12 years of pain and suffering

We read in Mark 5 the story of the woman with the issue of blood to which it is often referred.  I believe this title or ‘catch phrase’ totally understates the magnitude of this woman’s predicament.  The Bible teaches us she had a ‘flow of blood for twelve years’ (v 25).  It is interesting to note the Bible initially refers to her as a ‘certain woman’.  There’s no reference to her age, social status, family line or other details so often mentioned in scripture. This in itself, I believe is significant.  She was a nameless nobody who no doubt would have been a total outcast in the society in which she lived at this time.  She was ‘unclean’ in the Biblical sense of the word under Mosaic law and moreover would not have been allowed in a public place without calling out ‘unclean’ wherever she went.  She must have ventured out on occasion, as the Bible tells us she had spent all she had on medical assistance of the day and she ‘grew worse’ not better.

I find it fascinating to contemplate what made this ‘certain’ woman, with no name or social status, on this specific day to think ‘I have to get to Jesus today’.  Clearly, she’d heard about this Healer and heard many testimonies of His miracle working power such that she would risk public shame and ridicule and press through the thronging crowd to touch the hem of His garment.  Jesus didn’t pray for her, nor did He lay hands on her. In fact, she laid hands on him and ‘extracted’ her miracle from Him by faith!  We see from this account He felt power go out from Him and at that moment in time immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up.  The word here for ‘fountain’ in the Greek literally means ‘a well, fed by a spring’.  This was no minor gynaecological matter. This poor woman had been bleeding profusely for 12 years and was no doubt financially impoverished as a result! 

Her predicament changed in a moment of reaching out and touching Jesus.  However, there was more than a physical healing which I’m sure she was so thankful to receive.  Verse 34 holds these amazing words… “Daughter, your faith has made you well…”  Again, the original Greek means ‘daughter acceptable to God, rejoicing in God’s peculiar care and attention.’

This nameless ‘certain’ woman, who essentially is anonymous, is now described as a daughter of God and Jesus commends her for her great faith.  What a wonderful demonstration of God’s power extracted from Jesus by the woman’s faith.