Significant Twelve (Mark 5-6)

Mark 5-6 mentions three times a common number twelve, i.e. Woman healed by touching Jesus' garment bled twelve years, Jairus' daughter raised from dead was twelve years old, and the number of baskets left over after the feeding of the five thousand was twelve. One might ask why these incidental numbers are mentioned around the sending out and success of the twelve?

When we look at the miracle that Jesus did for the girl who was twelve years old in raising her from the dead, we see no other reason for the writer pointing out her age except this spiritual signification, "And straightway the damsel arose and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years and they were astonished with a great astonishment." (Mk 5:42) Similarly the Church would be raised from the dead by Christ. As the 12 stars of the woman (in Rev Ch 12) also point to the congregation of the Lord. Things that might appear coincidental to a worldly reader but brought by Christ to His own, i.e. they are spiritually discerned.

We see with the woman who had suffered many things of Physicians but none could heal her scripture points out it was for twelve years (Mark 5:25) "And a certain Woman which had an issue of blood twelve years." This woman touched but the hem of Jesus garment, and was made whole, i.e. what was unclean for 12 years was now clean. The garment of Christ is signifying the Righteousness of Christ. Just as scripture says we are clothed in the Righteousness of Christ. This Woman had been made righteous, by the virtue of Christ!

(Mark 5:30) "And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press and said, who touched My Clothes." This is signifying that we are made whole by Christ's virtue, by Christ's righteousness, even by Christ's garment. And the fact that this woman had this plague twelve years and "none" could heal her signifies our predicament before we receive the virtue or the righteousness of Christ. When we receive the virtue of Christ, we are made whole by his garment, i.e. we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ! So it is significant that the afore mentioned number twelve signifies the church, as the woman, though being unclean twelve years, will again be made righteous by the garment hem of Christ our Lord and Saviour.

The feeding of the five thousand men plus women & children signifies that the bread of life, i.e. Jesus Christ, is sufficient to feed the multitudes and passed on a basket full of fragments to each of the twelve disciples. The action is signification that what Jesus did also his Church would have ability to do just as miraculous, as we see in the twelve going out to heal the sick and cast out demons etc. This signifies that through Christ all their needs are supplied. The previous reliance on monetary systems to buy the needs is clearly turned upside-down as the multiplication of bread and fishes takes things to miraculous hights.

John's Revelation says there are twelve gates in the new Jerusalem, twelve foundations, twelve angels, twelve stars, twelve names of the tribes of Israel. This all may connect with the promises and blessings made to Abram (Abraham) in Gen 12. The Passover instituted as a forerunner of Christ’s sacrifice in Ex 12. The ritual associated with new birth and circumcision mirrored in Lev 12 etc. There are significant twelves also in the stones on the ephod of judgement and also the twelve minor prophets. Elisha was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and was himself with the twelfth when he received his call into the service of Elijah. (1Kings 19).


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