Friday, April 5, 2013

Mark 5:30-34

FOR SUNDAY, April 7

Passage

Jesus senses that power has gone out from Him into the woman with the hemorrhage.  He immediately turns around and asks who touched Him.  The disciples take one look at the crowd and know the futility of trying to determining who touched Him.  The woman knew what had happened to her.  So she came to Him in fear and trembling.  She fell before Him and told Him the whole truth.  Jesus calls her daughter and tells her that her faith had made her well.  She was to go in peace and live free of the disease.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus felt power go out from Him.  He knew something happened.  In fact, let’s face it.  He is God.  He also knew who did it.  But if we look at Jesus’ response, He lets the woman come to Him.  Instead of turning around and pulling her out of the crowd, Jesus lets the woman come to Him on the terms of her own faith.  Again we see that Jesus isn’t interested in dominating.  Jesus is interested in relationships.

What does it mean to you that Jesus lets this woman come to Him?

Second Thought:

The woman comes before Jesus with fear and trembling.  She had been taken advantage by physician after physician.  She had every reason to fear the cost that Jesus was going to demand from her.  She had already spent everything that she had.  But to her credit, she still comes before Jesus and tells the whole story.  She owns up to her action.

Why would it have been hard for this woman to come before Jesus?  Why is confession difficult?

Third Thought:

Jesus hears the woman and tells her to go in peace.  He commends her faith.  He takes a woman who is afraid and restores her faith.  She had been taken advantage of by physician after physician.  Yet Jesus gives her true healing essentially for free.  In this simple act of Jesus, we see the difference that the pure grace of God can make within this woman.

Why is God’s grace so different than the way that the world typically works?  Why can a simple demonstration of God’s grace make a huge impact in the lives of people?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 5:35-37

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