Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 8:43 - 8:48

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 8:43 - 8:48


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

The sick woman:

v. 43. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

v. 44. came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment; and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

v. 45. And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?

v. 46. And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched Me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me

v. 47. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.

v. 48. And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

This thronging of the crowd, which Luke emphasizes so strongly, was taken advantage of by a certain woman. She had been in the sickness of a flux of blood, surrounded by this misery, for the space of twelve years. This issue rendered her Levitically unclean, Lev_15:25-30, and deprived her of many of the rights and privileges of the other members of the congregation. She had made every effort to be cured, to the extent of giving up to the doctors, expending upon physicians, all her living, all her means. And yet, as even Luke the physician writes, she could not be healed of any of them. A true picture of human misery and helplessness! This woman, coming from behind in the crowd, touched the hem or tassel of Christ's mantle, which He wore according to Jewish custom. This was not an act of superstition, but of faith. Her humility and sensitiveness merely kept her from making her condition public. And her faith was rewarded: at once the flow of blood was stopped, the healing was complete. Jesus, who, of course, was perfectly aware of the entire incident, determined to test the woman. Turning around, He asked who had touched Him. The remark was addressed chiefly to the disciples, and they, and the others near them, denied any willful jolting. And, upon second thought, Peter, acting as spokesman for the rest, reminded the Lord that He was hemmed in and squeezed by the crowds on all sides, therefore the question seemed strange. But Jesus, with His object in mind, insisted that someone had deliberately and intentionally touched Him. Then the woman saw that her secret was no secret before Christ, and therefore she came and confessed the entire matter fully. And with happy heart she dwelt upon the fact of her having been cured at once, when the virtue had gone out from Him, as He had said, when the divine, miraculous power was given by Jesus as a reward of her faith. Hereupon Jesus, ever kind and sympathetic, gave her the further assurance that her faith had brought her the priceless boon of health. He takes great pleasure in commending again and again the qualities of faith, by which it is able to do such great things. Her health was a reward of grace for the firmness of her trust. She should not fear or be uneasy in her mind over the incident, but go to her home in peace. Note: Such faith is needed in the Church and in its individual members even today; there is too much stereotyped sameness in the lives of the church-members in merely moving along a broad Christian way. Victories of faith are not so frequent in our days because the conquering faith is absent.