Ep. Mark 5:25–34 Who Touched Me?

In a crowded Galilean street, a woman, frail yet determined, reaches out to touch the tassel of Jesus' garment, embodying the desperate faith described in Mark 5:25–34.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” (Mark 5:25–34 NKJV)

The Woman's World

Let's put ourselves in this woman's world for a moment. For twelve years, she woke up to the same verdict: unclean. The Law said it, her neighbors believed it, her body confirmed it. I try to imagine what that would feel like — every chair you sit on, every bed you touch, every hand you reach for — marked as contaminated. Not just for a week, not just for a season, but for twelve long years.

Today we’d probably call her condition chronic menorrhagia — nonstop bleeding, often caused by fibroids or endometriosis. Women who live with this today can tell you: it means constant fatigue from anemia, dizziness, weakness, and pain that never really goes away. It takes your strength, drains your color, and leaves you feeling fragile in your own body.

Mark adds that she “suffered many things from many physicians.” That wasn’t a polite way of saying she had a few check-ups. Ancient medicine was brutal. The Talmud mentions cures like carrying ashes of an ostrich egg, drinking onion wine, or sitting over burning vapors.

Greco-Roman doctors prescribed fumigation, invasive pessaries, and even bloodletting that made anemia worse. Egyptian papyri describe remedies with crocodile dung or sour milk. Every attempt cost her money. Every attempt left her worse. She wasn’t just sick; she was financially ruined, physically broken, and emotionally crushed.

I think about that phrase “suffered many things,” and it makes me ache. She wasn’t just a patient. She was a victim. A victim of her condition, a victim of her community’s rejection, and a victim of a system that promised cures but only drained her dry.

The Crowd

Now picture her after twelve years of that. Pale, frail, trembling, with nothing left. The street is jammed. Jairus, the synagogue ruler, walks right up — the crowd parts, people step aside. But for this woman, there is no clear path. She has to push, shove, fight her way through.

The text says the crowd was thronging Jesus. That means dozens of people were brushing against Him, maybe even reaching out for Him. Some wanted a blessing. Some wanted a miracle. Some probably just wanted to see what the fuss was about. But for most of them, life wasn’t as desperate as it was for her. They still had families, social standing, support.

And I can’t help but see the modern church in that picture. I’ve been there. I’ve watched as the business owner or big donor walks into the room, and the pastor notices immediately. The elders step aside, the crowd parts, access is given. Then there’s the single mom who slips in at the back, carrying the weight of the world. Or the man battling addiction who doesn’t look the part. Nobody rushes to give them access. They have to fight to even be noticed.

I’ve sat in leadership meetings where these dynamics were at play. Nobody ever says out loud, “Don’t offend that family, they give a lot.” It’s never that blunt. Instead, stories get told, narratives get spun, and the conversation quietly bends in a certain direction. The real motive hides in the background: they give a lot. It’s the same crowd mentality — making space for some, while others are left to press in from the margins.

This woman shows us that Jesus doesn’t play by those rules. He notices the ones everyone else ignores.

Jesus's Response

Mark tells us Jesus immediately knew power had gone out from Him. He turns, “Who touched my clothes?”

The disciples are baffled: “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” But Jesus knew. This wasn’t casual contact. It wasn’t curiosity. It was desperate faith.

And here’s where my heart stops: she comes trembling, expecting rebuke. And instead, Jesus calls her “Daughter.” The only time in all the Gospels He uses that word. After twelve years of rejection, she hears family language. She hears belonging. She hears God’s heart.

Why Mark Told It This Way

This story isn’t first about us. It’s first about Jesus — and about what Mark wanted the first readers to see.

• For those early believers, the issue of blood wasn’t an abstract problem. Leviticus 15 was clear: she was cut off, unclean, excluded. The first readers would have felt the weight of her separation from covenant life.

• The contrast with Jairus would have stood out immediately. Jairus, the honored synagogue ruler, walks straight up to Jesus. The woman, the unclean outcast, sneaks up from behind. Same Jesus, two opposite levels of access.

• By sandwiching this story inside Jairus’ story, Mark makes a point. Both the ruler and the rejected need Jesus. One comes in honor, one in shame — but both fall at His feet.

• Jesus’ response is the theological shock. Instead of being defiled by her touch, His purity flows outward and heals. Instead of scolding, He restores her identity with a single word: Daughter.

• For the first audience, this was a Christological claim. Jesus is the one who cleanses where the Law could only condemn. He is the one who restores covenant identity. He is the one who notices faith even when the crowd misses it.

Before we ever ask what this story means for us, we need to see what it meant for them: it was a revelation of who Jesus is.

What This Means for Us

When I read this, I think of Isaiah’s words: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench” (Isa. 42:3). That’s who she was — a bruised, broken reed. Despised by everyone else, probably even despised by herself. But Jesus doesn’t break bruised reeds.

He restores them.

And here’s the hard truth I have to face: there were plenty of people in that crowd who touched Him but walked away unchanged. Why? Because they weren’t broken enough to reach out in desperation. They wanted something from Him, maybe even needed something — but they still had their safety nets. She had nothing but Him.

Scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Her condition forced her into humility. But what I realize is — that’s not a curse. That’s grace. Because when she reached out empty, she found Him full.

Bringing It Home

I know what it’s like to feel like a broken reed. Maybe you do too. Maybe you’ve felt rejected, useless, forgotten — convinced God wouldn’t want someone like you. If that’s you, then this woman’s story is your story.

She shows us that Jesus doesn’t resist the broken. He resists the proud. And when you come to Him with nothing but empty hands and desperate faith, He doesn’t turn away. He calls you Daughter. He calls you Son. He says, “Your faith has made you whole.”