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:

1. Both are stories of desperation. The father was desperate enough to seek a firebrand; the woman was desperate enough to break the rules.
2. 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. 
3. Both females in the story were identified as daughters. This was a counter cultural thing for Jesus to focus on women.
4. 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.
5. Both healings happened because someone had faith in Jesus: the woman in her story and the father in the daughter’s story.