Matthew 9:21

Mat 9:21. Τοῦ ἱματίου Αὐτοῦ, His garment) The woman, from the sense of her own impurity, acknowledged the absolute purity of Jesus.—σωθήσομαι, I shall be made whole) The expression in Mat 9:22—σεσωκέ σε, hath made thee whole—sweetly replies to this thought.[422]

[422] It is to a wonderful degree profitable to do simply, and without round-about methods, whatever the spirit of faith and love teaches; eh. Mat 26:7.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 21. She said within herself, If I may but touch his garment] Her disorder was of that delicate nature that modesty forbade her to make any public acknowledgment of it; and therefore she endeavoured to transact the whole business in private. Besides, the touch of such a person was by the law reputed unclean. By faith in Christ Jesus, little things are often rendered efficacious to our salvation. What more simple than a morsel of bread, and a few drops of wine, in the Lord's Supper! And yet, they who receive them by faith in the sacrifice they represent, are made partakers of the blessings purchased by the crucified body and spilled blood of the Lord Jesus!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) She said within herself.—The words indicate a faith real but not strong. She believed, as the leper did, in the power to heal, but did not trust the love, and shrank from the thought lest the Healer should shrink from her. And she thought not of a will that seeks to bless and save, but of a physical effluence passing from the body to the garments, and from the garments to the hand that touched them. Yet weak as the faith was, it was accepted, and outward things were endowed with a “virtue” which was not their own. So afterwards, where a like belief prevailed, the “handkerchiefs and aprons” that were brought from St. Paul’s flesh became means of healing (Act_19:12).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. she said] The imperfect tense of the original; denotes intensity of feeling, “she kept saying over and over to herself.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But Jesus turned him about,.... Knowing what was done behind him, that virtue was gone out of him, that the woman had touched him, and was healed; which is a clear proof of his omniscience, and so of his deity: not that he was angry with her for touching him, though she was an impure woman; for though men and garments were defiled by the touch of a profluvious (x) person; yet such was the power and holiness of Christ, that as he could not be defiled by any such means, so hereby, at once, this woman's impurity was also removed: but Christ turned about to observe and point out the woman, and her cure, to the company; not for the sake of his own honour, but for the glory of God, the commendation of the woman's faith, and chiefly for the strengthening the faith of Jairus, with whom he was going to raise his daughter from the dead:

and when he saw her. The other evangelists, Mark and Luke, record, that Jesus inquired who touched him, and what answer Peter and the disciples made to him; and how he looked around, and very likely fastened his eyes upon the woman; when she perceiving that she could not go off undiscovered, came trembling to him, fell down before him, and told him the whole matter; and then

he said, daughter be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole. He addressed her in a kind and tender manner, calling her "daughter"; an affable, courteous way of speaking, used by the Jewish doctors (y), when speaking to women: which showed his affection, and bespoke his relation; and bidding her take heart and be of good cheer, since he meant not to blame her for what she had done, but to commend her faith in him, whereby she had received a cure: meaning, not that there was such virtue in her faith as to effect such a cure; but that he, the object of her faith, had performed it for her:

and the woman was made whole from that hour; her disease immediately left her, and from that time forward, was no more troubled with it: the cure was so effectual, and so perfect, that the disorder never returned more.

(x) Misn. Oholot, c. 1. sect. 5. & Zabim, c. 2. sect. 4. & 3. 1. 2, 3. & 4, 5. & 5. 1. (y) Misn. Yadaim. c. 3. sect. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

Ver. 21. If I may but touch his garment] This was a glorious faith of hers, and not much inferior to that of the centurion. Let us in like sort, when we feel the bloody flux of natural filth issuing out at our eyes, mouths, hands, and other parts, repair to Christ, and touch him by faith; so shall we feel that there goes a virtue out from him, to heal the soul. As fishes, when they are hurt, heal themselves again by touching the tench, {a} finding the slime of his body to be a sovereign salve; so must we, when wounded with sin, have recourse to Christ, and our faith will make us whole every whit.

{a} A thick-bodied freshwater fish, Tinca vulgaris, allied to the carp, inhabiting still and deep waters ŒD

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For she said within herself, If I may; do (Revised Version). There is no thought of permission (eanon aqwmai). But touch his garment, I shall be whole; saved (Revised Version margin). The threefold swzein is suggestive. Observe that she is "saved" in spite of her superstition; God pitieth the blind that would gladly see" (Hooker, "Serm.," 2.

Faith marred by superstition.

"If I may but touch his garment, I shall he whole." "The woman"s touch was an ignorant and superstitious appeal to the mercifulness of Christ." As viewed By Christ, the faith shown in the touch was of much greater importance than the superstition which connected blessing with the touch. Our Lord could easily look over the superstition, and accept the faith. "She did not think of a will that seeks to bless and save, but of a physical effluence passing from the body to the garments, and from the garments to the hand that touched them." "Even the ignorance and selfishness of the woman did not neutralize the virtue of her simple faith. It was not, of course, through her superstitious touch that she was healed, but through the faith that prompted the touch; a faith full of defects, ignorantly conceived, secretly cherished, furtively put forth, openly exposed, humbly confessed, as if it had been a sin, but yet, because a true faith, graciously accepted, rewarded, and perfected." In the woman"s case we may see represented the religious experience of many. See the four stages of the woman"s experience.

I SHE KNEW HERSELF TO BE A SUFFERER. Some diseases carry on their work for a long time in secret. There is hope when they reveal their working, and set us upon finding remedies. It is a great thing to know our true moral condition,

(1) as sinners, exposed to the wrath of God, on account of our bad past;

(2) as diseased, and in an actual present state of corruption. The realities of our sin and danger are far more serious than we feel them to be.

II SHE TRIED TO GET CURE, BUT TRIED IN VAIN. She had been to many physicians, and had spent all that she had. So the awakened soul will try to use means and to cure itself,

(1) by goodness;

(2) by wrestlings with sin;

(3) by devotions;

(4) by rites and ceremonies.

These are its "many physicians," all helpless in treating soul-diseases.

III SHE HEARD OF JESUS, AND SOUGHT HIM OUT. We can only imagine what she heard, but we can clearly trace the influence of what she heard. It gave faith in Christ such a power as even enabled it to triumph over diffidence and superstitions; or, rather, enabled it to carry its superstitions along with it.

IV SHE FOUND HEALING AND LIFE FLOW FROM CHRIST. Because her touch was to him a touch of faith, and of faith so really strong and sincere that he did not care to notice the strand of weakness that ran through it. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21, 22. Touch but his garment. The Jews paid to the fringe a superstitious reverence. Sharing the superstition, this woman touched it in hope of cure. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Literally, thy faith hath saved thee. Her faith, of course, had not been the cause of her cure. Christ's power had been that. But her faith was the condition on her part. Hence it might be represented as having “made her whole.” The student should observe that hers was not a passive faith, but it led to action. A passive faith is a dead faith.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

21. ἔλεγεν γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτῇ. The imperfect denotes intensity of feeling, ‘she kept saying over and over to herself.’

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(M) 21. For she said to herself, If only I shall touch His cloak, I shall be saved.] Mk. has: “For she said that, If I shall touch but His garments, I shall be saved.” For Mt.’s omission of ὅτι, cf. Introduction, p. xix.—μόνον] Mk. has κἄν; for a similar change, cf. Mar 6:56 = Mat 14:36.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.