Mark 5:25

And a certain woman,; And there was a woman--RSV; which had an issue of blood twelve years,; who had had a flow of blood for twelve years--RSV; who had suffered many haemorrhages...NEB; And //a woman\\ and many things having suffered under many physicians, and having spent all that she had, and having profited nothing, but rather having come to the worse, TRNTyeagerV319,20 - kai polla pathousa hupo pollwn iatrwn kai dapanAsasa ta par' autAs panta kai mAden wphelAtheisa alla mallon eis to cheiron elthousa, kai (adjunctive conjunction joining participles). polla (acc.pl.neut.of polus, direct object of pathousa). pathousa (2d.aor.part.nom.sing.fem.of paschw, adjectival, ascriptive). hupo (preposition with the ablative of agent). pollwn (abl.pl.masc.of polus, in agreement with iatrwn). iatrwn (abl.pl.masc.of iatros, agent). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining participles). dapanAsasa (1st.aor.act.part.nom.sing.fem.of dapanaw). be at charges - Acts 21:24. consume - Jam.4:3. spend - Mk.5:26; Lk.15:14; II Cor.12:15. Meaning: To spend; expend; incur obligation. With reference to the assumption of certain obligations in connection with religious vows - Acts 21:24. To spend assests for something to be desired, in an evil sense - Jam.4:3. To spend money for medical help - Mk.5:26. For subsistence and pleasure in an evil sense - Lk.15:14. Paul spent his own money for food and lodging, rather than be burdensome to the Corinthians - II Cor.12:15. ta (acc.pl.neut.of the article in agreement with panta). par' (preposition with the ablative of source). autAs (abl.sing.fem.of autos, source). panta (acc.pl.neut.of pas, direct object of dapanAsasa). kai (adversative conjunction). wphelAtheisa (1st.aor.pass.part.nom.sing.fem.of wphelew, adjectival, ascriptive). alla (alternative conjunction). mallon (adverbial). eis (preposition with the accusative of measure). to (acc.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with cheiron). cheiron (acc.sing.neut.of cheirwn, accusative of measure). elthousa (2d.aor.part.nom.sing.fem.of erchomai, adjectival, ascriptive). Translation: "...and had suffered much at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she possessed, but was never cured but grew worse..." COMMENT: These participles, like ousa in vs.25 are all ascriptive adjectival participles, in agreement with gunA and used more fully to ascribe to the woman characteristics by which she was known. Thus in addition to ousa, we have pathousa, dapanAsasa, wphelAtheisa and elthousa. Being for twelve years ill (vs.25) she had suffered, spent, but profited nothing but instead had come to a worse condition. Vs.27 presents two more participles - akousasa and elthousa, but they are not ascriptive adjectives. They are adverbial temporals. They shed light on the main verb hAphato and hence are adverbail. Note that polla is emphasized ahead of its participle pathousa. Lightfoot (p.614ff) has pointed out the variety of experiments tried by Jewish doctors upon women who were menstruating. ta par' autAs panta is interesting. par' autAs, an ablative of source, is used like an adjective in the attribnutive position, between the article ta and the substantive to which it is joined, panta. "Everything which she had by her" i.e. all of her assests which she could expend for more doctor bills and medicine. Results? Not one evidence of recovery; on the contrary (alla mallon) she had come eis to cheiron. The article make cheiron emphatic. The poor woman had reached her extremity. The woman is in a pitiable condition. Her health is gone; her money is gone; there are no more physicians to consult and no more remedies to try. But there is still faith in the Eternal Son of God and this is enough. The woman's extremity became God's opportunity. Only in our most devastated situations do we really trust in God and turn to Him for help. R1111 - In pathousa hupo pollwn iatrwn, the active participle has the construction of the passive, but this is due to the verb paschw (and the preposition hupo), not to the voice of the participle. M51 - DapanAsasa ta par' autAs means "having spent all that she had" (literally "the things from beside her," with a suggestion, perhaps, of emphasis on the disastrous movement away of all her small savings; cf. Lk.10:7). WMitNTearle135,6 - Suffered. The verb is paschw, which in the NT practically always has the unfavorable sense of "suffer, endure" (AG). Vincent comments: "To be taken here, as everywhere in the NT, in the sense of suffering pain, not merely subjected to treatment (WS, 1:189). He goes on to give adequate illustration of this suffering in a lengthy prescription for medical treatment of a persistent hemorrhage, as found in the Talmud. It is difficult to believe that the rabbis would recommend such ridiculous measures for this ailment--a treatment that only witch doctors would give today. As a layman, Mark--perhaps from Peter--reports bluntly but truthfully: "and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse" (NIV). The "beloved physician," Luke (see Col.4:14), protects his profession by observing that "no one could heal her" (Lk.8:43); her illness was incurable. MARK-TCGTCcranfield184 - hupo: here 'at the hands of'. ta par' autAs: 'her wealth'; cf. Lk.10:7; Phil.4:18 (also the masculine in Mk.3:21). MARKitGNTwuest109 - The word for "suffered" is paschw and means "to suffer pain." It does not here refer merely to subjection to treatment. "Of many physicians." The preposition is hupo "under." She had suffered much under the hands of many doctors. Translation: "And a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had endured much suffering under the hands of many doctors, and had spent all of the things which she had, and was not even one bit bettered but rather grew worse. MARKj&d151,2,3 - COMMENT TIME - Autumn, A.D. 28. Probably in the afternoon of the same day that Christ healed the demoniac of Gadara, or on a day of two after. PLACE - Capernaum. At the house of Matthew; on the way to the house of Jairus; at the house of Jairus - all within or near the city. A comparison of the three accounts makes it probable that the Lord was at the house of Matthew, at a feast, when Jairus sent for him to save the life of his daughter, and that the woman was healed while he was on the way. PARALLEL ACCOUNTS - Matt. 9:18-26; Lk. 8:41-56. See also Matt. 9:10-17, for intervenng incidents. OUTLINE - 1. The Woman's Faith. 2. The Woman Healed. 3. The Woman's Confession. ANALYSIS I. THE WOMAN'S FAITH. vs. 25-28 1. The Suffering Woman. Mk. 5:25,26; Matt. 9:20; Lk. 8:43 2. She Touches Christ. Mk. 5:27; Matt. 9:20; Lk. 8:44 3. Moved by Faith. Mk. 5:28; Matt. 9:21. II. THE WOMAN HEALED. vs. 29-31. 1. Saved by Faith. Mk. 5:29; Matt. 9:22; Lk. 8:44 2. The Secret Made Manifest. Mk. 5:30; Lk. 8:46. III. THE WOMAN'S CONFESSION. vs. 32-34. 1. The Woman at the Feet of Christ. Mk. 5:33; Lk. 8:47 2. The Sympathy of Christ. Mk. 5:34; Matt. 9:22; Lk. 8:48 INTERVENING HISTORY - Having been besought by the Gadarenes to leave their country, Christ passes over the lake again to the western side, to Capernaum, where he was immediately surrounded by the multitude, who had been waiting for him. Being invited by Matthew to a feast at his house, he there held conversation with some Pharisees, and afterwards with some disciples of John (Matt. 9:10-17). While yet speaking with them, Jairus, a ruler of the Capernaum synagogue, came to him, praying him to heal his daughter. While on his way the woman with the issue of blood, timidly pressed through the throng, touched him and was healed. INTRODUCTION The following from Farrar's Life of Christ gives a bird's eye view of the whole incident and its meaning. Among the throng there was one who had not been attracted by curiosity to witness what would be done for the ruler of the synagogue. It was a woman who had suffered for twelve years from a distressing malady, which unfitted her for all of the relationships of life, and which was peculiarly afflicting, because, in the popular mind it was the direct result of sinful habits. In vain had she wasted her substance, and done fresh injury to her health in the direct effort to procure relief from many different physicians, and now, as a last desperate resource, she would try what could be gained without money and without price from the Great Physician. Perhaps, in her ignorance, it was because she no longer had any reward to offer; perhaps because she was ashamed in her feminine modesty to reveal the malady from which she was suffering; but from whatever cause, she determined, as it were, to steal from him, unknown, the blessing for which she longed. And so, with the strength and pertinacity of despair, she struggled in that dense throng until she was near enough to touch him; and then, perhaps all the more violently from her extreme nervousness, she grasped the white fringe of his robe. It was probably the tassel that she touched, and then feeling instantly that she had gained her desire and was healed, she shrank back unnoticed into the throng. Unnoticed by others but not Christ, who stopped and asked, "Who touched me?*** She perceiving that she erred in trying to filch a blessing that would have been graciously bestowed, came forward fearng and trembling, and, flinging herself at his feet, told him all the truth. All her feminine shame and fear were forgotten in her desire to atone for her fault. Doubtless she dreaded his anger, for the law expressly ordained that the touch of one afflicted as she was, caused ceremonial uncleanness until the evening. But his touch had cleansed her, not hers polluted him. THE WOMAN'S FAITH - And a certain woman. Like many of the New Testament characters this woman appears once and then disappears to be seen no more. Tradition has been busy weaving a fiction to supply the lack of facts. Eusebius records a tradition that she was a Gentile, a resident of Cesarea Philippi (or Banias). It is reported that she caused to be erected in front of her residence a bronze monument in commemoration of her cure. It consisted of two statues, one representing herself in the attitude of supplication; the other, her Deliverer. Elsewhere she appears under the name Veronica, who, in the presence of Pilate, proclaimed the innocence of Jesus, and on the way to Golgotha wiped his face with her handkerchief. Dismissing these fables the suggestion of Dr. W. Thompson is more to the point: "I think the circumstances of the New Testament narrative render the inference almost certain that this account was meant for the consolation of those multitudes of stricken women in all ages who seem to be afflicted with sorrows in very unequal measure, compared with the stronger, and so generally, also, the more depraved sex." An issue of blood. A hemorrhage either from the bowels or the womb, probably the latter. The precise nature of the malady is of no importance. Instead of dwelling upon this point the evangelists direct attention to its long continuance and hopeless state. Perhaps the reason she turned to Jesus was that she had spent all and had nothing left to tempt the cupidity of the quack doctors. Had they not secured all she had, they would still have some way to excite her hopes. It is when our earthly resources are at an end, and human helps are powerless, that we are ready to go to the great Physician with the ailments of the soul. How sad her condition! Impoverished, sick, growing worse, helpless! Mark 5:27 When she had heard of Jesus,; when she heard about Jesus--Ber; She had heard the reports...