Just at the Edges

Shane Grant · Tidal Church Moncton · May 3, 2026 · The Chosen series

Shane Grant looks at Luke 8:40-48, where a suffering, outcast woman reaches for the fringe of Jesus' robe. Faith reaches for Jesus, and He answers by healing her and calling her daughter, giving her a new identity and a place to belong.

More from Shane Grant · The The Chosen series

Topics: Faith, Identity, Suffering

Transcript

[0:00] I am honored to be sharing with you in our series, The Chosen. We'll be in Luke chapter 8, verses 40 through 48 this morning, and I'll be reading from the New Living Translation. Let's pray. Dear Lord, open our eyes and our hearts to what You have for us today. Help us to learn and grow from what the Holy Spirit says to us. Let us leave to be transformed more like You, Jesus. In Your name, we pray. Amen. I remember first, second, and third grade. Do you? It was a long time ago.

[0:46] I had this tight-knit group of boys that I rolled with, and when I say group, I mean full-blown nerd alliance. We'd go out and play soccer like normal kids, running and sweating and pretending we were professional athletes. We had races to see who was faster, typical boy things. But when the bell rung, instead of coming inside to trade Pogs or talk about cartoons, we'd sit down and start quizzing each other on multiplication tables. Not casually, either. I'm talking high pressure, rapid fire, high speed. "Seven times eight." "56." Too slow. Alex was way faster. And if that wasn't intense enough, we'd follow up with chess.

[1:34] Second-grade chess, just a bunch of eight-year-olds silently planning each other's downfall like tiny little grandmasters. Meanwhile, the rest of the class is eating crayons and coloring, while we're over here sacrificing bishops and flexing long division. Honestly, it was awesome, but let's be clear, this is not normal second-grade boy behavior. That's not recess. That's a LinkedIn networking event in training. When I was nine years old, my family moved to a new city. Everything was new: new school, new house, new people, new church. I still remember how nervous I was on that first day of school, knowing I had to start over and make new friends.

[2:22] I began to notice something. I didn't fit in. Everyone else had grown up together, and I was the outsider. It was a completely different world from my old school, the one with the nerd alliance, where I knew who I was and where I belonged. That sense of identity tied to my group of friends was just gone. By the next year, it wasn't something that I just felt anymore. The other kids noticed, too, and in the way that only kids can, they made sure that I knew it. Have you ever felt excluded?

[3:10] Have you ever felt like you were an outsider or unwanted? Let's take a look at the scripture for today, starting from Luke chapter 8, verse 40. "On the other side of the lake, the crowds welcomed Jesus because they had been waiting for Him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with Him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about 12 years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, He was surrounded by the crowds.

[3:56] A woman in the crowd had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. 'Who touched Me?' Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, 'Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against You.' But Jesus said, 'Someone deliberately touched Me, for I felt healing power go out from Me.' When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of Him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched Him, and that she had been immediately healed.

[4:48] 'Daughter,' He said to her, 'your faith has made you well. Go in peace.'" What an emotional scene that is. There's such deep imagery throughout that rendition. There's a few liberties taken with The Chosen series, things that are not explicit in the text but implicit in the story. When the woman says, "I'm no one's daughter anymore," those words aren't recorded in scripture, but her being an outcast of society is recorded in scripture. Let's read verses 43 through 44 of chapter 8. "A woman in the crowd had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure.

[5:35] Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped." In our Western mindset, we can read this story pretty quickly and miss the weight of it. A woman was bleeding and couldn't find a cure. That sounds simple. It's anything but simple, though. In the Gospel of Mark, in chapter 5, we get a parallel account of this story that adds more detail. She had suffered for years under doctors. Spent everything she had, and she only got worse. She had no money left. She was at the end of her rope. She was an outcast, and even in that state, she came forward with boldness.

[6:26] Faith reaches for Jesus. This condition also made her ceremonially unclean. According to the Book of Leviticus 15, she couldn't touch anyone, and if she did, she would make them unclean as well, excluding them from worship. Can you imagine that? Twelve years without physical contact. No hugs, not even a handshake. That kind of loneliness and darkness that would settle in over time is hard to comprehend. David Guzik noted this in a commentary cross-referencing the ceremonial laws in Leviticus 15. It goes like this. According to the Jewish ideas of the time, if this woman touched anyone, she imparted her uncleanness to them, and uncleanness would not allow them to take part of any aspect of Israel's worship.

