St Matthew Chapter IX : Verses 18-26
Contents
- Matt. ix. 18-26 Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text
- Additional Notes.
Matt. ix. 18-26
18 As he was speaking these things unto them, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
Haec illo loquente ad eos, ecce princeps unus accessit, et adorabat eum, dicens : Domine, filia mea modo defuncta est : sed veni, impone manum tuam super eam, et vivet.
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| Thy faith hath made thee whole. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Et surgens Jesus, sequebatur eum, et discipuli ejus.
20 And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment.
Et ecce mulier, quæ sanguinis fluxum patiebatur duodecim annis, accessit retro, et tetigit fimbriam vestimenti ejus.
21 For she said within herself: If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed.
Dicebat enim intra se : Si tetigero tantum vestimentum ejus, salva ero.
22 But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
At Jesus conversus, et videns eam, dixit : Confide, filia, fides tua te salvam fecit. Et salva facta est mulier ex illa hora.
23 And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout,
Et cum venisset Jesus in domum principis, et vidisset tibicines et turbam tumultuantem, dicebat :
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| And the maid arose. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Recedite : non est enim mortua puella, sed dormit. Et deridebant eum.
25 And when the multitude was put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose.
Et cum ejecta esset turba, intravit : et tenuit manum ejus, et surrexit puella.
26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country.
Et exiit fama hæc in universam terram illam.
Notes
18. As he was speaking these things. According to St Matthew, the ruler arrived during our Lord’s discourse on fasting, whereas the two incidents which follow here, are placed by St Mark and St Luke after our Lord’s return from the country of the Gadarens, and they give various other incidents between the discourse on fasting and the raising of the daughter of Jairus. As St Matthew was an eye-witness of these events, it is reasonable to attach more importance to the order he observes, than to the arrangement adopted by the other Synoptists, who derived their materials from others. Another solution to the difficulty is, that Jesus twice discoursed on fasting, once in the context as given by the second and third gospels, and again in the context assigned to it by St Matthew. St Augustine favours this view.
a certain ruler. St Mark adds, named Jairus.
The Hebrew Jair or Yair, meaning “He will enlighten.” All Hebrew names had a meaning. The names of those whom Jesus healed are rarely mentioned.
Each synagogue was ruled by elders, with a Ruler as head. Some more important synagogues seem to have had several Rulers. Their duties were to conduct the services, and they had the power of excommunicating evildoers. Therefore they were feared and respected by the Jews, and belonged to the highest class of society.
came up, and adored him. The ruler fell down at the feet of Jesus (St Luke). Jairus made the usual Oriental salutation, which consisted in kneeling and touching the ground with the forehead.
saying, etc. St Mark lays stress on the ruler’s earnestness, — he besought him much.
my daughter. The third gospel supplies other details. It was his only daughter, almost twelve years old, and she was dying.
is even now dead. In St Mark we read : is at the point of death. Jairus evidently feared that, by this time, she might be dead.
come, lay thy hand. Jairus must have heard how often our Lord had cured the sick by the imposition of hands. He had not the faith of the centurion, who believed our Lord could heal from a distance.
19. Jesus .... followed him with his disciples. Jesus was satisfied with Jairus’ faith and went. He knew, too, that one would beg His mercy and compassion on the way thither. As a great multitude accompanied and thronged Him (St Mark), our Lord could advance but slowly.
20. a woman.
Eusebius, bishop of Cæsarea (315-320 A.D.), states that she was a Gentile, named Veronica, of Cæsarea Philippi (or Paneas). She is said afterwards to have pleaded with Pilate to spare our Lord. He also relates that, as a tribute of gratitude for her cure, she erected at the gate of her house a bronze image representing Jesus standing, while a woman knelt before Him with outstretched hands in the attitude of a suppliant. Julian the Apostate destroyed this image and placed his own statue on the pedestal, but this statue was destroyed by lightning.
an issue of blood. She evidently suffered from chronic hæmorrhage. This affliction rendered her legally “ unclean,” and unable to take part in ordinary religious and social life. It caused her isolation, acute pain, and prolonged suffering.
From the other Synoptists we learn that —
(a) She had suffered many things from many physicians.(b) She had bestowed all her substance on physicians.(c) She could not be healed by any.(d) She was nothing better, but rather worse.
