The woman with the issue of blood: a picture of the church.

Believers, remember the story of woman with the issue of blood who was healed by Jesus on His way to Jairus' house where He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead? This picture tells the story of our salvation in Christ today. Christ's going to Jairus' house where He raised the dead girl to life is a picture of His approaching return to raise the nation of Israel who are still "dead in trespasses" to life- as a nation, they do not yet believe that He is the Messiah. On His way to Jairus' house, He encountered and healed the woman with the issue of blood - a picture of Christ saving, healing and cleansing the church and making it able to bear fruit before Israel's salvation. This is smack where we are today!

Like the woman whose bleeding made it impossible for her to bear offspring, many in the church today are not bearing fruit to life but fruit to death; these include the proliferation of acts of sin, condemnation, fear, stress, disease, lack, poverty despite hard work, oppression, envy, greed, hypocrisy, depression, etc then physical death.

The church, which is the body of Christ, ought to be free from these things and should be giving birth to and enjoying the blessings of Abraham as Abraham's seed, but for many, the reverse is the case. There is so much suffering and fruitlessness, even as people still struggle to do their best to be good and righteous before God. Would you like to know why? It is for the same reason as the woman in the story. Remember Isaiah 64:6- "We have all become like the unclean; all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag."

Just as it was with the woman with the constant bleeding who did everything she could to be clean but kept on bleeding, the product of all our efforts at law-keeping and the good things that we do to get right with God so that He can bless us and save us from our sufferings (our righteousnesses) is menstrual rags. She did her best to be healed but just got worse! See Mark 5:

"25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse."

Bear in mind that these doctors that the woman with the issue of blood saw weren't the kind that you see in today's hospitals. As Jews, everything they did had to be kosher and in accordance with the commands of God's word. These doctors are akin to preachers of the law in the church today whose solution to your own issues are for you to- 

• sow seed so that God can heal you from the issue of lack; 
• come fasting so you can be saved from the issue of curses;
• pay tithe so that the issue of rot in your finances can cease;
• keep the law so that God can heal you from the issue of unrighteousness;
• bring sand from your office so that you can be free from the issue of employer oppression or 
• build an orphanage so that God can heal you of the issue of monthly blood!

Believers, like the unclean woman, they will only make you suffer and take everything from you while you get worse, even over several years! This is currently happening in many places where the church meets. See what the woman did in verse 27-

"She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind Him through the crowd and touched His robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I will be healed.”"

But what exactly did she hear about our Saviour that made her go to Him with the confident expectation that He would heal her? It definitely was not the Law of Moses (including Ten Commandments) which she being a Jew was brought up with. Remember that this woman was unclean. She violated the law by her action. If a sharp Pharisee had noticed her in the crowd, she would have been stoned to death according to the law. The law is not of faith. Had the woman remained under law by not mingling with the crowd, she would have been cut off from Christ and unable to enjoy His grace. This connects with Galatians 5:4-

"For if you are trying to make yourself right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."

The law forbade the woman from touching anyone in her state. if she had stuck with the law in a bid to be righteous, she would have never been able to touch Christ. Cut off! Yet many in the church are led to believe that we need to be a particular way (holy) before we approach and receive from the One who came to save us from our sins!

Believers, what this woman heard was that this Man, Jesus, was healing and delivering ALL WHO CAME TO HIM without asking if they obeyed the law or not; without asking if they sinned or not. What she heard was GRACE - God's undeserved, unmerited favour! She went to Him in her unclean state, empty of works, with no fasting, no seed offering, no law-keeping, nothing but her believing what she heard about Jesus: "This Man heals freely with no terms and conditions attached." As He still does today!

The result? She was delivered from the very thing that made her a pariah; the very thing that made her unclean; the very thing that disqualified her from coming into His presence to receive from Him. For us today, acts of sins, sickness, whatever. He delivers us from them all.

It is also no coincidence that she touched His robe. Remember Isaiah 61 where Christ spoke of Himself "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me..."? It says in verse 10 - "...He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,..."

The bleeding woman heard of Jesus and abandoned her own efforts at being clean (righteous) to touch our Lord's robe of righteousness. Church, this is our story that is happening now. Seek first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness, not yours from sowing seed and obeying the law. All these things- healing, provision, deliverance from acts of sin, your giving and everything that you need to be clean like the woman- will be added unto you.