GO IN PEACE AND BE FREE
Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him
trembling in fear, and she told Him the whole truth.
“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healedG4982 you.
Go in peaceG1515 and be freeG5199 of your affliction.”
Mark 5:33-34 (see also Luke 8:47-48)
You may or may not know the rest of the story. This woman had been having an issue of blood for twelve years. Doctors had been unable to cure her, and she had spent a fortune on them. She was in a crowd watching Jesus and His disciples as they were on their way to house of Jairus to heal his sick daughter. She came up to Jesus and touched the “hem of his garment.” However, the Complete Jewish Study Bible translates it this way:
Luke 8:44 (CJB) came up behind him and touched the tzitzit on his robe; instantly her hemorrhaging stopped.
You may have noticed the Hebrew word ‘tzitzit” in the Complete Jewish Bible translation of Luke 8:44 above. This word referred to the fringe on the edge of a garment to remind the Jewish people to obey God (Numbers 15:38-40, Deuteronomy 22:12). What the note in the CJB translation pointed out was that this fringe was also referred to as “the wings” of the garment. Since the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years probably knew the prophecy of Malachi 4:2, it would make sense for her to reach out to touch Jesus’s “wings”. By doing so, she was demonstrating faith that Jesus was, indeed, the Messiah of God who had “healing in His wings.”
Malachi 4:2 (KJV) But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
For the woman, her malady–the bleeding—was the biggest issue; but Jesus dealt with her biggest need—deliverance from the sin that separated her from God. He called her “daughter,” which recognized that He accepted her faith in Him as the Messiah, and she was now a part of the family of God. Note that the Greek word translated “healed” can also mean “saved, delivered, or made whole.” The woman demonstrated her faith that Jesus was the Messiah by acting on the prophecy of Malachi 4:2. Therefore, she was demonstrating saving faith. The second reference to healing, “free of your affliction” could be translated “healthy”. Jesus addressed the entirety of her needs, not just the problem that was troubling her at the time. We looked up the full meanings of “healed” and “be free” in The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament:
G4982 sṓzō; fut. sṓsō, aor. pass. esṓthēn, perf. pass. sésōsmai, from sṓs (n.f.), safe, delivered. To save, deliver, make whole, preserve safe from danger, loss, destruction. (39)
G5199 hugiḗs; gen. hugioús, masc.–fem., neut. hugiés, adj. Sound, healthy. In the NT, sound, whole, in health (Matt. 12:13; 15:31; Mark 3:5; 5:34; Luke 6:10; John 5:4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15; 7:23; Acts 4:10). (40)
The woman can truly “go in peace” because she knows she is at peace with God from this encounter with the Messiah as well as being made completely well of her bleeding disorder.
Physical healing does not always occur even when we have complete faith that Jesus is able to deliver us from our health challenges. However, we can rest, be at peace, knowing that we belong to Jesus as part of His forever family when we have placed our trust Him. Until the time that we are healed physically, we must rely on Him to walk with us through our suffering. We also have the hope—the assurance and confidence—that no matter how much pain we have while in our “earth-suits,” it will pale in comparison to the intense joy and monumental glory we will experience for eternity.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.…
Father, when our pain is intense and our suffering feels immense and endless, please help us to focus on the joy that You have in store for us when we are united with You in Glory, never to be separated, continually to live in complete wholeness and health.