Jennifer Henkel Supporter Bible/History Middle School Teacher, Lover of the OT!

We are not told anything about her, other than that she had suffered with the "issue of blood" for 12 years and had spent all she had on doctors, and was worse.

Any other details about her is legend, and not Scriptural or credible.

January 06 2014 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

Who was the woman who was bleeding for 12 years?

Luke 8:43, ESV: 43 "And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone."

The woman with the bleeding issue for 12 years in Luke 8:43 (and Mark 5, Matthew 9) is unnamed in the Bible, known only as "a woman with a discharge of blood," symbolising deep suffering, ritual impurity under Jewish law, and complete financial ruin from doctors. Still, she was miraculously healed by Jesus after touching His cloak, affirming her faith made her well. 

The account was recorded to help us appreciate why Jesus cured her:

Jesus responds and, accompanied by the crowd, heads for the home of Jairus. We can imagine the excitement of the people as they anticipate another miracle. But the attention of one woman in the crowd is focused on her own severe problem.

For 12 long years, this woman has suffered from a flow of blood. She has been to one doctor after another, spending all her money on treatments. But she has not been helped; instead, her problem has become worse.

As you can probably appreciate, besides weakening her very much, her ailment is also embarrassing and humiliating. One generally does not speak publicly about such an affliction. Moreover, under the Mosaic Law, a running discharge of blood makes a woman unclean, and anyone touching her or her blood-stained garments is required to wash and be unclean until the evening.

The woman has heard of Jesus' miracles and has now sought him out. In view of her uncleanness, she makes her way through the crowd as inconspicuously as possible, saying to herself: "If I touch just his outer garments, I shall get well." When she does so, she immediately senses that her blood flow has dried up!

Note the reason why Jesus cured the woman: Jesus' tender compassion for people was evident in how he treated women. 

On one occasion, a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for 12 years searched for Jesus in a crowd. Her condition made her ceremonially unclean, so she should not have been there. (Leviticus 15:25-27) 

But she was so desperate that she slipped in behind Jesus. When she touched his garment, she was instantly healed! Even though he was on his way to the home of Jairus, whose daughter was gravely ill, Jesus stopped. Having felt power go out of him, he looked around for the one who had touched him. Finally, the woman came and fell before him, trembling. 

Would Jesus scold her for being in the crowd or for touching his garment without his permission? 

On the contrary, she found him very warm and kind. "Daughter," he said, "your faith has made you well." 

The only recorded instance in which Jesus directly addressed a woman as "daughter," perhaps because of the delicate situation and her "trembling" (Lu 8:47), By using this term of endearment, a form of address that signifies nothing about the woman's age, Jesus emphasises his tender concern for her.

How that word must have put her heart at ease!​—Matthew 9:18-22; Mark 5:21-34.

5 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report