The Woman who was Freed from her Shame

I would like to tell you a true story from the Bible about Jesus. In those days, Jesus’ reputation was spreading because he was doing many miracles. In one town, there was a sick woman who was bleeding. This meant she was considered unclean.

One day Jesus and his students were walking on a road. There was a big crowd following right behind him. They were pressing in all around him.

There was a woman there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered greatly under many doctors. She had spent all of her money for treatment, but she had not been able to find a cure. Not a single doctor had been able to heal her. Instead of getting better, she had gotten worse.

The woman had heard about Jesus. She said to herself, “If I just touch his clothing, I will be healed.” For this reason, she came up behind him in the crowd. She touched the hem of Jesus’ clothes. The woman’s bleeding stopped immediately. The woman felt deep inside her body that she had been freed from her suffering and shame.

At the same moment, Jesus immediately realized that power had flowed out from himself. He turned around and asked the crowd, “Who touched my clothes?” His students said to him, “Look around! The crowd is pressing you from every side. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me’?” But Jesus continued to look around in order to see who had touched him.

The woman knew she couldn’t hide what she had done. She came out in the open and bowed at Jesus’ feet. Although afraid and trembling, she explained the truth to Jesus in front of all the people. The woman explained why she had touched Jesus and how she had been healed. Jesus said to her, “Take heart, my daughter. Your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

That is a true story from the Bible.