And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
Jesus perceived that healing power, which is divine power, had gone out from Him to heal. He distinguished the purposeful touch of genuine living faith from the casual pressing and jostling of the crowd, for the cure came not from power in touching His garment itself but from firm faith reaching out to claim His divine help. He knew at once what touch had drawn power from Him and did not impart it unconsciously, but stopped and asked who touched Him not for His own information but to teach the people, the disciples, and the woman that faith had brought the healing. He brought the hidden act into the open so she would acknowledge her healing, hear that her faith had made her whole, and give grateful public testimony by which God is glorified. Merely being near Christ, merely assenting to the gospel as true, or praying without real soul hunger and living faith avails little, while saving faith personally receives Him, trusts His grace, works by love and purifies the soul, and brings pardon as surely as it brought bodily healing.
Setting and Background
After returning from healing the demoniacs at Gadara, Jesus was going with Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, to lay hands on his little daughter who lay at the point of death and had been given up to die by physicians. The distance to the house was short but progress was very slow because the people pressed forward on every side, eager to see the great Teacher and begging His attention and aid, while the anxious father urged his way through fearful of being too late. Jesus pitied the people in their spiritual darkness and physical maladies and stopped now and then to minister to their wants and relieve suffering and comfort the troubled, though the surging masses nearly carried Him off His feet, and the disciples were surprised at His ready compliance with the request of the haughty ruler.
The woman had suffered twelve long years with a disease that made her life a burden, had spent all her substance upon physicians and remedies in vain, and had been pronounced incurable and given up to die. Her hopes revived when she heard of the wonderful cures effected by Jesus, and she believed that if she could come into His presence He would take pity on her and heal her.
Suffering with pain and weakness she came to the seaside where He was teaching and sought to press through the crowd encompassing Him, having seen Him healing the sick and waiting for her opportunity with hope in her heart. Her way was continually hedged up by the throng until she began to despair, yet the more she thought on it the more firmly she believed that even touching His garment, if she could come near unnoticed and touch only the hem, would cure her. As Jesus urged His way through the multitude He came within her reach, and in the midst of a dense throng she pressed through to reach it and put forth her finger to barely touch the hem of His garment as He was passing.
Virtue and Touch Distinguished
“Virtue is gone out of me” means healing power, divine power, had gone out from Jesus to heal, and virtue means power. He knew a particular touch had drawn that healing power from Him even while the crowd was pressing against Him, and He stopped and declared it and recognized and answered that faith with healing. The woman reached for His garment believing she would be healed, and she was healed through faith in Christ’s power and immediately healed when she touched Him. He used the moment to teach those present the difference between faith and mere physical contact with Him.
That virtue is Christ’s own life imparted to others, for He was in Himself health and strength. It is the healing power of love, flowing out in divine power in acts of mercy and healing to bring relief to the sick and distressed, healing body as well as soul. He gave that life to the sick, the afflicted, and those possessed of demons, turning away none who came for healing power. He knew those asking for help had brought disease upon themselves, yet He did not refuse to heal them, and when His virtue entered those poor souls they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of spiritual disease as well as physical maladies. This quiet work of bringing relief began in His childhood and helped explain why many listened gladly when His public ministry began, and the same virtue flows from Christ to those who consecrate their abilities to His service and desire His Spirit, for the gospel still possesses the same power so the same results should be witnessed today.
Jesus distinguished the woman’s purposeful touch of genuine, living faith from the crowd’s casual, careless, accidental contact in pressing, thronging, and jostling Him on every side on the right and on the left. Many pressed against Him, but only her touch with deep purpose drew healing power and was recognized by Him at once, and did not go unnoticed. He could distinguish the touch of faith from the casual contact of the careless throng, knowing someone had touched Him with deep purpose and had received an answer. Her faith brought her deliverance from a long illness and made her whole, and her faith received its reward. People can be physically close yet fail to meet one another with sympathy or understanding.
The cure came not from any virtue or power in the simple outward act of touching His clothes or garment itself. It came from strong, firm faith reaching out to claim His divine help and divine power, expressing trust in His power, not in His garment. The woman was healed through faith in Christ’s power, for her healing was not caused by merely touching His garment, but by faith reaching out to His divine power.
