Summer Scripture Verse Mapping Episode 4 - When One Touch Changed Everything | Luke 8:43–48
Show Notes:
Summary
For twelve years she carried more than a physical illness.
She carried isolation.
Shame.
Loneliness.
And the hope that maybe—just maybe—Jesus could change everything.
In this final Summer Scripture Verse Mapping episode, we slow down and look beneath the surface of one of the most familiar miracles in the Gospels.
Together we'll discover:
Why the woman tried to remain hidden.
What ceremonial uncleanness meant in everyday life.
Why she reached for the fringe of Jesus' garment.
The difference between merely being near Jesus and intentionally reaching for Him in faith.
Why Jesus asked, "Who touched Me?"
Why one word—"Daughter"—changes the entire story.
The greatest miracle may not have been the healing itself...
It may have been the way Jesus restored her dignity in front of everyone.
Key Topics
Luke 8:43–48
Woman with the issue of blood
Scripture Verse Mapping
Faith
Ceremonial uncleanness
Tassels (tzitzit)
Identity in Christ
Restoration
Jesus' compassion
Summer Bible Study
Takeaways
Jesus notices individual faith even in the middle of a crowd.
Faith reaches toward Christ—not merely toward religious symbols.
Jesus restores more than physical wounds; He restores dignity, identity, and peace.
Sometimes the miracle is not only what Jesus heals, but how He restores us afterward.
We are invited to move beyond simply being near Jesus to intentionally reaching toward Him.
Transcript:
Stephanie (00:00)
have you ever wondered why Jesus stopped?
I mean he knew who touched him.
He he knew that she was already healed. So why ask who touched me?
What if the greatest miracle in this story wasn't the healing, but what happened afterward?
Hi friend, welcome back to Glory and Grid, where faith meets real life. I'm Stephanie and today we're wrapping up our summer scripture verse mapping Series of the season.
And this being the second part of our first season officially brings our first season to a close. Woohoo! now we're preparing and we'll welcome in season two,
which the first episode starts on Sunday, the first Sunday in August, which is August the second. So thank you for joining me for this season and I look forward to walking through season two with you. Now
If you're new to Glory and Grit, then over the past few weeks for this summer scripture verse mapping series, we've slowed down and looked beneath the surfaces of some familiar passages. We discovered that Psalm 23 is about way more than cheap.
that salt is much more than seasoning and that Jesus washing his disciples' feet was about far more than clean feet, right?
So today we're going to look into another familiar story. And this is one that most of us have probably heard as children, but I think there are some beautiful treasures hidden in these verses. So go grab your scriptures and your scripture markers and your scripture journal and let's slow down together. I'll wait.
All right. Today we're going to be in Luke chapter 8, verse 43 through 48. And I already grabbed my scripture, so let's read it.
And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any.
Came behind him and touched the border of his garment, and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude thronged thee and press thee, and sayest thou who touched me?
And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. and when the woman saw that she was hid not, she came trembling.
And falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her daughter.
Be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace.
Mm. Let's unpack some of that.
So Luke tells us that this woman has been suffering with a blood issue for twelve years. that is a long time, my friend.
Before we talk about the miracle, let's talk about the woman, right? So she wasn't just sick. She had this bleeding issue
She'd spent all her living, all of her money that is, trying to get doctors to help her and to heal her, and none of them were successful in curing her
Now, we are talking about this day and age of the scriptures in the scriptures time. So because of the law of Moses, Continual bleeding also meant ceremonial uncleanness. Okay.
So as long as she had this continual bleeding, she was unclean. Therefore, she could not associate with people. She could not touch people because anything that she touched was deemed to be also ceremonial uncleanness. So they felt that she was transferring her uncleanness to the person or the object that she touched.
So she didn't have any relationships where she could associate and talk with people and certainly not touch anyone. And I mean, I'm a hugger. I cannot imagine spending twelve years of my life, a little over a decade, never hugging anyone, never touching, never handshake, never a pat on the back.
And it also affected her worship. She wasn't allowed to go into the services and be amongst people. So this affected every part of her normal everyday life. So it wasn't just a medical problem, it carried social and religious consequences as well for her.
