Matthew 9:18-26 English Standard Version
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
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[a] 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.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Jesus’s regard for women was much different from that of his contemporaries.
Jesus’s approach to women as “revolutionary” for his era.
But was his treatment of women out of character with Old Testament revelation, or with later New Testament practice?
For Christ, women have an intrinsic value equal to that of men.
Scripturally, Jesus said, “. . . at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’” (Matt. 19:4; cf. Gen. 1:27). Women are created in the image of God just as men are. Like men, they have self-awareness, personal freedom, a measure of self-determination, and likewise, personal responsibility for their actions.
Scholars point out that Jesus came to earth not primarily as a male but as a person. He treated women not primarily as females but as human beings.
Jesus recognized women as fellow human beings.
Disciples come in two sexes, male and female.
Females are seen by Jesus as genuine persons, not simply as the objects of male desire.
Scholars believe the foundation-stone of Jesus’s attitude toward women was his vision of them as persons to whom and for whom he had come. He did not perceive them primarily in terms of their sex, age, or marital status; he seems to have considered them in terms of their relation (or lack of one) to God.
Three Clear Examples
Examples of this even-handed treatment of women by Jesus are found in the four Gospels.
First, Jesus regularly addressed women directly while in public.
This was unusual for a man to do (John 4:27).
The disciples were amazed to see Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar (John 4:7-26).
He also spoke freely with the woman taken in adultery (John 8:10–11).
Luke, who gives ample attention to women in his Gospel, notes that Jesus spoke publicly with the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12–13), the woman with the bleeding disorder (Luke 8:48; cf. Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34), and a woman who called to him from a crowd (Luke 11:27–28).
Similarly, Jesus addressed a woman bent over for eighteen years (Luke 13:12) a group of women on the route to the cross (Luke 23:27-31) also giving Mary Magdalen the first preeminent mission at the empty tomb. (John chapter 20)
A second aspect of Jesus’s regard for the full intrinsic value of women is seen in how he spoke to the women he addressed.
He spoke in a thoughtful, caring manner.
Each synoptic writer records Jesus addressing the woman with the bleeding disorder tenderly as “daughter” (references above) and referring to the bent woman as a “daughter of Abraham” (Luke 13:16).
Also notice that Jesus called the Jewish women ‘daughters of Abraham’ (Luke 13:16), thereby according them a spiritual status equal to that of men.
Third, Jesus did not gloss over sin in the lives of the women he met. He held women personally responsible for their own sin as seen in his dealings with the woman at the well (John 4:16–18), the woman taken in adultery (John 8:10–11), and the sinful woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:44–50).
Their sin was not condoned, but confronted.
Each woman had the personal freedom and a measure of self-determination to deal with the issues of sin, repentance, and forgiveness.
Jesus’s Valuation of Women Today
Even though clear role distinction is seen in Christ’s choice of the apostles and in the exclusive type of work they were given to perform, no barriers need exist between a believer and the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of gender.
Jesus demonstrated only the highest regard for women, in both his life and teaching. He recognized the intrinsic equality of men and women, and Jesus continually showed the inherent worth and dignity of women as persons.
Jesus valued their fellowship, friendship, prayers, service, financial support, testimony and witness. He honored women, taught women, and ministered to women in thoughtful ways.
As a result, women responded warmly to Jesus’s ministry.
Have things changed too drastically today for us to see this same Jesus?
Not at all. Modern women can find the same rich fulfillment in serving Christ as did the Mary’s and Martha’s of Judea, or the Joanna’s and Susanna’s of Galilee.
Why and How He Healed
Luke 8:40-48 English Standard Version
Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter
40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43 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,[a] she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter[b] said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 47 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. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
When Jesus came to live among us, he brought healing.
Jairus’ daughter was only 12 years old and she was dying.
The woman we read about today is another example of that healing power.
She crawled, snuck around the crowd touched Jesus and was instantly healed.
Jesus turned around and asked who had touched him.
He had felt healing power go out from him.
The woman came forward trembling, and “in the presence of all the people, she told Jesus why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.”
She was desperate in her approach, She testified to the healing power of Christ.
If you are a Christian, whether man or woman, you too have been healed by Christ in some way.
Even if you haven’t been healed physically, you have been healed spiritually.
The Bible tells us that at one time we (man and woman) were all dead in sin and blind to the truth of God.
As the hymn Amazing Grace states, “I once … was blind but now I see.”
We were all spiritually blind without Christ.
But he healed the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18) so that we can see.
Christ also calls all of us who are Christians to give testimony to his healing power in our lives.
That isn’t always easy.
We may be ashamed or embarrassed by the sins and character flaws that have infected our hearts before Christ healed us.
But without pointing to what was wrong with us, we can’t point back to his greatness and healing power.
In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit
Praying …
Psalm 113 English Standard Version
Who Is like the Lord Our God?
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 