What did Jesus mean when He told people, "Your faith has made you well"?

We need not go into the particulars given in the other Gospels, but we would look at it as presented here. The Lord Jesus recognized the touch of faith. He turned; and seeing her said, "Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith has made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour." "Daughter" was a term of endearment. Perhaps she was not conscious of her faith, but there it was, and it was right, for it was in Jesus. It is very necessary to see that her faith was in the person of Christ. Very strong faith in a wrong thing will not make the faith right nor the thing right. What gives faith its value is its object. Faith in Christ is always right. This incident is very encouraging for a poor sinner, and a great help to us in preaching the gospel.

What the Lord does is always worthy of Himself, and, like Himself, perfect. He is a divine person, and there was infinite fulness in Him to respond to all need. It was a puzzle to the disciples when He said "Who touched me?" It was such a throng that the question might rather have been, "Who did not touch me?" But this was a touch of faith and of need, and He never fails to respond to such. It is a very precious thing that we have this record, for He will never fail to respond to the faith that has to do with, and confides in, Him.

Jesus also told her that she was made whole, and that by faith — "Thy faith hath made thee whole." She had confessed the Lord "before all the people;" but that had not made her whole. It is important to see that it is not our tears, our sorrows, our reformations, or efforts of any kind that make us whole. No; it is Christ, and Christ alone. Scripture always directs us to the blood of Christ for peace, and it also assures us that "whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins." Jesus had made this woman whole. Virtue had gone out of Him. Jesus assured her that the healing was perfect — she was made whole. Yes; Jesus is the Rock, and His work is perfect. He receives returning, sinful prodigals. He cleanses and justifies them by His blood, sends His Spirit into their hearts, and assures them they shall not come into condemnation, but that they have passed from death unto life.

The last words of Jesus to the woman are very emphatic — "Go in peace." The first is a remarkable word — "Go." I often think of it. Some persons never seem to learn its force in their experience. They may be sincere believers, but they are always hanging about Christ with doubts, not knowing forgiveness of sins and present peace; they are constantly asking to be made whole, hoping to be pardoned, etc., when Christ says to them, You are forgiven: "Go." They do not credit the glorious truth of present forgiveness and liberty of sonship; they are, therefore, in bondage and fear. Jesus would have it otherwise. He says, "Thy faith hath SAVED thee; go in peace!" As much as to say, Have no more doubts, fears, or misgivings; you are made whole, pardoned, reconciled, a child of God, a sinner saved. "Go in peace." Dear reader, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, take your right place before God and before men as saved! Wherever you go, go in peace as to your salvation, knowing that Christ has removed your transgressions from you as far as the east is from the west; and your sins and iniquities, God says, He will remember no more.

(2) It is here recorded for the first time in the course of this Gospel that faith is the means of obtaining blessing. There is no encouragement of any superstitious veneration for the tassel of His robe which was touched. The Lord declared to the woman in the hearing of all that the faith within her had saved her, or made her whole. Her cure was not a right which she could have claimed as an Israelite, but the blessing was accorded to her because she had exercised faith in Jehovah's Servant. This faith of hers the Lord undoubtedly "saw," as He did that of the paralytic and his friends (Mark 2:5); only in this case by His words to the woman, "Thy faith has saved thee," He made it clear to all concerned that faith on the part of the recipient is essential whether the salvation is physical, or moral as in the case of another woman (Luke 7:50).

The report of the sayings and doings of the Prophet of Nazareth had spread abroad throughout Galilee, but with little effect upon the people generally. Isaiah might well ask in prophetic view of this time, "Lord, who has believed our report?" But this woman had believed the report, for we read, "having heard the things concerning Jesus she came in the crowd behind and touched his garment." And having believed the report, the strength of the arm of Jehovah for healing was revealed to her and in her (Isa. 53:1).

(Vv. 27-29). Thirdly, faith is not only conscious of need, and our own helplessness to meet the need, but perceives something of the excellency of the Person of Jesus — sees, indeed, that in Him there is grace and power to meet the need. Moreover faith makes a person humble. The needy soul is ready to take the lowly place and to say, like the woman, "If I may but touch the hem of His garment, I shall be whole." We have not to do some great thing to secure the blessing, that would only pander to our pride, but we are made willing to be nothing and to give Christ all the glory. The virtue is in Christ, not in the faith; the touch of faith secures the blessing by putting us in touch with the One in Whom is all the merit.

Let us notice some of the details of the story: - the Lord distinguishes between true faith and the eagerness of the crowd which was attracted by His miracles and by the benefits it had received. Sincerity was not wanting in the crowd, the people saw the miracles and enjoyed their effects, but they had not faith in the person of Jesus. But there was good in the woman, by grace, that which is always found in faith, a felt need and the perception of the excellence of His person, and of the divine power that was in Jesus, accompanied with true humility with regard to herself. The poor woman is sure that, if she touch only the hem of His garment, she shall be healed; and in fact it is this that takes place. As soon as the woman is healed, Jesus perceives that the power which is in Him, and which has gone out from Him to the woman, has worked with efficacy. And it is always thus: many can hear the gospel and delight to listen to it, but faith is another thing; and faith always receives the Lord's answer to the need which it presents to Him. He may make one wait, if He finds it good to exercise the faith, but He always answers in love: the woman is perfectly healed. Faith makes the believer humble about his wretchedness; the woman wished to remain hidden, but the Lord encourages the believer, saying in this instance, "Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace." However timid and fearful the soul may be in the Lord's presence in spiritual things, and however much it may feel its wretchedness, when the call is true, it opens out and confesses His grace, not the misery which had rendered this grace needful. It is then that the Lord encourages and speaks peace to the heart. Personal faith is here plainly distinguished from the eagerness of the crowd which followed Him, whether for curiosity, or for the benefits which Jesus conferred upon it. But the power of resurrection was found in Him and through Him. Israel, though dead, was only sleeping: the Lord's voice will call him into life in His time.

