Daily Devotional For Monday, October 13, 2025
It’s Monday and this is the day we all can rejoice and be glad in the Lord (Ps. 118:24). We are picking right up where we left off yesterday. If you are new to these devotionals, we are making our way through Matthew’s Gospel. Where we are today is part 2 of a part 1 from yesterday. We split this Scripture into 2 parts because it contains 2 miracles. Jesus was on His own to do a miracle and while going there, another miracle occurred. Let’s go back to the passage and pick up where we left off yesterday. Here is the Matthew 9:18-26:
“As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before Him. ‘My daughter has just died,’ he said, ‘but You can bring her back to life again if You just come and lay Your hand on her.” (19) So Jesus and His disciples got up and went with him. (20) Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind Him. She touched the fringe of His robe, (21) for she thought,’“If I can just touch His robe, I will be healed.’ (22) Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, ‘Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was healed at that moment. (23) When Jesus arrived at the official’s home, He saw the noisy crowd and heard the funeral music. (24) ‘Get out!’ He told them. ‘The girl isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.’ But the crowd laughed at Him. (25) After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! (26) The report of this miracle swept through the entire countryside” (NLT).
Today we are going to center on the miracles in verses 20-22: “Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind Him. She touched the fringe of His robe, (21) for she thought, ‘If I can just touch His robe, I will be healed.’ (22) Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, ‘Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was healed at that moment” (NASB).
This unnamed woman had enough faith that Jesus could heal her in an indirect way. She did not come up to Him directly, but snuck up behind Jesus thinking if she could only touch the hem of His robe she would be healed. For 12 years this woman had been dealing with this bleeding condition. We are told that she had gone to all the doctors of her day and exhausted all her money to find a cure (Mark 5:26). This had caused her to be excluded from the Jewish community and synagogue due to Leviticus 15:25-33. She was considered unclean and anyone who came around her or touched her was considered unclean. This woman had been living like lepers lived in her day.
Two people sought Jesus for healing. Jairus had come to Jesus prior and Jesus was going to his home to bring his daughter back to life. This woman somehow had heard of Jesus and how He could heal. Early Christian history says that this woman was from Caesarea Philippi. The Bible does not say this, just very early church tradition. When she reached out to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe, she actually touched tassels handing down from the hem. These tassels were there to remind Jews to always seek God and to follow God’s will. The Bible talks about this in Numbers 15:37-38c and in Deuteronomy 22:12.
Why did she limit her touch to the tassels hanging down around the hem of Jesus’ robe? In that day Jews believed that if a holy man, or a priest or a prophet had the ability to heal, all you had to do was touch those tassels in faith and you would be healed. We see other examples of this in the New Testament in Mark 6:56 and in Acts 19:11-12. I think another reason is she knew from her culture that if Jesus touched her with this medical condition, He would be considered unclean as well. I think this is why Mark 5:28. So, she resorted to the easiest and most unobtrusive way to get to Jesus.
I think Mark adds some humor here in Mark 5:30-31, “Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched My robe?’
(31) His disciples said to Him, ‘Look at this crowd pressing around You. How can You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’” (NLT). Hundreds were touching Jesus but only one touched Him in faith. Then Mark 5:32-34 says this: “But He kept on looking around to see who had done it. (33) Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of Him and told Him what she had done. (34) And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over’” (NLT).
Did you notice two things here? Jesus asked, “Who touched Me?” Do you really think God has no idea who touched Him? I think Jesus asked this question to teach this woman and us something today. First, Jesus told the woman her faith had brought about her healing, not touching the tassels hanging from His robe. Second, Jesus called the unnamed woman “daughter,” revealing a Father/child relationship. Jesus was gentle and tender with her.
So, not only did this unnamed woman have faith, she had faith in the right person to heal her. Whereas the religious leaders would have seen her touching Jesus imparting uncleanness to Him; the irony is, her touching the tassels of Jesus’ robe in faith caused Jesus to send cleansing power to heal her. The way Jesus addressed this woman as daughter is very similar to the way He addressed the paralyzed young man on the mat who was lowered through the roof right in front of Him. He called this young man “son” (Matthew 9:2).
With the paralytic man and this woman Jesus told both after their healing “to take courage.” The Greek New Testament word is [θαρσέω,thareso]. There are two basic Greek words for courage. The second one is [τολμάω, tolmao]. This word would be characterized by gritting the teeth to help endure pain or whistling in the dark to stave off fear. It is the kind of courage that tries to master fear by sheer will power and determination. It refers to outward boldness. Whereas “thareso” is the courage that eliminates fear all together.
By calling one “son” and one “daughter,” Jesus shows us that He was not like the religious leaders of His day. He wanted to be intimately, emotionally and relationally connected to people as a parent is with their child. A lot of people today are like the crowds in Jesus’ day – they demonstrate curiosity about Jesus, but not genuine faith in Him. Many people are like this woman when it comes to their problems and challenges – they try everything else first and when they have exhausted all possibilities and used up all their resources, they come to Jesus. Self-reliance only causes self-imprisonment. This woman, like the four friends in Matthew 9:1-8, never gave up until they got to Jesus.
Assignment: Would the Lord say you are more self-reliant than God-reliant? Why or why not? What is something in your past that you did not give up on until you got to Jesus/ What did that teach you? Just like the 4 friends, this woman was desperate to get to Jesus. How desperate are you? Does your day begin with Him and throughout the day you consistently and constantly depend upon Him? Would the Lord say the motto or theme of your life is, “Just give me Jesus?” Why or why not?
Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 11:28-30, “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light’” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I do not want to live a life that is independent of You. I do not want to appear to others that I am self-reliant. I want to totally depend on You for everything. Please forgive me when I talk a good talk but do not walk a godly walk. I want the faith of those 4 friends and this woman in You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside – Pastor Kelly