Mark 5:25-34

²⁵ Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,

²⁶ and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

²⁷ When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.

²⁸ For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

²⁹ Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

³⁰ And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

³¹ But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

³² And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.

³³ But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

³⁴ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Also found in Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48.

suffered (v.26) = suffered pain. The woman was ceremonially unclean, and her touch made others ceremonially unclean, so certainly she suffered socially and emotionally also, but this verb refers to physical pain. The treatments of the physicians did not heal her. They hurt her and made her condition worse.

heard (v.27) — lit. “having heard of the things [plural] concerning the Jesus.” His fame was so great by this point that He was apparently known as “The Jesus” to distinguish Him from others with the same name.

The expression means, not merely that the woman heard of the return of Jesus from the east side, but that she had for the first time heard of Christ’s healing ministry in general. She must have been a stranger from a distance, e.g., from Caesarea Philippi, her home, according to Eusebius [third-century historian], her house identifiable with a statue reproducing the gospel incident before the door; possibly a heathen, but more probably from her behavior, a Jewess—stealing a cure by touch when touch by one in her state was forbidden (Leviticus 15:19-27). — Wuest, page 110.

she said (v.28) — lit. “she kept on saying” either to herself or to others

made well (v.28) = saved, either physically or spiritually

fountain of her blood was dried up (v.20) — Perhaps this means no more than Luke’s statement that the flux was stopped, but the expression seems chosen to signify a complete permanent cure—not merely the stream, but the fountain [lit. “spring”] dried.” — Wuest, page 110.

felt (v.29) = knew by experience. She was conscious of the fact that she was healed. It dawned suddenly upon her.

knowing (v.30) = also “knowing by experience.” In Greek, it has a prefix which intensifies the meaning — clearly knowing.

power (v.30) = that which overcomes resistance or effects a change. Christ’s supernatural power flowed from Him to the woman.

The disciples didn’t understand. They knew Jesus was being “touched” often by many in the crowd who pressed around Him. Mark used a word that means “pressed hard,” used of the pressing of grapes to make wine — crushing them.

looked around (v.32) — continuous action, done for Himself. In other words, Jesus kept looking around to see for Himself who had touched Him, in spite of what the disciples had said.

to see her (v.32) — Jesus knew He was looking for a woman, either by His omniscience or because of the nature of her touch.

Daughter (v.34) — spoken as a father to a child, although the woman may have been close to His own age or older.

Go in peace (v.34) = Go into peace, in the sense of entering a new condition — perhaps in the sense of shalom — health of body and soul

healed (v.34) = continually, permanently whole, sound of body