Here is the story of the woman from Mark 5:24-34 NIV:
[24]"So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. [25] And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. [26] She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. [27] When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, [28] because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” [29] Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
[30] At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
[31] “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' ”
[32] But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. [33] Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. [34] He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
I was thinking about this story, and thought about the fact that Jesus, in His earthly ministry had laid down His divinity, emptying Himself to become fully man (Phil 2: 6-8), and that His healing ability came through the Power of the Holy Spirit, who was present on Him and in Him (Luke 3:21-22, Luke 4:1). It was the Holy Spirit that worked the will of the Father through Jesus, and Jesus was obedient to do what He saw the Father doing, as shown Him by the Holy Spirit.
Actually as I am thinking about that, I just realized that Jesus teaching on the Holy Spirit was really based on His own experience. He was filled by the power of the Holy Spirit, and ministered out of the power of the Holy Spirit, as described by Luke 4:1, 14 NIV: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, [14] Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside." His was a Holy Spirit led and empowered ministry. Thus, when He spoke about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, once He ascended to Heaven (John 14-16) He was speaking from His own personal experience. Anyway, not a major point, but one had I never thought of before, and one worthy of more thought and research.
Anyway, part of what got me thinking about this whole situation was the fact that Jesus was ministering as a man, and thus, although highly in tune with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He was not experiencing the same level of unity and oneness as He normally did as a part of the Trinity, as evidenced in this story. It was clear that the woman had some inspiration (in Spirit-ation) and the thought about touching Jesus cloak was not her own. I can almost see the Father and the Holy Spirit conspiring to surprise Jesus in this situation. He wasn't shown the woman, wasn't aware of her need, and even after the power went out from Him, not sure who she was (He might have been asking as a way for her to exercise her faith, but that is another topic).
I think the Father and Holy Spirit were just loving on the woman and having a little fun with Jesus at the same time. They purposely didn't make Him aware of what they were doing, and Jesus was apparently caught unaware. He was focused on the other situation (Jairus's daughter who was sick) and apparently distracted by the whole crowd of people following Him. He might have missed what the Father was doing with this woman who was suffering bleeding, but I think it is more likely she was hidden from His view and foreknowledge (for He clearly operated in all the fullness of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit) and that He was surprised by her healing.
His reaction, as recorded by Mark and Luke, shows that the sudden outflow of power caught His attention, and stopped Him. Here is Luke's recording of it - Luke 8:44-46 NIV: She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. [45] “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” [46] But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” The fact that everyone denied touching Him indicates some passage of time, as He scanned the crowd around Him. I can almost see the Father and the Holy Spirit, smiling at each other, having pulled a fast-one on Jesus. He was clearly not aware of who had touched Him and yet she had been healed completely. She had been inspired to get close and touch Him, having the thought placed into her mind by God, and when she did touch His cloak the Holy Spirit flowed out of Jesus to such an extent that He felt it and stopped. He wasn't angry, nor was he upset over the interruption, but He wanted to make sure to finish the deal, and speak life to the woman. He clearly wanted in on the fun, and wanted to bless the woman too.
Anyway, just a funny little perspective. The point here is that in the same way that the power of the Holy Spirit saturated Jesus so thoroughly that even His clothes were saturated. We have the same Holy Spirit in our bodies. We are much better vehicles and conduits for His presence and power than cloth could ever be, so we can assume and believe that we are the bearers of at least the same healing power and authority.
Lord, help us to turn to You, and entrust our lives to You and ask for Your presence to touch those who are sick around us.
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