20Then a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the [tassel] fringe of His outer robe; 21for she had been saying to herself, “If I only touch His outer robe, I will be healed.” 22But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Take courage, daughter; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.” And at once the woman was [completely] healed. Matthew 9:20-22 AMP
This passage is powerful because when you consider the woman with this issue of blood, like everyone else that Jesus healed miraculously, they already knew that they were not well/unclean. Nobody had to tell them of their infirmity/uncleanness, they already knew it in their mind and heart. For 12 years the woman had been unclean and had tried everything that she could think of, and had been told about or instructed to do by her friends. All seemed lost until she heard about Jesus who could AND had healed others that were unclean and suffered from infirmities. I believe that in her mind she thought, “well I have tried everything else, why not try this Jesus? Really I believe that she had heard about the miracles that he had performed, and she had no doubt that he could do the same for her. In almost every other miracle that Jesus had performed up to this point, he usually had a conversation/verbal exchange with the person in need. Typically they cried out, or were brought before him to make their request, or he, seeing their need would ask what they desired. This situation was different, before then he had not had an exchange with a woman (at least not recorded), and the people that he had healed had not initiated the touch. This woman because she was 1st a woman, and 2nd unclean, felt that she had no right to be in public, and much less to be seen, heard, or touched by Jesus. This woman did something that I don’t believe others of the time or now would be willing to do; she was willing to get dirty and unorthodox to receive her healing/blessing. She heard that Jesus was in town, or at least knew that based on where he was going, he had to travel through an area known or accessible to her. She didn’t need to get on Jesus’ calendar or in his appointment book because she knew that he was able to provide what she needed, and had heard that he healed all who came into contact with him and were willing to be healed. She was one of the 1st to get in the path of Jesus, seek and connect herself with him, and to reach out to him because he is able and willing to heal and help all who will believe and come unto him. So this woman took a leap of faith; she traveled into public though she was considered unclean at the time, and she didn’t announce her uncleanness to those she came into contact with because she didn’t need to announce what she was currently dealing with because she knew that she was going to be/already healed in her mind. She was willing to press toward Jesus in spite of the crowd, and inconveniences; she got down on the ground, in the dirt where people’s feet were, and crawled past and between folks, on the ground where they had spit, where jagged rocks, discarded items, and dust laid because she was pressing towards Jesus and her healing. After elbowing, pushing/pulling people, and crawling on her hands and knees through people, she finally gets to Jesus, and touches the bottom of his robe, and is immediately healed. This scene reminds me of another parable about the path to heaven is narrow and hard to find
13-14“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention. Matthew 7:13-14 MSG
because there are many detours along the way, and people to overcome, but for those who are willing to endure, and have faith in Jesus will find it. Jesus later tells the disciple about those who ask anything in his name in faith will receive it. This unnamed woman and her faith is an early example and representation of that fact, she decided in her mind that she wanted to be healed, she also decided in her mind that Jesus could heal her, and finally she set the conditions on how she would be healed, “if I just touch the hem of his robe,” in which she was healed immediately. She didn’t need a team of prayer warriors, she didn’t need to go to the pastor/priest, and she didn’t have to do any type of crazy works to fix herself before approaching Jesus; she just needed the faith and to make the decision in her mind and profess with her mouth (even to herself) that she would be healed.
Reflection Time
What do you stand in need of today? Do you have the faith that Jesus can AND will do it for you? Have you decided how AND when you want to receive your healing/blessing, or do you have the faith that Jesus CAN AND WILL do it for you according to his will at just the right time? Are you willing to get unorthodox to receive your healing/blessing? Take this time to make up your mind that you will be healed, and more importantly that you ARE healed!!! Speak your healings/blessings, and watch Jesus work it out for you.