Healing Through Faith
In the presence of the great Physician she pressed forward believing that if she but touched His garment she would be cured. After seeing Him healing the sick she waited for her opportunity with hope in her heart, and as He urged His way through the multitude and came within her reach she put forth her finger and barely touched the hem of His garment as He was passing in the midst of a dense throng. In that moment she was healed, with health and strength instantly taking the place of feebleness and pain. She had concentrated all the faith of her life in that one touch that made her whole, and her years-long affliction left her, which she wept out and confessed.
Her deliverance from a long illness came by taking hold of Christ with living faith. Touching Him in the press of life brings wholeness. Her touch did not go unnoticed, and her faith received its reward when He recognized it at once and healing power went out from Him to make her whole. That healing was an act of Jesus Himself, not a result of superstition or human skill.
When His virtue entered those poor souls they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of spiritual disease as well as physical maladies. He was a physician of both body and soul whose compassionate words brought relief to people suffering and in need, changing distress and gloom to joy and thanksgiving. This quiet work of bringing relief to the sick and distressed, healing body as well as soul, began in His childhood and helped explain why many listened gladly when His public ministry began. The gospel still possesses the same power, so the same results should be witnessed today.
Why Jesus Asked
Jesus already knew all the circumstances of the healed woman and recognized at once the particular touch that had drawn healing power from Him amid the pressing of the crowd. That touch of genuine faith was wholly distinct from the casual, careless contact of the throng jostling Him on every side, and He perceived divine power going out from Him in answer to her deep purpose in reaching for His garment believing she would be healed. He did not impart His healing power unconsciously, but knew someone had touched Him with intent and had received an answer.
He stopped and declared that healing power had gone out from Him and insisted on finding who had touched Him. His question was not asked for His own information, but to give a lesson to the people, to the disciples, and to the woman herself, to show openly that faith had brought the healing power. By drawing attention to her touch He meant to inspire the afflicted with faith and hope and to encourage others to trust His power to save.
He would not let such confidence and trust pass without comment, but insisted on bringing it forward so the humble, timid woman would come forward to Him. He wanted her to know that He understood her suffering, loved her with compassion, approved her faith rather than rebuking it, and had power to save fully all who come to Him. He desired to speak to her words of comfort that would become a wellspring of lasting joy to her.
He brought her hidden act of faith into the open so she would acknowledge her healing, hear that her faith had made her whole, and confirm that she had been made whole. He led her to give grateful public confession and testimony by which God must be glorified, showing that His power had done more for her in one touch than physicians had done in twelve long years. The record stands through the ages to show that He honors the act of faith, and the lesson would endure beyond that moment for the comfort of His followers and the instruction of all who learn from her faith.
He wanted her openly to acknowledge the blessing she had received, since the gifts the gospel offers are not to be secured by stealth or enjoyed in secret. He recognizes the motive of every movement of action and judges its worth by whether it is to do His will, and He never passes it by.
Pardon and Saving Faith
As He healed bodily sickness in answer to firm faith, so He pardons the sin-defiled repentant soul that calls on Him, and the touch of faith that draws healing power brings forgiveness that fills the soul with gratitude and joy. The healing came not from the outward act of touching His garment itself but from firm trust reaching out to claim divine help, and Jesus answers even silent prayer from one who so trusts.
The wondering crowd that pressed close about Him realized no accession of vital power, while the suffering woman who in great need touched Him in faith felt healing virtue go out from Him. Merely being near Christ does not bring blessing, and merely accepting the gospel as true or believing that Christ is the world's Saviour does not save or bring healing power to the soul. Merely knowing Christ as the world's Saviour or assenting to the gospel avails little, and talking of religious things in a casual way or praying for spiritual blessings without real soul hunger and living faith brings no saving benefit.
