When I consider Jesus’ miracles, a single word comes to mind: resolve. Most of the people who received miracles in their lives decided to leave their homes and come to Jesus. They did not remain stagnant in their records, diagnoses, or cultural impositions but faced the challenges head on.
The woman in today’s scripture knows that simply being female prevents her from approaching Jesus. But she does not care. She has reached the end of her resources—financial, mental, spiritual. The medical professionals have exhausted their efforts at a cure. People who suffered from illness found themselves marginalized because people believed them to be ill as a result of sin. The woman’s need for acceptance by her community is as compelling as her illness and greater than her fear. The healing that she and others sought involves not only physical wellness but the desire to experience acceptance by and integration into society. So she leaves her house to seek out the one who can heal her pain and restore her life.
Jesus’ public declaration, “Your faith has saved you,” expresses the faith of the woman, as well as the result of her faith. The Greek translation of the expression “saved you” is the same as “healed you,” which denotes a holistic healing: physical and spiritual. In a society for which disease is a manifestation of sin, Jesus publicly forgives the woman’s sins.