Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
The Power in His Hem
The power of faith lies not in grand gestures but in desperate, determined reaching. In this moving sermon from Mark 5:22-34, we encounter a woman society had written off—unnamed, unclean, and utterly undone after 12 years of suffering. While Jesus is hurrying to help an important synagogue leader named Jairus, this socially invisible woman dares to believe that merely touching the hem of Jesus's garment could heal her.
What makes her story remarkable isn't just her healing, but how Jesus responds. Despite crowds pressing against him, Jesus notices her touch—the only touch fueled by genuine faith. When power flows from him, he stops everything to acknowledge her. The unnamed becomes named. The unclean becomes clean. The outcast becomes "daughter."
This sermon beautifully illuminates how the hem of a garment represented royal authority in ancient times. Kings displayed their status through elaborate hems, and Isaiah's vision of God showed a hem so magnificent it filled the temple. The woman recognized something royal in Jesus that others missed. Her faith wasn't in a healing formula but in a healing King.
Most profound is the reversal that occurs: according to Mosaic law, her uncleanness should have contaminated Jesus. Instead, his cleanness purifies her. This stunning picture shows how Jesus doesn't become dirty through contact with our brokenness—rather, we become whole through connection with his holiness.
Are you touching Jesus just because you're in the crowd, or because you're desperate for transformation? Are you seeking his gifts or seeking him? The invitation stands: Jesus is still "passing by" today, with power in his hem for whatever you're facing. No matter how insignificant you feel or how long you've suffered, you're never an interruption to him. Reach out in faith today.
Mark Captain Number Five. Mark Captain Number Five. I'll be reading with twenty-two to this fifty-four. In the ring, mark the fifth four twenty-two foot fifty four. One of the synagogue physical names iron came up and on screen fell at his feet and implored him in the space saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her. And both. And he went off with him, and a large crowd was following him and pressing in on him. A woman who had had a hemorrhage for 12 years and had endured much at the hands of many physicians and expent all that she had and was not helpful at all, would rather have grown weak. After caring about Jesus, I came up in the crowd behind him and touched his crook for. If I just touched his garments, I will get well. Immediately the flow of the blood was dried up. And she felt in her body that she was killed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus perceived in himself that power proceeding from him had gone forth. Turned around in the crowd and said, Who talked my comments? And the disciple said to him, You see the crowd pressing in on you, and you see who talked to me and looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction. If you have time on this morning, I want to tell you that there is power in his hem. Power in his hem. Um excited. I'm excited about this text. I'm normally excited, but um I'm extra excited about this text because uh of the woman who is in it. It it is a story that begins telling us that there is a known guy, uh a man named Jairus. He's a leader of the synagogue, and he wants Jesus to come to his house because his daughter, who is 12 years old, is sick and is dying. Jesus is actually on his way to Jairus' house when the story that I just read to you happens. He's on his way to a leader's house, he's on his way to someone's house, someone who has notoriety, someone who is important, he's on his way to Jairus' house, and Mark stops to tell us the story of a woman, and this woman has three strikes against her. Strike number one, she's unnamed. I don't want you to miss this. It begins by telling you Jesus is met by a ruler of the synagogue named Jairus, and Jairus tells Jesus, Come to my house. Jesus is now on official business when scripture introduces us to an unnamed woman. One of the reasons why scripture does this is to show you the difference between Jairus, his name, his status was worth recording, and this woman. She's not named, which lets you know she is considered to be insignificant. The second strike she has against her is not just that she's unnamed, she's unclean. Leviticus chapter number 15. I don't have time, but if you were to read from verse 19 to verse number 28, it goes into detail lengths to explain that should a woman have an issue of blood, like the woman we read of in Mark chapter 5, should she have such a deity and an issue that she is considered unclean. And by virtue of being unclean, she couldn't go to worship. By virtue of being unclean, she she couldn't be in public. In fact, if she were to be in public, she had to walk around, dressed a particular way, and yell out unclean, so that everyone knows not to touch her. So I want you to picture an unnamed woman who was supposed to, scripture doesn't say that she is, but she's unclean and was supposed to be walking around shouting unclean, unclean, unclean. She's not just unnamed, she's not just unclean, but scripture tells us she's undone because she has had this issue for 12 years. It's an issue she tried to fix, it's an issue that she visited doctors for but could find no healing. She has now visited every doctor, she has now spent every dollar that she