L15-8: Why Yeshua remained CLEAN when a woman with an abnormal discharge touched Him

“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days not during her period, or if her discharge lasts beyond the normal end of her period, then throughout the time she is having an unclean discharge she will be as when she is in niddah — she is unclean. Every bed she lies on at any time while she is having her discharge will be for her like the bed she uses during her time of niddah; and everything she sits on will be unclean with uncleanness like that of her time of niddah.”-Leviticus 15:25-26 

In my last post I talked about the UNCLEANNESS which resulted due to the perfectly normal discharge connected to a woman’s monthly cycle.

However, things change from verse 25.

From verse 25, the subject changes to ABNORMAL discharges in females.

The two basic characteristics of an ABNORMAL female discharge is that it occurs OUTSIDE the time of her period and is continuous. 

A woman with this condition is of course UNCLEAN and remains UNCLEAN as long as her condition continues.

A woman with an abnormal discharge is not allowed to touch nor be touched by another person.

And although she isn’t kicked out of her home or sent outside the camp, she would have been avoided like the plague because to even brush up against her would have resulted in instant UNCLEANNESS.

It must have been horrible living with this condition.

I remind you that the consequences resulting from this condition HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH TRADITION.

This was Biblical Law as spoken by the Lord to His people.

Now here we have a perfect opportunity to show how this part of Torah is connected to the New Testament by hearkening back to a story we’re all familiar with.

Recall the story from the Gospel of Mark where we encounter a woman who suffered from a blood discharge for 12 years and reached out to touch the hem of Yeshua’s garment to be healed.

This woman had spent all of her money to phony healers in many desperate attempts to be healed. 

When she heard about the miracles Yeshua was performing, she decided to take an enormous risk by reaching out to touch the TZITZIT (specially knotted ritual fringes) on His TALLIT (prayer shawl).

Why was reaching out to touch Yeshua’s garment such a huge risk for this lady?

Well, because if she deliberated touched any man, especially a Rabbi like Yeshua, her UNCLEANNESS would have spread to him.

In those days, the penalty for doing such a thing would have been instant expulsion from the camp of Israel.

Should could also have come under the death penalty (although this was very rare).

So when she reached out and did what she did, Yeshua and the whole crowd knew what a big risk she was taking.

Nevertheless, she had enough faith to risk everything and reached out to touch his garment in the hopes of being healed. 

Based on what we’ve studied so far, what should have happened when this women touched the hem of Yeshua’s prayer shawl?

According to the Levitical laws, Yeshua would have been declared UNCLEAN the very second she touched His garment.

Yet, something amazing happened instead.

She was instantly healed!

Of course, this is what happened, as Yeshua is the MAYIM CHAYIM or the Living Water that purifies us from all of our UNCLEANNESS.

However, I’m pretty sure that Yeshua’s enemies who witnessed what happened would have reported back to the religious authorities that Yeshua was now UNCLEAN because He had been touched by a woman with an abnormal discharge.

There’s actually a couple of awesome takeaways here.

First, this story demonstrates that a true blood-bought believer in Yeshua can be touched by UNCLEANNESS yet remain CLEAN!

Second, when you read this story in chapter 5 of Mark, notice how Yeshua didn’t rebuke the UNCLEAN woman for her risky move.

Instead her faith was rewarded.

She risked EVERYTHING to grab hold of the only source that could heal her.

Moving on, based on the remaining verses of Leviticus chapter 15, we know the exact procedures the woman who had just been healed by Yeshua would have had to do.

First, she would have to wait for a period of 7 days.

Second, she would go to the temple with and offer up two bird sacrifices, one for the HATTA-AT (the Purification Sacrifice) and one for the OLAH (the Burnt Offering).

However, in this part of the Scripture, I have to admit, I am puzzled by something.

In these instructions in Leviticus 15, how come there isn’t any mention of a ritual washing here?

If anybody out there has an answer, please let me know.

The only reason I can think of is that it was just such an obvious given that a ritual dunk in Living Water was required that it wasn’t mentioned.

For example, there are some passages in Scripture that talk about the sacrifices in an abbreviated manner.

The MINCHAH (Grain Offering), for instance, is ALWAYS offered together with an OLAH (Burnt Offering).

However, there are some verses in the Bible that will speak only of offering up a MINCHAH.

It won’t mention the OLAH because it was just a given that an OLAH and a MINCHAH went hand-in-hand.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

Among them was a woman who had
had a hemorrhage for twelve years 
and had suffered a great deal under many physicians.
She had spent her life savings;
yet instead of improving,
she had grown worse. 
She had heard about Yeshua,
so she came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his robe; 
for she said,
“If I touch even his clothes,
I will be healed.”
Instantly the hemorrhaging stopped,
and she felt in her body
that she had been healed from the disease.
At the same time, Yeshua,
aware that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked,
“Who touched my clothes?”
His talmidim responded,
“You see the people pressing in on you;
and still you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
But he kept looking around to see who had done it.
The woman, frightened and trembling,
because she knew what had happened to her,
came and fell down in front of him
and told him the whole truth.
“Daughter,” he said to her,
“your trust has healed you.
Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
-Mark 5:25-34