Saving faith is responding to the drawing of Christ and joining to Him, personally receiving Him as Saviour and trusting His saving grace. It claims His merits as one's own and joins the believer to God in covenant, expressing supreme preference, perfect reliance, and entire consecration. It works by love and purifies the soul, and works in the follower true obedience to God's commandments, for love to God and love to man result from vital connection with Christ. Such living faith brings vigor, confiding trust, and spiritual vigor and strength, with power to overcome and to conquer, giving life to both body and soul.
The touch that availed was childlike trust reaching out to connect with the Saviour, simply taking God at His word and reaching out to Him. It is simple in its action and powerful in its results, bringing the virtue of healing to the soul. Jesus does not fail to answer that silent prayer of faith with blessing in return, without needing an ecstasy of feeling, feelings wrought up to high excitement, intense emotion, loud petitions, noisy petitions, physical display, or physical exercise to gain His hearing.
Strong cries and tears involuntarily forced out by conflict of doubt and temptation, and cries and groans from a penitent's agony over guilt, are heard by the compassionate Saviour with pity, but they are not essential to faith. Doubt can weaken confidence, and cold doubt destroys confidence. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith will never be blessed.
Living Faith for Service
Even amid the weight of redeeming the world, with teaching and healing taxing mind and body to the utmost, Jesus gave careful attention to little things and did not overlook the needs of the humblest servant, for His ear heard every cry of need and He was awake to the afflicted woman's touch in the crowd, where the very slightest touch of faith brought a response. He distinguished that purposeful touch of faith from the press of the crowd and declared that healing power had gone out from Him, thereby noticing and honoring the faith of a sufferer and revealing His gracious healing power as the great Medical Missionary. That faith made actual contact with Him and received healing the crowd did not receive, and such faith brings His virtue to believers to prepare them for His service and kingdom.
Healing comes by taking hold of Christ with living faith, and those who care for the sick and afflicted are called to have that same living hold so they can speak words of comfort and show His tenderness and sympathy, even with tears, to help sufferers. The same virtue that flowed from Him in acts of mercy and healing flows from Christ to those who consecrate their abilities to His service and desire His Spirit. Touching His garments in faith is the example of receiving His healing touch, and faith in Christ can so revive mind and body for service.
The woman's act shows the kind of faith believers should have in Christ, enabling them to face trials and conflicts with joy rather than dwelling on them. It means looking to the Saviour by living faith to come into living connection with Jesus Christ instead of looking at and deploring the wounds and bruises sin has made, and that looking brings the healing power of His grace to heal those wounds. In her immediate healing when she put forth her finger and touched the hem of His garment in the dense throng, after watching Him heal the sick and waiting for her opportunity with hope in her heart, humanity was connected with divinity and the blessing was received, because He came to earth to bring divinity to humanity. That divinity and power is needed by young and old, and must be sought and lived out in a consistent life by taking hold of Christ with living, active faith, coming to Him helpless and dependent for help to overcome unbelief, studying His life of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and becoming a Christian in every sense of the word.
Touching Jesus in faith brings a response of healing virtue from Him, and coming to Him as personal Saviour in personal trust and laying burdens at His feet brings peace with God and union with Christ whom believers may trust and imitate. With the end of this world coming, bringing life into right relation with Christ saves trouble for oneself and for others. He recognizes the motive of every movement of action and judges its worth by whether it is to do His will, and He never passes it by, as shown when the woman's touch was known by Him and her confession confirmed she had been made whole, with healing made His gift to her after years of suffering.
Many pressed against Him, but only her touch brought healing and was recognized by Him, showing that people can be physically close yet fail to meet one another with sympathy or understanding. The touch of faith that draws healing power from Christ differs from the multitude thronging Him, and as the woman was purified and made sound in a moment and then turned and told her pitiful story, each person is asked whether he has touched Christ in this way and whether He saves him today. All are called to seek Him that is mighty and to choose between the Prince of Life and the prince of darkness, with certainty from His words that asking receives, knocking is opened, and the heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit. Virtue in the verse means power, and the healing was an act of Jesus, not a result of superstition or human skill, just as the healing garments used through Paul at Ephesus showed God's power and brought honor to Jesus rather than to Paul.
