TRANSCRIPTION

I was despised. Despised by Jews for being a Samaritan but also shunned by my very own people for my “reputation.” I would go to the well at noon every day because no one else would be there. 

The heat of the midday sun was unbearable but I would do anything to avoid the stares and murmurs of the other women. I couldn't figure out if the solitude was a blessing or a curse because all I did was think about my failures. 

But on that day, He met me there. 

If He only knew who I really was He would not even look at me! But there was something different about this man. He looked into my soul and knew all of my sin but I didn’t feel condemned…only loved. He told me He was the Messiah. I never felt so safe. 

In that moment I didn’t care anymore about hiding my past, I no longer felt hate toward those who made me an outcast. Disappointments that once filled me seemed to give way to enthusiasm for this newfound relationship. I wanted so badly for them to come and meet our Messiah. He changed EVERYTHING.

TRANSCRIPTION

I had suffered with nonstop menstrual bleeding for 12 years, 12 long and lonely years. I spent every penny I had seeking answers from the best doctors. I trusted them to help me but I only got worse. Alone. Ashamed. Tired. I had nowhere to turn, until that day. 

I heard about this Jesus who came for the sick. He healed the most incurable of cases. He didn’t even require payment! I knew deep down that if I could just touch the hem of His robe it would be enough to heal me. So I went to look for Him. In what seemed like a sea of people, there He was! 

I made my way to get close enough. I kneeled behind Him and stretched out my hand and desperately grabbed a hold of His robe. 

Immediately I felt the bleeding stop! I was healed! Jesus must’ve felt it too because He looked around the crowd asking, “Who touched Me?” I was so afraid of what He might say to me but as I trembled my confession before Him, He looked into my eyes and it was like He knew everything about me, including every sad detail of the last 12 yrs. 

For more than a decade, I had not felt a single touch because my disease made me unclean but when He called me daughter - His words felt like a warm embrace. I was wrapped in His love and acknowledgment. In this multitude of people all clamoring to get close to Him, HE SAW ME. Even His disciples overlooked me but He claimed me as His own! I am forever grateful. Jesus looked into my heart that day and healed it, too.

TRANSCRIPTION

For three years Jesus was my teacher, my brother, my friend. I witnessed his glory on the mountaintop. I watched him cleanse the lepers, give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, deliver the demon-possessed. He raised Lazarus from death to life! I watched Him walk on water, it was amazing! Jesus really enjoyed good food and we ate plenty of meals together. But even when there wasn’t food, His presence filled us up in a way I can’t even put into words. 

I think back to our last meal together, He taught us so much that night. So much that we did not understand, but it didn’t hinder His love for us. He told us during dinner, one of us would betray Him and we didn’t even know who it was because it wasn’t like He treated any of us differently. 

He made us each feel important, I was the disciple whom Jesus loved.

He loved me?! Even when He called me and my brother, sons of thunder, He wasn’t putting us down. I could still see the playfulness in His eyes - He has quite the sense of humor! Clearly, we didn’t have our acts together, but He appreciated our devotion. As weak as it could be many times, He could work with the little bit of faith that we brought Him. I mean look at what He did with a few loaves and fish. 

Who is Jesus you ask? He is God! He is the Light of the World. The Living Water. The Bread of Life. The Good Shepherd. The True Vine! When you find Him and know Him, you can’t help but worship Him. I wanted to be so close to Him I could hear His heart beat. 

He is everything. And knowing all of this about Him, it’s miraculous that He calls us friends. Most earthly kings keep a distance from their subjects; like they’re up there and we’re down here. Not Jesus. He taught us to treasure Him and the only way to do that was to remain with Him. To love Him and trust Him. He just wants our hearts. He takes the broken things and gives them new life.