Matthew 9:18-26
New Catholic Bible
18 Jesus Heals a Sick Woman and Raises a Dead Girl.[a] While he was saying these things to them, an official[b] came forward. He knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live.” 19 Jesus then rose and followed him, together with his disciples.
20 Suddenly, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak. 21 For she thought to herself, “If only I touch his cloak, I shall be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her, and he said, “Take heart, daughter! Your faith has healed you.” And from that moment the woman was cured.
23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players[c] and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead; she is asleep,”[d] but they laughed at him. 25 When the people had been sent outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the little girl stood up. 26 And the news of this spread throughout the entire district.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 9:18 Jesus rewards the faith of a father in distress and the trust of a sick and timid woman. He does not deceive those who believe him to be Master of the impossible. Human beings organize ceremonies of sorrow that are important in the East (v. 23); Jesus brings life, for this twofold gesture announces that in the kingdom of God sickness and death no longer have a place (see Jn 5:26-29): this is the message that the Church must proclaim.
- Matthew 9:18 Official: literally, “ruler” or “leader.” See note on Mk 5:22.
- Matthew 9:23 Flute players: musicians who were hired to play at mourning ceremonies. Crowd: mourners who were hired to wail and lament.
- Matthew 9:24 Asleep: sleep is a metaphor for death (see Ps 87:6 LXX; Dan 12:2; 1 Thes 5:10). Jesus does not deny the child’s death but indicates that she will arise from it as from a sleep.