The woman had suffered both from the disease itself, and the way in which such diseases were treated in those days. Some of them were merely ridiculous, superstitious practices, others consisted in potions made of most revolting ingredients.
came behind. She had heard of Jesus from the eye-witnesses of His marvellous works in Galilee, and came in the crowd behind Him, in order to escape observation.
touched the hem of his garment. A cloak or outer garment having four corners, each of which was adorned with a tassel or fringe. It was prescribed by the Law of Moses: —
Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt tell them to make to themselves fringes in the corners of their garments, putting in them ribands of blue. That when they shall see them, they may remember all the commandments of the Lord, and not follow their own thoughts and eyes, going astray after divers things (Numb. xv. 38, 39).
The Pharisees wore very large tassels or fringes. It was considered a mark of esteem and veneration to touch the lower tassels.
21. For she said, etc. Lit. “ she kept on saying ” in herself (ἔλεγεν γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτῇ).
The other Synoptists give this miracle much more fully ; from them we learn the following details : —
(a) She was cured the moment she touched the tassel.
(b) Jesus said. Somebody hath touched me, for I know that virtue is gone out from me (St Luke). Who hath touched my garments ? (St Mark).
(c) The multitude all denying, St Peter explained that the crowds were thronging on all sides.
(d) The woman, seeing that she was not hid, came trembling, and fell down before his feet, and, declared before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was immediately healed (St Luke viii. 47).
22. Jesus turning. Cf. He looked about to see her (St Mark). He turned round knowing well who it was. Probably the woman had shrunk back among the crowd.
Be of good heart. The poor woman came fearing and trembling because she had presumed to touch our Lord’s garment.
The touch of the “ unclean ” caused ceremonial defilement until the evening. Encouraged by our Lord’s kindness, she related the particulars of her illness, adding the confession of how she had touched Him, in order to obtain her restoration to health.
daughter. This is the only recorded occasion on which our Lord used this title.
thy faith hath made thee whole. His own power had operated the cure, but her living faith had elicited that power. Then our Lord dismissed her, saying : Go in peace, and be thou whole of thy disease (St Mark).
the woman was made whole, etc. Cf. the fountain of her blood was dried up (St Mark). The poor woman was healed the moment she touched our Lord’s garment. Clearly, the fringe alone could not have healed her, but it was the instrument employed by Christ to restore her to health in reward for her faith. Our Lord here sanctions the use of relics, and in the Acts we find that God worked miracles by means of them. So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and, aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the wicked spirits went out of them (Acts xix. 12). It was the faith of the person that obtained the miracle in all these cases, and not some intrinsic magical power in the object by which the healing was conferred. The Church teaches us that the relics of the Saints are to be held in veneration.
St Matthew omits the incident of the message brought to the ruler, as they were on the road to his house. As he was yet speaking, there cometh one to the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him: Thy daughter is dead ; trouble him not. And Jesus hearing this word, answered the father of the maid: Fear not; believe only, and she shall be safe (St Luke). He at once encouraged the father not to lose heart. The child was to be raised in reward for the father’s faith. So it is often now. The prayer of faith obtains graces for those for whom we pray.
23. when Jesus was come into the house. Having reached the house, Jesus admitted not any man to follow him but Peter and James and John (St Mark).
These were the chosen three who were privileged to witness certain miracles and scenes when the other apostles were excluded. As usual, St Peter stands first. These three witnessed —
(а) The raising of Jairus’ daughter.(b) The Transfiguration.(c) The Agony in Gethsemani.
and saw the minstrels. The tumult was caused by the hired mourners, chiefly women. The poorest Jew, on the death of his wife, was bound by the rabbinical law to hire at least two flute-players and one mourning woman. The men played mournful strains, while the woman beat her breast and uttered loud lamentations. The higher the class to which the deceased belonged, the greater the lamentations. The period of mourning lasted at least eight days ; in the case of a king it extended to a month. The hired mourners would be in the outer court.
St Mark distinguishes between our Lord’s entrance into the house and His entrance into the room where the child lay dead. He also gives our Lord’s question : And going in, he saith to them : Why make you this a-do, and weep ? (v. 39).
