… she touched the fringe of his robe. Luke 8:44
There was a woman living in Capernaum that had been bleeding for a long time. Her bleeding made her unclean, which meant she wasn’t allowed into any gathering. She couldn’t even be touched. Can you imagine not being touched for 12 years? Her physical and emotional discomfort must have been significant – pain, anemia, fatigue, isolation, discouragement or outright depression.
But then one day Jesus walked by. He lived in Capernaum, so she had heard of Him and maybe even heard His teaching from afar. This great rabbi had a large following around Him, but somehow she was able to thread her way through the crowd without raising alarm. She reached out for Jesus and grabbed His garment. Many of our translations say she grabbed His hem, but she actually grabbed His tassel. And she was healed. Why? Because Jesus’ clothes were holy? I don’t think so. What about all the other people brushing up against Him?
What was she doing when she grabbed the tassel and why did the gospel writer include that detail?
Malachi 4:2 says that there is healing in the wings of the Messiah, the Sun of Righteousness. The corner, or wing (kanaf), of a garment is where the tassel is tied. When she specifically grabbed that part of His cloak, could she have been declaring her trust that He was the Messiah?
I think she knew Malachi. Not a small feat for a woman who was not allowed in the assembly. Did she have a godly family that had studied scripture at home? Did she sit just out of range of the teachers in Capernaum, but close enough to overhear the teaching? It seems she knew the text and she acted on that knowledge in faith.
I pray that I would spend my time as wisely, learning the text. And that I would have the courage to act on it as she did.
