And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
Jesus tells those around him that he is aware something has happened — that power has gone out from him. This is a striking statement. Even in the middle of a chaotic, pressing crowd, Jesus experienced and registered this one specific exchange. The word used suggests a flow of divine power — not just a decision made, but something that moved from him toward her. This tells us the healing was not mechanical or impersonal; Jesus was fully present and aware of this one woman's desperate, anonymous act of faith, even before she stepped forward.
God, I confess I sometimes wonder if my prayers reach anyone at all. Thank you for this picture — that when she reached, you noticed, specifically and immediately. Help me trust that you notice me too, even in the silence. Amen.
Power went *out* from him. Not just a command was issued. Not just a divine policy was applied. Something left him and reached her. This is one of the stranger, more mysteriously human moments in the Gospels — Jesus, fully God and fully man, experiencing the draw of one woman's faith like a current running through him. Whatever the full theology of that, one thing is unmistakably clear: she mattered to him. Her reach didn't get lost in the noise. It registered, personally and immediately, before she'd even identified herself. When you pray into silence — when you whisper something at 3 AM into what feels like an empty room and wonder if anyone is there — remember this. Jesus noticed power going out before the woman was ready to be seen. Your reaching, even secret, even clumsy, even barely-believing, does not dissolve into nothing. Something happens when you reach toward God. You may not feel it. He does.
What does it mean to you that Jesus felt power go out from him — that her healing involved something real happening in and through him, not just a distant divine decision?
This verse suggests Jesus was specifically, personally attentive to one woman in the middle of a chaotic crowd. How does that picture change the way you think about whether God hears your prayers?
Do you find it easy or genuinely difficult to believe that God is specifically attentive to you — not just to humanity in general? What makes it hard?
How does this image of power flowing from Jesus shape how you think about what happens when you pray for healing or help for someone else?
Think of a time you were certain nothing was happening spiritually — no response, no feeling, no sign. Looking back, is there any evidence God was present and active even then?
But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, because I was aware that power [to heal] had gone out of Me."
AMP
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.”
ESV
But Jesus said, 'Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.'
NASB
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
NIV
But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”
NKJV
But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.”
NLT
Jesus insisted, "Someone touched me. I felt power discharging from me."
MSG