has. She is no better. In fact, scripture says she's now worse. So she is unnamed, insignificant, unclean, unable to worship and consider the social outclass and undone. She has no hope. That's the woman we're introduced to in this text. And that's why I'm excited about it because there are days I feel like this woman. There are days where I feel insignificant, days where I feel unknown, days where I don't think I matter in the grand scheme of things, but Jesus stops and has time for this woman, which lets me know he has time for me too. That was a good point. See, now I know that there are circles where you would be most important in. You may be most important in your family, at work, in church, but there are other circles where you don't matter or you're not as important. I'm glad that regardless of how I'm seen in society, God has time for me. God knows not just my name, but the hairs on my head, in this case, my beard. See, that that's that's good. That's good because what that means, it it doesn't matter. You don't have to be the preacher, you you don't have to open in prayer, close in prayer, you don't have to be some big wig or big name. You just need to love Jesus, and he has time for you. That's good. It also means because uh she is unclean, it means that regardless of how you see yourself, you could have an history for 12 years. You could be wretched, you could be blind, you could be mame, you could be unclean in whatever sense of the word, and the Jesus we read about still has time for you. See, that's good because we don't always make time for people we deem less insignificant, that's just us, but I'm excited God is not like us so that God would not pass me by when I stand in need. I'm also glad to read a story like this because I could read about a woman who has done everything conceivable to fix a situation and is now losing hope, now without hope, and Jesus is there for her. That's why I'm excited about this story because I I know it's about an unname, unclean, undone woman, but sometimes I see Anderson inside there, and the first thing I see is that Anderson is not too small for God's attention. It's first thing I see, but as you read this text, this text is familiar to us, something happens. This unnamed, unclean, undone woman thought to herself a few things, but she thought it because she heard something about Jesus. Follow me here. All scripture tells you is that she hears something about Jesus, but whatever she hears is enough to make her leave her house. Whatever she hears is enough not just to make her leave her house, but to move through a crowd that would consider her unclean and condemn her. Whatever she hears is enough not just to make her leave her house and move through a cloud, crowd, but to get in touch with Jesus. And then not just get in touch with Jesus, she just wanted to touch the head. She said it was sufficient if I could just touch the hem of his garment. Now, scripture does not elaborate for us, the witness of Mark does not tell us, neither does Matthew or Luke what she heard about Jesus. What I will tell you, however, go back to the don't show them this one yet. What I would tell you, however, is my firm belief about what she heard. I believe that she heard that this Jesus is more than a man. I believe that she heard that this Jesus has some power to do the impossible. I believe that's right because the text tells us what she told herself, what she kept telling herself was, if I could touch the hem of his garment, whatever she was told about Jesus led her to believe that just touching the hem was enough. I don't want you to miss that. She didn't say I need to embrace him in a full hug. She didn't say that he had to say a few words. Whatever she heard led her to believe, if I could only touch the hem. And she kept saying it to herself. It was her motivation. So as she pushed through the crowd, weak and frail as she is, she kept saying, if I could touch the hem, if I could touch the hem, if I could just touch the hem. But why the hem? Well, Matthew 9 20 tells us. And the woman who had been suffering for a hemorrhage for 12 years came up behind him and touched the fringe, the hem of his cloak. And reading that made me think of Isaiah chapter number six, verse number one. Isaiah tells us in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and the head of his robe filled the temple. Y'all didn't say amen. So I need to break that down. Too late. Watch this, watch this. Now, now some Bibles say train, and it makes you think of the wrong thing. So I need to explain that. They did not have trains the way we think of them in that time. So a train is normally what you see a bride has this long thing that follows her for no reason when she's getting married. That's not what's happening here. In ancient Near Eastern times, kings would enlarge their hems, and because they wore robes, I want you to picture almost a garment like what I have on, and the fringe of it has this nice ornamented hem going all the way around and at the bottom. The larger the fringe, the larger the hem, the more power, the more status, and the more regal the king was said to be. So let's put that back in Isaiah. So let me show you what Isaiah is saying first, and then show you why it's important in Mark. Isaiah said, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. I just told you, the larger the hem, the more power, the more status, and the more regal a king was. What Isaiah saw was God had so much status, so much power. He was so much king that