Matthew 9:20-22 20And behold, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years after approaching from behind touched the edge of his garment, 21for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be healed.” 22And Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Take courage, daughter; your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that hour.
This story interrupts the story of Jesus raising the dead daughter of the ruler. The two stories are related thematically, although they take place historically together. While Jesus was on his way to the ruler’s home, a desperate woman snuck up and touch the edge of his clothes. She had no other hope for healing. The story does not say how or if she sought help, but the long period of twelve years made her desperate. The Old Testament law in Leviticus 15:25 says that a woman with an irregular discharge of blood was considered unclean as long as she had that discharge. This woman would have been considered unclean for a significant period of her life. Beyond simply the physical problems, her uncleanness would have caused her many social and religious problems.
She saw Jesus as her only hope. Her hope blossomed into faith and moved her to risk pushing through the crowd. She was a nobody in that culture, unclean, ostracized, and avoided. She may have thought that even Jesus would not see her. All she needed to do was get close and touch him. Jesus saw through the crowds and looked at this woman and saw faith. The word for healed (sesōken) is sometimes translated as “save.” Jesus brought something deeper to this woman that addressed the deepest need of her life.
Jesus comes to those who are helpless, like the dead girl, and touches them because of the faith of other people. He also represents hope for those who are desperate enough to touch him, like the bleeding woman. Two precious daughters of God were healed because they saw Jesus as their only hope.
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