This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary Year A (Matthew), most recently June 7, 2026. It also appears as part of a supplemental gospel passage in the narrative lectionary, paired with Romans 1:1-17 and Micah 6:6-8.
Note: I find this a surprising pericope. Because of the timing of Easter and how the lessons work, I actually don't know if I have ever preached on this passage.
Summary: Mark's version of this story is much more dramatic! This passage serves as one of the few times where Mark's Gospel account is actually longer than Matthew's!! Which leaves me asking: Why did Matthew (who likely wrote with Mark in hand!) edit the story the way he did? What did he want to make sure we heard?
Perhaps rather than focusing on what is lost in editing, we can focus on what is gained by previewing this pericope with verses 9-13, which focus on how Jesus aims to heal the lost. This means that Jesus must get to places where the people are: the streets and their homes. Following Jesus includes, but is not only about going to church. It must include finding where people are hurting and sick.
Key Word "clusters" (for this week, I am putting similar words together):
The side characters
However, there are a number of words used to describe the characters in this story. It is worth reminding ourselves that the people listening to our sermons likely do not immediately understand the social context of the people involved.
- τελώνιον ("tax-collector", 9:9) Hated by their fellow Jews, the tax-collectors lived a life as an exile in their own land. They were never loved by the Romans and typically this position became an inherited job because no one else wanted to do it.
- Φαρισαῖοι ("Pharisee", 9:11): This group of Jews who often had a great deal of political, economic and social clout. However, they did not always align themselves with the powers that be. They were zealous in their belief that if Israel could avoid foreign cultural influence and hold fast to the laws of Moses, the Messianic age would begin. In Christianity, we often look down on them as hypocritical, but they actually were the most conversation partners for Jesus, because they actually cared about righteousness.
- ἄρχων ("leader", 9:18) In Mark's Gospel, we get information about this leader, including name and occupation. Here we simply hear that is a leader. I wonder why Matthew edits out this information!
- αἱμορροοῦσα (9:20): One who is bleeding. A gentle reminder that bleeding of women was not simply a medical condition in the first century, but also a spiritual one, whereby one could NOT enter into proper society and certainly not the temple, under such circumstances.
- θύγατηρ ("daughter", 9:18, 9:22) Before we get into the weeds, it is worth pointing out that the leader has a daughter and that Jesus has a daughter! What does this signify? Why might Matthew want to emphasize this to us? It goes a step further too...If you look closely, you will see that the word θύγατερ has a slight spelling difference in verse 18 and verse 22, ending in -ερ in verse 22. This is because in verse 22, the word daughter is in the vocative, which means it could be translated something like "O Daughter" or even "O my daughter!" The vocation means this direct address here means that Jesus is not just referring to her as a daughter but really as his daughter. Ponder that, the woman here, who is on the outside, has now become the ultimate insider. She is no longer a bleeding woman but "O daughter!"
ἰσχύοντες ("strong", 9:12) and κακῶς ("badly, 9:12) This verse is a bit of a word salad, but basically Jesus contrasts
- "Those who are able"
- "Those who have it bad"
Touch
There are a whole bunch of words related to touch
- ἐπίθες τὴν χεῖρά ("lay hands upon", 9:18)
- ἅπτω ("touch", 9:20,21)
- κατεγέλων ("seize", 9:25)
ἠγέρθη (arise, 9:19,25)
ἠκολούθει (follow, 9:9,19)
ἐσώθη (save, 9:22)
No comments:
Post a Comment