Luke 8:43

Allow me some indulgence in my effort against the heretic. Jesus is touched by the woman who had an issue of blood, He knew not by whom.

Certainly the woman who had the issue of blood of twelve years' standing did not touch the Lord Himself, but only the hem of His garment, with a view to her cure.

On the way, he saved the woman who was the victim of a severe and incurable malady. No one could stop her issue of blood that ruined the art of physicians. No sooner had she touched the hem in faith, than he immediately healed her. A miracle so glorious and revealed was, so to speak, the work merely of Christ's journey.

(non occ.) Of how great praise then is this woman worthy, who with her bodily powers exhausted by the continual issue of blood, and with so great a crowd thronging around Him, in the strength of her affection and faith entered the crowd, and coming behind, secretly touched the hem of His garment.

But what means it that this daughter of the ruler was dying at twelve years, and the woman was afflicted with the issue of blood for twelve years, but that it might be understood that as long as the Synagogue flourished the Church was weak. For almost in the same age of the world, the Synagogue began to grow up among the patriarchs, and idolatry to pollute the Gentile nation.

And a certain woman was in a flow etc. After the desirable presence of Christ has been shown, his admirable power is shown in the wondrous healing from a flow of blood. The Evangelist shows that this healing proceeded from admirable omnipotence, both on account …

(ubi sup.) Now a certain woman afflicted with a severe disease, whose infirmity had consumed her body, but physicians all her substance, finds her only hope in such great humbleness that she falls down before our Lord; of whom it follows, And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, &c.

She had spent all her substance on physicians and could not be healed by any. By physicians, he either means false theologians, philosophers, or secular law doctors who, discussing virtues and vices with great subtlety, promised to provide useful teachings for mortals on seeing and …

Now the issue of blood may be taken in two ways, that is, both for the prostitution of idolatry, and for those things which are done for the delights of the flesh and blood. Now by physicians understand either false doctors, or philosophers and teachers of secular laws, who disputing much concerning virtue and vice, promised that they would give to mortals useful instructions for life; or suppose that by the physicians are signified the unclean spirits themselves, who by giving as it were advice to men, procure themselves to be worshipped as God, on listening to whom the Gentiles the more they consumed the strength of their natural industry, so much the less were they able to be cured from the pollution of their iniquity.

And a certain woman was in the flow of blood for twelve years. The woman flowing with blood is the Church gathered from the gentiles, which, polluted by the inborn flow of carnal delights, had already been separated from the company of the faithful. But …

The nature of her disease was such that she did not care to make a public complaint of it (it was agreeable to the modesty of her sex to be very shy of speaking of it), and therefore she took this opportunity of coming to Christ in a crowd; and the more people were present the more likely she thought it was that she should be concealed.

What Christ made the constant business of his life --it was preaching; in that work he was indefatigable, and went about doing good (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years,.... The Persic version reads, "there was a woman in that city", &c. in the city of Capernaum; See Gill on Mat 9:20. Which had spent all her living upon physicians; she had applied to one physician and another, and had consumed all her substance in this way: neither could be healed of any; though she had followed the directions and prescriptions of many, who pretended they were able to cure her; See Gill on Mar 5:26.

How much misery and trouble — sin has brought into the world! The passage we have just read affords a melancholy proof of this. First we see a distressed father in bitter anxiety about a dying daughter. Then we see a suffering woman , who has been afflicted twelve years with an incurable disease. And these are things which sin has sown broadcast over the whole earth! These are but examples of what is going on continually on every side.

THOUGH I take Luke's statement as a text, I shall constantly refer to the version of the same story which we find in Mark 5:25 to 29. Here we have one of the Lord's bid ones—a case not to be publicly described because of its secret sorrow. We have here a woman of few words and much shamefacedness. Her malady subjected her to grievous penalties according to the ceremonial Law. There is a terrible chapter in the Book of Leviticus concerning such a case as hers.

How much misery and trouble — sin has brought into the world! The passage we have just read affords a melancholy proof of this. First we see a distressed father in bitter anxiety about a dying daughter. Then we see a suffering woman , who has been afflicted twelve years with an incurable disease. And these are things which sin has sown broadcast over the whole earth! These are but examples of what is going on continually on every side. These are evils which God did not create at the beginning — but man has brought upon himself by the fall. There would have been no sorrow and no sickness among Adam's children — if there had been no sin! Let us see in the case of the woman here described — a striking picture of the condition of many souls. We are told that she had been afflicted with a wearing disease for "twelve years," and that she "had spent all she had upon physicians," and that she could not be healed by any of them. The state of many a sinner's heart is placed before us in this description as in a mirror. Perhaps it describes ourselves. There are men and women in most congregations who have felt their sins deeply — and been sorely afflicted by the thought that they are not forgiven and not fit to die. They have desired relief and peace of conscience — but have not known where to find them. They have tried many false remedies, and found themselves "nothing better — but rather worse!" They have gone the round of all the forms of religion, and wearied themselves with every imaginable man-made device for obtaining spiritual health. But all has been in vain. Peace of conscience seems as far off as ever. The wound within is a fretting, intractable sore, which nothing can heal. They are still wretched, still unhappy, still thoroughly discontented with their own state.

THOUGH I take Luke's statement as a text, I shall constantly refer to the version of the same story which we find in Mark 5:25 to 29. Here we have one of the Lord's bid ones—a case not to be publicly described because of its secret sorrow. We have here a woman of few words and much shamefacedness. Her malady subjected her to grievous penalties according to the ceremonial Law. There is a terrible chapter in the Book of Leviticus concerning such a case as hers. She was unclean—everything that she sat upon and all who touched it—shared in the defilement. So that, in addition to her continual weakness, she was made to feel herself an outcast, under the ban of the Law. This created, no doubt, great loneliness of spirit, and made her wish to hide herself out of sight. In the narrative before us she said not a word until the Savior drew it out of her, for her own lasting good. She acted very practically and promptly but she was a silent seeker—she would have preferred to have remained in obscurity, if so it could have been. Some here may belong to the great company of the timid and trembling ones. If courage before others is needed to secure salvation, matters will go hard with them. They shrink from notice and are ready to die of shame because of their secret grief. Cowper's hymn describes their inward feelings, when it says of the woman— "Concealed amid the gathering throng She would have shunned your view, And if her faith was firm and strong, Had strong misgivings too." Such plants grow in the shade and shrink from the light of the sun. The nature of their sorrows forces them into solitary self-communion. Oh, that the Lord may heal such at this hour! The immediate cure of this woman is the more remarkable because it was a wayside miracle. The Savior was on the road to restore the daughter of Jairus.

Spent all her living upon physicians - See the note on Mar 5:26.