--RSV; When she had news of the things which Jesus did--Bas; came in the press behind,; and came up behind him in the crowd--RSV; and came up behind him under cover of the crowd--Phi; she came up from behind through the crowd--Rieu; and touched his garment.; ...his cloak--NEB; ...his robe--Mof; /hearing the things about Jesus\ came in the crowd from behind, and touched his mantle; having heard about Jesus, having come in the multitude behind, she touched his garment, TRNTyeagerV320,1 - akousasa peri tou IAsou, elthousa en tw ochlw opisthen hAphato tou himatiou autou,..." akousasa (aor.act.part.nom.sing.fem.of akouw, adverbial, temporal). peri (preposition with the genitive of reference). tou (gen.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with IAsou). IAsou (gen.sing.masc.of IAsous, reference). elthousa (aor.part.nom.sing.fem.of erchomai, adverbial, temporal). en (preposition with the locative of place where). tw (loc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with ochlw). ochlw (loc.sing.masc.of ochlos, place where). opisthen (adverbial). hAphato (3d.per.sing.aor.mid.ind.of aptw, constative). tou (gen.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with himatiou). himatiou (gen.sing.neut.of himation, description). autou (gen.sing.masc.of autos, possession). Translation - "...when she heard about Jesus came in the crowd behind him and touched His garment." COMMENT: As we stated in comment on vs.26 akousasa is a temporal participle, used adverbially to throw light, not upon gunA, as did the attributive participles in vs.25 and 26, but upon the main verb hAphato. elthousa is also temporal. the woman heard about Jesus and His power to heal those who could find no healing elsewhere and were in despair. Then she came to Him. The text does not tell us where the woman came from. She may not have been a local resident as she would have known about Jesus before had she lived in Capernaum. The article tou with IAsou makes it definite, as though she asked, "Who is this Jesus?" and got a reply, "Haven't you heard?" followed by a full recital of His deeds. Her decision to lose herself in the crowd and then approach Jesus from behind is explained in the next verse. T257 - The prepositional phrase en tw ochlw after the verb erchomai does not express motion from place to place, but rather the accompanying circumstances on the sphere in which motion occurs (cf. 8:38 and 13:26), "in the crowd." MARK-TCGTCcranfield184 - ta peri tou IAsou. Either 'the reports concerning Jesus' (so Taylor--and this suits akousasa well), or else 'the deeds of Jesus' or 'the events in which Jesus had been concerned' (cf. Lk.24:19,27; Acts 1:3; 18:25; Phil.2:20; in none of which can ta peri + genitive mean 'the report concerning'). If the latter alternative is right, we have an accusative with akouw of the thing about which the person hears (cf. 13:7). en tw ochlw opisthen. Her desire for secrecy was dictated, not only by natural modesty, but by the fact that her complaint made her permanently ritually unclean so that she would be generally shunned. MARKitGNTwuest109,10 - "When she had heard of Jesus." The plural article appears in the Greek text. The A.V., does not translate it. The literal rendering is "having heard of the things concerning the Jesus." The definite article appears before the name "Jesus," marking Him out as a particular Jesus. The English name "Jesus" is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Jehoshua. The name "Joshua" was very common in Palestine, and the definite article is used by the Gospel writers often to distinguish our Lord from others of the same name. The use of the article here points to the fact that our Lord's fame had spread so that He was known as The Jesus. Regarding the use of the Greek word which we have translated "the things," Expositors says: "The importance of the ta here is that with it 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, her house identifiable with a statue reproducing the gospel incident before the door; poissibly a heathen, but more probably, from her behavior, a Jewess- stealing a cure by touch when touch by one in her state was forbidden (Lev.15:19-27)." "In the press." The word is "crowd." She came in the crowd which was in back of our Lord. NTC-MARKhendriksen204,5,6 - While Jesus is on his way to the home of Jairus suddenly there is an interruption. Again and again during his earthly ministry Jesus was interrupted; namely, in his speaking to a crowd (Mk. 2:1ff), conversing with his disciples (Mk. 8:31ff; 14:27ff; Lk. 12:12ff), traveling (Mk. 10:46ff), sleeping (Mk. 4:38,39), and praying (Mk. 1:35ff). The fact that none of these intrusions floor him, so that for the moment he would be at a loss what to do or what to say, shows that we are dealing here with the Son of man who is also the Son of God! What we would call an "interruption" is for him a springboard or take-off point for the utterance of a great saying or, as here, for the performance of a marvelous deed, revealing his power, wisdom, and love. What for us would have been a painful exigency is to him a golden opportunity. This time the interrupter is a woman. For twelve years she had been subject to hemorrhages; literally she had been "in (a condition of) flow of blood." There are those who believe that the drain was constant. Another view would be that throughout the twelve years an excessive loss of blood, occurring periodically, had made it impossible for her ever to feel strong and healthy, and that at this particular moment she was again suffering as a result of loss of blood. She had suffered much at the hands of many physicians. For the form of the expression cf. Matt. 16:21. An apocryphal book (Tobit 2:10) states, "I went to the physicians, but they did not help me." On the other hand read the statement from another apocryphal writing (Ecclus. 38:1), "Honor a physician according to your need of him, with the honors due to him; for, indeed, the Lord has created him." Verse 3 of the same chapter speaks of "the skill of the physician" and states, "In the sight of great men he shall be admired." Though it is true that even today doctors sometimes err, as do also men of other professions, it would be difficult to over-estimate the value of a capable and devoted doctor. In the case here reported the results of medical treatment had been anything but favorable. The poor woman's condition had gradually deteriorated, and this partly because of the very care (?) the doctors had bestowed on her. This should not be interpreted to mean that the art of healing in Israel, in comparison with that practiced in the surrounding nations at that time, was very, very poor. It is true that medical science in the technical sense was still in its infancy. Nevertheless, the Jews, at least in some important respects, were ahead of all others. They believed in the efficacy of prayer to the one and only God, Ruler of heaven and earth, hence also of soul and body, and over life and death, health and sickness (II Kings 1; Ps. 116; Isa. 36). To them had been given the Ten Commandments, which have been called "the greatest mental hygiene code." The ordinance of circumcision also deserves consideration in this connection. Add to this the many hygienic regulations found in the Pentateuch, the emphasis on the influence of the mind on the health of the body (Prov. 17:22), exhortations against unlovely emotions (e.g., Exod. 23:4, 5; Prov. 15:17) with their sinister effect upon physical well-being, the repeated commandment to trust in God and not to worry (Ps. 91; 125; Isa. 26:3,4; 43:2); and it will be seen that with repsect to the care of the body, as well as with respect to many other things, Israel was far ahead of all other peoples. See also Exod. 15:26. Nevertheless in this particular case the doctors had been unsuccessful. Why? Can it be that the very fact, clearly implied in the text, that this woman had been running to "many physicians" had something to do with this? Even today the custom of some people to run from one doctor to another, and still another, and another, cannot be unreservedly recommended, though there may indeed be certain cases where this is necessary. It would seem, however, that the best answer to the question why this woman was not healed is given by the man who himself was a doctor, namely, Luke, who plainly states that her illness was humanly speaking, and in the light of the therapeutics of that day, incurable (Lk. 8:43). By the time this woman finally decided to cast her lot with Jesus she had spent all her - shall we say "little"? - money. She had lost her health, her wealth, and because of the nature of her illness, also her standing in society, particularly in the religious community. Her condition was such that it would make her ceremonially "unclean" (Lev. 15:19ff.). There was this last reason for hope: Jesus! What is so striking in this connection is that not only prominent people, such as Jairus, turned to Jesus in their distress, but so did also proletarians, like this poor woman. They seemed to have sensed that his power and his pity would respond to the needs of people from every social class. It is not surprising, however, that because of her condition she is afraid to come out into the open. She is not going to come into physical contact with Jesus himself. She will merely touch his garment, and even then (see Matt. and Lk.), was one of the four wool tassels which every Israelite was ordered to wear on the corners of his square, outer robe (Num. 15:38; cf. Deut. 22:12) to remind him of the law of God. See also N.T.C. on Matt. 23:5. Naturally the quickest and easiest way to bring oneself into physical contact with a garment without being noticed was to come from behind and touch the tuft swinging freely from the back of the robe. The wearer, so this woman thought, would never even notice what was happening. So, having heard the wonderful reports about Jesus, she came from behind and touched the tassel, or as Mark has it, "his garment." TNICotNT-MARKlane191,2 - The woman who unobtrusively touched Jesus had experienced a flow of blood for a period of twelve years. It is common to think of chronic hemorrhaging from the womb, but from Mark's description it is not possible to know the cause for her loss of blood. She had consulted a number of physicians, had endured a wide variety of treatments, and had spent all of her money in a desperate attempt to better her condition. All this was in vain; in fact, her condition grew worse. Her existence was wretched because she was in a constant state of uncleanness and would be generally shunned by people since contact with her rendered others unclean. What she had experienced from the doctors may be estimated from the Talmud, which has preserved a record of the medicines and treatments applied to an illness of this nature. [46] None of these remedies had benefited the woman. Having heard reports of the healing