So this wasn't something she carried only physically, but also emotionally, and I would assume mentally, how exhausting that must have been.
We get to verse forty four. And it talks about how she had touched his garment and
She had heard about Jesus. And somehow she believed that if she could just reach him, her life could change for the better.
And we see that she wasn't trying to cause a scene. I honestly think that she hoped nobody would even notice her, that she could slip in, touch his garment, be healed, and then slip out and disappear, right?
But unfortunately for her, but super fortunately for her, Jesus had much bigger plans for her.
Forty four tells us that
Her blood issue was immediately stanched or staunched, whichever one you choose to go with. Stanched is not a word you hear every day these days and age. So it means to stop or slow the flow of liquid, particularly blood, right? So she was immediately.
Her blood issue immediately stanched.
immediately. Wow.
Okay. Now in this verse it also tells us that she touched the border of his garments, right?
It's not just the border. back in this again in this day and time when this scripture was written, Jewish men wore tassels that kind of hung over them on the outer outside of their garments. And they're called Zitzitz, Zitzit. T Z I T Z I T.
on the corners of their garments.
And this is what they were commanded to do by God you can check that out in Numbers 15. But they were reminders to the men that wore them to remember God's covenant and his commandments and to live basically to remember what they promised and to live righteously, right? Now let's please understand.
That there was nothing magical about these tassels, these Z-seeds. Okay? Her faith wasn't in the fabric. Her faith was in Jesus. It was Jesus. Okay? Now the tapel tassels simply happened to be the part of his garment that she could reach.
there are theological discussions about that you're more than welcome to look into.
We go down to the next verse, 45. And now here's one of my favorite parts. Okay. Jesus stops and asks, Who touched me?
And Peter's like, you're standing in a crowd of people. They are throwing themselves towards you and touching you. And you know, I'm sure their curiosity has gotten, out and they're trying to touch him and feel him and and see him. So Peter's like, all these people are pressing against you and you're asking us who touched you?
I mean, you can kind of understand Peter's point just a little right there. Like, but then Jesus says, nah, mm-mm. No, no, no. Someone touched me.
that made me stop because he is feeling a difference in the people thronging themselves and pushing against him than her touch reaching out for him. So what's the difference? Okay.
Between brushing against Jesus and intentionally reaching for him in faith, which is what she did. So although there were a lot of people close to him all day, she connected with him. Okay. That's so good.
So the question for me and probably for you too became why did Jesus stop? This question really grabbed my heart because Jesus already knew. Why did he stop? Well, I don't think that he stopped because he needed information, like for someone to tell him who did it.
I think he stopped because she needed something.
Okay, because she'd already been healed physically. She knew it and Christ knew it. But what she hadn't been done was publicly restored. And although she might not have been thinking of that, Christ was, because he knows our needs way before we do. He knew that she needed for everyone to learn what had happened to her.
He knew that she needed to step out of hiding. She needed her dignity back. so Jesus wasn't exposing her, he was restoring her.
Mm.
Wow. Then we go down to the next verse. And Jesus, which is 46. And Jesus says that, you know, somebody touched him because he perceived that the virtue was gone out of him. I don't know if we've heard the word virtue before, but in this instance.
Virtue's definition or meaning is that there was a miraculous healing power or divine strength that flowed through him rather than moral virtues, right? So he felt some of that healing power move. Right?
Now we drop down to verse into verse 47, where it talks about, you know, when she saw that she couldn't hide anymore, she stepped forward.
And this this is so good because I don't think that I ever thought about this before. So hopefully this will be good for you too.
She stepped forward and then she admitted to him what she had done and what had happened as a result of what she did. And now she it says that she fell on her knees, or she was falling down before him, which is falling on your knees. She knew the
That there could be serious consequences. One, she was out amongst the crowd and as she tried to maneuver through the crowd to get to him. She likely touched plenty of people. We don't it doesn't say that, I'm just saying it's likely.
And then she touched Jesus as well. So she could be in a lot of trouble for having come out in her unclean, her ceremonial uncleanness, and touched people and transferred that to the people and to Christ.
