Will You Be Made Whole
As Jesus traveled around throughout the country teaching and working miracles a woman with an issue of blood touched His robe.
Facts About Her:
In our lives we have issues, maybe it’s a physical disease but a dis-ease nonetheless. This story goes to show that no matter what we are going through in life, we can be made whole.
As Jesus traveled around throughout the country teaching and working miracles a woman with an issue of blood touched His robe.
Facts About Her:
·She was “diseased with an issue of blood twelve years” (Matt. 9:20).She had “suffered many things of many physicians” and had spent “all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5: 26);
· She had heard of Jesus and when she saw He was near she joined in the throng of people following Him as He made His way to Jarius’ house. She said within herself, “If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.” (Matt. 9: 21);
· She came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment (Matt 9:20). As soon as she touched Him “the fountain of her blood was dried up” and she “felt in her body that she was healed of that plague” (Mark 5: 29);
· As soon as she touched Him Christ "immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him” (Mark 5:30) stopped and asked “Who touched me?” Everyone around Him denied it and Peter asked him “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee and sayest thou, Who touched me?” (Luke 8: 45).
· When the woman saw that she was unable to hide from the Lord she “came trembling and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.” (Luke 8: 47)
· Christ looked on her and told her, “Daughter be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)
Speculations About Her:
Under the Mosaic law a woman with an issue of blood (referring to menstrual orpostpartum bleeding) was considered unclean and was “put apart” for 7 days. During this time anything she lay on or sat on was considered “unclean” meaning that if anyone touched one of those things he would have to wash his clothes and bathe in water to become clean again. Also during this time if any man was sexually intimate with her he was also unclean for 7 days and must adhere to the same sort of “setting apart” as a woman (and actually the guidelines for a man who has an issue of blood, or who was unclean were more strict than for women, see Leviticus 15:1-30).
The Mosaic Law also specified that if a woman had an issue of blood that lasted longer than 7 days that all the days of her issue were considered unclean and she must be treated as such (Leviticus 15: 25). This means that this woman had probably been unclean for 12 years and that she had to live “put apart” from others for all that time. If she had been married her husband probably would have divorced her as she would have been unable to care for her children or for others without making them all unclean. Her unclean status would also have meant that she was probably unable to attend the temple or other worship services.
I did a quick Google search for information about “prolonged menstruation” and I discovered that today this woman probably would have been diagnoses with menorrhagia, which is abnormally heavy and long menstruation that causes enough cramping and blood loss that it makes normal daily activities impossible. The scriptures are right in calling it a “hemorrhage” because the amount of blood lost is significant—enough to fill a maxi pad at least every hour for several weeks (not to mention 12 years!).
According to the Mayo Clinic common causes of menorrhagia are:
· She had heard of Jesus and when she saw He was near she joined in the throng of people following Him as He made His way to Jarius’ house. She said within herself, “If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.” (Matt. 9: 21);
· She came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment (Matt 9:20). As soon as she touched Him “the fountain of her blood was dried up” and she “felt in her body that she was healed of that plague” (Mark 5: 29);
· As soon as she touched Him Christ "immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him” (Mark 5:30) stopped and asked “Who touched me?” Everyone around Him denied it and Peter asked him “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee and sayest thou, Who touched me?” (Luke 8: 45).
· When the woman saw that she was unable to hide from the Lord she “came trembling and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.” (Luke 8: 47)
· Christ looked on her and told her, “Daughter be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)
Speculations About Her:
Under the Mosaic law a woman with an issue of blood (referring to menstrual orpostpartum bleeding) was considered unclean and was “put apart” for 7 days. During this time anything she lay on or sat on was considered “unclean” meaning that if anyone touched one of those things he would have to wash his clothes and bathe in water to become clean again. Also during this time if any man was sexually intimate with her he was also unclean for 7 days and must adhere to the same sort of “setting apart” as a woman (and actually the guidelines for a man who has an issue of blood, or who was unclean were more strict than for women, see Leviticus 15:1-30).
The Mosaic Law also specified that if a woman had an issue of blood that lasted longer than 7 days that all the days of her issue were considered unclean and she must be treated as such (Leviticus 15: 25). This means that this woman had probably been unclean for 12 years and that she had to live “put apart” from others for all that time. If she had been married her husband probably would have divorced her as she would have been unable to care for her children or for others without making them all unclean. Her unclean status would also have meant that she was probably unable to attend the temple or other worship services.
I did a quick Google search for information about “prolonged menstruation” and I discovered that today this woman probably would have been diagnoses with menorrhagia, which is abnormally heavy and long menstruation that causes enough cramping and blood loss that it makes normal daily activities impossible. The scriptures are right in calling it a “hemorrhage” because the amount of blood lost is significant—enough to fill a maxi pad at least every hour for several weeks (not to mention 12 years!).
According to the Mayo Clinic common causes of menorrhagia are:
- Uterine fibroids, non-cancerous growths of the uterus wall
- Endometrial hyperplasia, a thickened endometrium
- A bleeding disorder, like von Willebrand disease
- Problems with clotting
- Thyroid functioning
- Glandular issues
- Infection
- Ovarian cysts
- Uterine polyps
- Cancer
In our lives we have issues, maybe it’s a physical disease but a dis-ease nonetheless. This story goes to show that no matter what we are going through in life, we can be made whole.
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