[7:27] She was kicked out of church. Right in the middle of this, another story is unfolding. Jairus, a respected leader, comes to Jesus pleading for his 12-year-old daughter who is dying. Jesus begins to go with him, but on the way, this woman reaches out in faith. These two stories are intentionally woven together, and the contrasts and parallels are striking. The woman suffered for 12 years. Jairus' daughter was 12 years old. Jesus calls this woman daughter. Jairus was fighting for his daughter. This woman was an outcast. Jairus was respected and influential. The woman came quietly.

[8:13] Jairus came publicly. This woman was healed immediately. Jairus experienced delay. This woman was poor. Jairus was wealthy. Her condition was chronic. His crisis was urgent. Her story ends in healing, and his story ends in the resurrection of his daughter. Two very different people, two very different situations, but one common thread, desperation. A dying child, a lifelong illness, and Jesus stops for both. Because Jesus, He isn't moved by status. He's moved by faith.

[9:03] She reaches out and touches Jesus, just the fringe of His garment. That detail matters. This fringe or tassel comes from the Book of Numbers chapter 15, where God commands His people to wear tassels on their garments. Verse 39 of Numbers 15, "When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves as you are prone to do." So this just wasn't fabric. It was a symbol of covenant, obedience, and identity. Then there's the prophecy in Malachi 4:2. This is the first half of the verse. "But for those who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings."

[9:53] The word translated wings can also mean edge, corner, or fringe, the very place where the tassels hung. Different words, same idea, kind of like how we say pop, soda, Pepsi, Coke, soft drink. They all point to the same thing. So when this woman reaches for the fringe of Jesus' robe, she's not just acting out of desperation. She's making a statement of faith. With her actions, she is saying, if this is the Messiah, then there is healing in His fringe. This quiet, powerful, messianic faith on display.

[10:43] She believed Jesus was who He said He was, and she acted on it. Now remember, by the law, she was unclean. If she touched anyone, she would make them unclean too, excluding them from public worship. But here's the beauty of the gospel. Her uncleanness didn't contaminate Jesus. His holiness transformed her. In the kingdom reversal that only Jesus can bring, His purity doesn't retreat from impurity. It overcomes it. And Luke highlights something profound in this moment. There's a whole crowd around Jesus, people pressing in, bumping into Him from every direction, but only one person was healed.

[11:31] Why is that? Because many were near Jesus, but only one reached out to Him in faith. Faith reaches for Jesus. Which leads to this question. Is our relationship with Jesus just proximity, or is it purposeful? Is He someone you're simply around, or is someone you're actively pursuing? Both this woman and Jairus come to Jesus in faith. Jesus says to her in verse 48, "Your faith has made you well." And then in verse 50 to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Have faith."

[12:20] So what about us? Are we just moving with the crowd, or are we intentionally reaching for Jesus? Let's continue on in verse 45 and 46. "'Who touched Me?' Jesus asked. Everyone denied it. And Peter said, 'Master, the whole crowd is pressing up against You.' But Jesus said, 'Someone deliberately touched Me, for I felt healing power go out from Me.'" Why would Jesus ask this, "Who touched Me?" It's not because He didn't know who touched Him. Jesus often asks questions not to gain information, but to reveal something to the people around Him.

[13:08] He asks so others will see what's really happening. Peter, of course, doesn't get it. I can identify with him. He basically says, "Jesus, everyone is touching You." The crowd is pressing in from every side. People are bumping into Him constantly. But Peter misses the point. He doesn't yet understand the difference between casual contact with Jesus and reaching for Him in faith. Imagine someone in the crowd saying, "I bumped into Jesus, too. I was sick. I touched Him, but nothing happened." That's because there's a world of difference between brushing up against Jesus and reaching out to Him with faith. And the same is true today. You can come to church week after week after week and bump into Jesus. You hear the songs, you listen to the message, you be around the presence, and never truly reach for Him in faith.

[14:10] So why does Jesus ask this question? Because He wants to bring this woman into the light. He doesn't expose her to shame her. He calls her forward to restore her, to give her a new identity, not just healed, but known. Not just restored physically, but restored relationally. He calls her daughter. Her deepest need wasn't just physical healing, it was belonging, it was identity. And here's where it gets personal. Often, we want healing without being known.