So she knew she could be in serious trouble for what she had done. But she immediately goes, I did it, and this is why I did it. And I was healed immediately. Okay? Now, here's what's cool about that.
She is bearing her testimony of the truthfulness of Jesus Christ in this moment because she was healed when she touched him.
I don't know if you ever thought about that before, but I had never thought about it like that before. And but that's exactly what she did. She testified of Jesus Christ and she did it boldly. Even though she was in fear for what might happen to her from those around her and what the community might do, she still boldly bore her testimony.
Of Jesus Christ's strength. What does that tell us that we need to do in our life?
What a great example that is for us as well. That even though we might be afraid in our life, that we can still
Run to Christ and with faith reach out to Him, and then we can still boldly bear our testimony, even if physically we're afraid of where we are or who we we're with, we can still boldly bear our testimonies of how
Jesus has affected our lives.
I was I was glad to get that new truth out of this scripture passage. Okay, moving on.
Now we get down to verse 48, and this is where he addresses her as daughter. I don't recall anywhere else in the scripture where Christ refers to a woman as daughter. Daughter is such an endearing term to be used right here. And
This says a lot right here. Jesus addressing her as daughter. It's one word, but it says a lot.
Daughter.
For twelve years this woman has been alone and probably you know, basically ostracized, not me anyone not wanting to touch her, not be around her, thinking that her uncleanness transfers to them.
She's been ID'd, identified as her condition by what's wrong with her. But Jesus didn't do that. He didn't say, ye woman with blood issue, you have touched me and been healed and go. He called her by relationship.
Daughter.
Can you imagine in that moment what that term must have meant for her?
By stopping her and calling her out in front of everyone, Jesus was taking the opportunity to publicly acknowledge her, which I imagine for her must have been quite scary and quite comforting at the same time.
this way he could bring her out of isolation, he could praise her faithfulness, and then he could let them all know that that she was no longer unclean. Therefore she could go out, go back out into the community, and it's okay.
Daughter is a term of endearment and it lets her know that she's accepted as a daughter of God, that she does have family who truly loves her.
It also lets her know that she's not alone.
Because I imagine she must have felt that way. I I certainly would have. I'm a hugger and I cannot imagine have spent twelve years without hugging or at least a simple handshake or no one wanting to talk to you.
also by calling her daughter, he assures her that she is worthy.
And that she's worthy of dignity. Hmm.
Hmm.
This story tells us so much about
His response shows us how compassionate he is and that he is great divine power. He knows how to heal us and how to restore us both mentally and spiritually. And I would add emotionally and mentally as well.
He notices one person in the middle of a crowd. He doesn't overlook quiet faith. He doesn't rush past hurting people.
He cares about more than healing bodies. He restores hearts. He restores dignity. He restores identity.
Can I ask you something?
Are you simply around Jesus? Or are you intentionally reaching toward him?
Sometimes we can be near him without really bringing him the thing we've been carrying. Maybe today it's time to reach. not because your faith has to be perfect, but because Jesus notices the one person who reaches for him.
Here's the truth I hope you'll carry this week. Jesus doesn't simply heal what hurts, He restores who we are.
Again, Jesus doesn't simply heal what hurts. He restores who we are.
This week, I want you to take one thing you've been quietly carrying and intentionally bring it to Jesus. Don't keep hiding in the crowd. Reach towards him.
If you'd like to continue studying this passage, and I hope you do, don't forget that you can download this week's Scripture Verse Mapping Companion from the Resources page at gloryandgridpodcast.com. It includes today's key discoveries, reflection questions, a simple grit and practice to carry with you throughout the week.
Thank you so much for spending this summer with me as we've slowed down and explored these passages together. I've loved discovering these, I never noticed that before, moments with you. And I hope that you enjoyed them as well and found them helpful. I'll see you next week as we begin an exciting new season of glory and grit.
I'm Stephanie, and until next time, my friend, keep holding on to hope, keep walking in faith, and remember, even in the middle of the crowd, Jesus still notices the one who reaches for him.
Bye now.
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