24. not dead, hut sleepeth. Death is often spoken of as a sleep. Cf. These things he said, and after that he said to them : Lazarus our friend sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep (St John xi. 11). Jesus meant that she would rise again as from sleep. He had not yet looked on the child when He said this, though He knew that she was really dead.
they laughed him to scorn. All three Synoptists give these words. They knew the child was dead, and misunderstanding the sense of His words, they mocked at Him. The message sent to Jairus, the convoking of the mourners, and their incredulity when told she was sleeping, are all proofs that the child was really dead, and thus the miracle was more evident, Jesus, having put them all out .... entereth in where the damsel was lying (St Mark).
25. when the multitude was put forth. The hired mourners could easily be dismissed.
he went in, — i.e. into the inner chamber.
took her by the hand. Jesus does not refrain from touching a corpse. He was above all legal prescriptions.
St Mark completes this narration ; He saith to her : Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted, damsel (I say to thee) arise. And immediately the damsel rose up, and walked (St Mark v. 41, 42). Note that our Lord uses the Aramaic words, Talitha cumi. This was probably the child’s mother-tongue.
the maid arose. The child rose up and walked, thus proving her perfect restoration to life and health. This is the only miracle of raising the dead mentioned by St Matthew. In all, three such miracles are recorded by the Evangelists : —
(a) Jairus’ daughter, raised immediately after death.(b) The widow’s son, who was being carried to the grave.(c) Lazarus, who had been dead four days.
26. the fame hereof, etc. In spite of our Lord having charged them strictly that no man should know it. Jesus probably wished to avoid renewing the opposition of the Pharisees and Scribes. The prohibition was laid on the parents chiefly. The multitude who had been dismissed, could not fail to know and make known the miracle. Later, when Jesus raised Lazarus, He imposed no command to keep silence, for His hour being at hand, He allowed His foes then to do their worst.
Both St Mark and St Luke give our Lord’s final command that something should be given her to eat (St Mark). He did this to prove to the people that the child was really alive, and also to strengthen her. Thus Jesus after His Resurrection partook of food in presence of His disciples as a proof that He was no phantom. Notice also in this injunction the tenderness of our Lord.
Additional Notes
24. Give place, for the girl is not dead. Some non-Catholic writers have concluded from these words that the child was in a trance, but there is no ground for thus construing our Lord’s words, since He used the same expression when speaking of Lazarus — “ our friend sleepeth ” ; then finding that His apostles had misunderstood Him, Jesus said to them plainly, “ Lazarus is dead ” (St John xi. 14). St Jerome, speaking on the subject, says, “ for God all are alive”; and St John Chrysostom remarks, “in His presence, death was nothing but sleep.”
The Aramaic tongue. This tongue was proper to the inhabitants and literature of Syria and Mesopotamia. This language is of the Semitic family, and a sister language to Syriac and Chaldee.
On the raising of the dead. “ In the Old Testament we have three instances of the raising of the dead : Elias raised the son of the Phoenician widow in the village of Sarephta, but he stretched himself upon the body of the dead child and invoked some higher power (compare 3 Kings xvii. 17-22). Eliseus, too, raised the son of the Sunamitess, but he had to wrestle with God before the soul of the child returned (compare 4 Kings iv. 29-35). Again, the corpse cast into the sepulchre of Eliseus, when it had touched the bones of the prophet, came to life and stood upon its feet, but here no man was active, the power of God worked to glorify the remains of His servant (compare 4 Kings xiii. 21). Jesus, too, raises three dead to life, but in a quite different manner. ‘ Damsel, arise! ’‘ Young man, arise! ‘ Lazarus, come forth’ are the words He uses, not in the form of supplication and prayer, but in the form of command. Jesus is indeed the Lord of life and death, both physical and moral ” (Maas, S.J.).
The raising of the dead to life was appealed to by the early Christian apologists, in proof of the truth of Christianity. Thus Quadratus, in his Apology for the Christian Faith, refers in his letter to the Emperor Hadrian to the miraculous healing of the sick, and the raising to life of those, whom he himself had known personally. The widow’s son and the daughter of Jairus may have been alive when the Evangelists wrote their gospels, and this would account for their names being withheld, for since the Jews tried to kill Lazarus (see St John xii. 10), and thus rid themselves of a standing witness to Christ's power, they might have persecuted others whom He had raised, had their names been brought prominently forward.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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