
Jesus’ part to heal the woman, a decision was
made by the Father and the Holy Spirit to honor
her faith and to heal the woman.
(3) But This miracle—and the others that were like
it—demonstrate the power of faith.
2. Jesus was not angry or cross with the woman for what she
had done.
a. She may have thought so.
b. \\#33\\ She came "fearing and trembling."
c. But Jesus in no way rebuked her.
d. Father, He commended her for her faith.
3. \\#32\\ But Jesus was determined to find out who had
touched her.
a. I wonder if He did not already know.
(1) The Holy Spirit may or may not have revealed it
to Him.
(2) But even if the Holy Spirit did not reveal it, I
bet her quilt and fear exposed her.
b. Even so, she did not immediately come forth and
\\#31\\ the disciples even mocked Jesus’ attempt to
find who had touched Him in such a crowded area.
C. Why?
1. Because this woman owed a debt.
a. In faith, she had come and taken a great blessing.
b. The least she could do was pay for it.
c. Does it not seem reasonable that someone who had
received so much should make restitution?
2. What was the price for her miracle?
a. acknowledgment and praise
b. That was all Jesus asked of her, but He did require
that she pay it.
c. He wasn’t going anywhere did she did.
I would say the price He requires of us may be slightly higher. For
our salvation, comfort, and power, He requires of us acknowledgment,
praise, and service. And you and I decide everyday whether we will
pay it or not.
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