power of Jesus, she determined her course of action. Despite her ritual uncleanness she entered the crowd behind him and reached out to his garment. The desire to touch Jesus' clothing probably reflects the popular belief that the dignity and power of a person are transfered to what he wears. On this understanding, her touch combined faith with quasi- magical notions which were widespread in that day. [46] - Cf. J. Preuss, op.cit, pp. 439f.; S-BK I (1922), p. 520. One remedy consisted of drinking a goblet of wine containing a powder compounded from rubber, alum and garden crocuses. Another treatment consisted of a dose of Persian onions cooked in wine administered with the summons, "Arise out of your flow of blood!" Other physicians prescribed sudden shock, or the carrying of the ash of an ostrich's egg in a certain cloth. MARKj&d153 - When she had heard of Jesus. She had never met him, did not it is probable live in Capernaum, but she had heard of the wonderful teacher, and of his divine power over disease. She had, it would appear, made herself acquainted with his character and conduct, with the facts of his career, and had thence come to believe that he was full of a divine and gracious energy. Came in the press behind and touched his garment (Matthew and Luke give it, "hem or border of his garment"); or rather, "approaching from behind, touched the tassel of his outer robe." The word which we translate by "the hem of the garment" denotes one of the four tassels or tufts of woollen cord attached to the four corners of the outer robe. The ordinary outer Jewish garment was a square or oblong piece of cloth (worn something like an Indian blanket, or with a hole in the center for the neck) with tassels at each corner, and a fringe along the two edges. A conspicuous deep blue thread was required to be in the tassels (Num. 15:38-40. Deut. 22:12). One of the four tassels hung over the shoulder at the back, and this was the one which the woman touched. Mark 5:28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes,; ...If I touch even his garments--ABUV; for she kept saying, If I can only touch His clothes--Wms; For she thought, If I just touch His garments--NASB; I shall be whole.; I shall be made whole-- ASV; ...made well--RSV; ...healed--Ber; for she was saying-- I shall be made well; for she said--'If even his garments I may touch, I shall be saved;' TRNTyeagerV321,2 - elegen gar hoti Ean haphwmai kan twn himatiwn autou swthAsomai. elegen (3d.per.sing.imp.act.ind.of legw, progressive duration). gar (causal conjunction). hoti (recitative). Ean (conditional particle in a third-class condition). haphwmai (1st.per.sing.aor.mid.subj.of haptw, third-class condition). kan (ascensive conditional particle in a third-class condition). twn (gen.pl.neut.of the article in agreement with himatiwn). himatiwn (gen.pl.neut.of himation, description). autou (gen.sing.masc.of autos, possession). swthAsomai (1st.per.sing.fut.pass.ind.of swzw, third-class condition, predictive). Translation: "Because she kept repeating, 'If I even touch His clothing I will be recovered." COMMENT: Ean...swthAsomai is a more probable future conditional clause. kan is a combination of an, which we expect to find in a third-class condition and kai in its ascensive sense. There was a great deal of doubt in the woman's mind about her ability to fulfill the condition. There was no doubt in her mind that the result would be forthcoming. "If I touch (and I do not think that I can) even (ascensive kai in kan) His garments, I shall get well" (no doubt in her mind about that). The result (swthAsomai) is certain but contingent upon the fulfillment of the protasis. Here is where the uncertainty lies. This is a typical third-class condition with kan added to heighten both the uncertainty of the fulfillment to the protasis and also to heighten the statement of the woman's faith. She had some doubt that she would ever get close enough to jesus, as she fought her way through the crowd, to even touch His clothing. But her faith was so great that she thought that if only she could touch His garments the miracle would take place. Thus her doubt had to do only with her ability. There was no doubt about Jesus' ability to heal. The woman's faith in the outcome is not in question. She only doubts her ability to fulfill the condition. She could have been more doubtful that she was. Mark could have reported the incident in a fourth-class less vivid future clause with ei with the optative in the protasis and the optative with an in the apodosis. Some commentators have pointed to an element of heathen mysticism in the woman, because she thought that the garment of the great Healer might have some magical qualities. Perhaps so, but, mystic or not, she had enough faith to secure the result. Matthew (Mt.9:20) and Luke (Lk.8:44) say tou kraspedou tou himatiou autou - "the hem of His garment" where the blue band at the bottom indicated His special mission. The story makes clear that saving faith neither precludes nor even suggests that human decision and action is not essential to the salvation equation. the woman indeed had sufficient faith to gain her total recovery. But had she never put her faith to work at the almost impossible task of struggling through that dense crowd of people until she commanded a position directly behind Jesus, she would never have been healed. A predestinarian concept of salvation that concludes that since God will save whom He will we are to do nothing but wait to see what God has willed is sadly anti- biblical. To be sure, God has willed the salvation of the elect, but He has also willed that in the process the elect must hear believe, commit themselves, confess and accept(Ed. baptism). The subjective elements in the atonement are prerequisite to those elements that are objective. R208 - Ean...kan has the sense "if only" (cf. T321). MARK-TCGTCcranfield184 - elegen. Here='she (had) thought' (so Mt.9:21: en heautA). Cf. 'Amar in Hebrew, e.g. Gen.20:11; 26:9; Num.24:11. For her idea that if she touched Jesus she would be healed cf. 3:10. MARKitGNTwuest110 - "For she said." The verb is imperfect. She kept saying as she pressed through the crowd, either to herself or to others. "I shall be whole." The verb is swzw which is used of the act of saving, either from a physically ill condition, or a spiritually evil state. Translation: "Having heard the things concerning Jesus, having come in the crowd behind, touched His garment. For she kept saying, If I touch even His garments, I shall be saved." NTC-MARKhendriksen206,7 - The reason for touchng Christ's garment is given in verse 28. The greatness of this woman's faith consisted in this, that she believed that the power of Christ to heal was so amazing that even the mere touch of his clothes would result in an instant and complete cure. That this faith was nevertheless by no means perfect appears from the fact that she thought that such an actual touch was necessary and that Jesus would never notice it. But he did notice it, rewarded her faith by restoring her to health (vs. 29), and then gave her an opportunity to change "faith concealed" (Matt. 9:21) to "faith revealed" (Mk. 5:33), which resulted in further encouragement (5:34). MARKj&d153,4 - For she said. Matthew says, "within herself;" but it is possible that she may have murmured it again and again as she tried to get through the crowd. - Schaff. If I may touch but his clothes. She was timid not doubtful. It is implied that she wished only to touch some part of his clothes, no matter which. She may have looked for some magical influence, but twelve years in the hands of physicians in those days would certainly excuse such a thought. If I but touch his clothes. This woman's faith was real, notwithstanding many errors. Trench says; it would appear as though she imagined a certain magical influence and virtue diffused through his person and round about him, with which if she could put herself in relation, she would obtain that which she desired. And it is probable that she touched the hem of his garment, not merely as the extremest part most easily reached, but attributing to it a peculiar virtue. "The error of her view was overborne, and her weakness of apprehension of truth covered, by the strength of her faith. And this is a most encouraging miracle for us to recollect when we are disposed to think despondingly of the ignorance or superstition of much of the Christian world: that He who accepted this woman for her faith, even in error and weakness, may accept them. Alford Mark 5:29 And straight way the fountain of her blood was dried up;; And immediately the hemorrhage ceased--RSV; ...the flow of her blood was dried up--NASB; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.; ...of her disease--RSV; and she knew in herself that she was cured of her trouble--Phi; and /straightway\ the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she knew, in her body, that she was healed from the plague. and immediately was the fountain of her blood dried up, and she knew in the body that she hath been healed of the plague. TRNTyeagerV322,3 - kai euthus exAranthA hA pAgA tou aimatos autAs, kai egnw ttw swmati hoti iatai apo tAs mastigos. kai (continuative conjunction). euthus (adverbial). exAranthA (3d.per.sing.1st.aor.pass.ind.of xArainw, constative). hA (nom.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with pAgA). pAgA (nom.sing.fem.of pAgA, subject of exAranthA). tou (gen.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with aimatos). haimatos (gen.sing.neut.of haima, description). autAs (gen.sing.fem.of autos, possession). kai (continuative conjunction). egnw (3d.per.sing.2d.aor.act.ind.of ginwskw, constative). tw (loc.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with swmati). swmati (loc.sing.neut.of swma, sphere). hoti (conjunction introducing an object clause). iatai (3d.per.sing.perf.pass.ind.of iaomai, consummative). apo (preposition with the ablative of separation). tAs (abl.