Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Matthew 9:20-22 (NIV)
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
This woman who had been bleeding off and on for 12 years would have been considered ritually “unclean”. But she desperately hoped that Jesus could heal her. However, if caught, she knew she could be in great trouble, so she sneaked up behind him with hoping his power would go through his clothes and still heal her. But then Jesus turned and saw her. He really saw her. He did not merely notice her or glance down at her and see an insignificant, unclean person. He saw her completely with eyes of mercy and compassion and said, “Take heart, daughter”. This miracle is not just about what Jesus did, but more about who Jesus is. He is compassion. He is love. He is mercy and tenderness. And we cannot defile him with our brokenness. He took that and buried it with him in the grave. Now, because of Jesus, we too can “take heart” as dearly loved children of God.