Mt 9:20-22 states “And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, ‘If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.’ But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her, He said, ‘Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was made well from that hour.”
In the Jewish faith, blood renders a person ritually “unclean,” and they are not allowed to touch a rabbi or enter the temple until they do the rights of purification. She was probably hoping Jesus may not notice her or realize she touched him, staying behind Him because she knew she was unclean. Nevertheless, she also knew He was not just another rabbi. He would not be defiled by her- rather, His holiness as God would cleanse her and make *her* clean.
Discussing this with Dennis, he has read the Jewish commentaries and pointed out that she likely touched a tzit tzit that dangled from the hem of his garment. These were little tassles with knots in them that God commanded the Israelites to wear in the book of Numbers. They were to be there to remind them to obey the commandments, so they represent the commands and the Word of God. So, she reached out and touched Jesus, who *is* the Word made flesh, but also His commands and the Word of God which we can reach out and touch in faith as well.
To obey the commands of God is to love and fear God. Malachi 4:2 says “But for you who revere my name (fear God), the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.” So we know that this woman was likely Godly. She is also unique in that she is the only woman in the gospels that Jesus called “daughter,” an intimate term of endearment. This is special, yet so are we who believe called sons and daughters.
John 3:1 states, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” Jesus loved this woman so much He stopped for her to heal not only her body but her heart also. After years of being considered unclean, she likely suffered loneliness and rejection and insecurity. He took the time to show her that she is precious in His sight and to reveal His love for her and show her she is anything but alone.
This verse in Matthew coincided in my study of another verse in Matthew 17:20 in which Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, if you have faith as a mustard seed and say to this mountain, ‘Be moved from over here to over there’ it will move and indeed nothing shall be impossible for you.” This precious woman, after years of struggle and suffering managed to muster up a simple mustard seed of faith. She didn’t stop there though, she *reached out* to touch Him trusting that He is so capable of healing her and so desiring that she be healed that she would indeed be healed by this mere touch.
In the same way, when we study the Word and listen to the Spirit, we can try to discern the will of God too. 1 John 5:14 says, “And this is the boldness we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of Him.”
So, when we struggle to have faith, consider this woman and the lesson she teaches us. You don’t have to be “seen” or have great faith or even be perfectly righteous to be healed. And being healed can be in our broken faith or in our lost joy or like this woman, in our heart’s loneliness and rejection. To find the healing we seek, we have but only to repent with a contrite heart, revere and fear God and seek His commandments and Word, and reach out to Him with but a mustard seed of faith.
Take a step toward Him and reach out today! Take a verse into your heart and stand on it in even some small way. Trust your need and desire to His will and timing. Even when you may think He is walking by and doesn’t even see you, perhaps you too may see that in His own way He will stop for you too and say to you, like this precious woman, ‘Your faith has made you well, My child.”
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