Bible Studies: God’s Love For Women – Part III

Jesus and Women in Need of Healing

The Scripture: Isaiah 42: 1-3

“Here is My servant…; My chosen one in whom I delight: I will put My Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out or raise His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.”

This is a prophetic picture of the kind of person the Messiah (Jesus) would be. We can be confident that Jesus’ ways are not harsh. He deals gently with hurting people: “bruised reeds” and those whose faith is tenuous — “smoldering wicks.”

1. What will Jesus not do?

The Scripture: Luke 8: 1-3

“Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom… The Twelve were with Him and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out, Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna and many others. These women were helping to support them.”

2. What had the women who traveled with Jesus been healed of?

3. What in particular had Mary Magdalene been cured of?

4. What did these women do?

The Scripture: Luke 8:40-49

“Now when Jesus returned,… the crowds almost crushed Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, and no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak and immediately her bleeding stopped…Jesus said, ‘Someone touched Me; I know that power has gone out of Me.’ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. …She told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Then Jesus said to her, ‘Daughter your faith has healed you.’”

5. Who touched Jesus’ cloak?

6. What happened to her?

It is hard to understand all the implications of this woman’s problem. Not only was she physically ill, but her hemorrhaging made her ritually “unclean.” That meant if she were married, her husband could not be intimate with her; it also meant that she could not bear children, a disgrace in that society and probably sufficient reason for her husband to divorce her, if he so desired.

7. What was Jesus’ reaction when He heard her story?

While the religious leaders thrived on the technicalities of the law, Jesus didn’t. His response to the frightened woman was one of compassion, reassurance and restoration.

Although this woman approached Jesus fearfully, either something she had heard or His manner gave her the assurance that He would not only understand her need but could and would do something to meet it.

The Scripture: Luke 13:10-17

“On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years… When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her. ‘Woman you are set free from your infirmity.’ Then He put His hands on her and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said… ‘There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.’ The Lord answered him. ‘You hypocrites… Should not this woman… whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

8. What was this woman’s problem?

9. What did Jesus say to her?

10. What did He do?

11. What happened to her?

12. What was the attitude of the religious leaders?

What a difference between Jesus’ loving compassion and that of the legalistic religious leaders, bound by the rules and traditions of their religion.

Notice how simply Jesus released this woman. Even though Scripture says that her infirmity was caused by Satan, Jesus did not “treat” her for demon possession. Rather, He merely told her that she was set free from her infirmity and she was.

Setting people free was a large part of Jesus’ ministry.

The Scripture: Luke 4:18-21

In Jesus’ first appearance in His home town following His temptation in the wilderness, He announced the nature of His ministry.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… He began by saying, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

13. What did Jesus announce He had been anointed to do?

Jesus was actually reading a prophetic description of the Messiah from Isaiah.

14. What was His comment following His announcement?

By this statement, Jesus announced that He was the long-awaited Messiah. Proclaiming freedom and release for prisoners and all the oppressed was always an essential element of Jesus’ ministry – whether it was release from Satan’s kingdom of darkness or the work of his agents or from physical and emotional wounds.

The Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-2

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”

15. List some of the conditions for which the promised Messiah would provide release?

16. How do these two verses compare?

The Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

17. Who did Jesus call?

18. What does He promise?

19. What is His solution?

20. What does He tell us about Himself?

21. What does He say about His yoke and His burden?

Too often we hold ourselves back from Jesus and His healing because we are afraid of what Jesus will demand of us. Here we have His promise that His lordship and His demands on us are not heavy.