A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. —Mark 5:25-26 (ɴɪᴠ)
For us in the twenty-first century, it is hard to imagine bleeding from the womb for 12 years. Medical science has progressed way beyond the rudimentary knowledge of Jesus’ day.
But I suggest there are still many women with chronic bleeding of a different sort. We bleed from the heart.
Women—feeling hopeless. Awakening each day with a memory that cuts a fresh wound. Women—longing to hear the words “Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
The woman with the issue of blood was no different from you and me. While her apparent illness was physical, her inward suffering ruled her life. But in one radical moment, one momentous decision, she reached out to Jesus and grabbed hold of her healing.
Mark used specific words to describe our friend with the issue of blood. She “suffered a great deal.” Jesus used the word “suffer” when He was referring to His last days on earth (Mark 8:31; 9:12). Jesus understood her suffering more than she knew. As the blood flowed from her body and rendered her unclean, Jesus knew the blood that would soon flow from His body would cleanse us all.
Jesus wants to set us free from our suffering, but He will not push us out of our prison. He unlocks the jail cell, but we must walk out the door. We can choose to bleed. We can choose to remain in our suffering and pick at the scabs of the past. But hear me, dear friend. It is a choice.
Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). That’s what He wants for each of us. But we have to embrace the truth and reach for our healing.
Jesus said to the woman, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5:34). That is the same healing He offers to you and to me.
See how Jesus interacted with other women in the Bible in How Jesus Broke the Rules to Set You Free.
