“And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
My Notes
What Does Mark 5:34 Mean?
Mark's version of the woman with the issue of blood includes a detail Matthew omits: "go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." Jesus doesn't just heal the physical condition. He sends her into a new life: peace. And He redefines her condition: it was a plague (mastix — a scourge, a whip, a torment). The disease wasn't just medical. It was a scourge she endured for twelve years.
The word "plague" (mastix) is the same word used for the scourging of Jesus (John 19:1 uses the related word mastigoō). The woman's disease was a flogging. For twelve years. Every day. The bleeding wasn't just a health condition. It was a beating administered by the body against itself.
The four gifts in one sentence: Daughter (identity). Thy faith hath made thee whole (agency). Go in peace (new condition). Be whole of thy plague (permanent healing). Jesus gives her a name, credits her faith, blesses her future, and terminates her torment. One sentence. Four gifts.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Which of the four gifts (Daughter, your faith, go in peace, be whole) speaks most to your current condition?
- 2.Does the word 'plague' (mastix — scourge, flogging) describe any long-term suffering you've endured?
- 3.How does 'go in peace' (the new normal after twelve years of the opposite) feel as a directive for your next season?
- 4.Did you come for a 'touch' (minimal contact with Jesus) and receive more than you expected?
Devotional
Daughter. Your faith made you whole. Go in peace. Be free of your plague. Four gifts in one sentence.
Mark records what Jesus says to the woman after the healing — and every phrase is a gift. Daughter: you're family now. Thy faith hath made thee whole: you participated in your own healing. Go in peace: your future is changed. Be whole of thy plague: the torment is over. Forever.
"Plague" — mastix — scourge. Not just a medical condition. A whipping. The word is the same root used for Jesus' own scourging. The woman endured a twelve-year flogging — administered not by Roman soldiers but by her own body. The bleeding was a beating. Every day. For 4,380 days.
"Go in peace" — shalom. The word that means everything is right. Nothing is missing. Nothing is broken. The twelve years of blood produced the opposite of peace: isolation, poverty (she'd spent everything on doctors — verse 26), ritual uncleanness, and social shame. And Jesus says: go into the opposite of what you've been living. Peace. Wholeness. The new normal.
"Be whole of thy plague" — the permanence. Not "feel better." Be whole. The healing isn't symptomatic relief. It's cure. Complete. Total. Of the plague — the scourge, the flogging — the specific affliction that defined her for twelve years. It's named, addressed, and terminated.
Four gifts, one sentence: identity (Daughter), agency (your faith), future (go in peace), freedom (be whole of your plague). Jesus doesn't just heal the body. He reconstructs the life. The woman who crawled through a crowd hoping for anonymous healing receives the most personal, most comprehensive, most public restoration available.
She came for a touch. She got a name, a credit, a blessing, and a permanent cure.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he said unto her, daughter,.... Instead of reproving her, or showing any anger, or resentment at her, as she feared,…
See the account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the healing of the woman with an issue of blood, fully explained…
Be whole of thy plague - Rather, continue whole, not, be whole, for she was already healed: but this contains a promise,…
The Gadarenes having desired Christ to leave their country, he did not stay to trouble them long, but presently went by…
Daughter Our Lord is recorded to have addressed no other woman by this title. It calmed all her doubts and fears.
go in…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture