Question
According to Mark 5:30, Why and How Did Power Leave Jesus? What actually occurred?
Answer
The woman’s touching Jesus is symbolic. Her restoration occurred because of her physical contact with Jesus, not in spite of it. Usually, according to Old Covenant prescriptions in force at the time, such a flow of blood would not only make the woman legally unclean but also anyone else she touched (Lev.15:25-30). Moreover, because he is the God-man, Jesus is not only not made unclean by the woman’s touching him, he displays his divinity to heal her. Jesus calls attention to what takes place to display that he has the power to accomplish the Old Covenant law (Matt. 5:17-18).
Because of the woman’s faith, Jesus permits his divine power to go forth to heal her. And while he appears to not know who touched him by virtue of his human nature alone, he certainly knew by virtue of his being a divine person. In other words, what took place wasn’t a surprise to Jesus.
