The Woman with the Issue of Blood

Introduction
As Jesus travels across Israel, He performs numerous miracles. Some of these incredible feats are recorded for us in Scripture. Others have been lost to history. While it is easy to gloss over many of the details of these events, it is important to carefully dissect every word written. Parchment is expensive. Few used to know how to write. Whatever was written down in our blessed Bible is there for a reason. We should be diligent students to read and understand how each word, each detail gives us great insight into our Messiah's teachings. If we truly take the time to unpack the layers and layers of meaning behind each story, we will find a rich multitude of treasures.

The woman with the issue of blood is told is three separate narratives in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34 and Luke 8:43-48. Each telling gives us different insight into the story. Although all three stories are about the same miraculous healing, they each present the story with different details and information.  Like interviewing witnesses to a historic event, we will find each narrative has a unique flavor and perception. To get a full picture, we need to read each narrative.

The Scripture
Matthew 9:20-22
And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well." But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.


Mark 5:25-34
A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse--after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched his cloaked. For she thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?" And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched me?'" And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

Luke 8:43-48
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You." But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith had made you well; go in peace."


Exploring the text
A certain woman: In many Bible translations, the word "certain" is omitted from the text. However, this is an important word. It means this woman was not a stranger. She was a woman known to the authors. All three accounts have the same wording, "a certain woman". Hence, we can be sure this woman was known to many in the Jewish community. In many of Jesus' story, names are not given. Although we can wonder why we do not know this woman's name, we can be grateful we do not have her name. Without a name, this story can be expanded to include many folks with various medical conditions similar to this woman's. Without knowing this woman's name, we can insert our name or a loved one's name into the story. Although this woman's identity was known at the time, its concealment allows us to imagine and present this story as a means of hope for those going through trying medical ordeals.


Blood: Blood is an immensely important concept in Scripture. We are told, "The life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11) and "For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life" (Leviticus 17:14). Thus, we can see from Scripture, blood is connected with life.

Now this certain woman had an irregularity with her blood. She was bleeding for 12 years. Although I have no concrete evidence for this, I am going to tell you this woman's issue of blood symbolizes the woman was dead. Immediately preceding all three narratives, we are told a man named Jairus, who has a little girl at the point of death. The story about the little girl, who happens to be 12 years old, is interrupted by this woman with a blood issue who also happens to be afflicted for 12 years. When the woman is healed, we are immediately told Jairus's daughter dies. We can extrapolate from this, when the woman's blood issue is resolved, i.e., she is brought back to life, the 12 year old girl perishes. The woman's issue of blood was as though she was living the life of a dead person.


An issue of blood: In the Torah (the first five books of the Bible--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), there are specific rules and guidelines one must follow concerning various conditions. One of these conditions specifically laid out is a woman who is bleeding. In Leviticus 15:19-30, we read the following:

"When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Whoever touches any thing on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. If a man actually lies with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off from herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. The priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the LORD because of her impure discharge." (Leviticus 15:19-30)

Unclean
Before we examine the above text, first we need to know what it means to be unclean. To be unclean is not a sin. It is simply a state of not being pure. When one was unclean, he had the ability to make others unclean. Think of uncleanness like a piece of fruit covered in mud. If you place the dirty fruit next to a clean piece of fruit, if the two touch, the clean fruit will now become dirty. The only way both can become clean is by washing them off in water.

This same concept applies to people being unclean. If a person is unclean and touches a clean person, now the clean person is unclean. The only way for the person to get clean who became unclean by contact with an unclean person (or the unclean person's belongings) is by washing and waiting a set period of time. Now there is nothing physical which is being washed off. It is a spiritual cleansing, although it is done in water. The process is called mikvah in Hebrew, baptizo in Greek. In English, baptizo is transliterated into English as baptize. (When John the Baptist was calling people to be immersed in the Jordan River, this was not a new concept. The Hebrews were already familiar with this process as they "mikvah" when they are in a state of spiritual uncleanness.)

Moreover, being unclean does NOT mean you have sinned! The woman with the issue of blood touches Jesus. Although Jesus is now unclean, He has NOT sinned. He does not need to bring a sin offering to the Temple. Uncleanness is simply a state in which a person must ritually wash and wait a set period of time before being clean. Being unclean has nothing to do with physical dirt or sin.

Isolation
You can see from the guidelines given in Leviticus 15, if a woman was unclean due to her menstrual blood, people would stay away from her (otherwise they would be unclean). Perhaps in today's society, it would not be a big deal to be unclean and have to take a shower, launder our clothes in the washing machine and wait until evening to become clean. However, in ancient times, this endeavor would have been a tiresome process. Water would have to be draw from a well or cistern and carried to the home. The water would need to be heated and doled out into various tubs--one for the clothes and one for yourself. It would have been an energy and time consuming process. And to think you have to do this EVERY TIME you touched the unclean person or the unclean person's belongings.

One could say, "Well, I am not going through this process. I will just stay in a state of uncleanness." One could do this. However, you MUST BE CLEAN to go to the Temple, share in the Temple sacrifices and gather with others for the feasts. So, a person living with the woman with the issue of blood could stay unclean for most of the year, but there would be specific times in which the woman would be abandoned by even her closest family and friends in order for them to stay clean.

Moreover, the woman, since was was in a constant state of uncleanness, could not for 12 years go to any religious gathering. She would have been barred from the Temple, excluded for all holidays and would not have been able to join in for circumcision, bar-mitzvahs, weddings or any other life cycle event which would include the presence of a religious official. The woman with the issue of blood would have been a social outcast. She would spend her days at home with few, if any, visitors. Although she was physically alive, she was socially dead.