his hem was big enough to fill the entire temple. His hem. If I had time, I'll tell you this is also important because Uzziah was a good king, and everyone was worried what is going to happen now that a good king is dead, and in the midst of a negative circumstance, in the midst of a dead king, Isaiah saw a seated king. All right, okay, okay, y'all didn't get excited about that. That's fine because we're talking about a woman with an issue of blood, but now y'all understand him that the hem is not just something sewn at the end, but it represented someone of royalty having status and power. Now here's the thing: Jesus was not wearing royal clothes. So the fact that she tells herself, if I could only touch the hem of his garment, meant that she was told he's a king. It meant that she was told he had power, it meant that she was told he's not just an ordinary somebody, and so because she now has in her mind that this Jesus is a king, because she has in her mind that this Jesus is sent from God, because she has in her mind that there's something about Jesus, she says, All I need to do is touch his head. If he is truly king, if he's truly powerful, then there's some power in his head. I I don't need his face, I don't need his hands, I just need some help. Okay, y'all missed that. There should be seasons in your life where as you think about God, what you're telling him is, God, you do exceedingly abundantly of all that I can ask, think, or even imagine. But I don't always need all of that. I just need a little bit of your power to show up in my life. I I don't need all of it, but every now and then I just need a little of it, and if I could get a little of it, I'll be alright. That's the faith that she has, where it's not that she needs to get all of it or something special from Jesus. If I could just make touch, if I could just get close enough that I could touch the, and that's why most Bibles say fringes. If I could just reach close enough to reach the edges of his cloak, that'll be enough for me. God, if I could just see a little of your glory, that's enough for me. And so she pushes through the crowd, she gets low, and she touches now. Something that was supposed to happen did not happen. According to Mosaic law, if you are unclean and you touch someone, they automatically become unclean for seven days. Thank you, Jimmy. She touches Jesus, and instead of him becoming unclean, she becomes clean. And a transfer that we need to celebrate because what happened is Jesus is so righteous, so holy, so powerful, so much king that even our dirtiest things doesn't make him dirty because he has enough to absorb that and make us creep. This is good to me, Drew, because I've lived long enough to know I have more than a speck. And the way that dirt works, dirt when it contacts something else, it tends to make that thing dirty, and I've washed enough clothes to know that sometimes I could get my clothes dirty to the degree that the detergent I use wasn't enough, and it needs to go again. Have you ever put a load in, put in detergent, pulled out your white, and it still doesn't look as white? Pulled out some article of clothing, and it doesn't give you the impression that it's clean, clean, and you tell yourself you either need a stronger detergent or a second wash. Have you ever put dishes in the dishwasher? And after a run, took it out. I'm just trying to get you where you are, took it out, but then there were still some greases and some stains that makes you say you need to do it again. I'm glad that as dirty as I get, stained by immorality and sin, that anytime I reach out to Jesus and he touches me, he doesn't get dirty, but I get what he is. I'm glad that every time I reach out to him, what I get in return is some of who he is and what he is. So there's this exchange. You're looking at me, funny. All I'm trying to tell you is we live in this period where keeping in contact with Jesus brings about an exchange. Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'll take it. I wasn't going to take it, I'll take it aside. And I know that's true because Jesus stops because he notices virtue, power. Went out of it. I'm missing some power. He's like, stop, stop, stop. I'm missing some power, and this can only be because someone touched me. His disciples are Jesus, you have to be mad. Everyone is touching you. Everyone is not touching him for the same reason. There were some people who were just there because it was the happening place to be. So they were just there to see the sights. There were some people who were just there because somebody else dragged them there. People were there for all different kinds of reasons. But this woman, unlike everyone else, was there because she believed that she was in the presence of a king who had enough power to do something about her situation that if she gets in touch with him, it would change her life. So she was trying to reach him to change her life. Not everyone who touches Jesus is touching him because they want their life changed. There was a time in my life where the only reason I was in church was because I wanted Jesus to bless me. Don't look at me funny. This is the one time you're not supposed to look at me funny. See, I I thought of Jesus like a genie. And if I rock the lamp of prayer enough, hard enough, long enough with the right words, that he'll open doors of favor for me. So I sang and I prayed, and I was enthusiastic in church, but I was only enthusiastic because I hoped tomorrow he saw the enthusiasm of yesterday