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with mastigos). mastigos (abl.sing.fem.of mastix, separation). Translation: "And immediately the flow of her blood ceased and she knew that her body had been healed of the plague." COMMENT: Faith was instantly rewarded. Mark's favorite euthus is here to tell the story. We have tw swmati without a preposition to help us decide between the dative ("with reference/for the advantage of her body"), instrumental ("by means of her body") or locative, which could translate "in her body" or "in the bodily sphere." Any of these ideas can be made to fit the context, without destroying the point. We have elected to think of it in terms of the locative of sphere. She knew, so far as her body was concerned, that she had been healed. Our Lord, the Giver of the healing power, also knew en heautw that something wonderful had happened to the woman (vs.30). The perfect tense in iatai is a good example of the consummative perfect. The healing took place when she touched Him, and when she felt the surge of health, something that she had not felt for twelve years, the healing was an accomplished fact - a present condition as the result of a past completed action. MARK-TCGTCcranfield184 - hA pAgA tou haimatos autAs. The phrase comes from Lev.12:7. iatai. The perfect indicates that the consequences remain. MARKitGNTwuest110,11 - "The fountain of her blood was dried up." Expositors says: "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 dried." The word "fountain" is the translation of pAgA, "a spring." "She felt her body." The verb is ginwskw, "to know by experience." She was conscious of the fact that the flow had stopped. The verb is ingressive aorist, speaking of entrance into a new condition. The fact that she was healed, dawned suddenly upon her. "She was healed of that plague." The verb is perfect in tense. Her thought was "I have been healed." What a moment of joy it was for her. The word "plague" is mastix "a whip, scourge." It is used of distressing bodily diseases. It is used also of afflictions which are regarded as a scourge from God. How this illness had whipped and scourged her. But now she was healed. Translation: "And immediately there was dried up the fountain of her blood, and she suddenly came to feel in her body that she had been healed and was at that moment in a state of health." NTC-MARKhendriksen207 - b. faith rewarded. Literally "And at once dried up was the fountain of her blood." The recovery was instant. In one brief moment the hemorrhage stopped completely. Health and vigor were surging through every part of her body. The "scourge" or "illness" by which she had been afflicted was gone. For the word which basically means "scourge" or "whip" and here refers to the woman's torturng illness see on 3:10. Not only was her trouble gone; she felt and knew it was gone. What is striking in this connection is the fact that although this woman's faith, as has been shown, was far from perfect, nevertheless the Lord graciously rewards it. The reward, moreover, affected not only her body but also her soul; or, to state it differently, not only was her faith rewarded, it was also improved, brought to a higher stage of development, so that faith concealed became: TNICotNT-MARKlane192 - The intense conviction that if she could only touch Jesus' garments she would be made whole was undoubtedly part of "the whole truth" which the woman declared before Jesus (vs. 33). She may have known that others had touched him and had been made well (cf. Ch. 3:10; 6:56). At the moment she had fulfilled her intention she experienced the cessation of her hemorrhage, and knew that she had been healed. MARKj&d154 - THE WOMAN HEALED. She felt in her body that she was healed. Literally, "knew (i.e., by feeling) in the body." The first clause tells of the cessation of the ordinary symptom of her disease: this points to a new sense of health. The cure was effected by an exercise of Jesus' will, which responds to the woman's faith in his miraculous power, not through the mere touching of the garment. The result was instantaneous and complete. Sharing the superstition, and imagining that Christ healed by a sort of magic, this woman touched it in hope of cure. An ordinary teacher would have rebuked her superstition; Christ used it to teach her better, but Christ, full of compassion, overlooking the errors of her ignorance, put forth his power and healed her. She had faith, even if not intelligent and clear. She believed that she was to receive something, a real blessing from Christ. This was that in her which was not in the crowd around her. They all traveled on in the highway together, talked about Christ, were interested in him in various ways, discussed his origin and nature, hoped that some good would come of him to the nation. But the woman believed that she should personally receive new life from him. MARKbarclay128,29,30 - The woman in this story suffered from a trouble which was very common and very hard to deal with. The Talmud itself gives no fewer then eleven cures for such a trouble. Some of them are tonics and astringents; but some of them were sheer superstitions like carrying the ashes of an ostrich-egg in a linen rag in summer and a cotton rag in winter; or carrying a barley corn which had been found in the dung of a white she-ass. No doubt this poor woman had tried even these desperate remedies. The trouble was that not only did this affect a woman's health, but it also rendered her continuously unclean, and shut her off from the worship of God and the fellowship of her friends (Leviticus 15:25-27). Mark here has a gentle jibe at the doctors. She had tried them all and had suffered much and had spent everything she had, and the result was that she was worse instead of better. Jewish literature is interesting on the subject of doctors. "I used to go to the physicians," says one person, "to be healed, and the more they anointed me with their medicaments, the more my eyes were blinded by the films, until they were totally blinded." (Tobit 2:10.) There is a passage in the Mishnah, which is the written summary of the traditional law, which is talking about the trades that a man may teach his son. "Rabbi Judah says: 'Ass-drivers are most of them wicked, camel-drivers are most of them proper folk, sailors are most of them saintly, the best among physicians is destined for Gehenna, and the most seemly among butchers is a partner of Amalek'." But, fortunately and justly, there are voices on the other side. One of the greatest of all tributes to doctors is in The Book of Sirach (one of the apocryphal books written in the time between the Old and the New Testaments) in chapter 38:15. "Cultivate the phsician in accordance with the need of him, For him also hath God ordained. It is from God that the physician getteth wisdom, And from the king he receiveth gifts. "The skill of the physician lifteth up his head, And he may stand before nobles. God hath created medicines out of the earth, And let not a discerning man reject them. "By means of them the physician assuageth pain, And likewise the apothecary prepareth an oint- ment: That His work may not cease, Nor health from the face of the earth. "And to the physician also give a place ; Nor should he be far away for of him there is need. For there is a time when successful help is in his power ; For he also maketh supplication to God, To make his diagnosis successful, And the treatment that it may promote recovery." The physicians had had no success with the treatment of this woman's case, and she had heard of Jesus. But she had this problem--her trouble was an embarrassing thing; to go in the crowd and to state it openly was something that she could not face; and so she decided to try to touch Jesus in secret. In the time of Jesus every devout Jew wore an outer robe with four tassels on it, one at each corner. These tassels were worn in obedience to the command in Numbers 15:38-40, and they were to signify to others, and to remind a man himself, that a man was a member of the chosen people of God. They were the badge of a devout Jew. It was one of these tassels that the woman slipped through the crowd and touched; and, having touched it, she was thrilled to find herself cured. Here was a woman who came to Jesus as a last resort; having tried every other cure that the world had to offer she finally tried Jesus. Many and many a man has come to seek the help of Jesus Christ when he himself was at his wits' end. He may have battled with temptation until he could fight no longer and until he stretched out a hand, crying, "Lord, save me! I perish!" He may have struggled on with some exhausting task until he has reached the breaking-point and cried out for a strength which is not his strength. He may have laboured to attain the goodness which haunts him, only to see it recede ever farther away, until he is utterly frustrated. No man should need to be driven to Christ by the force of circumstances, and yet many come that way; and, even if it is thus we come, He will never send us empty away. "When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me." Mark 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself; And straightway, Jesus, perceiving...--ASV; At the same time Jesus, aware-- NEB; Jesus, conscious at once--Rieu; that virtue had gone out of him,; that the power proceeding from him had gone forth--ASV; that power had gone out of him--NEB; that healing power had passed from him--Gspd; turned him about in the press,; turned about in the crowd--ABUV; swung around in the throng--Rieu; and said, Who touched my clothes?; ...my garments--ASV; And /straightway\ Jesus /turning round in the crowd\ was saying -- Who hath touched my garments? And immediately Jesus having known in himself that out of him power had gone forth, having tuned about in the multitude, said, 'Who did touch my garments?' TRNTyeagerV323,4 - kai euthus ho IAsous epignous en heautw tAn ex autou dunamin exelthousan epistrapheis en tw ochlw elegen, Tis mou hAphato twn himatiwn; kai (continuative conjunction). euthus (adverbial). ho (nom.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with IAsous). IAsous (nom.sing.masc.of IAsous, subject of elegen). epignous (2d.aor.act.part.nom.sing.masc.of epiginwskw, adverbial, temporal). en (preposition with the instrumental of manner). Ed.: Loc.of sphere). heautw (instrumental sing.masc.of heautos, manner). tAn (acc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with dunamin). ex (preposition with the ablative of separation). autou (abl.sing.masc.of autos, separation). dunamin (acc.sing.fem.of dunamis, direct object of epignous). exelthousan (aor.part.acc.sing.fem.of exerchomai, adjectival, restrictive). epistrapheis (aor.act.part.nom.sing.masc.of epistrephw, adverbial, temporal). en (preposition with the locative of place where). tw (loc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with ochlw). ochlw (loc.sing.masc.of ochlos, place where). elegen (3d.per.sing.imp.act.ind.of legw, progressive duration). Tis (nom.sing.masc.of tis, in direct question). mou (gen.sing.masc.of egw, possession). hAphato (3d.per.sing.aor.mid.ind.of haptw, constative). twn (gen.pl.neut.of the article in agreement with himatiwn). himatiwn (gen.pl.neut.of himation, description). Translation: "And immediately when Jesus had sensed within Himself the fact that the power had flowed out from Him, He turned around in the crowd and began to ask, 'Who touched my clothing?'" COMMENT: The participles epignous and epistrapheis are adverbially temporal, thus indicating the order of events. Jesus knew with perfect perception (the basic meaning of epignous) about the departing power (tAn ex autou dunamin exelthousan), and then He turned around in the crowd (epistrapheis), and then He spoke. Note carefully how exelthousan is adjectival in a restrictive sense, modifying dunamin. It was the specific power that had flown from Him (ex autou, an ablative of separation) that Jesus was aware of at that point. He still had plenty of other power left. Jesus knew about "the having gone out from Him power." This perfect perception caused Him to turn around in the thronging multitude of people and begin to ask His searching question, as if He didn't already know. When a needy sinner has a vital personal encounter with his Sovereign Saviour, both the sinner and the Saviour know about it. The woman knew that Jesus' power had healed her. Jesus knew en heautw that the power had