But
Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.”
Luke 8:46
Luke 8 [40.] When Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to come into his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him. A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any, came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
Luke 8 [46.] But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
Luke 8 [49.] While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.” But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed.”
Meaning:
Luke 8:46 is Jesus’ answer to Peter’s puzzled protest. A crowd was pressing on Jesus from every side, so how could he ask who had touched him? Jesus insisted that one touch had been different: “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” The verse shows that Jesus knew the difference between the crowd’s jostling and the touch of faith, and that he would not let a healed woman slip away unseen.
- The Crowd and the One
Many people touched Jesus that day; only one reached out in faith. Luke tells us she touched “the fringe of his cloak,” probably one of the tassels that faithful Jewish men wore on the corners of their garments as a reminder of God’s commandments. Peter saw a crowd; Jesus perceived a person. Being near Jesus is not the same as trusting him.
- Power Has Gone Out
The word Luke uses for power, dynamis, is the same word he often uses for the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus began his ministry declaring, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me ... He has sent me to heal the broken hearted” (Luke 4:18). Peter later summed up his ministry: “God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38).
This healing was not magic attached to clothing. Jesus was fully aware of it, and the power that flowed was his own, given freely in response to faith. Mark records the same moment: “Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd” (Mark 5:30).
- Why Jesus Called Her Forward
The woman had hoped to be healed secretly; her condition made her ritually unclean (Leviticus 15:25), and she may have feared rebuke. But Jesus wanted more for her than a hidden cure. By calling her out, he gave her the chance to tell her story, to be publicly declared well, and to hear him call her “Daughter” (Mark 5:34). Her healing became restoration to community and to God.
The Significance of Luke 8:46
- Jesus Notices the Individual
In a pressing crowd Jesus knew one touch. He still knows each person who reaches out to him. “We don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). No prayer of faith is lost in the crowd.
- Faith Reaches Out and Is Answered
The woman’s faith was small and fearful, but it was real, and it reached toward Jesus. “He who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Our part is to come; his part is to give from his fullness.
Cross-References:
Mark 5:30: "Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”" Mark’s account of the same moment.
Acts 10:38: "even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him." The power that healed the woman was the power of the Spirit on Jesus.
Hebrews 4:15: "For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin." Jesus feels our weakness and responds.
Hebrews 11:6: "Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." The woman came believing, and was rewarded.
Conclusion: Luke 8:46 shows that Jesus is never too busy or too crowded to notice faith. Power flowed from him to a hidden, fearful woman, and he would not let her leave without a word of blessing. The same Lord knows every heart that reaches out to him today, and he gives not only healing but welcome, identity and peace.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible