An Inner Vow

Matthew 9:20-21 … "And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, (Jesus) and touched the hem of His garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole."

This is an example of "an inner vow" … faith that flies in the face of the normal outward confession using words. This woman did not confess her great faith with her mouth; as far as is recorded, she didn't say anything out loud. "She said within herself" … within her heart, within her soul, right where faith battles rage.

Some have said that she had a reason for not crying out to Jesus in public. Her issue of blood made her ceremonially unclean by Jewish law, (Leviticus 15:25) and kept her from going to the house of God for prayer as we can; but it did not stop her from approaching the Lord Himself.

Notice she said within herself … "If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole." She knew by law she would not be allowed to touch His person. So, trying her best to obey as much of the law as she could, it would have to be enough then to just touch the hem, the lower border or "fringe" of His garment.

So this woman, with a condition that made her actions in effect … a sin; out of modesty, afraid and unwilling to make a personal plea to Jesus in public knowing she would bring attention to herself, came up behind him, fearing if her physical problem was made known, she would be sent away by the people before reaching Jesus.

She could not take such a risk. She took what looked like her last opportunity of contacting Jesus … in a crowd. The more people that were present, the more likely she was that she would be concealed and unnoticed. Her faith was strong; there was no doubt in her heart for she had made that "inner vow" … that by just touching the hem of His garment she would obtain from Jesus the healing she so desperately needed.

But why did she think such a thing? Touching His clothes? Where did this thought come from? Or does it matter? She believed it … she had heard the stories of the healing power of Jesus.

One could say that she was planning to sneak up on Jesus and steal her healing from Him thinking He would not know it and would never miss it. After all … as the Son of God, did He not have the power of God with Him, around Him and in Him? He gave healing to others all the time anyway. He will never know.

But she was wrong in her thinking. She must have reasoned in her mind that this healing power that Jesus had just flowed forth out of Him like an emanation … such as how a flower emits a beautiful pleasant fragrance.

But healing did not always proceed from Christ like the odor of a flower, otherwise all who touched Him would have been automatically healed without faith … and that is not to be. Of all the many people in the crowd that were touching Him, only this one woman received healing. Why is that? She came in faith.

In Mark 5:25-34 we get a little more of this story …

"When the woman heard of Jesus, (that He was there, she) came in the press behind, (into the crowd from the rear) and touched His garment. For she said, (within herself) If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue (healing power) had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?"

Yes, someone had touched Him … the whole crowd were pressed up against Him, many were touching Him. Most were carried along by the crowd, caught up in the moment, bumping into Him … all involuntarily … but only one touched Him with the conscious, voluntary, dependent touch of faith, reaching forth her hands expressly to make contact with the hem of His garment.

Mark goes on … "And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth."

Luke 8:47 adds … "And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately."

Both Mark and Luke say that the woman, fearing and trembling, came and told Jesus all the truth in front of the people, including the impure nature of her disease. Perhaps she feared that Jesus would be offended that a person deemed unclean by the Law touched Him as she had.

"But Jesus said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole … "

Notice Jesus didn't say that He healed her. Yes; it was the power of Jesus that healed her; but that power would not have been exerted had it not been for her … faith … drawing it out.

Her confession of faith was within herself; she made an inner vow in her heart.

May I add one more observation? As I have already stated, her actions in public in her condition under the law would be considered a sin. So how could God honor and grant such a favor while in the commission of a sinful act?

I submit that she was no longer under the Law, nor was Jesus … for (a.) He fulfilled all the Law and introduced Grace; and (b.) according to Matthew 11:13, Jesus said … "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." (the baptist) … meaning when John started preaching to repent and later proclaimed … "Behold the Lamb of God" … the dispensation of the Law came to an end.

This is why Jesus could legally perform healings and other acts on the Sabbath that would have previously been against the Law. Jesus fulfilled the Law and thereby abolished the hand written ordinances that was against us … meaning the Law.

You may say that Jesus had not died yet. True.

But there was a transitional period involved here. Sometime during the three and a half years of the ministry of Jesus, the dispensation of Law transformed into the dispensation of Grace. Call it a gray area if you like. This allowed for all those who believed on Jesus, even before He died, to be counted as saved, born again, having their names in the Book of Life. Jesus speaking to His disciples said in Luke 10:20, "… rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Even before He died.

So, for whatever reason, this woman was able to pull out of Jesus (with or without His knowledge) the healing she needed. I'm going to go with what Jesus said to her … "Thy faith hath made thee whole."

It was His power that healed her … but only because of that "inner vow of faith" she made within herself.


Comments welcome.