gone out from Him. The passage strongly upholds the personal relationship involved in salvation between Christ and the repentant and humble believer. "His Spirit bears witness with our spirit..." (Rom.8:16). The disciples thought Jesus' question stupid,... WMitNTearle136 - Virtue. Today "virtue" means "goodness." But the Greek word here is dunamis, "power." It was supernatural, healing power that went out from Jesus. He had to give of himself in order to heal her, and this is true of our spiritual healing ministry to others. MARK-TCGTCcranfield185 - euthus. As in vs.29 Mark stresses the immediacy. tAn ex autou dunamin exelthousan. The participle is dependent on the verb of perceiving (epignous). The words need careful translation. ex autou qualifies dunamin; it does not go with exelthousan. So trans. with R.V.: 'that the power proceeding from him had gone forth'. At first sight it might seem as if the power here referred to is thought of as being something physical and impersonal--rather like an electric charge--which is transferred by contact automatically, independently of Jesus' will; for he apparently perceives only after the event and then does not know the person whom the power has affected. But there is nothing here inconsistent with the fact that the power residing in, and issuing from, Jesus is the personal power of the personal God. Though Jesus does not himself make a decision (at least so it seems) in this case, nevertheless God does. God controls his own power. He knows about the woman and wills to honour her faith in the efficacy of his power active in Jesus, even though her faith is no doubt very imperfect and indeed dangerously near to ideas of magic. The cure does not happen automatically, but by God's free and personal decision. Tis mou hApsato twn himatiwn; A good many earlier commentators (including Calvin) think that Jesus knew all the time who had touched him, and asked simply to make her confess her faith. It is more likely that he did not know, and sought the information, not because he wished to make the miracle conspicuous--which would be inconsistent with his injunctions to secrecy--but because he desired to draw away from his clothes to himself an imperfect faith which was seeking his help apart from a personal relationship with himself. MARKitGNTwuest111 - "Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him." "Knowing" is epiginwskw, "knowledge gained by experience," thus, a personal knowledge. This is the meaning of the simple verb. The prefixed preposition epi is perfective in meaning, intensifying the already existing idea in the verb. Thus, the compound verb means, "personal knowledge gained by experience and which is clear." The word "virtue" is dunamis in the Greek, "power" in the sense of that which overcomes resistance or effects a change. It was some of his supernatural power which He felt leaving Him in the accomplishing of the miraculous cure. The literal Greek here is, "Jesus, perceiving in Himself the out from Him power going out." Our Lord must have related this to His disciples, and Mark must have heard it from Peter. Our Lord's words then would be "I felt in Myself the power go out from Me." "Who touched my clothes?" The Greek verb is followed by two genitives. It is, "Who touched Me on my clothes?" Translation: "And immediately, Jesus, having had a personal and clear knowledge in Himself of the experience of power going out from Him, having turned around in the crowd, was saying: Who touched Me on my garments" NTC-MARKhendriksen207,8 - c. faith revealed. Jesus was not ignorant of the fact that someone had touched him, and this not accidentally but purposely, and not just with a finger but with faith. He knew that it was to that faith that the power within him and proceeding from him had responded. What Jesus wants is that whoever it was that has thus meaningfully touched him shall now complete the circle. What circle? The one indicated in many passages of Scripture, including, for example, Ps. 50:15: Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. When blessings descend from heaven, they must in the form of thanksgiving be returned to heaven by those who received them. Thus the circle is completed. See also N.T.C. on Eph. 1:3. This woman, in her own way, had called upon Jesus. He had rescued her, but she had not as yet glorified him. Up to this point she was like the nine cleansed lepers of Lk. 17:17,18: "Then Jesus said, `Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give thanks to God except this foreigner?'" To be sure, she had "believed with her heart." But she had not as yet "confessed with her mouth" (Rom. 10:9). It was in order to bring about this favorable change that Jesus immediately turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" Or, as Luke phrases it, "Who was it that touched me?" (8:45), meaning "touched me meaningfully?" MARKj&d154,5 - Knowing...that virtue (healing power) had gone out of him. Within the nature there was the inherent power to cure diseases, and a knowledge of all that was going on. He permitted power to go forth for the healing of the woman when her faith was properly exercised. George W. Clark. His healing was an overflow, not an effort - a work so unconscious and so utterly passive that it seems like a miracle spilt over from the fullness of his divine life, rather than a miracle put forth.-Gordon. Who touched my clothes? Not because he was ignorant, for his searching glance showed to the woman that she was not hid from him(Lk. 8:47), but to draw out her confession of her faith. For illustration of similar questions, see Gen. 3:9; 4:9; 2 Kings 5:25; Lk:24:19.-Abbott. If she had been allowed to carry away her blessing in secret as she purposed, it would not have been at all the blessing to her, and to her whole after spiritual life, that it now was, when she was obliged by this repeated question of the Lord to own that she had come to seek, and had found health from him. - Trench. Christ demands that every soul that is healed should openly confess him. He will not permit that men claim him in secret who refuse to acknowledge him. Mark 5:31 And his disciples said unto him,; His disciples replied--Phi; But the disciples kept saying to Him--Wms; Thou seest the multitude thronging thee,; You see the crowd pressing around you--RSV; ...pressing you on all sides--Ber; You can see this crowd jostling you--Phi; and sayest thou, Who touched me?; and yet you ask...--NEB; and his disciples were saying to him-- Thou seest the crowd pressing upon thee,--and sayest thou-- Who hath touched me? and his disciples said to him, 'Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and thou sayest, 'Who did touch me!' TRNTyeagerV324,5 - kai elegon autw hoi mathAtai autou, Blepeis ton ochlon sunthlibonta se, kai legeis, Tis mou hAphato; kai (inferential conjunction). elegon (3d.per.pl.imp.act.ind.of legw, progressive duration). autw (dat.sing.masc.of autos, indirect object of elegon). hoi (nom.pl.masc.of the article in agreement with mathAtai). mathAtai (nom.pl.masc.of mathAtAs, subject of elegon). autou (gen.sing.masc.of autos, relationship). blepeis (2d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of blepw, aoristic). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with ochlon). ochlon (acc.sing.masc.of ochlos, direct object of blepeis). sunthlibonta (pres.act.part.acc.sing.masc.of sunthlibw, adjectival, ascriptive). se (acc.sing.masc.of su, direct object of sunthlibonta). kai (emphatic conjunction). legeis (2d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of legw, aoristic). Tis (nom.sing.masc.of tis, subject of hAphato). mou (gen.sing.masc.of egw, description). hAphato (3d.per.sing.aor.mid.ind.of haptw, constative, direct question). Translation: "Therefore His disciples were saying to Him, 'You see the crowd thronging you, yet you say, 'Who touched me?!'" COMMENT: This bit of sarcasm from the disciples is natural enough. They may have been expending themselves as body guards to keep the people at least far enough away so that Jesus could walk. Everyone was trying to get close enough to Jesus to touch Him. Until we understand Jesus' meaning His question, "Who touched my clothing?" does appear stupid. And so His disciples interpreted it. They were all touching Jesus, but only the woman really touched Him. It is the difference between the touch of faith, born out of desperation, and the touch of idle curiosity born only out of the desire to see the unusual. Most of the people were there for the same reason that they would have gone to a fire. Jesus was unusual. He was doing things not ordinarily done in Capernaum - or anywhere else. Attendance in the Sunday School class at the First Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. is always larger on the Sunday when The Washington Post announces that the President of the United States will be there. The people in Capernaum may have conceded Jesus' greatness. They may have admired Him temporarily, but there were not accepting Him as Messiah and the Incarnate Son of God. The sick woman, insofar as she understood these things, did accept Jesus Christ. The reason is simple. She knew that she needed Him. The other people needed Him also, but they did not realize it as she did. Her experience included everything in vs.26. Her extremity was Christ's opportunity. Any Easter Sunday morning in any church, one can see the people thronging Jesus. They are present, perhaps not because they know that they need Jesus and what he can do for them, but because sociology says that in Western cultures people go to church on Easter. The people who go to church every Sunday are more likely to be the people who recognize their need for jesus, although in certain institutional churches, which enjoy political, economic and social prestige there may be scant recognition by sinners for the unique salvation available only through the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Luke 8:45 says that Peter was the spokesman for the disciples as he was so often. MARK-TCGTCcranfield185 - The disciples' disrespectful protest (softened by Luke, and omitted in Mt.) is evidence of the reliability of the source Mark is using. MARKitGNTwuest111,2 - "The multitude thronging Thee." The verb is sunthlibw. In 3:9 Mark uses thlibw "to press hard." It is used of the pressing of grapes in the making of wine. That means crushing them. Here Mark uses the compound form, prefixing the preposition sun which implies a concerted pressure on the part of the people, a greater crowd, and a more eager pressure around Jesus. The disciples were surprised at the sensitiveness of Jesus to the touch of the crowds. They were unconscious of the tremendous drain on our Lord from all this healing that tugged away at the tender heart and exhausted the nervous energies of the Son of Man even though He was the Son of God. Translation: "And the disciples kept on saying to Him, You art seeing the crowd pressing hard around you from all sides; yet you are saying, Who touched Me?" NTC-MARKhendriksen208 - The disciples commit the oft repeated error of interpretng Christ's words in the most starkly literal sense, as if Jesus were thinking of a merely physical touch. These men, and others too, were