Jesus perceived that healing power, which is divine power, had gone out from Him to heal. He distinguished the purposeful touch of genuine living faith from the casual pressing and jostling of the crowd, for the cure came not from power in touching His garment itself but from firm faith reaching out to claim His divine help. He knew at once what touch had drawn power from Him and did not impart it unconsciously, but stopped and asked who touched Him not for His own information but to teach the people, the disciples, and the woman that faith had brought the healing. He brought the hidden act into the open so she would acknowledge her healing, hear that her faith had made her whole, and give grateful public testimony by which God is glorified. Merely being near Christ, merely assenting to the gospel as true, or praying without real soul hunger and living faith avails little, while saving faith personally receives Him, trusts His grace, works by love and purifies the soul, and brings pardon as surely as it brought bodily healing.
Setting and Background
After returning from healing the demoniacs at Gadara, Jesus was going with Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, to lay hands on his little daughter who lay at the point of death and had been given up to die by physicians. The distance to the house was short but progress was very slow because the people pressed forward on every side, eager to see the great Teacher and begging His attention and aid, while the anxious father urged his way through fearful of being too late. Jesus pitied the people in their spiritual darkness and physical maladies and stopped now and then to minister to their wants and relieve suffering and comfort the troubled, though the surging masses nearly carried Him off His feet, and the disciples were surprised at His ready compliance with the request of the haughty ruler.
The woman had suffered twelve long years with a disease that made her life a burden, had spent all her substance upon physicians and remedies in vain, and had been pronounced incurable and given up to die. Her hopes revived when she heard of the wonderful cures effected by Jesus, and she believed that if she could come into His presence He would take pity on her and heal her.
Suffering with pain and weakness she came to the seaside where He was teaching and sought to press through the crowd encompassing Him, having seen Him healing the sick and waiting for her opportunity with hope in her heart. Her way was continually hedged up by the throng until she began to despair, yet the more she thought on it the more firmly she believed that even touching His garment, if she could come near unnoticed and touch only the hem, would cure her. As Jesus urged His way through the multitude He came within her reach, and in the midst of a dense throng she pressed through to reach it and put forth her finger to barely touch the hem of His garment as He was passing.
Virtue and Touch Distinguished
“Virtue is gone out of me” means healing power, divine power, had gone out from Jesus to heal, and virtue means power. He knew a particular touch had drawn that healing power from Him even while the crowd was pressing against Him, and He stopped and declared it and recognized and answered that faith with healing. The woman reached for His garment believing she would be healed, and she was healed through faith in Christ’s power and immediately healed when she touched Him. He used the moment to teach those present the difference between faith and mere physical contact with Him.
That virtue is Christ’s own life imparted to others, for He was in Himself health and strength. It is the healing power of love, flowing out in divine power in acts of mercy and healing to bring relief to the sick and distressed, healing body as well as soul. He gave that life to the sick, the afflicted, and those possessed of demons, turning away none who came for healing power. He knew those asking for help had brought disease upon themselves, yet He did not refuse to heal them, and when His virtue entered those poor souls they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of spiritual disease as well as physical maladies. This quiet work of bringing relief began in His childhood and helped explain why many listened gladly when His public ministry began, and the same virtue flows from Christ to those who consecrate their abilities to His service and desire His Spirit, for the gospel still possesses the same power so the same results should be witnessed today.
Jesus distinguished the woman’s purposeful touch of genuine, living faith from the crowd’s casual, careless, accidental contact in pressing, thronging, and jostling Him on every side on the right and on the left. Many pressed against Him, but only her touch with deep purpose drew healing power and was recognized by Him at once, and did not go unnoticed. He could distinguish the touch of faith from the casual contact of the careless throng, knowing someone had touched Him with deep purpose and had received an answer. Her faith brought her deliverance from a long illness and made her whole, and her faith received its reward. People can be physically close yet fail to meet one another with sympathy or understanding.
The cure came not from any virtue or power in the simple outward act of touching His clothes or garment itself. It came from strong, firm faith reaching out to claim His divine help and divine power, expressing trust in His power, not in His garment. The woman was healed through faith in Christ’s power, for her healing was not caused by merely touching His garment, but by faith reaching out to His divine power.
