Tag: Biblical Characters

Biblical People: The Hemorrhaging Woman

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 27, 2021

A woman suffers from chronic bleeding for twelve years, making her ceremonially unclean the entire time. According to Jewish law, this condition restricts how she functions in society and prohibits her from participating in religious practices. She spends all her money on doctors, but none of them help. Instead, her bleeding gets worse.

In desperation, but with great faith, she believes Jesus can heal her.

In fact, she senses she needs only touch his clothes. She worms her way through the throng and stretches out her hand to brush the hem of his robe. When she does, healing power leaves him, and her bleeding stops. Her body is restored.

Though she thinks she does this in secret, Jesus is aware that healing took place. He stops and demands to know who touched him. Unable to escape, she comes forward in fear to confess what she did.

Jesus affirms her faith, pronounces her healed, and sends her away in peace.

Do we have this kind of faith?

[Discover more about the bleeding woman in Mark 5:25–34 and Luke 8:43–48, as well as the Old Testament instructions about this situation Leviticus 15:25–30.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Daughter of Jairus

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 27, 2021

Jairus is a leader at the local synagogue. His twelve-year-old daughter is gravely ill. He comes to Jesus and begs the Rabbi to heal his little girl. Jesus agrees, but he’s delayed along the way when he stops to heal a hemorrhaging woman. Then word comes to Jairus that it’s too late. His daughter is dead.

Jesus ignores their words and tells Jairus to just believe. Apparently, Jairus does.

When Jesus arrives at Jairus’s house, the mourning for his daughter’s passing has already begun. Dismissing the crowd, he leads her parents and three disciples to her body.

He takes the dead girl’s hand and tells her to get up. Much to everyone’s shock, she does. Then she walks around, very much alive.

We don’t know what this girl experienced in the spiritual realm when she was dead or what her life in the physical realm was like afterward.

But she must certainly have lived with an appreciation for her father’s strong faith and the knowledge that her second chance at life is because of Jesus’s power over death.

She experienced Jesus’s healing power, in part, because of the faith of her father. Do we have that kind of faith today?

[Discover more about Jairus’s daughter in Mark 5:22–43 and Luke 8:40–56.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Widow from Nain

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 27, 2021

A woman from the town of Nain has sorrow heaped upon sorrow. First, her husband dies. Then her only son perishes. At that time, the culture dismisses a woman without a male in her families, such as a husband or son.

This woman’s future is indeed bleak.

During the funeral procession for her boy, a large crowd follows along, mourning with her and sharing in her grief.

Jesus comes up to the group, and his heart goes out to the woman. He touches the coffin. The pallbearers stop. Jesus speaks to the dead boy, “Son, get up.” The lad sits up and starts talking. Jesus gives him back to his mom.

Jesus doesn’t act because of the woman’s faith or at her request. He acts because he has compassion for her and her loss. Jesus raises her son from the dead. He performs a miracle for this woman’s benefit, in her best interest.

Though Jesus didn’t raise every dead person during his time on earth, he did raise some.

Do we believe Jesus is able to do amazing things for us today?

[Discover more about the widow from Nain in Luke 7:11–17.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Mother-In-Law of Peter

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 27, 2021

I don’t think of any of Jesus’s twelve disciples as being married, but we know that at least Peter is—because we learn he has a mother-in-law. We see her only once in the Bible, and she’s not at her best. She’s incapacitated by a severe fever.

When Jesus comes to Peter’s house, he sees Peter’s ailing mother-in-law, touches her hand, and the fever goes away. To show her appreciation, she gets up and serves Jesus, making a meal for him.

Jesus has done much more for us than taking away a fever. What are we doing to show our gratitude?

[Discover more about Peter’s mother-in-law in Matthew 8:14–15.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Daughter of Herodias

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 26, 2021

The daughter of Herodias dances for her stepdad at his birthday party. We don’t know if she offers her performance or if Herod commands it. And we don’t know what kind of dance this is. Is it an innocent expression of joy or a suggestive display of sexuality?

What we do know is that her performance pleases everyone. So enamored, her stepdad promises her anything she wants.

Unsure of what to ask for, she seeks her mom’s advice, who coaches her on what to request: the head of John the Baptist. The daughter does what her Mom says, and Herod reluctantly follows through.

Herodias uses her daughter—who is innocent of wrongdoing—to bring about the death of her enemy.

Has someone ever used us to accomplish their selfish goals? What could we have done to avoid it?

[Discover more about Herodias’s daughter in Matthew 14:6–14 and Mark 6:21–28.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Herodias

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 26, 2021

Herod is a powerful man, used to getting what he wants. He even takes his brother’s wife, Herodias, and marries her. John the Baptist publicly criticizes Herod for his actions, stating plainly that what he did is illegal, contrary to the Laws of Moses.

For his boldness, John ends up in jail. Herod holds him there, keeping him out of public view, while at the same time protecting him from further harm.

We don’t know if Herodias is the victim in this adulterous marriage or the instigator, but the Bible says she holds a grudge against John for his criticism.

In fact, she’s so enraged, she wants him dead, but Herod won’t allow it. He knows John is a good man, and Herod likes to listen to him—even though John’s words perplex him.

When Herod throws a birthday party for himself, Herodias’s daughter dances for them. Everyone likes what they see. Because of her impressive performance, Herod, without thinking, promises to give her whatever she wants. She seeks her mom’s advice.

Herodias sees opportunity and is quick to respond. She tells her daughter to ask for John’s head on a platter.

