The Parallel Healings of Jesus (Mark 5:21-43)
In Mark 5:21-43 we see two parallel healings of Jesus: the daughter of a synagogue ruler and a woman with a debilitating disease. Here are five parallels you might have missed in their stories:
- Both are stories of desperation. The father was desperate enough to seek a firebrand; the woman was desperate enough to break the rules.
- Both stories involved the number 12: the woman suffered for 12 years and the daughter was 12 years old. To the Jew, this number symbolized restoration and covenant relationship with God.
- Both females in the story were identified as daughters. This was a counter cultural thing for Jesus to focus on women.
- Both the issue of blood and the death of the young girl would have meant ritual uncleanliness, yet it was physical contact with Jesus that healed them both.
- Both healings happened because someone had faith in Jesus: the woman in her story and the father in the daughter’s story.