in the habit of applying the literal interpretation rule to the words of Jesus, the very rule which by certain segments of Christendom is even today recommended so very highly. The following passages are among those that show why this rule, unless it be very substantially modified, is anything but safe: Mk. 8:15,16; Jn. 2:19-22; 3:3-5; 4:10-15; 6:52; 8:56-58; 11:11- 13. To be sure, Jesus was not denying the literal touch, but he meant something far more than this, namely, the touch in faith, the very effective touch, so that in response to that touch power had gone forth from him. The response of the disciples - led by Peter (Lk. 8:45) -, "You see the crowd pressing on you, and you ask..." revealed not only lack of insight but even lack of the proper respect, the subdued reverence which these men should have shown to their Master. Briefly, the critical remark was thoughtless and tasteless, crude and rude. It reminds on of Matt. 16:22. MARKj&d155 - And his disciples said. "Peter and they that were with him" (Lk. 8:45). It was much like Peter thus to speak, both for himself and as spokesman for the disciples. But Jesus affirmed that someone had touched him, implying a touch of intention and faith, and not a mere thoughtless and accidental pressing of the multitude. - George W. Clark Mark 5:32 And he looked round about; ...around--ABUV; Meanwhile he was looking round--NEB; But He continued looking about--Wey; to see her that had done this thing.; to see who had done it-- RSV; to catch sight of the woman who had done this--Knox; and he was looking round to see her who /this' thing had done\. And he was looking round to see her who did this, TRNTyeagerV325,6 - kai perieblepeto idein tAn touto poiAsasan. kai (continuative conjunction). perieblepeto (3d.per.sing.imp.mid.ind.of periblepw, incepttive). idein (aor.act.inf.of horaw, purpose). tAn (acc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with poiAsasan). touto (acc.sing.neut.of outos, direct object of poiAsasan). poiAsasan (aor.act.part.acc.sing.fem.of poiew, substantival, direct object of idein). Translation: "And He began to turn around in order to see the woman who had done this." COMMENT: periblephamenas (a combination of peri and blepw), a favorite with Mark, who uses it six of the seven times it occurs. Since it is middle voice the idea is that Jesus acted upon Himself. In order to know who she was (idein) He wished to see (blepw) all about him (peri). Thus He turned His body around. Or at least He started to do so, as the inceptive imperfect in perieblepeto indicates. Mark adds the complementary infinitive of purpose. he, Who knew all things and had no need that any man tell Him about other people (Jn.2:24,25), already knew perfectly well who the woman was the reason for her act of desperate faith. But had He singled her out, without her coming forward voluntarily, he would have embarrassed her and robbed her of the joy of the spiritual exercise of open confession of her faith in Him and her testimony of the glorious result. This confession of faith she made humbly, gladly and with utmost gratitude. None can say that jesus wrung her testimony from unwilling lips. Jesus' omniscience which enabled Him to know all about others is seen also in His innocent request of the Samaritan woman at the well that she go and call her husband, when He knew that she was a prostitute (Jn.4:16). Jesus apparently had not completed his "about-face" (the inceptive imperfect translates "He began to turn around") when the woman hastened to identify herself next. R838 - The imperfect tense has significance in perieblepeto, with the sense "he began to look around because of the touch" (Jesus was looking around him until the woman came [Althen] --T66). MARK-TCGTCcranfield186 - tAn touto poiAsasan. The use of the feminine does not imply that Jesus knew that it was a woman who had touched him, but reflects the viewpoint of the narrator. MARKitGNTwuest112 - "He looked round about." The verb is imperfect in tense, speaking of continuous action, and middle in voice, speaking of action done in one's own interest. That is, Jesus kept on looking around for the woman, and He was doing it for Himself, regardless of what the disciples had said. His scrutinizing gaze was His answer to the protest of the disciples. "To see her who had done this thing." The article and participle in the Greek are feminine in gender, indicating a woman actor in this case. Jesus looked for a woman, not a man, in the crowd. What told Him that it was a woman? Expositors says regarding this: "Did Jesus know that, or is it the evangelist choosing the gender in accordance with the now known fact? (Meyer and Weiss). The former possible, without preternatural knowledge, through extreme sensitiveness." Certainly Jesus knew the difference between the rude jostling of the crowd and the sensitive touch of the woman's hand. Had it been a man seeking healing, he very probably would have caught hold of the garment. The disease which the woman had, would, according to Levitical regulations, have kept her from touching our Lord at all. This made her extremely cautious when she did finally decide to do so. It was a woman, and a Jewish woman. No other hand would have touched His garments as she did. Translation: "And He kept on looking around about to see the woman who had done this." NTC-MARKhendriksen 208,9 - The Master showed his greatness by not answering it. It was a long and scrutinizing gaze. Those commentators who have commented on it differ rather widely. There are three main interpretations. According to the first, Jesus already knew who this person was. He was looking around and suddenly his eyes rested on the woman. Now the fact that according to his divine nature Jesus was omniscient cannot be denied. Also, it cannot be denied that this divine nature at times imparted to the human nature information which that human nature apart from such impartation would probably not have received. See Matt. 17:27; Jn. 1:47,48. Yet, this does not mean that Christ's human nature was also in itself omniscient. See Matt. 24:36; Mk. 11:13. Is not Mk. 5:32 in the same class? The expression, "He continued to look around - or: was looking around - to see," certainly seems to support the view that the first explanation, namely, that Jesus already knew who the person was that had touched him, is unacceptable. For more on Christ's two natures in the teaching of Mark see Introduction,III. On the basis of the use of the feminine participle in the original, so that the rendering, "But he was looking around to see her who had done this," is acceptable, it has been argued secondly that Jesus at least knew that the person who had touched him was a woman. But is it not more reasonable to view that feminine participle in the light of what Mark, the Gospel writer, subsequently knew to be the case? All things considered, the most natural interpretation would seem to be the third one, namely, that Jesus, with the tender Savior's heart, wished to bestow an additional favor upon whoever it was that had touched him. "He kept looking around to find out" (thus A.T. Robertson) who that person was. TNICotNT-MARKlane192,3 - Concurrent with the moment of healing, Jesus knew that "power" had gone forth from him. This unusual expression, which occurs only here in Mark's Gospel, must be interpreted from the context of "the power of God" in the Scripture. Power is a constitutive element in the biblical concept of the personal God. Jesus possesses the power of God as the representative of the Father. Nevertheless, the Father remains in control of his own power. The healing of the woman occurred through God's free and gracious decision to bestow upon her the power which was active in Jesus. By an act of sovereign will God determined to honor the woman's faith in spite of the fact that it was tinged with ideas which bordered on magic. Jesus' question "Who touched my garments?" seemed pointless to the disciples since he had been jostled and touched by a host of individuals. Their impatience with the Lord reflects an awareness that their immediate mission was to assist a girl who was dying, and delay could be fatal. It also betrays that they had no understanding of what had taken place. Certainly not every contact with the person of Jesus resulted in a transmission of power. Involved in the situation was not a unilateral event in which touch released power, but a mutual event in which the personal relationship between Jesus and the woman released power. Jesus, therefore, could not allow the woman to recede into the crowd still entertaining ideas tinged with superstition and magic. He stopped and looked intently upon the people surrounding him in order to see who had touched him with an expectation of salvation. MARKj&d155 - THE WOMAN'S CONFESSION. He looked round to see her. He required no one to point out the one who had pressed upon him the touch of faith, for it cannot be doubted that he was conscious all the time of what was in the woman's heart. His glance, therefore, at once singled her out in the corwd, and fell upon her with a searching glance that showed that all was known. Mark 5:33 But the woman fearing and trembling,; And the woman, trembling with fear--NEB; until the woman, frightened and trembling-- Wey; Then the woman, scared and shaking all over--Phi; knowing what was done in her,; knowing what had been done to ther--ASV; when she grasped what had happened to her--NEB; came and fell down before him,; ...threw herself at His feet--Wey; and told him all the truth.; ...the whole truth-- RSV; ...the whole story--Phi; And //the woman\\ came, and fell down before him, and told him all' the truth. and the woman, having been afraid, and trembling, knowing what was done on her, came, and fell down before him, and told him all the truth, TRNTyeagerV326,7 - hA de gunA phobAtheisa kai tremousa, eiduia ho gegonen autA, Althen kai prosepesen autw kai eipen autw pasan tAn alAtheian. hA (nom.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with gunA). de (adversative conjunction) gunA (nom.sing.fem.of gunA, subject of Althen, prosepesen and eipen). phobAtheisa (1st.aor.part.nom.sing.fem.of phobeomai, adverbial, circumstantial). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining participles). tremousa (pres.act.part.nom.sing.fem.of tremw, adverbial, circumstantial). be afraid - II Pet.2:10. tremble - Mk.5:33; Lk.8:47. Meaning: To tremble; to be afraid. Cf. phobeomai. phobeomai seems to be the psychological state, while tremw is the physical reaction to the fear. Hence phobAtheisa kai tremousa, as Mark puts them together in Mk.5:33 is logical. Also in the parallel passage in Lk.8:47. With ou in II Pet.2:10. In the margin, of Paul at his conversion in Acts 9:6, though not in Westcott and Hort. eiduia (perf.part.nom.sing.fem.of horaw, adverbial, circumstantial). ho (nom.sing.neut.of hos, subject of gegonen, relative pronoun). gegonen (3d.per.sing.perf.ind.of ginomai, consummative). autA (dat.sing.fem.of autos, personal advantage). Althen (3d.per.sing.aor.ind.of erchomai, constative). prosepesen (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of prospiptw, constative). autw (loc.sing.masc. of autos, after pros in composition with a verb of rest). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining verbs). eipen (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of eipon, constative). autw (dat.sing.masc.of autos, indirect object of eipen). pasan (acc.sing.fem.of pas, in agreement with alAtheian). alAtheian (acc.sing.lfem.of alAtheia, direct object of eipen). Translation: "But the woman, seized with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth." COMMENT: There are three circumstantial participles, each in a different tense. phobAtheisa is an ingressive aorist. tremousa is in the present tense. It describes the physical agitation of the woman as a result of the fact that she had been seized with fear (ingressive aorist in phob.). eiduia is a perfect participle, which is consummative. As a result of the woman's perception she knew what had happened to her - present knowledge as a result of having experienced healing in the immediate past. gegonen is also perfect tense. That which had happened to her resulted in her present happiness and obligation to tell Jesus all. Notice that her testimony was given as she trembled (present continuous action in tremousa). It was not easy for her to speak publicly. She had been humiliated for twelve years by her physical condition. Despite her fear she gave her testimony because she knew what had happened. Christians who know what their experience with Christ has been, the depths of the pit of degradation from which they have been rescued and the glory of the heavenly position to which they have been called, will not hesitate to speak for Christ puyblicly, though they might tremble as they speak. The whole story came out - eipen autw pasan tAn alAtheian. As she poured out her story Jesus saw in it the evidence of her faith as we see in vs.34. R858 - phobAtheisa is used as an ingressive aorist (only the inception of the act precedes the action of the principal verb--B137), "began to fear." R897 - The use of the perfect verb eiduia preserves the vividness of the woman's consciousness. MARK-TCGTCcranfield186 - phobAtheisa kai tremousa, eiduia ho gegonen autA. Both participial clauses describe the circumstances of the actions denoted by althen, prosepesen, and eipen. In Lk.8:47 the woman's realization that she had been found out is stressed: Mark does not mention it. Nor does he indicate why she was afraid (the words dio pepoiAkei (pepoiAken) lathra added after tremousa in D TH 28 pc a ff2 i r1 are clearly an insertion). The prospect of being discovered, the possibility that Jesus might be angry, and the nervous strain she had undergone, probably all contributed; but perhaps the words eiduia ho gegonen autA provide a hint of what may have been an even more important cause of her fear--her realization that a miracle had been wrought upon her (cf. on 1:22, exeplAssonto). MARKitGNTwuest112,3 - "What was done." The verb is perfect in tense, indicating that it was a complete and a permanent cure. Expositors says: "She knew what had happened to her, and thought what a dreadful thing it would be to have the surreptitiously obtained benefit recalled by an offended benefactor disapproving her secrecy and her bold disregard of the ceremonial law--pasan tAn alAtheian, the whole truth, which would include not only what she had just done, but her excuse for doing it--the pitiful tale of chronic misery. From that tale impressively todl, heard by the disciples, and not easily to be forgotten, the particulars of vs.26 were in all probability derived." Translation: "And the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing that which had been done for her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth." NTC-MARKhendriksen209, - The woman had heard Jesus ask, "Who touched my clothes?" Also, she had noticed his searching eyes. She knew "what had happened to her" in answer to her touch of faith. She had probably also heard the disciples' wholly inadequate reply. Her conscience must have told her that the true answer to Christ's question must be given, and given by her! Nevertheless, it was not easy for her to do what she felt she had to do. At that time and in that country for a woman to speak in public was generally considered improper. This all the more on a subject such as this, the particular physical scourge by which she had been afflicted. And would not even the fact that she, in that condition, deliberately had touched the Master add to the impropriety in the eyes of the bystanders? Yes, and even, perhaps, in the eyes of Jesus himself? Would he scold her perhaps? We can understand, therefore, both why she confessed and why she did this "fearing and trembling" (thus literally; cf. II Cor. 7:15; Eph. 6:5; Phil. 2:12). She was scared and shaking all over. - But she came, and told the whole truth, probably referring to all the facts stated in verses 25-29. The result was not a reprimand, but the very opposite, as is evident from the very first word Jesus uttered and also from what followed. MARKj&d155 - But the woman fearing and trembling. The timid woman felt that she had stolen a cure, was amazed at the sudden change wrought within her and knowing little of the tender compassion of Christ was filled with dread of the wonderful being who had wrought her cure. Perhaps, too, she expected to be rebuked for touching him without his permission; perhaps, also, the woman feared Christ's anger and his rebuke for polluting him by her touch; or, possibly, the indignation of others in the crowd, in which she had joined without in any way indicating her uncleanness. Knowing what was done in her. A sense of her cure brought her forward to testify to and for Christ. So, always, the sense of pardon and acceptance will lead the trembling believer to full confession and to an open testimony for Christ. It will embolden the timid to speak of the gospel, even before crowds. Told him all the truth. This, though it tried the modesty of the believing woman, was just what Christ wanted, her public testimony to the facts of her case - the disease with her abortive efforts at a cure, and the instantaneous and perfect relief which her touching the great Healer had brought her. Mark 5:34 And he said unto her,; Whereupon he said--Rieu; Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole;; ...hath saved thee--Alf; Daughter, your faith has made you well--RSV; ...it is your faith that has healed you--Phi; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.; go in peace, and be healed of your disease-- RSV; Go in peace, free for ever from this trouble--NEB; And /he\ said to her-- Daughter! /thy faith\ hath made thee well; Withdraw into peace, And be whole from thy plague. and he said to her, "Daughter, thy faith hath saved thee; go away in peace, and be whole from thy plague." TRNTyeagerV327,8 - ho de eipen autA, THugatAr, hA pistis sou seswken se. hupage eis eirAnAn, kai isthi hugiAs apo tAs mastigos sou. ho (nom.sing.masc.of the article, subject of eipen). de (continuative conjunction). eipen (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of eipon, constative). autA (dat.sing.fem.of autos, indirect object of eipen). THugatAr (voc.sing.fem.of thugatAr, address). hA (nom.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with pistis). pistis (nom.sing.fem.of pistis, subject of seswken). sou (gen.sing.fem.of su, possession). seswken (3d.per.sing.perf.act.ind.of swzw, consummative). se (acc.sing.fem.of su, direct object of seswken). hupage (2d.per.sing.pres.act.impv.of hupagw, command). eis (preposition with the accusative of general reference, adverbial). eirAnAn (acc.sing.fem.of eirAnA, general reference, adverbial). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining verbs). isthi (2d.per.sing.pres.impv.of eimi, command). hugiAs (nom.sing.fem.of hugiAs, predicate adjective). apo (preposition with the ablative of separation). tAs (abl.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with mastigos). mastigos (abl.sing.fem.of mastix, separation). sou (gen.sing.fem.of su, possession). Translation: "And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and always be free from your disease.'" COMMENT: Jesus expresses two thoughts here. To say that seswken refers to physical salvation from the disease is to charge Jesus with needless repetition. The woman's faith which she translated into action saved her soul. Now she is told to go her way with the peace of God in her mind and heart. Incidentally, she also has healing for her physical needs. Note the perfect tense in seswken se. The past completed action (her faith that if she could make her way through the dense crowd and touch His clothing she would be healed) resulted in her present condition. She is saved from sin. Note #140 for eis with the adverbial accusative of general reference. The story of the woman's healing has been an interlude in the other story of Jairus' concern over his daughter. Jesus was enroute to Jairus' house to heal his daughter when the woman came to touch His garment. Now we resume the other story in vs.35. BD206(1) - The preposition eis here has a sense similar to en, "in peace." MARK-TCGTCcranfield186,7 - thugatAr. So B D W: the great majority of MSS. have the vocative, but the nominative should no doubt be read. For the nominative used instead of vocative cf. vs.8,41; Lk.18:11, etc. ...seswken. See on 3:4. For Mark and his original readers there was probably here a double entendre: the religious sense of swzw being suggested as well as the sense, 'heal'. hupage eis eirAnAn. Probably a Septuagintalism. it corresponds to the Hebrew leKi lesAlom (e.g. I Sam.1:17), a meaning which the speaker puts into it' (Taylor). So on Jesus' lips it has a fullness of meaning derived from his person. (Cf. the openings and endings of NT letters, where traditional forms are explicitly filled out with Christian meaning. See Moule, Colossians, pp. 153-5). isthi hugiAs apo tAs mastigos sou. 