[14:56] We want Jesus to fix what's broken, but we'd rather stay hidden. But Jesus doesn't just heal anonymously, He heals completely. If avoiding embarrassment becomes our highest priority, then pride quietly takes the place of God. We protect our image more than we pursue Him. But when we come to Jesus, we don't just receive healing, we receive a restored identity. We take on His righteousness, and we are fully and deeply known. Let's read in verse 47 here. "When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of Him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched Him, and that she had been immediately healed."

[15:49] And verse 48, "'Daughter,' He said to her, 'Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.'" Jesus calls her daughter. This is the only time we see Jesus address a woman this way. It's a deeply personal and tender word in the original language, one that gives her more than healing, it gives her identity. He's not just restoring her body, He is restoring her place. He's saying, "You belong." Thinking about this in light of the Old Testament, all of us, in a spiritual sense, are unclean. In the Old Testament system, uncleanness spreads from the unclean to the clean.

[16:38] If something unclean touched something clean, then the clean thing becomes unclean. But Jesus flips that. When this woman touches Him, her uncleanness doesn't transfer to Him, His cleanness transfers to her. His righteousness changes her status before God and before people, and that's the gospel. When we come to Jesus with our sin, it doesn't make Him sinful, it makes us clean. In verse 48, Jesus says, "Your faith has made you well." The Greek word can be translated safe, made whole, or restored. This is more than a physical healing.

[17:23] Yes, her body was healed, but the greater miracle is that she was seen, named, and restored spiritually, relationally, and completely. I know what it's like to feel desperation. I was 10 years old and I hated my life. I didn't belong, I didn't have any friends, and I was tired of being the subject of ridicule every day of my life at school for almost two years. I didn't tell my parents, or anyone for that matter, because I didn't want to let anyone know about my struggles. One day, I specifically remember sitting in the bathroom with the door locked. I had something sharp from the kitchen in my hand, and I found myself wondering if I really belonged anywhere. How much longer I wanted to be in this situation.

[18:16] I had a permanent solution to a temporary problem. You probably know the kind of deep pain that can drive someone towards those thoughts. I can imagine that the woman who had bled for 12 years had similar thoughts. She's tired of being an outcast. She's tired of the struggle. She's tired of living with this sickness. But then she reached out in desperation to Jesus. She reached out in faith, and He responded. He responded with healing, restoration, and identity. At that moment, these thoughts are going through my mind. God reached out to me and told me that I had value, I had purpose, and I did belong.

[19:04] I belonged to my family, yes, but more importantly, I belonged to Him. He also made me realize how messed up it was that I was thinking these thoughts. He responded to my desperation. Not long after that, I got into a fight at school, and then my parents got the full story. School didn't get better, but I was able to work through these situations with them. I had faith that God would bring me through. Soon after, my parents decided that the best option was for me to no longer be in that environment. Then that summer, I met my best friend. Jesus responded to me and restored my identity. It was no longer found in the people around me, even in the nerd alliance, but my identity was found in Him as His child.

[19:53] Faith reaches for Jesus, and He responds. He responds to our desperation, He responds to our faith, and He responds to His children. As the prayer team comes forward, I want to ask, so what about you? What have you placed your identity into? Is your identity anchored in Christ? Not your job, not your relationships, not your proclivities, not your friends, but is who you are as a person centered on, and is your life defined by Christ? Is the core of who you are a child of God?

[20:43] If your identity is in something that's not Jesus, it's sinking sand. You were bought with His blood. Cement your identity as His child. Don't make the same mistake that I made, hiding your pain and suffering from those who loved you most. Pray with someone. Talk to someone. That's why we have the prayer team that is going to come forward here. That's why we have them here. If you're still trying to figure out what you believe, this is where it starts. Bring your faith, and reach for Jesus. This week, when you feel alone and rejected, don't just stand at the edges.

[21:29] Faith reaches for Jesus. Let's pray. Thank You, Lord, for Your Word. Thank You for the story of restoration. Help us to base our identity in You and to reach out to You in faith in our need. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. "Daughter," Jesus said to her, "Your faith has made you well. Go in peace."