In the tapestry of the Bible, there are numerous stories that resonate deeply with our human experiences. One such story is that of the woman, the only woman, that Jesus called Daughter, as a proper name with a capital “D.” Why does this resonate so deeply, because this was a woman that was shunned and an outcast and Jesus stopped everything that He was doing to see her, heal her and elevate her to His Daughter in front of everyone to expose and change their religious and self-righteous attitude toward the least of us. Her story is a profound exploration of faith, healing, and identity. If you have ever been judged and made to feel like an outcast, especially within the Christian community, then I have good news for you, you are a Daughter with a capital “D” and this message is for you!


Mark 5, starting in verse 21 states: 21 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”
24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. 25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” 31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”


In the Jewish society, of which she was a member, women often faced marginalization and social stigma. Just the mere fact that she was a woman made her less than. This marginalization is now increased to outright stigmatization due to the medical fact that she had an issue of blood, and had been bleeding for twelve years, meaning that for twelve years she was deemed ceremonially unclean. That was Jewish law as set forth in Leviticus 15: 25 ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.


Not only was she deemed unclean, but whoever came in contact with her was deemed unclean. Therefore, she was put out of the community and suffered in isolation and shame. She was not even allowed to go into the synagogue to worship her Father. This woman was desperate as she had spent all of her money on doctors to be freed from this condemning condition, all to no avail. Hope had seemed lost.


Have you ever felt like this? I have. I have been judged by the so-called religious ones as I have had a past that they look down upon. I had an abortion, I have been married three times, I have a wake of damage behind me. I was unclean by their standards.


I longed to be accepted by others, especially other Christians, but many times when I tell my story, I see a change in people as they begin to judge me in their mind. They start thinking: she killed her own child. What kind of person kills their own child? When they hear that I have been married three times, they start thinking: What’s wrong with her that she cannot stay married and hops from one man to another? She must be this or she must be that? Like the woman with the issue of blood, I have had years of people looking down at me with shame and condemnation. I have had years of people gossiping about me behind my back. I have had years of being shunned and ostracized after they hear my story.


Like the woman with the issue of blood, people did not see me, they saw their own preconceived ideas of me. That’s okay, as Jesus saw me, the real me and didn’t leave me in the condition that He saw me, He stopped just for me and healed me, freed me and elevated me to the Daughter of a King.


If you have encountered this type of condemnation and judgment because of your past, and hope has seemed lost to be accepted and understood, then today is your day to be freed, healed and elevated.

The woman with the issue of blood heard that a man was coming, a man that went against the religious and socially acceptable norms of the day, a man that carried the love of the Father, a man that healed people of all kinds of ailments and conditions, a man that freed people from demons, a man that multiplied loaves and fishes, and performed all kinds of miracles. She desperately wanted to meet this man and she believed that this man could finally heal her of her issue of blood. She made a decision, she was going to go meet this man, even if it meant going against the law and religious rules of society. She was determined to let nothing stop her from her encounter with this man. When she came upon Jesus, there was a multitude of people around him and pressing in on Him. He was being led to a destiny to heal someone else. However, she said to herself, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” She saw her chance, so she pressed through the crowd to get close to Him.


Who was in that crowd? Well we know for sure that it was Jarius, one of the rulers of the synagogue, the very person who enforced the religious rules against this woman. We can also surmise that there were other religious leaders in the crowd as we are told in the Bible that they liked to watch Him to try and find fault in Him.


She knew that as she pressed in the crowd and touched all of those people that she was violating their law and could be severely punished. She also knew that by their law she was making them all unclean. Despite this, she was determined to be made clean by the only one that could, as all she needed was that one touch of His garment, just one touch!


Are you like the woman with the issue of blood, have you followed all of the religious rules and still suffer? Do you read your Bible, pray, go to church on Sunday and maybe even mid week services and still feel empty? Do you serve in any capacity and still you are broken and worst yet looked upon as less then? Do you say to yourself, I am a good person, I give, I help others, what’s wrong? Are you still longing to be healed physically and emotionally? Are you still longing to be accepted?

Do not buy into the lie from the pit of hell, that this is the way it is supposed to be and that someday, when you die, you will be healed, you will get a new body and you will be welcomed by God, even if you were not welcomed by man. Someday, you will be welcomed by the religious community, if I just act holy enough or I mask who I really am and my past. Reject thoughts and beliefs like these, as the Kingdom of God is here now!