Healing Through Faith
In the presence of the great Physician she pressed forward believing that if she but touched His garment she would be cured. After seeing Him healing the sick she waited for her opportunity with hope in her heart, and as He urged His way through the multitude and came within her reach she put forth her finger and barely touched the hem of His garment as He was passing in the midst of a dense throng. In that moment she was healed, with health and strength instantly taking the place of feebleness and pain. She had concentrated all the faith of her life in that one touch that made her whole, and her years-long affliction left her, which she wept out and confessed.
Her deliverance from a long illness came by taking hold of Christ with living faith. Touching Him in the press of life brings wholeness. Her touch did not go unnoticed, and her faith received its reward when He recognized it at once and healing power went out from Him to make her whole. That healing was an act of Jesus Himself, not a result of superstition or human skill.
When His virtue entered those poor souls they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of spiritual disease as well as physical maladies. He was a physician of both body and soul whose compassionate words brought relief to people suffering and in need, changing distress and gloom to joy and thanksgiving. This quiet work of bringing relief to the sick and distressed, healing body as well as soul, began in His childhood and helped explain why many listened gladly when His public ministry began. The gospel still possesses the same power, so the same results should be witnessed today.
Why Jesus Asked
Jesus already knew all the circumstances of the healed woman and recognized at once the particular touch that had drawn healing power from Him amid the pressing of the crowd. That touch of genuine faith was wholly distinct from the casual, careless contact of the throng jostling Him on every side, and He perceived divine power going out from Him in answer to her deep purpose in reaching for His garment believing she would be healed. He did not impart His healing power unconsciously, but knew someone had touched Him with intent and had received an answer.
He stopped and declared that healing power had gone out from Him and insisted on finding who had touched Him. His question was not asked for His own information, but to give a lesson to the people, to the disciples, and to the woman herself, to show openly that faith had brought the healing power. By drawing attention to her touch He meant to inspire the afflicted with faith and hope and to encourage others to trust His power to save.
He would not let such confidence and trust pass without comment, but insisted on bringing it forward so the humble, timid woman would come forward to Him. He wanted her to know that He understood her suffering, loved her with compassion, approved her faith rather than rebuking it, and had power to save fully all who come to Him. He desired to speak to her words of comfort that would become a wellspring of lasting joy to her.
He brought her hidden act of faith into the open so she would acknowledge her healing, hear that her faith had made her whole, and confirm that she had been made whole. He led her to give grateful public confession and testimony by which God must be glorified, showing that His power had done more for her in one touch than physicians had done in twelve long years. The record stands through the ages to show that He honors the act of faith, and the lesson would endure beyond that moment for the comfort of His followers and the instruction of all who learn from her faith.
He wanted her openly to acknowledge the blessing she had received, since the gifts the gospel offers are not to be secured by stealth or enjoyed in secret. He recognizes the motive of every movement of action and judges its worth by whether it is to do His will, and He never passes it by.
Pardon and Saving Faith
As He healed bodily sickness in answer to firm faith, so He pardons the sin-defiled repentant soul that calls on Him, and the touch of faith that draws healing power brings forgiveness that fills the soul with gratitude and joy. The healing came not from the outward act of touching His garment itself but from firm trust reaching out to claim divine help, and Jesus answers even silent prayer from one who so trusts.
The wondering crowd that pressed close about Him realized no accession of vital power, while the suffering woman who in great need touched Him in faith felt healing virtue go out from Him. Merely being near Christ does not bring blessing, and merely accepting the gospel as true or believing that Christ is the world's Saviour does not save or bring healing power to the soul. Merely knowing Christ as the world's Saviour or assenting to the gospel avails little, and talking of religious things in a casual way or praying for spiritual blessings without real soul hunger and living faith brings no saving benefit.