and give me a period. That he would give me favor in the interview, that he would make the bank say yes to the load. That the car that I was trying to buy for X amount of years is now available and I could get it at the price I want it at. I'm only singing glory, hallelujah. Oh, how I love Jesus, praying because I want a car. That song's wrong, right? But that's where I was many years ago. Now It doesn't matter if I have the car or not. Now I recognize he's king. Now I recognize he's lord. Now I recognize he's Messiah and that he could make me better. So I'm reaching out to him, not because I need something, but because I need him. I need him more than I need bread. And what I've also recognized is that as I reach out to him, for him, he takes care of everything else. Let me give you a Bible verse you know. Seek ye first, the kingdom of God and all his righteousness and all these things. But what's the things? If you read Matthew 6, he begins by saying, Your father knows that you need bread. Your father knows that you need bread. Your father knows of your daily needs, but seek him first, and he'll take care of the rest. So now I'm not seeking bread, I'm seeking him. If there's anything I could tell you from this woman, seek him, and he will change your life. Don't worry about the bread. So don't worry about the bread, seek him. So this transfer takes place, and scripture says that this woman now being caught is fearful, and now she has to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help her God. And as she tells the truth, Jesus' word to her is daughter. All right, all right, all right, all right. I'll help you. Come on. He didn't say woman. He didn't say unnamed woman, unclean woman, undone woman. That is how she was introduced to us. So up until this point, we've only seen her the way she's been described. Unnamed, unclean, undone. But Jesus sees her and says, My daughter. And he uses an endearing word. He doesn't just say child or generic word. It's my daughter. Your faith has saved you, has made you whole. Go in peace and be healed. Daughter. Here's where I'm excited about this story, and here's why I'm hoping you can get excited too. It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter how long you've been in whatever you've been in. If you could have enough faith like this woman to say, regardless of my circumstances, regardless of the obstacles, regardless of what everyone else thinks, feels, or says, I will reach for him because I know if I could just get the smallest of touches, that it will make a difference in my life. If you could be like this woman and do that, Jesus is not going to ask you if you're somebody because you're somebody to him. He's not going to ask you what your story is because it doesn't matter what your story is, he cares for you. He isn't going to ask you what took you so long. He's just glad that you decided to reach out for him. He's not going to ask you what your circumstances were that led to you being where you are now. He is just looking for everyone and someone to reach out and touch him. So it doesn't matter who you are, what you've been through, how long you've been through it, and why you got in it in the first place. All that matters is that you reach for him in the end. The story interrupts Jairus' story to tell us that you are never an interruption for God. So I would not trouble him with this matter. And this story says, even when he's on business, he has time for my business. Even as he's on his way to someone else's house, he has no problem passing by mine. And so this is your opportunity to not let him pass you by. The last thing that I would say is that if you read Luke's account of this text, Luke would tell you what she heard was not just about Jesus, but that Jesus was passing by. Today is a good day for me to tell you Jesus is still passing by. So that even us as we reach out, he sees us as sons and daughters in need of his grace, his love, and his mercy. If there's anything I could give you, it's just Jesus. So now is a good time. If you've not prayed for something you should be praying for, let's pray about it while we sing. If you've not really reached out for him for whatever reason, about whatever you're going through as we sing, and I feel I'm going to use my preacher's prerogative, Drew. What song were you going to sing? Oh, that's good. I don't need to change it. All right, that's good. Christ will meet you there, he intercedes for you. Oh, that's good. That's good, that's good, that's good. Because the song that just entered my spirit was Pass Me Not, but I don't know if you know it. See, pass me not, oh gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, don't pass me by. Some know it, some don't. But it's fine. Neil at the cross fits everything today. Right. While you are here, we have an opportunity to reach for a God who's reaching out for us. Don't let this moment pass you by. So as we sing, let's all stand. Don't sing it. But as we sing, if you need prayer, if you need help, if you need encouragement, I know a Jesus that offers it. And if you need someone to pray for you or with you, I'll only be too glad to stand in the corner where you are and pray with you that God intervenes in your life, in your situation, that he empowers you, that he reminds you, that he alone is king, and he has all power in his hands and enough power in his hem to deal with whatever you're going through. Whatever you need, if it's Jesus, let's reach out for him now, even now, while we sing.