Friday 14 March 2025
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” (v. 22)
Background
As part of our ministry among bereaved people, my husband and I run a course looking at different aspects of grief. In the final session, a priest answers questions commonly put to her by bereaved people, one of which is: "My loved one wasn’t a Christian so will they be in heaven?"
The link between faith in Christ and going to heaven is often fixed so firmly in the minds of Christians that we tend to think that only a ‘perfect’ faith, clearly articulated, will lead people to spend eternity with Jesus. Yet in this story, Matthew shows us two people who receive healing, despite having a very imperfect faith in Jesus.
The synagogue ruler only comes to Jesus as a last resort after the death of his daughter and the woman with the bleeding just has a superstitious hope that she might be healed if she could only just touch Jesus’ cloak.
Both simply reach out towards Jesus but it was enough for the woman’s bleeding to stop and a dead girl come to life. Matthew makes it clear however that faith is important (even just a crumb) as it’s perfectly possible to witness miracles of Jesus and still not believe. The crowds jostling around Jesus when he heals the woman, and the professional mourners around the girl, witness the miraculous first hand but they still do not believe and receive nothing.
The answer the priest gives at the end of the bereavement course is that going to heaven does not depend on a clearly thought out and ‘perfect’ faith. A simple turning towards Jesus with a tiny crumb of faith is enough. A crumb of faith like that of the synagogue leader and the woman with the bleeding are enough. When they turned towards Jesus with outstretched hands, Jesus saw their simple trust and gave them what they needed.
To Ponder:
- Jesus defies convention by touching two people considered ‘unclean’ in those days, a woman with bleeding and a dead girl. In what ways could we as individuals and churches defy convention in our ministries today?
- Due to understandable safeguarding concerns we are cautious about the use of ‘touch’ in our churches, yet it played an important part in Jesus’ ministry. How important are practices such as ‘laying on of hands' and the sharing of the peace, do you think?
Prayer
Loving God, help me to bring others to Jesus who only waits for a crumb of faith and an outstretched hand. Amen.
Bible notes author: Sue Moore
Sue Moore is a visiting Anglican preacher on the Methodist circuit in West Norfolk. She is candidating for the role of Distinctive Deacon and together with her husband runs a bereavement support group. They have two greyhounds who keep them fit with plenty of walking.