Be Made Well

Since early morning, a crowd stood on the beach at the Sea of Galilee. The crowd waited for Jesus to come back. Soon a boat moved across the water. Jesus stepped from the boat. The crowd moved close to Jesus. They followed Him into Capernaum. Then a Jewish leader named Jairus came to Jesus. Jairus asked Jesus to come heal his daughter.

A woman who was sick for many years was in the crowd. The woman spent all her money on doctors. “But she was not improving. She was getting worse” ( Mark 5:26 📖 , ICB). Then she heard about the Healer from Galilee. With hope in her heart, she left home that morning to join the crowd. The crowd pushed and shoved around her. Then the woman saw Jesus and thought, “ ‘If I can just touch his clothes, that will be enough to heal me’ ” ( Mark 5:28, ERV 📖 ).

Read the story in Mark 5:21–34 📖 . What happens in this story? What can we learn from it?

This story shows Jesus’ love for people who are sick, lonely, and lost in the crowd. That day, many people in the crowd touched Jesus. But only one person touched Jesus with faith. This woman touched Jesus to get the blessing she so badly needed. The woman’s touch didn’t heal her. Her faith made her well ( Mark 5:34 📖 ). “The Savior could tell when someone touched Him with faith. This touch felt different from the careless push and shove of the crowd around Him.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 344, adapted. Jesus’ clothes didn’t have special power in them. The woman’s faith and her choice to touch Jesus healed her.

Before the woman touched Jesus, she was very weak. In her suffering, she could have stayed at home in bed. But that morning, she went looking for Jesus. She hoped He would heal her. So, she came close to Him.

Jesus asks us to come close today. He says, “ ‘All you who work hard! All you who carry heavy loads! Come to me! I will give you rest. Do what I tell you. Learn what I teach you. I am gentle. I am not proud [filled with pride]. Then your hearts will rest’ ” ( Matthew 11:28, 29 📖 , WE).

This woman suffered so much. She needed Jesus so much, too. How did she show the Bible truths in Romans 5:3–5 📖 ? How can you do the same in your life, too?