Mark 5:29Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He alone, as the Light, brings sight to the blind; as the Healer, restores the wounded; as Life, revives the dead; and as Omnipotence, mends what is broken and strengthens the weak.

Consider the faith of that distressed woman who, after exhausting all her options with physicians and finding no remedy, heard of Jesus. There was a widespread belief that He welcomed everyone and healed every affliction not through herbs but through His words and divine power. Motivated by her faith, she thought to herself, “I will approach this great Wonderworker and Physician; due to my shame, I will remain inconspicuous and simply touch His robe.” With that conviction, she navigated through the crowd, determined to touch His garment, believing that even this would bring her healing. As she reached out and touched His cloak, she thought, “If I can only touch His garment, I will be whole.” In an instant, her bleeding stopped, and she realized in her body that she was cured of her condition (Mark 5:27-29).

Take note, Christian, of the poor woman's faith! Observe the power, impact, and fruitfulness of her belief! This woman exemplifies how and where we should seek healing for our soul's ailments—solely from Christ through faith. She declared to herself, “If I can touch His garment, I will be restored.” That is the essence of faith! By believing, she received what she longed for. Where faith flourishes, hope is present. Let us follow her example and approach Christ filled with faith and hope. Though we may be silent before Him, we come under His attentive gaze. When we pray, we do so with faith and hope, and when we approach His holy and life-giving Mysteries, may we do so with the same faith and hope for healing and renewal, remembering and emulating that woman who long suffered from bleeding. Through this approach, our spiritual infirmities may be resolved, and the source of our tormenting passions may dry up.

The first sign of healing in the soul manifests when the harmful passions begin to diminish and quiet; when pride, self-love, greed, hatred, envy, anger, rage, avarice, servitude, impurity, and other evils become less pronounced. Just as the body shows signs of healing when it is freed from harmful fluids, so too does the soul find wellness when freed from sinful passions. These harmful elements can torment the body and lead it toward decay, just as sinful passions can afflict the soul and lead to eternal separation from God. The body regains health when cleansed of malignant influences, and likewise, the soul becomes whole when liberated from destructive desires.

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter (my soul) is severely oppressed by a demon ... Lord, help me” (Matthew 15:22, 25). Sin, the great demon, dwells in the soul and torments it, preventing it from finding peace. It pulls the soul towards despair and away from good actions. “Lord! Help me! Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” May I, unworthy though I am, hear the words, “Let it be done for you as you wish,” just as the Canaanite woman did (Matthew 15:27-28).

If a spirit enshrouded in flesh seeks a mediator or a tangible sign to approach Christ, can the One who imparted His divine power even to His material garments not have poured it even more generously into the souls of His saints? Those who have been baptized in Christ and are robed in Him become vessels and embodiments of His merciful power, according to their faith and purity. Has this power not also flowed from the souls of the saints onto their unseen garments, onto their holy bodies and incorrupt relics? Has it not manifested, and does it not continue to manifest through sacred images? Does the power of Christ not operate through these signs to bring healing to all? Believers often witness such occurrences, though not everyone perceives or receives them. Do you long for more—do you wish to touch Christ in a physical manner, directly? What can we say to this? We must affirm that He has offered you more than you dared to wish or dream. He declared: “Take, eat, this is My body” (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22); “Drink, …this …is My blood” (Matthew 26:27-28); and through the minister of the sacrament, He continues to speak these words today. He presents to us, the faithful, His life-giving body and His life-giving blood, not merely for touching, but also for tasting, so that by receiving them in faith, we might, from the depths of our hearts, call out to Him, akin to St. Basil the Great: “We are filled with Your infinite life!” What more could you desire, O Christian of the universal Church? Can you envy the Jew who, upon hearing of Jesus, hurries from Jerusalem or elsewhere to Galilee, “seeking to touch Him, for power comes from Him and heals all things”? Will you express dissatisfaction that, though you strive to “touch Him” in the manner I have described, you do not experience the life-giving contact nor find healing for your passions, sorrows, and weaknesses?

For twelve years she had suffered from bleeding, exhausting her resources on physicians without finding relief, yet now she has been healed by touching the fringe of my garment. It was her faith that made her whole. Reflect on this and let your own faith be strengthened.” Indeed, just after the Lord spoke these words, messengers arrived to inform Jairus that his daughter had passed away.

However, since Matthew does not mention the arrival of messengers bearing the news of the girl’s passing, the phrase αΰτη ετελέυτησεν aligns better with the situation: Jairus's initial plea for his daughter’s healing would have understandably shifted to a request for her resurrection upon learning of her death, even if this request was not voiced outright.

The woman suffering from bleeding felt hesitant to openly appeal to Jesus, as her affliction rendered her ceremonially unclean (Luke 15). Nonetheless, her faith was profound enough that she believed merely touching the edge of His garment (κρασπεδον Mt. 20. Lk. 44 cf. Num. 15:38. Matthew 14:36. 23, 5. Lk. 8:44. Mk. 6:56) would grant her healing. In calling her to publicly acknowledge her faith and the miracle she experienced, Jesus asked, ‘Who is it that touches Me?’ indicating an awareness of who had reached out to Him (Luke). The Lord's inquiry can suggest that His miraculous power might sometimes emanate from Him without His conscious intent. Nevertheless, it is certain that Jesus recognized the woman’s intention and action at the moment she touched Him; in His spirit, He reassured her, saying, ‘Courage, woman, thy faith shall save thee’ (He later spoke these words aloud to her as a form of encouragement). It is clear that countless individuals pressed around Him and many touched Him, but the miraculous power flowed from Him solely through the faith of the woman; her act of touching Jesus held meaning not for Him but for her—a tangible expression of her faith by which she truly connected with Christ.

The creative power of God certainly acts independently of human will, knowledge, and faith; nonetheless, when seeking a demonstration of His mercy, it is essential that the one asking has faith in the potential to receive what is requested and is opened to accept what God bestows.

Philaret of Moscow, while "the very Deity of Jesus Christ observed, knew, and personally indicated to His humanity who had touched Him, it was advantageous for Him to present this outwardly, to highlight the remarkable nature of the touch and its extraordinary results."