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…
…“Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
In Matthew 9, we see Jesus step into the world of the unclean. In the passage above, Jesus allows Himself to be touched by a woman with an issue of blood, and we see Jesus deliberately reach out and touch the hand of a dead girl. Scripture tells us that these people were unclean, and that those who touch them were required to recognize a period of uncleanliness themselves.
According to Scripture, Jesus would have to be recognized as unclean until evening due to the contact with the woman with the issue of blood. Because of the contact with the dead girl, He should have been unclean for seven days and needed to go through a cleansing ritual.
We know that Jesus, the embodiment of purity who washes away our sins, made them clean with His touch; He was the one influencing and not the one being influenced. In fact, Jesus did not recognize Himself as unclean at all after these encounters. We see in the next scene Jesus touching someone’s eyes to heal them. Touching someone else after touching a corps would have caused both parties to be seen as unclean. This was not the case. In fact, those whose eyes He touched received healing as well.
There is much to glean from the powerful truth that Jesus makes unclean clean, but what of the disciples? What of you and me?
Did the disciples trust that Jesus was still clean? Did that voice in their heads that had been raised under Mosaic Law say, “Jesus just touched your arm. He used the same hand to touch you that He touched the little girl with. Am I unclean?” For the disciples, they had to believe that Jesus was who He said He was. They had to believe that Jesus could make unclean clean. If they did not believe this, then they themselves were as guilty as Jesus at breaking the law. Had Jesus not really made the unclean clean, then He would be unclean from contact with these two people, and His uncleanliness would have been passed to His disciples. This would have broken their ability to interact with society for a period, and it would have required them to go through the ritual of cleansing.
Do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is? The consequences of His validity impacts your life in a very real way. Do you believe that His touch makes us clean? Do you believe that your soul can be made clean so that you can connect with others? Or do you need something else to cleanse you?
I attempted for years to cleans my mind of the lies that drove my insecurity. Crippled by insecurity, I hid behind quiet reserve. It wasn’t until I allowed Jesus to touch those places in my mind that needed cleansing that I became free and clear. I had to believe that His work was true or else every time I brushed up against someone else, I would believe that my insecurity still should have place in my life.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to believe that He is who He says He is. Maybe today is the day to stop questioning, “did He really make me clean?” Perhaps God wants you to spread cleanliness by His power. Maybe God wants the uncleanliness in our lives to end today by His power and love.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 227–232, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 9:18–26) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).