Marriage relations
The woman with the issue of blood would have had very strained marriage relations. If she was married when this blood issue arose, her husband would have had a bad relationship with his wife. The woman, since she was having menstrual bleeding, would not have been able to become pregnant. A male child was the family's insurance policy the family name and the fortune would continue into the future. Without an heir, specifically a male heir, the woman had no guarantee of her future when her husband died. Israel had no social welfare system. If you did not have a son to provide and care for you, whenever your husband ceased to exist, the woman would have been forced to the streets as a beggar.

Also, the since the woman was constantly bleeding, her husband could not lay in the same bed with her without becoming unclean for sever days. It would be a huge inconvenience to figure out if being unclean for the next seven days would affect his ability to celebrate a life cycle event or if he had a need to go to the Temple. Additionally, just living in the same house with the woman meant the man would inevitably be unclean from touching anything his wife touched. If the woman was married before the issue of blood began, her husband probably divorced her.

Moreover, the man could not have sexual relations with the woman without both of them being cut off from society. "If there is a man who lies with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has exposed the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people" (Leviticus 20:18).

(To be cut off means to be shunned. There would be no communication between the shunned person and his family. The person would be excluded from the nation of Israel.)


Twelve years: As previously stated, the woman was suffering from her affliction for 12 years. We also are told a man named Jairus had a daughter who was 12 years old. One can imagine when Jairus's daughter was born, this woman began suffering from her illness. When we imagine a child being born and growing through their toddler years and into grade school and becoming a preteen, we can grasp how long 12 years of life is. It is not just a number. It is a large amount of time in which a person grows and changes. Although these changes are often hard to see in adults, we do continue to evolve mentally, physically and spiritually. For all the important landmarks of this young girl's life, the woman with the issue of blood would have been alone and abandoned. While the little girl was surrounded by numerous family and friends, the woman was ostracized to the fringes of society. If the woman lived or died, few people would know due to her isolation.


Spent all she had on physicians: In Mark 5:26, we are given precious insight into the woman's finances. What resources she had, she spent every penny on medical cures. She sought after physicians, but she found no relief. She only continued to get worse. This is a very poignant point in the story. The woman desperately wanted to get better. She did not accept her medical situation and do nothing. She went to doctor after doctor looking for a cure. But she found nothing.

My heart breaks reading this verse. I think about all the people I have seen chase from medical professional to medical professional trying to find answers to mysterious medical ailments. They are seeking relief from their symptoms which seem to never end. They desperately want to be well...and yet, healing never comes.

This verse reminds me of Scripture which rebukes us for putting our trust in man. "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes" (Psalm 118:8-9). So often we seek out all of man's ways first. When everything else fails, we turn to God.

Instead, we should first come to God with our worries and afflictions. He is our Healer. "Saying, 'If you diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in His eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statues, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer'" (Exodus 15:26).

Touching the "fringe" of His garment: This is perhaps one of the most misunderstood verses in all the Gospels. I have seen paintings of a woman kneeling in the dust of the road, reaching through people's feet to touch Jesus' hem of his garment at his ankles. I have heard preachers go on and on about how this woman would have had to crawl on her hands and knees, a true act of servitude, to reach Jesus' garment at his feet. As lovely and idealistic as these images may be, they are all wrong. What is translated in English as "fringe", "border" or "hem" are all trying to capture their idea of tzitzit (tzitziyot in the plural).

Tzitzit
Most Christians are very unfamiliar on the subject of tzitzit. These are strings, usually braided, which hang off the edges of their garments. Usually they are hung from a belt around the waist or attached to the hem of a shirt. They may also be hung off the end of a prayer shawl. Wherever they are attached, they need to be visible to the person wearing them. If the tzitzit were worn around Jesus' ankles, He would not be able to see them. The reason people wear tzitziyot is to remind them of God's commandments. This is all explained in Numbers 15, verses 32 through 41.

"Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on Shabbat. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, 'The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.' So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God." (Numbers 15:32-41)

Going back to the woman with the issue of blood, she very likely did not touch the fabric around Jesus' ankles. She most likely touched the tzitzit near his waist. Since the tzitzit are usually four sets of tassels (one tassel on the front right, one tassel on the front left, one tassel on the back right and one tassel on the back left), the woman most likely grabbed one of the tassel sets on the back of Jesus' garment. She could have easily touched it and gone undetected due to the large crowd surrounding Jesus.

Fulfilling Prophecy
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.": The woman with the issue of blood knew Scripture. Specifically, she knew the book of Malachi which includes this prophecy: "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall" (Malachi 4:2).

A few notes about this text:
In Hebrew, the word translated as "sun" can also be translated as "servant". The "wings" of the garment are the tzitzit. There is no gender neutral in Hebrew. Things are he or she. The text actually translates as "with healing in his wings".

The woman with the issue of blood believes Jesus is the servant of righteousness. She believes if she touches the "wings" (aka, tzitzit), she would receive healing. When Jesus tells her to go, for her faith has made her well, the faith Jesus is speaking about is the woman's acting out and believing the prophecy written down in Malachi 4:2.


Verses about Healing
Psalm 30:2
O LORD my God, I cried unto You, and You have healed me.

Psalm 66:16
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what he has done for my soul.

Psalm 103:2-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your disease, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tend mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth in renewed like the eagle's.