Then follows the account of the Jewish ruler of the synagogue, who fell at the feet of Jesus, and besought Him greatly to heal his dying daughter. Having dwelt on the scene elsewhere, I need say the less here. The Lord goes with him, intimating His specified ministry in Israel — a work which goes down to the reality of death, under which they would be shown really to lie. But the Shepherd of Israel could raise from the dead. This seems to be the bearing of the case before us, and not a mere general inroad upon Satan's power, which became the occasion and justification, if one may so speak, of carrying victoriously the glad tidings of God's kingdom and goodness to man. This was true of the Lord's ministry even while on the earth, the place where Satan reigns. His temptation in the wilderness proved Him stronger than the strong man, and therefore He spoils his goods, delivering the poor victims of Satan, and making them to be the captors of him whose captives they were. But here we find that his heart, far from being turned away from Israel, yearned over their need, deep as it was. The call of Jairus is no sooner made than He goes to answer it. He alone could wake out of death's sleep the daughter of Zion; yet, ineffable grace! while on the road He is open to everybody. In the throng through which He had to pass was a woman having an issue of blood. It was a desperate case; for she had suffered much, and tried many physicians in vain. Such is the hapless lot of man away from God; human aid avails not. Where is the man who has had to do with what is in the world, and would not at once acknowledge the justice of the picture, the powerlessness of man in the presence of the deepest wants? But this was just the opportunity for One who, even as man ministering here below, wielded the power of God in His love. Jesus was the true and unfailing servant of God; and the woman, instead of seeking good from man as he is, and thus suffering more and more by the very efforts made to benefit her, unseen in the press behind, touches the garment of Jesus. "For she said, 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 wad healed of that plague." To have banished her ailment would have been too little for Jesus; for He is a perfect Saviour, and therefore is a Saviour not only for the body that had suffered so long, but for the soul's affections and peace. She got a better blessing than she sought. He not only staunched the issue of blood, but filled her trembling heart with confidence instead of the fear that had possessed her before. Nothing would have been morally right had she gone away with the reflection that she had stolen some virtue from Jesus. Emphatically banishing, then, all dread from her spirit, He says to her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." That is, He seals to her with His mouth the blessing which, as it were, her hand would else have seemed to have taken surreptitiously from Him.

The Samaritan received from the Lord an assurance given to none of the others, "you faith has made you well." The Lord was clearly not referring to the man's physical condition, for the nine others also had been healed, even apart from faith. The man was spiritually heated, brought in reality of faith to God, and given this precious assurance. Again, only faith can rightly appreciate and respond to the pure grace of God.

The Samaritan. — But now a difference is seen. The nine went on their way to the priests, with the full knowledge in each one that he was healed. The tenth, as fully conscious as the rest of the grace bestowed on him, turned back, and with a loud voice gave glory to God. His heart was evidently full. He was constrained to praise God for his cure. All that he had asked for in common with the others he had got; for the mercy shown was the same to all. All had been lepers. All were healed. But nine of them were Jews, who as such could claim Messiah's help. The tenth was a Samaritan, who could not rightly claim it. This one it was who turned back, and, with a loud voice glorifying God, fell down on his face at the feet of Christ, and openly gave Him thanks. He, who was the most signal example of grace of them all, most valued it. And he got what the others did not, another word from the Lord: "Arise, go thy way thy faith has made thee whole." Was he a loser by turning back? Unquestionably he was a gainer. And his conduct illustrates that those most value grace who are the greatest subjects of it, even as Paul, the chief of sinners, who never forgot that which it had done for him.

When a soul is thus brought to God, there is no question of showing oneself to priests on earth. Priests had their place once for those who were under the law. But when grace delivered from it (in principle only then, for it was not yet the precise time to break down the wall of partition for all), the delivered soul could not possibly be left, still less put, under the law. Therefore says the Lord, "Rise up, and go thy way: thy faith has made thee whole." It is a striking prefiguration of the Gentile who is not under law like the Jew (never was, indeed), and who, when brought to God by His grace now and cleansed from all his defilements, is certainly not put under law. As the apostle says, "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under law, but under grace." (Rom. 6:14.) He was to go his way in liberty of heart. This is the calling of a Christian. Christ does not call to the bondage of law. He makes us His freemen, though no doubt also bondmen to Himself. This is a very different thing from being under law, which the Christian is not, even if he had once been a Jew.

Then the Lord asked him what he wanted (v.41). It was useless for him to speak as the rich ruler had done, "What shall I do?" (v.18). He knew he could do nothing to give himself sight. Nor did he say, "Good Teacher," but "Lord, that I may receive my sight." He took his own place of helplessness, gave the Lord the supreme place of authority, and depended on His mercy. So it will be with the remnant of Israel in a coming day, a great contrast indeed to their present pride in "going about to establish their own righteousness" (Rom.10:3).

He was answered immediately by the amazing miracle of receiving his sight, a work which no other had ever done before this blessed Messiah of Israel had come (Jn.10:32). But as well as receiving his natural sight, he was told by the Lord that his faith had saved him. This went far deeper than his natural healing, for many were healed who showed no evidence of faith at all. The man's soul was saved, for his faith was in the Lord Jesus. More than this, he was so attracted to the Lord that they followed Him, though this meant the long, steep climb to Jerusalem -- about a 3,600 feet (1,100 meters) ascent in a distance of 13 miles (21km). The common people, seeing the great miracle, gave praise to God, as Israel yet will do.