Three of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) include the story of the “Unclean Woman of Faith”.
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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, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
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And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
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And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
When read on its own, this story doesn’t seem like much more than a quick little example of a miracle. But when the Bible is read in context, we learn there is more to it.
The first thing we must understand about this story is that this woman is suffering through much more than just a health issue. According to the Jewish law, this specific health issue also makes her unclean. And when someone, or something, is unclean and it comes in contact with someone or something else, it makes that thing unclean too.
Leviticus 15:19-33 (NLT) “Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her during that time will be unclean until evening…If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is unrelated to her menstrual period, or if the blood continues beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean. As during her menstrual period, the woman will be unclean as long as the discharge continues…”
So for twelve years this woman has been considered unclean within the Jewish community, which means she has been ostracized from her friends and family, expected to permanently separate herself from their society until the bleeding stops and she can be made ceremonially clean again.
Since, their medicinal options obviously hadn’t helped her in twelve years, she had most likely given up hope of ever having a normal life. As Mark 5:26 says, “...and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.” (ESV).
Then Jesus came on the scene.
Lost Renaissance Masterpiece Found Hanging Above Woman’s Hot Plate
As Mark 5:27 says, this woman heard of the things Jesus had been doing. Not only was He performing healing miracles--which probably would have been enough for her to ask Him to heal her--but He was also specifically fulfilling Messianic prophecies. And we can know she recognized this and believed He was the promised Messiah because of how she goes about trying to get healed.
Mathew 9:21 informs us that she believed the only thing she needed to do was touch his garment. “...she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” (ESV).
Why would she think that specifically? Why wouldn’t she think she needed to ask Jesus to heal her? It seems a bit strange to assume that his garments would have the power to heal her.
Well, she obviously had a pretty decent knowledge of the Scriptures, because she is putting her faith in one of the Messianic prophecies in Malachi:
Malachi 4:2 (ESV) But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
The Hebrew word for “wings” in this verse is "kanaph". Strong's Concordance, defines it as follows:
Kanaph (kaw-nawf); Noun Feminine, Strong #: 3671
Wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt
- Wing
- Extremity skirt, corner (of garment)
In other words, this verse is saying:
Malachi 4:2 (ESV) But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in the fringes of its robe. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
This woman knew Jesus was the solution to all of her problems. With one little touch, she could return to her life with her family and friends. The problem was, He was going to be surrounded by a crowd of people which she wasn’t supposed to get close to because everyone she would come in contact with would become unclean.
It was a huge risk for her to venture into the crowd to touch Jesus’ cloak. If she had been wrong and hadn’t been healed, a lot of people would have been furious with her for being so reckless and making them all unclean. They may have even gotten angry enough to execute her for it. But her knowledge of the Scriptures and of the fact that God’s prophecies always come true, led her to have such a strong faith that she took the risk, pushed her way through the crowd, and reached out to touch the edges of Jesus’ cloak.
And, the result?
Luke 8:44, 46-48 (ESV) She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased…Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
Her faith wasn’t just a random whim or feeling. She knew the Biblical prophecies about the coming Messiah and knew that Jesus had been fulfilling them.
Walking into a crowd in her state was too dangerous to risk without being certain of who Jesus was. If she had been wrong, she could have even made Jesus, Himself, unclean by touching Him. But she wasn’t wrong. Jesus was the promised Messiah. So, instead of her making Jesus unclean, Jesus made her clean; just as He does for everyone who puts their faith in Him.
This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”