Study Guide - Changing the World God's Way - Week 12

THIS WEEK'S SCRIPTURE: Luke 8:40-56

ADDITIONAL READING: Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43

Introduction

Jesus is a healer. Since Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), that means Jesus is the healer today. In fact, Jesus came to redeem broken people in a broken world. Physical as well as spiritual wholeness is included in Jesus ministry. As one examines the various healing miracles of Jesus in the four gospels (accounts of Jesus ministry and purpose: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), it appears that Jesus heals in three distinct circumstances. First, Jesus heals as a matter of compassion (Luke 5:13; 7:18). God is a good Father, and at times His compassion moves Him to intervene and heal. This is pure grace and love. Secondly, Jesus heals as a sign or proof or demonstration of who He is, usually to nonbelievers. In the gospel of John, Jesus' miracles are called signs, and John writes them so that people might believe (John 20:30-31). In Mark 16:17, it states that the sign of healing will follow those who preach the Kingdom of God. Thirdly, Jesus heals in response to confident faith. Faith is a gift of God. At times, according to His sovereignty, God gives people a confident faith to believe they will be healed. This is the situation with the woman who was healed in these verses. Note especially Mark 5:28, in which the woman's confident faith is noted.

When reading and studying any incident in the gospels, it is helpful to ask two questions. First, “How does this incident fit into God's overall story and plan?” God's plan is restoration. The story has four parts: Creation (perfect world - no brokenness) — Man's Fall (Genesis 3 - brokenness entering the world) — Redemption (the life and ministry of Jesus) — and New Heaven and New Earth. The second question to ask is “Why does the gospel writer include this incident out of the thousands of incidents in Jesus' ministry?” What is being taught?

Background Information

A woman with an issue of blood was considered an outcast and unclean in Jewish society at the time of Jesus (Leviticus 15:19-27). Here the woman's condition was chronic (something that she had to live with). In addition, it was humanly incurable. In his telling of the incident, Mark notes that the woman had heard of Jesus (see additional verses above) and that she thought “if I can just touch the edge of His garment” she would be healed. The woman, wanting to be unnoticed, came from behind Jesus and touched His robe and immediately was healed. She was intending to go away quietly without attracting attention. Jesus, however, stops and says that someone touched Him. This forced the woman to come forward. She came forward in fear (because of the prohibition on touching other people when she had a discharge of blood). The woman gives her testimony, and Jesus accepts her as a daughter and tells her to go in peace. She is thus physically healed and accepted back into society with her shame removed.

Key Points

• Failure to understand that we live in and are affected by a broken world will lead to disappointment.

• Jesus gives us a taste of restoration now as we wait for the full restoration that is coming.

• There is no secret so dark that Jesus won't light it up and set you free.

Digging Deeper Questions

1. Have several people in the group tell the incident in their own words.
2. Put yourself in the woman's shoes before she was healed. How would having a chronic illness have affected her emotionally and in every area of her life? Have you or someone you know ever had a chronic condition that could not be cured?
3. Why did she not ask Jesus to heal her? Why did she come up behind him and just touch His robe? Contrast her approach to Jesus with the approach of Jairus, the synagogue ruler.
4. How did Jesus know something had happened? How did the disciples respond? Why the difference?
5. How do you think she found out about Jesus? Imagine some scenarios about how she found out.
6. Why did Jesus have her publicly say what was wrong with her? Why didn't Jesus just let her go? What was Jesus’ purpose and point in doing that?
7. Discuss what verse 48 means and what the key takeaways from the story are for you.

This Week’s Challenge

Pray in person for people you know who are sick to be healed.