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Anyone this woman touched would be rendered unclean, so it was scandalous for her to press her way
to Jesus through the crowd. Even touching Jesus’ garment would make Him unclean. If she was going to
touch Him, she must do so without announcing her intentions (see Lev. 15: 26-27)

If a person was declared ceremonially unclean, the process to be cleansed was very involved, depending
upon the defilement. According to Lev. 15: 26-27, since Jesus was touched by this woman, He would
have to wash his clothes and bathe in water and would be unclean until that evening. Her defilement
could only be cleansed by her flow of blood ceasing for seven days, then on the eighth day, offering two
turtledoves or two young pigeons at the doorway of the outer court of the temple. Should a person be
defiled by touching a dead person, the process was even more complex. That person had to travel to
the temple courtyard but could not gain admittance. He had to remain outside the courtyard for the
entire week and declare himself unclean to all those who passed by. During that week, the person had
to purchase a “red heifer” and have it sacrificed for his cleansing on the eighth day. He was then
declared cleansed from defilement by a priest, who offered the sacrificial bull in atonement for his sin.

Once the woman was healed, Jesus was unashamed to be identified publicly with her hardship (v. 46).
His greater concern was that she, as well as those looking on, should realize that her “faith” (vs. 48) was
the source of the healing. Jesus’ power, unlike that of some other proclaimed wonderworkers of His
day, was not simply “magic.”

This woman believed that Jesus could heal her of her disease. She believed it so much, she was willing
to charge through the crowd to obtain her healing. Her faith was demonstrated by her action. Her
FAITH led to her healing.

Cultural Context of the Biblical World

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