The Hem of His Garment: Mark 5 : 42-34

He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.  She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

Last week we looked at how Jairus’ faith affected his daughters life. This week we look at the woman with an issue of blood or as stated above with hemorrhages, and this went on for twelve years.

Just what is this hemorrhage? Let’s look to the Old Testament book of Leviticus, chapter 15, verses 19 – 30:

“When a woman has her menstrual flow, she shall be in a state of impurity for seven days. Anyone who touches her shall be unclean until evening. Anything on which she lies or sits during her impurity shall be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Whoever touches any article of furniture on which she was sitting, shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.  But if she is on the bed or on the seat when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. If a man dares to lie with her, he contracts her impurity and shall be unclean for seven days; every bed on which he then lies also becomes unclean. “When a woman is afflicted with a flow of blood for several days outside her menstrual period, or when her flow continues beyond the ordinary period, as long as she suffers this unclean flow she shall be unclean, just as during her menstrual period. Any bed on which she lies during such a flow becomes unclean, as it would during her menstruation, and any article of furniture on which she sits becomes unclean just as during her menstruation. Anyone who touches them becomes unclean; he shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. “If she becomes freed from her affliction, she shall wait seven days, and only then is she to be purified. On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent. The priest shall offer up one of them as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust. Thus shall the priest make atonement before the LORD for her unclean flow.

This woman, who we assume knew the Law, was taking a great risk by coming out into the crowd. Her family, friends, her doctors and the rabbis in her religious community, all knew of her uncleanness. So you can see the desperation in her action. What did she have to loose? Her existence was in total isolation – as if she were dead. She sure wasn’t living, was she?

From one of my commentaries, it states the following (from the Rabbinical books):

“The remedy for a female hemorrage: Let them dig seven ditches, in which let them burn some cuttings of vines under four years old. Let her take in her hand a cup of wine; let them lead her away from this ditch and make her sit over that. Let them remove her from that and sit her over another. At each removal you must say to her, ‘Arise for thy flux.’” That’s not medicine, is it? Well, it was at this time. No wonder her patience – not to mention her money – had expired.

She had heard about Jesus, His healing of others, the casting out of unclean spirits. Saying to herself, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” What an act of faith! As St. Paul himself would later write in his letter to the Romans, “Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17)

Her faith caused her to act. To seek Christ and His healing. Just as Jairus’ faith had caused him to act, on behalf of his daughter. One faith, one Lord, expressing itself differently an yet, the same.

“Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” These are His words to us today. Our faith – our active faith – will save us. For it sends us to Him.

So this week, let us turn to Him in faith, seeking to do what pleases Him. Have a great week and enjoy this song by Sam Cooke, “The Hem of His Garment.”

Amen.