JESUS HEALS

¹⁸ While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹ And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰ And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, ²¹ for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” ²² Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. ²³ And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴ he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵ But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ And the report of this went through all that district. ¹

A ruler came to Jesus and his kid dies. He had faith that Jesus can heal. Then a lady has a issue of bleeding for years and she has faith that only Jesus could give her a healing. Jesus can give us fullness and love and healing. Jesus if we just go to him can heal out hearts. She had faith.

The story of the woman with the “flow of blood” is reported by each synoptic writer, described as an incident which happened while Jesus was on the way to minister to Jairus’ daughter. It is of interest that, compared to Mark’s lengthy account, Matthew told the story with such brevity, but with such conciseness and clarity as to leave out no significant aspect. The woman had suffered for twelve years, and Luke, the doctor, added that she had spent all her living on doctors! She came in the crowd as one person in need, resolved that if she could only touch the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. This act of faith was detected by Jesus (Luke adds that Jesus perceived that virtue had left Him to heal) and He said to the woman, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well” What gracious words to one who, with an issue of blood, was considered unclean; who had imposed herself as unclean into this setting, to then be healed and graciously blessed by the Master!

The hymn writer caught the simple pathos of this scene: “She only touched the hem of His garment, as to His side she stole; amid the crowds that gathered around her, and straightway she was whole.” Points for our learning include (1) His goodness turns our problems into occasions of hope, v. 20; (2) His greatness makes our needs seem small, v. 21; (3) His graciousness makes our healing sure, v. 22.

In developing a message on physical healing we should be careful to relate healing to the providence and will of God. That He can heal is without question; that it is always His will to heal is another question. We must seek to discern the will of God, that which will be to His glory, as an authentic witness of His presence and purpose. This witness often includes suffering with a spirit of trust in His grace—often as important a witness to the character of the kingdom as healing. The ministry of healing is the church’s privilege more than her program. Willard Swartley says, “As Christians we are not told to copy Jesus’ miracles, but His sufferings and His self-giving love (2 Pet. 2:21, 22).” We may relate this to the healing of the estrangement of our uncleanness, to the deliverance from our sinfulness and perversion, to release from our loneliness, as well as to physical well-being.

²

In this section Matthew recorded four miracles involving five persons.

A broken home (vv. 18–19, 23–26). It must have been difficult for Jairus to come to Jesus, since he was a devout Jew and the leader in the synagogue. But Jairus’ love for his dying daughter compelled him to seek Jesus’ help, even if the religious leaders were opposing Him. When Jairus first came to Jesus, his daughter was close to death. The delay caused by the healing of the woman gave “the last enemy” opportunity to do its work. The ruler’s friends came and told him that his daughter had died.

Jesus quickly reassured the man and went with him. In fact, the delay should have helped to strengthen Jairus’ faith; for he saw what the woman’s meager faith had accomplished in her own life. We must learn to trust Christ and His promises no matter how we feel, no matter what others say, and no matter how the circumstances may look. The scene at home must have frightened Jairus, yet Jesus took command and raised the girl from the dead.

A broken hope (vv. 20–22). Mark 5:26 informs us that this woman had tried many physicians, but none could help her. Imagine the despair and discouragement she felt. Her hopes were shattered. Because of this hemorrhage, the woman was ceremonially unclean (Lev. 15:25ff), which only added to her hopelessness. The “hem” refers to the special tassels that the Jews wore on their garments to remind them they were God’s people (Num. 15:37–41; Deut. 22:12).

It is interesting that Jairus and this woman—two opposite people—met at the feet of Jesus. Jairus was a leading Jewish man; she was an anonymous woman with no prestige or resources. He was a synagogue leader, while her affliction kept her from worship. Jairus came pleading for his daughter; the woman came with a need of her own. The girl had been healthy for 12 years, and then died; the woman had been ill for 12 years and was now made whole. Jairus’ need was public—all knew it; but the woman’s need was private—only Jesus understood. Both Jairus and the woman trusted Christ, and He met their needs.

Jairus may have resented the woman, because she kept Jesus from getting to his daughter before the girl died. But his real problem was not the woman, but himself: He needed faith in Christ. Jesus forced the woman to give her testimony (see Mark’s account) both for her sake and for the sake of Jairus. The fact that God has helped others ought to encourage us to trust Him more. We ought not to be so selfish in our praying that we cannot wait on the Lord, knowing He is never late.

This woman’s faith was almost superstitious; and yet Jesus honored it and healed her. People must “touch Christ” where they are able, even if they must start at the hem of His garment. The Pharisees enlarged their hems and tassels in order to appear more spiritual, but they lacked the power to heal (Matt. 23:5). Others touched the hem of Christ’s garment and were also healed (Matt. 14:34–36).

When Sir James Simpson, the inventor of chloroform, was dying, a friend said to him, “You will soon be resting on His bosom.” The scientist replied: “I don’t know as I can do that, but I think I have hold of the hem of His garment.” It is not the strength of our faith that saves us, but faith in a strong Saviour.³

Note the woman was needing to touch Jesus thinking that would heal her, Jesus does not make this a issue.. Some people might need to do something odd to honor Jesus so maybe Jesus honors them in the thing they do so I ought not put them down.

Even though Jesus was on His way to Jairus’s home to raise his daughter from death, He was not so preoccupied with that mission that He did not have time for this poor woman. We can learn something from this incident: Jesus is never too busy for us. He does not have managers and assistants to keep people from contacting Him. He knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matt. 10:30), which means He has a complete and comprehensive knowledge of every creature in this world. He knows all the worries that weigh us down. He knows every pain we experience before we tell Him about them. Yes, He is governing, upholding and sustaining the vast universe in all its complexity from moment to moment, but He still knows us, cares about us, and listens to our prayers. Who am I that I should have the ear of God Almighty? Who am I that He should have a moment’s concern about my well-being? David said, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Ps. 8:3–4). That care is what we see in this story, when Jesus stopped to minister to this hurting woman. Her need was minor compared to the need of Jairus and his daughter. But it mattered to her, and so it mattered to Jesus.⁴

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Mt 9:18–26). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

2 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

3 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 35–36). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

4 Sproul, R. C. (2013). Matthew (pp. 283–284). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.