Matthew 9:20-22 Reaching Out For The Edge of His Cloak

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.” Matthew 9:20-22

Yesterday’s verse told of the religious leader who came to Jesus asking for his daughter to be healed. In the midst of this story, as Jesus and the crowd walked to the man’s house, we find the above verses. A woman who “had been subject to bleeding” was desperate for relief and so reached out to simply touch Jesus’ cloak, knowing this small act was all she needed for such a huge change in her life.

In Mosaic law at that time, a woman going through her monthly menstrual period was considered “unclean” and had to remove herself from the general population until the time of her menstruation was over. To compare, this status of being “unclean” was considered no different than someone with the highly contagious skin disease leprosy. The major difference here is that after a few days, a woman’s period ended and she would be considered “clean” again.

Not the woman in this passage. It can be assumed by what is said that because of her condition she was always bleeding to some degree or another (many scholars use the word “hemorrhaging”). Though it is not stated, it can also be assumed that because of this she was an outcast, never able to show herself as “clean” since the blood never truly stops.

Desperate, she sees the miracles Jesus is doing and knows that He is her only hope. She pushes her way through the crowd, unconcerned with the scornful looks of those who see her as unclean, and reaches out to touch Jesus’ cloak. When He sees what she has done, Jesus heals her. Her story, in Matthew (also told in the Gospels of Luke and Mark), is brief but says so much in this simple act of faith. Because she is forced to live as an outcast, the woman is never fully able to realize her potential until she meets Jesus. With one simple act: reaching out to touch His robes, believing in His grace, her life is forever changed. No longer can society label her as “unclean.” She is, in so many ways, a new creation.

How often do we sit at home, staring at the wall and “wishing” our circumstances were different? Better health, less shy, bigger income, a new nose or less freckles? Do we find ourselves in a place where all we want to do is reach out and grab hold of a lifeline, something to pull us out of whatever hole we have found ourselves, yearn for a second or third chance to start new?

This is Jesus’ promise to us. If we reach out in faith and take hold of Him, He will give us new life, both now and beyond. Jesus never says it will be an easier life, but the world around us will seem a little brighter, a little more right. We will, in many ways, be healed.

Pray

Holy Father, I pray for the person reaching out for just a touch of your cloak, a moment in Your presence. Turn to them and heal them of whatever holds them back from being everything they can be in You. Amen.