'From this exhortation we infer that the benefit which she had obtained was fully ratified, when she heard from the lips of Christ what she had already learned from experience: for we do not truly, or with a safe conscience, enjoy God's benefits in any other way than by possessing them as contained in the treasury of His promises' (Calvin). MARKitGNTwuest113,4 - "And He said to her, Daughter." Expositors has a beautiful note: "The woman had already heard of the fame of Jesus (vs.27). From what Jesus said to her she would for the first time get some idea of His exquisite sympathy, delicately expressed in the very first word: ThugatAr, daughter, to a mature woman, probably not much, if at all younger than Himself. he speaks not as a man to woman, but as father to child. Note how vivid is Mark's story compared with the meager colorless version of Matthew. A lively impressionable eye-witness, like Peter, evidently behind it." "Thy faith hath made thee whole." The verb is swzw, "to save," and is used at time for the healing of the body as well as that of the soul. It is in the perfect tense, assuring her of a permanent cure. "Go in peace." The preposition is not en "in," but eis "into," literally, "Go into peace," contemplating the new door just opened to her, the peace in store for her. Robertson suggests that peace here may have more the idea of the Hebrew word shalom, which speaks of health of body and soul. "Be whole of thy plague." The verb is present imperative, "Be continually whole." The latter word is the translation of hugiAs, "to be sound of body," and from which we get our word "hygienic." "Plague" is mastix, "a whip, plague, a calamity or misfortune," used of distressing bodily diseases. Translation: "And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has saved you. Be going in peace. Be continually sound in body from your affliction.'" NTC-MARKhendriksen210,1 - Lovingly Jesus calls her "Daughter," even though she may not have been younger than he was. But he speaks as a father to his child. Moreover, he praises her for her faith, even though that faith, as has been indicated, was by no means perfect; and even though, as verse 27 indicates, it was he himself who, through his earlier marvelous words and deeds, had brought about that faith. Her faith, though not the basic cause of her cure, had been the channel through which the cure had been accomplished. It had been the instrument used by Christ's power and love, to effect her recovery. Cf. Eph. 2:8. Is it not marvelous that Jesus, in speaking to this woman, says nothing about his own power and love, the root-cause of her present state of well-being, but makes special mention of that which apart from him she would neither have possessed nor have been able to exercise? Moreover, by saying, "Your faith has made you well," was he not also stressing the fact that it was his personal response to her personal faith in him that cured her, thereby removing from her mind any remnant, however small, of superstition, as if his clothes had contributed in any way to the cure? By means of these cheering words Jesus also opened the way for the woman's complete reinstatement in the social and religious life and fellowship of her people. Now she can go and continue to travel the rest of her life "in peace," that is, with the smile of God upon her and the joyful inner knowledge of this smile. Cf. Isa. 26:3; 43:1,2; Rom. 5:1. Probably even more is included in this encouraging command, "Go in peace." In view of the immediately following words, namely, "Be-meaning Be and remain-healed of your illness (literally: your scourge)," and in view of the fact that in all probability Jesus spoke these words in the then current language of the Jews (Aramaic), have we not a right to conclude that nothing less than the full measure of the Hebrew Shalom, well-being for both soul and body, is here implied? Although none of the evangelists report the woman's reaction to these gracious words of the Savior, is it unrealistic to affirm that her soul was flooded not only with relief but also with boundless gratitude, the kind of emotion experienced by the inspired composer of Ps. 116 (see especially verses 12-19)? Jesus had healed her. He had imparted to her a double blessing: restoring her body and causing her soul to testify, so that faith concealed had become faith revealed. Now she was able to be, and undoubtedly had become, a blessing to others, to the glory of God. A few days after a certain minister preached on this section of Scripture (Mk. 5:25-34 and parallels), he received the following poem from a lady who had composed it after hearing the sermon: "Who touched me?" `Twas the voice of the Master, And the woman's heart beat faster and faster. Trembling she came and bowed her head. "I touched thee, Lord," was what she said. But the Master answered, "Go thy way, Thy faith has made thee whole this day." "Have you touched me?" I heard it. `Twas the voice of the Master, And O my heart beat faster and faster. "You came with the throng to God's house today, But I felt not your touch as you went your way." I was ashamed and bowed my head. "Reach out a bit farther next time," he said. TNICotNT-MARKlane193,4 - With fear and trembling the woman acknowledged all that had happened. Her action in making herself known indicates both courage and gratitude, and it is here that the accent should fall rather than upon her fear. Mark places all of the emphasis upon the fact that she knew she had experienced the healing of her person. With awe, and only partial understanding of what had taken place, she declared the truth to Jesus. Jesus' insistence that the woman identify herself, together with his gentle correction of any erroneous ideas she may have had, calls attention to the essential aspect of her experience. It was the grasp of her faith rather than her hand that had secured the healing she sought. Her touch had brought together two elements - faith and Jesus - and that had made it effective. Power had gone forth from Jesus to the woman for the precise reason that she sought healing from him. The woman's faith that Jesus could make her well expressed an appropriate decision with respect to his person. The final words spoken to the woman, "Go in peace," are a traditional valediction, but here are informed by her entire experience. The peace with which she departed signified more than release from agitation over a wretched existence or from fear of recrimination for having touched Jesus. It was the profound experience of well-being which is related to salvation from God. When Jesus declares, "Be whole from your affliction," he confirms that her healing was permanent and affirms his active participation with the Father's will to honor the woman's faith. Later tradition embellished the Gospel account, seeking to answer the questions asked by generation of people. In the Greek tradition the anonymous woman was given the name Berenice, while in the Coptic and Latin tradition she received the related name Veronica. Eusebius states that she was from Caesarea Philippi, and that by the door of her home there was erected on a high stone a copper statue of a woman kneeling, her hands outstretched before her, entreating one purported to resemble Jesus. At the feet of the male figure a "strange sort of herb" is said to grow on the column which possessed medicinal powers against a wide variety of diseases. In this way the evangelical tradition was embellished. What was not appreciated was that the woman had experienced an aspect of salvation in anticipation of the more radical healing to be experienced by the daughter of Jairus. From Mark's perspective, the entire incident is a call for radical faith. MARKj&d155,6 - And he said unto her, Daughter. A term of affection, but, no doubt, as employed by our Savior, implying all that was spiritually distinctive in her character had been derived from himself. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Literally, thy faith hath saved thee. In the higher and in the lower sense, soul and body. Her faith, of course, had not been the efficient cause of her cure. Christ's power had been that. And behind his power was his person, the real healer. But her faith was the condition on her part, that rendered it fitting on his part to put forth his curative efficiency. Hence it might be represented as having in a certain subordinate respect "made her whole." - Morison. The student should observe that hers was not a passive faith, but it led to action. A passive faith is a dead faith. The cure was effected by an exercise of Jesus' will, which responds to the woman's faith in his miraculous power, not through the mere touching of the garment. The result was instantneous and complete. - Meyer. MARKbarclay130,31,32,33 - This passage tells us something about three people. It tells us something about Jesus. It tells us the cost of healing. Every time Jesus healed anyone it took something out of Him. Here is a universal rule of life. We will never produce anything great unless we are prepared to put something of ourselves, of our very life, of our very soul into it. No pianist will ever give a really great performance if he glides through a piece of music with faultless and effortless technique and nothing more. The performance will not be great unless at the end of it there is the exhaustion which comes of the outpouring of self. No actor will ever give a great performance who repeats his words with every inflection right and every gesture correct, like a perfectly designed automaton. His tears must be real tears; his feelings must be real feelings; something of himself must go into the acting. No preacher who ever preached a real sermon descended from his pulpit without a feeling of being drained of something. If we are ever to help men, we must be ready to spend ourselves. It all comes from our attitude to men. Once Matthew Arnold, the great literary critic, said of the middle classes: "Look at these people; the clothes they wear; the books they read; the texture of mind that composes their thoughts; would any amount of money compensate for being like one of these?" Now the sense of that saying may or may not be true; but the point is that it was contempt that gave it birth. He looked on men with a kind of shuddering loathing; and no one who looks on men like that can ever help them. Think on the other hand of Moses, after the people had made the golden calf when he was on the mountain top. Remember how he besought God to blot him out of the book of remembrance if only the people might be forgiven. (Exodus 32:30-32.) Think of how Myers makes Paul speak when he looks upon the lost and pagan world: "Then, with a thrill, the intolerable craving, Shivers throughout me like a trumpet call-- O to save these, to perish for their saving-- Die for their life, be offered for them all." The greatness of Jesus was that He was prepared to pay the price of helping others, and that price was the outgoing of His very life. We only follow in His steps when we are prepared to spend, not our substance, but our souls and strength for others. It tells us something about the disciples. It shows us very vividly the limitations of what is called common sense. The disciples took the common sense point of view. How could Jesus avoid being touchec and jostled in a crowd like that? That was the sensible way to look at things. There emerges the strange and poignant fact that they had never recognized or realized that it cost Jesus anything at all to heal others. One of the tragedies of life is the strange insensitiveness of the human mind. We so often utterly fail to realize what others are going through. Because we may have no experience of something, we never think what that something is costing someone else. Because something may be quite easy for us we never realize what a costly effort it is for someone else. That is why we so often hurt worst of all those we love. A man may pray for common sense, but sometimes he would do well to pray for that sensitive, imaginative insight which can see into the hearts of others. It tells us something about the woman. It tells us of the relief of confession. It was all so difficult; it was all so humiliating. But once she had told the whole truth to Jesus, the terror and the trembling were gone and a wave of relief flooded her heart. And when she had made her pitiful confession she found Him very kind. "Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requireth Is to feel your need of Him." It is never hard to confess to one who understands like Jesus.