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When reading the Gospels, it’s immediately apparent that Jesus isn’t an ivory-tower theologian. His entire ministry is spent among ordinary people—in the marketplace, in private homes, in synagogues, in fields, by the sea. In Luke 8, we become eyewitnesses to Jesus’ accessibility as He makes His way to heal the daughter of a synagogue official named Jairus. Out of the immense swelling crowds vying for Jesus’ attention, this desperate dad finds Jesus and begs Him to come to his house to heal his daughter, who is at the precipice of death.
As Jairus leads Jesus to his home, they are interrupted by a woman who has had a hemorrhage for twelve years. Luke describes her condition in detail. Here is a woman who has had a severe bleeding problem for as long as Jairus’ daughter has been alive. Not only was the constant bleeding a problem for her, but this ailment rendered her “unclean” according to the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament (Lev. 12:1–8; 15:19–27). For twelve years, she had been subjected to immense social and personal humiliation. Being ceremonially “unclean” meant that she couldn’t enter a synagogue. She couldn’t touch her husband or children and would be ridiculed if she entered the marketplace. In the ancient world, life for her was impossible. Seeking relief, she spent all her money on physicians unable to bring her reprieve (Luke 8:43). Arriving at her wit’s end, she pushes through the crowd, saying to herself, “If I can just touch his garments, I will get well.” Luke says that the moment she touched the hem of Jesus’ robe, “immediately her discharge of blood ceased” (v. 44).
After twelve years and no hope, she instantly felt well. Jesus, feeling the expulsion of divine power, said, “Who was it that touched me?” Jesus isn’t One who can’t be bothered with this unclean woman, but He seeks her out. When she discovers that she couldn’t be hidden, she emerges “trembling, and falling down before him” (v. 47). A holy terror fills her, and she collapses at Jesus’ feet, confessing her story and what has just happened. She’s like the blind man who said, “I don’t know what has happened to me; all I know is that I was sick, and Jesus has made me well.” His response fills her heart with hope: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” (v. 48). This is the only occurrence in the New Testament of Jesus’ addressing a woman as “daughter.” He offers peace to this new child of God, saves her from her sins, and heals her of her bleeding.
There’s something so beautifully accessible and hope-filled about this divine encounter. Regardless of what you think Jesus may be preoccupied with, He’s always accessible to you, for He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Our Lord is personal in every way and has an inexhaustible fount from which we can draw hope in our most desperate need. Jesus is our all-accessible hope at all times and in all circumstances.