Although dismayed, Herod doesn’t want to renege on his promise in front of his guests. To avoid public embarrassment, he orders John’s immediate execution. They present John’s head on a platter to the girl.

Blinded by anger, Herodias achieves her goal of orchestrating John’s death. She gets her revenge.

While we would never plot another person’s death, Jesus says even anger toward another is akin to murder. What raw emotions do we need to curb?

[Discover more about Herodias in Matthew 14:3–14, Mark 6:17–28, and Luke 3:19–20.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Anna

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 26, 2021

Anna is widowed after only seven years of marriage. A devout woman, she dedicates her life to God, spending as much time as possible in the temple, fasting, praying, and worshiping him.

She is at least eighty-four years old when Mary and Joseph show up to consecrate Jesus. She recognizes him as the savior the people have been expecting for centuries. She thanks God she has lived long enough to see Jesus and then shares her excitement with everyone nearby.

After a lifetime of devotion to God, Anna receives her reward by seeing Jesus. How many other people were likewise as devout, but never got to meet baby Jesus?

God calls us to focus on him, but we may not receive any reward for our loyalty during our lifetime. Will we be faithful anyway?

[Discover more about Anna in Luke 2:36–38.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Mary (1)

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 26, 2021

An angel visits Mary, a young girl engaged to be married. The angel celebrates her as one highly favored by God. Perplexed, Mary wonders about the angel’s shocking greeting. Then he further stuns her by saying she will become pregnant, and her child will save her people.

“How?” Mary asks. “I’m a virgin.”

The angel explains that the Holy Spirit will supernaturally impregnate her.

Mary trusts God in this and accepts the angel’s words without arguing.

When Joseph, her fiancé, finds out she’s with child, he plans to end their engagement, but an angel visits him, too, and tells him not to break up with her. They get married, but they remain celibate until after Mary’s miracle baby is born.

However, before this happens Mary and Joseph must travel to Bethlehem for a mandatory census. Unable to find a place to stay, they hunker down in a barn. There, among the filth of livestock, Jesus is born.

This is no ordinary birth. Angels celebrate, shepherds bow down, and royalty offers expensive gifts. Then at Jesus’s consecration, people give astounding prophecies and thanks for him.

Twelve years later, Jesus amazes his parents, especially Mary, when they find him at the temple in deep discussion with the religious leaders.

At age thirty he starts his ministry. Three years later, during his execution, Jesus makes sure Mary will be cared for. The last we hear of her is at a gathering of Jesus’s followers after he rises from the dead and returns to heaven.

Though we praise Mary for her pious acceptance of God’s assignment, the townspeople didn’t likely celebrate her circumstances. They certainly dismissed her claim that “God did it,” and she likely forever carried the stigma of the girl who got pregnant before she was married.

Sometimes there is a price for following God. Would we be willing to suffer a lifetime of humiliation to conform to his plan for us?

[Discover more about Mary in Matthew 1:18–2:11, Luke 1:26–38, Luke 2:1–51, and Acts 1:14.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Elizabeth

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 23, 2021

Childless, Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, are getting old. Their chance to have kids is slim. Still, they pray for the improbable. Despite not receiving what they yearn for, their faith remains strong. They’re a righteous couple who honor God.

One day at work, an angel shows up and promises Zechariah that he and Elizabeth will finally have a son—not just any son but a special one. He is to be set apart for service to God, the Holy Spirit will empower him, and he will spark a nationwide revival.

They are to name him John.

Elizabeth does indeed get pregnant. In her sixth month, Mary—who is also expecting—comes for a visit. Inside Elizabeth, baby John jumps for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice. Then the Holy Spirit comes upon Elizabeth and she prophecies, blessing Mary and her unborn child.

When John is born, Elizabeth and Zechariah’s friends and family celebrate with them. They praise God and share in Elizabeth’s joy for finally having a baby.

Elizabeth and Zechariah prayed for a child even when it no longer made sense. God answered their prayers by giving them a son named John. We call him John the Baptist.

Are we willing to pray for the impossible? Will we patiently wait for God’s answer?

[Discover more about Elizabeth in Luke 1:5–60.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more about other biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Maid of Judith

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 23, 2021

The story of Judith’s bravery is inspiring. Although it is Judith who perfectly executes her daring plan, she does not go alone. Her maid accompanies her, taking as much risk as Judith. Consider the role of Judith’s maid.

First, she summons the town’s officials, demanding they come to talk to Judith. Next, she goes with Judith to the enemy, allowing them to be captured and taken into the heart of the enemy camp.

Then she stands to watch outside the tent while Judith kills Holofernes inside. Last, she carries his severed head as they make their escape in the middle of the night.

Though Judith’s maid did not volunteer for this assignment, she does everything she’s told to do. Without her help, the outcome of Judith’s mission would be in doubt.

After their safe return, the trouncing of their enemy, gathering up the spoils, and the lengthy celebration that follows, Judith rewards her maid by granting her freedom.

Sometimes we have little choice in the things we must do, but we do have a choice in how well we do them. Judith’s maid acquits herself well and receives a reward for her bravery and her actions.

When tasked with an unpleasant or even risky undertaking, do we try to get out of it, or do we do our best to succeed?

[Discover more about Judith’s maid in Judith 8:10, Judith 10:10–12, Judith 13:2, 9, and Judith 16:23 in The New Jerusalem Bible, Common English Bible (CEB), and New American Bible (NAB). For more information, see “Bonus Material: The Full Picture.”]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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