Saving faith is responding to the drawing of Christ and joining to Him, personally receiving Him as Saviour and trusting His saving grace. It claims His merits as one's own and joins the believer to God in covenant, expressing supreme preference, perfect reliance, and entire consecration. It works by love and purifies the soul, and works in the follower true obedience to God's commandments, for love to God and love to man result from vital connection with Christ. Such living faith brings vigor, confiding trust, and spiritual vigor and strength, with power to overcome and to conquer, giving life to both body and soul.
The touch that availed was childlike trust reaching out to connect with the Saviour, simply taking God at His word and reaching out to Him. It is simple in its action and powerful in its results, bringing the virtue of healing to the soul. Jesus does not fail to answer that silent prayer of faith with blessing in return, without needing an ecstasy of feeling, feelings wrought up to high excitement, intense emotion, loud petitions, noisy petitions, physical display, or physical exercise to gain His hearing.
Strong cries and tears involuntarily forced out by conflict of doubt and temptation, and cries and groans from a penitent's agony over guilt, are heard by the compassionate Saviour with pity, but they are not essential to faith. Doubt can weaken confidence, and cold doubt destroys confidence. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith will never be blessed.
Living Faith for Service
Even amid the weight of redeeming the world, with teaching and healing taxing mind and body to the utmost, Jesus gave careful attention to little things and did not overlook the needs of the humblest servant, for His ear heard every cry of need and He was awake to the afflicted woman's touch in the crowd, where the very slightest touch of faith brought a response. He distinguished that purposeful touch of faith from the press of the crowd and declared that healing power had gone out from Him, thereby noticing and honoring the faith of a sufferer and revealing His gracious healing power as the great Medical Missionary. That faith made actual contact with Him and received healing the crowd did not receive, and such faith brings His virtue to believers to prepare them for His service and kingdom.
Healing comes by taking hold of Christ with living faith, and those who care for the sick and afflicted are called to have that same living hold so they can speak words of comfort and show His tenderness and sympathy, even with tears, to help sufferers. The same virtue that flowed from Him in acts of mercy and healing flows from Christ to those who consecrate their abilities to His service and desire His Spirit. Touching His garments in faith is the example of receiving His healing touch, and faith in Christ can so revive mind and body for service.
The woman's act shows the kind of faith believers should have in Christ, enabling them to face trials and conflicts with joy rather than dwelling on them. It means looking to the Saviour by living faith to come into living connection with Jesus Christ instead of looking at and deploring the wounds and bruises sin has made, and that looking brings the healing power of His grace to heal those wounds. In her immediate healing when she put forth her finger and touched the hem of His garment in the dense throng, after watching Him heal the sick and waiting for her opportunity with hope in her heart, humanity was connected with divinity and the blessing was received, because He came to earth to bring divinity to humanity. That divinity and power is needed by young and old, and must be sought and lived out in a consistent life by taking hold of Christ with living, active faith, coming to Him helpless and dependent for help to overcome unbelief, studying His life of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and becoming a Christian in every sense of the word.
Touching Jesus in faith brings a response of healing virtue from Him, and coming to Him as personal Saviour in personal trust and laying burdens at His feet brings peace with God and union with Christ whom believers may trust and imitate. With the end of this world coming, bringing life into right relation with Christ saves trouble for oneself and for others. He recognizes the motive of every movement of action and judges its worth by whether it is to do His will, and He never passes it by, as shown when the woman's touch was known by Him and her confession confirmed she had been made whole, with healing made His gift to her after years of suffering.
Many pressed against Him, but only her touch brought healing and was recognized by Him, showing that people can be physically close yet fail to meet one another with sympathy or understanding. The touch of faith that draws healing power from Christ differs from the multitude thronging Him, and as the woman was purified and made sound in a moment and then turned and told her pitiful story, each person is asked whether he has touched Christ in this way and whether He saves him today. All are called to seek Him that is mighty and to choose between the Prince of Life and the prince of darkness, with certainty from His words that asking receives, knocking is opened, and the heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit. Virtue in the verse means power, and the healing was an act of Jesus, not a result of superstition or human skill, just as the healing garments used through Paul at Ephesus showed God's power and brought honor to Jesus rather than to Paul.