The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 216

himself a physician, says that she "had faith which had prompted her would be spent o.11 hC'r !i,·ing upon physicians, and accepted. Henco her fear and terror, nnd could not be healed of any." her free and full confession. We thus see Vers. 27, 2S.-This woman, ha'ring heard the gentleness of Christ in his dealings with or Jesue-literally (-ra: ,..,pl TOV 'h10-ov), tM us. Perhaps the woman had Intended to things concerning Jesus-oame in the Clrowd escape, satisfied with a temporal benefit, behind, and touched his garment. St. which would hardly have been a blessing at Matthew and St Luke say "the border all, if sho had been suffered to carry it o.way (-.ov 1<pao-1r,6ov) of his gnrmcnt.'' St. Mat- without acknowledgment. But this her thew tells us that "she said within herself, loving Saviour would not permit her to do. lf I may but touch his garment, I shall be It was the crisis of ber spirituo.l life. It whole." From this it appears that, though was necessary that all around should know she had faith, it was an imperfect faith. of the gift which she had endeavoured to Sbe seems to have imagined that a certain snatch in secret. Our Lord miglit have magical influence was within Christ and demanded from her this public confession of around him. And the touching of the her faith beforehand. But, in bis mercy, border of his gnrment(the blue fringe which he made the way easy to her, The lesson, the Jews were required to wear, to remind however, must not be forgotten, that it is them that they were God's people) was not enough to believe with the heart. The supposed Ly her to convey a special virtue. lips must do their part, and " with the Yet her faith, though imperfect, was trne mouth confession must be made unto sal- in its essence, and therefore was not dis- vation.'' appointed. Ver. 8-1.-Our Lord here reassures this Yer. 29.-And straightway-St. Mark's trembling woman, who feared, it may be, lest, favourite word-the folllltain of her blood because she had abstracted the blesein"' was dried up; and she felt (f-yvw}-litere.lly, secretly, he might punish her with a retur~ she knetD--in her body that she was healed of her malady. On the contrary, he confirms of her plague (on ta-.a, hb .-ijs µ&.o-n"'fos); the benefit, and bids her be whole of her literally, that she hath been healed of her plague. The Greek expression here is scourge. The cnre we.a instantaneous. stronger than that which is given as the Ver. 30.-The words in the Greek are rendering of what she had used when we ,,r,-yvoUs f., Eav-r'f -r~v EC alrToV aOvaµ.u, read that slie said within herself, "I shall l{eABoiio-a,,: Jesus, perceiving in himself that be saved (0-016~0-oµa.1).'' Here our Lord says, the power emanating from him had gone Go in peaoe, and be whole (1.,-e, vr•¾s). It is as forth, turned rum about in the crowd, and though he said, " It is not the mere fringe of said, Who touched my garments 1 Christ my garment, which you have touched with sees the invisible grace in its hidden opera- great faith, and with some hope of obtaining tions ; man only sees its effects, and not a cure-it is not this that has cured you. always these. You owe your healing to my omnipotence Ver. 31.-St. Lnke (viiL 45) adds here, and your faith. Your faith (itself my gift) " When all denied, Peter said, and they has delivered you from your issue of blood; that were with him, ll:laster, the multi- and this deliverance I now confirm and tudes press thee and crush thee. But Jesus ratify. 'Go in peace.'" The original said, Some one did touch me ; for I per- Greek here (ll1ra"Y• eis ,ip~v1w) implies more ceived that power had gone forth from me." than this. It means "Go for peaoe." Puss This incident shows the myeterious con- into the realm, the element of peace, in nection between the spiritual and the which hencefortli thy life shall move. It is physical. The miraculous virtue or power here obvious to remark that this malady which went forth from the Saviour was represents to us the ever-flowing bitter foun- spiritual in its source and in the conditions tain of sin, for which no styptic treatment on wl,ich it was imparted, hut it was can be found in lrnman philosophy. The pliysical in its operation; and that which remedy is only to be found in Uhrist. To brought the two together was faith. ll:lulti- touch Christ's garment is to believe in his tudes thronged tlie Saviour, but only one of incarnation, whereby he has touched us, the crowd touched him. and so has enabled us by faith to touch him, Ver. 32.-He looked rolllld about (-np!E• and to recei .e his blessing of peace. ~Ah..-o)-e.nother favourite word of St. Ver. 85.-Our Lord had lingered on the Mark. way to the house of Jairus, perhaps, as hae Ver. 33.-The woman fearing and trem- already been suggested, that the crisis might bling, etc. Every word in this verse Ill ex- first come, and that so there might be full pressive. It was J,er own act. She seemed evidence of his resurrection power. '.fhe to herself as though without permission she ruler must have been agonized with the bad stolen a blessing from Christ; and so thought that, while our Lord lingered, the 11l1;> could hardly ventuJ'e'° hope that the life of his dying child was fo~t ebbing awJy, ott. v. 1-43.] '11llE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 213