The Kingdom of God is within you and it works on principles. One of those principles is that you have to believe God (His Word) and take action, acting in faith, being fully persuaded. The woman with the issue of blood had to take action. She had to make a decision, was she going to follow the religious law or was she going to touch the hem of the garment of the person who could change everything. She got to the end of herself and doing everything her way and man’s way, she did everything that she knew how to do by going to the doctor’s and spending all of her money on it. I am not saying that you should not go to the doctor’s, that is not what I am saying, what I am saying is that she had put all of her hope, belief, time and money in that healing, man’s medical healing. She had to decide to put her hope in someone else. She had to decide to go against the religious rules and social norms of the day.


Can you imagine the internal struggle this woman went through? Can you imagine all the unbelief and doubt that kept trying to keep her in her state? She thought, you tried this and you have tried that and it didn’t work, see maybe God wants you to stay in that condition. Maybe He wants to teach you something? Blah, blah, blah, the lies. No, no, no, God does not want you to stay in that condition, no He is not trying to teach you something. He is a good Father. Anything that comes to steal, kill and destroy is from the enemy. John 10:10 is the plumb line. Jesus came so that you will have life and life abundantly. If something comes into your life to kill, steal and destroy, it is from the enemy and if it brings life and life abundantly, then it is God.

I can almost hear your next thought, well He allowed it to happen. Did He? Is it possible, just possible that you had something to do with it with your thoughts, beliefs, words and/or actions that made room for the enemy to hit you? There is a legal principle in a court of law that if you open the door, then other evidence which was previously excluded by the judge, is then allowed in to be used against you. The Kingdom of God has the same principle. The enemy is not allowed to hurt or harm you, unless you open the door and allow him access to your life.


Back to the primary message on the woman with the issue of blood. After she made this decision, she had to act upon it in faith, she had to do something to get her healing. She couldn’t sit back and say or think that if God wanted to heal me, then He just will. God does want to heal you! Do you hear me, He does! He is waiting for you to partner with Him and do something. She pressed through a crowd of people that may have known her and pointed her out and suffered the consequences of violating the religious rules. She had to reach out, in faith and touch the hem of His garment.

Because she was fully persuaded that she would be healed when she reached out, she pressed through the crowd and touched Him. The Bible says immediately, the fountain of blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed. If Jesus would have stopped there at her physical healing, it would be amazing, but He wanted to restore the woman completely.


Jesus stopped what He was doing. He looked around to see who touched Him. When she stepped forward in fear and trembling, as she thought she would be called out on violating the religious rules and suffer dire consequences, she was met by pure love. Jesus saw her. Jesus' words to her: "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction" elevates her status as a cherished child of God, filled with faith in Him. He affirms her worth and her identity when he calls her Daughter with a capital “D.” That is her new name, no longer shall she be known as the woman with the issue of blood, but as Daughter. Gone is the name of shame and condemnation. Her identity is changed forever. Like her, your primary identity comes from being God's beloved child, valued and accepted regardless of your circumstances or past experiences and others preconceived perceptions. 2 Corinthians 6:18 states “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” That is His promise to you. If you believe it, you will have a sense of belonging, as you will now identify as a child of God.

Did you catch that He said, “your faith has made you well.” He confirmed that she had an active part in her healing. She and she alone had the ultimate decision for her healing.


What is amazing is that He restored her in front of those that condemned her! He did it in such a way that there was no condemnation on the religious rulers for following their religious rules, as there is never condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. The leaders actually were doing what they believed that God was commanding them to do. So, if you have been hurt by people in the religious community, forgive them, as most people know not what they do, most people do not actively try to hurt others. However, there is a religious spirit that tries and affects people to become self-righteous and judgmental. Please recognize that it is a spirit and not a person and be healed of your affliction.

As I close, I hope and pray that you will reflect on the story of the Daughter in Mark 5:34, that you will examine your own journey of identity in God. Like her, you may carry afflictions, wounds, burdens, doubts, or insecurities, but Jesus invites you to come as you are, to reach out in faith, and to receive His transformative love that restores your true identity as a cherished Daughter of the King. You get to decide. Jesus is here today, so if you are fully persuaded, then just reach out and touch the hem of His garment! As you do, may you, too, go in peace, knowing that you are now Daughter with a capital “D.”
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