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The Woman With The Issue of Blood, The Tzitzit - El Shaddai Christian Ministries

The Woman With The Issue Of Blood – The Tzitzit

Mark 5:25-29 has the most detailed account of this story. I will quote it here;

  1. A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, 26. and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse– 27. after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind {Him} and touched His cloak. 28.  For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” 29.  Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

There is a lot of misunderstanding as to what part of Jesus’s garment she had touched and most people think it does not matter. The truth is it does matter and there is a lot of significance as to where she touched. The error in translation comes from the fact that there is no English word for Tzitzit (Hebrew: צִיצִית ) or the tassels that were on Jesus’s shawl. Contrary to popular belief, the woman with the “issue of blood” did not touch “the hem of Jehovah’s garment” (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25, Luke 8:43, Luke 8:44). She touched the tzitzit – braids or tassels – of Jehovah’s tallit (prayer shawl).

Jesus was almost always followed by throngs of people who were eager to hear His teaching. It was along the sea that a very sick woman caught up with Him, desperate to be healed of a chronic ailment. This miracle story is very well-known to readers of the New Testament. Yet, there is so much that is “between the lines” which, when understood, will strengthen your relationship with the Lord.

In ancient Israel, men wore four-cornered outer tunics with these tassels, or tzitzit, tied to the four corners. This outer garment became known as a tallit, and eventually evolved into the more formal prayer shawl. When you see pictures of Jews praying they always had the shawls covering their head. This is symbolic of them “being separate from the world” (Exodus 8:22, just one example of many). But, why tassels? These tassels were to remind each Jewish man of his responsibility to fulfill God’s commandments and were believed to have healing powers if touched. In fact, these tassels are tied into 613 knots to constantly remind them of the 613 laws of Moses. The knots also correspond with the ineffable name of God, the unspoken yod-hey-vav-hey, Jehovah.

Because they were hanging on the four corners of His garment, in full view of everyone, they would be a constant reminder to walk according to God’s Laws. The Hebrew word that we translate as Law, is halacha, and it literally means “walk.” You see, following God’s law is a daily walk, and to stay on His path of righteousness, we all need constant reminding. Wearing these tassels would be comparable to us wearing a large Bible on a rope around our necks.

Today with all the distractions that we face we need reminders but the best one we can have is attending church on a regular basis, attending Bible studies, and reading and studying the Bible daily. If you do to deal with this crazy world in the difficult times that we all face. One of the essential lessons for a believer is to know what to do in the midst of life’s storms. The Bible teaches that the only way to rise above your circumstances is to put your focus on Jesus and keep your eyes on Him, no matter what you may be going through. You must depend on Him for everything.

The apostle Paul wrote that Christ has been made our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30) But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. But if you subtract Jesus from the equation, you have none of these things! He is the key to our victory, and that’s why we must keep our eyes on Him at all times.