Mar 5:22-43 | Clarke

‏ Mark 5:22-43

Verse 23. My little daughter] τοθυγατριονμου, that little daughter of mine. The words express much tenderness and concern. Luke observes, Lu 8:42, that she was his only daughter, and was about twelve years of age.

At the point of death] εσχατωςεχει, in the last extremity, the last gasp. See Clarke on Mt 9:18.

Verse 25. A certain woman] See Mt 9:20.

Verse 26. Had suffered many things of many physicians,-and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse] No person will wonder at this account, when he considers the therapeutics of the Jewish physicians in reference to hemorrhages, especially of the kind with which this woman was afflicted.

Rabbi Jochanan says: "Take of gum Alexandria, of alum, and of crocus hortensis, the weight of a zuzee each; let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that hath an issue of blood. But if this fail,

"Take of Persian onions nine logs, boil them in wine, and give it to her to drink: and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this fail,

"Set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her hand; and let somebody come behind and affright her, and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this do no good,

"Take a handful of cummin and a handful of crocus, and a handful of faenu-greek; let these be boiled, and given her to drink, and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this also fail,

"Dig seven trenches, and burn in them some cuttings of vines not yet circumcised (vines not four years old;) and let her take in her hand a cup of wine, and let her be led from this trench and set down over that, and let her be removed from that, and set down over another: and in each removal say unto her, Arise from thy flux." Dr. Lightfoot gives these as a sample, out of many others, extracted from Bab. Shabb. fol. 110.

And from some of these nostrums it is evident the woman could not be bettered, and from some others it is as evident that she must be made worse; and from all together it is indubitably certain that she must have suffered many things;-and from the persons employed, the expense of the medicaments, and the number of years she was afflicted, as she was not a person of great opulence, it is most perfectly credible that she spent all that she had. She was therefore a fit patient for the Great Physician.

The case of this woman was, a very afflicting one: 1. Because of the nature of her malady; it was such as could not be made public, without exposing her to shame and contempt. 2. It was an inveterate disorder; it had lasted twelve years. 3. It was continual; she appears to have had no interval of health. 4. Her disorder was aggravated by the medicines she used-she suffered much, &c. 6. Her malady was ruinous both to her health and circumstances-she spent all that she had. 6. She was now brought to the last point of wretchedness, want, and despair; she was growing worse, and had neither money nor goods to make another experiment to procure her health. 7. She was brought so low by her disorder as to be incapable of earning any thing to support her wretched life a little longer. It has been said, and the saying is a good one, "Man's extremity is God's opportunity." Never could the power and goodness of God be shown in a more difficult and distressful case. And now Jesus comes, and she is healed.

Verse 27. Came in the press behind] She had formed her resolution in faith, she executes it, notwithstanding her weakness, &c., with courage; and now she finds it crowned with success.

Verse 31. Thou seest the multitude thronging then, &c.] Many touch Jesus who are not healed by him: the reason is, they do it not by faith, through a sense of their wants, and a conviction of his ability and willingness to save them. Faith conveys the virtue of Christ into the soul, and spiritual health is the immediate consequence of this received virtue.

Verse 33. Fearing and trembling] See Mt 9:22.

Verse 34. Be whole of thy plague.] Rather, continue whole, not, be whole, for she was already healed: but this contains a promise, necessary to her encouragement, that her disorder should afflict her no more.

Verse 35. Why troublest thou the Master] These people seem to have had no other notion of our Lord than that of an eminent physician, who might be useful while there was life, but afterwards could do nothing.

Verse 36. Jesus-saith] These words were spoken by our Lord to the afflicted father, immediately on his hearing of the death of his child, to prevent that distress which he otherwise must have felt on finding that the case was now, humanly speaking, hopeless.

Verse 38. He cometh] But ερονται, they come, is the reading of ABCDF, four others, and several versions.

Wept and wailed] See Clarke on Mt 9:23.

Verse 40. The father and the mother] Prudence required that they should be present, and be witnesses of the miracle.

And them that were with him] That is, Peter, James, and John, Mr 5:37. It is remarkable that our Lord gave a particular preference to these three disciples, beyond all the rest, on three very important occasions: 1. They were present at the transfiguration. 2. At the raising of Jairus's daughter. 3. At his agony in the garden of Gethsemane.

Where the damsel was lying.] ανακειμενον, lying. This word is very doubtful. BDL, one other, Coptic, and later Arabic, with five of the Itala, omit it. Other MSS. express the same idea in five different words: Griesbach leaves it out of the text. See his Testament.

Verse 41. Talitha cumi] [Syriac], This is mere Syriac, the proper translation of which the evangelist has given. The Codex Bezae has a very odd and unaccountable reading here, ραββιθαβιτα κουμι, My master. Damsel arise. Suidas quotes this place under the word αββακουμ thus ταληθακουμ. κουμ is the reading of several ancient MSS., but it is certainly a faulty one.

Verse 43. Something should be given her to eat.] For though he had employed an extraordinary power to bring her to life, he wills that she should be continued in existence by the use of ordinary means. The advice of the heathen is a good one:-

Nec Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit. HORAT.

"When the miraculous power of God is necessary, let it be resorted to: when it is not necessary, let the ordinary means be used."-To act otherwise would be to tempt God.

While Christ teaches men the knowledge of the true God, and the way of salvation, he at the same time teaches them lessons of prudence, economy, and common sense. And it is worthy of remark, that all who are taught of him are not only saved, but their understandings are much improved. True religion, civilization, mental improvement, common sense, and orderly behaviour, go hand in hand.