NOTES for Mat 9:18-26
18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. |
19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. |
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: |
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. |
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. |
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, |
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. |
25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. |
26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land. |
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The woman suffering from a flow of blood is healed by touching Christ. She is healed in passing, while Christ is on His way elsewhere, to the place where a man who believed Him had called Him. And then, when every minute is precious, the bleeding woman touches Christ.
To appreciate the degree of her boldness, one should remember that any bodily contact with someone bleeding was considered defiling. A person defiled by such a touch would not have been able to enter the house without purification procedures, so the woman's action looked not only insolent but selfish, for she could have disrupted the healing of the dying girl. And yet the woman risked publicly admitting that she had committed a forbidden act. And Christ not only does not rebuke her, but encourages her boldness as a manifestation of faith.
Apparently, there are situations when we have to take actions that contradict established ideas and norms of behavior. But the Lord can support our boldness if it is born of faith.
And no touch can defile Him who is Purity itself. Therefore the touch of Christ, who bore on Himself all the sins of the world, raised the ruler's daughter from her bed of illness, and raises us to life as well.
Readings for 28 August 2025
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