Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, February 8, 2013 Read – Luke 8:40-56 Luke continues to follow Mark with little modification as he relates the twin story of the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage and the raising from the dead the little twelve year old girl. The significance of the number twelve is important to the story. Twelve is the number of the tribes of Israel and also the number of the Apostles. Jesus may well have chosen Twelve to match the earlier choice of twelve tribes. Actually there may have been little choosing in the twelve tribes since they are the sons of Jacob. What if he had only had ten sons or what if he had thirteen? We can only guess what difference that might have made. And such speculation is really of little value. Both these stories fit Luke’s emphasis on women and on the helpless. They are the very people Jesus came to help according to Luke. It is at this point in the story that Mark tells of the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth by his own kinfolks. Luke has already told us that story – moving it forward to be the keynote of his story of the ministry of Jesus – so Luke does not tell it again. Noting its absence here helps us to retrace how Luke used his sources and reminds us how Luke went about his work. Luke is indeed a wonderful writer – creative in his way of retaining as much of Mark as possible and necessary, moving things around to help him proclaim his gospel, and omitting what is not helpful or necessary.