Matthew 9:20-22 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:… In introduction, point out that the form of the approach of this woman, her own idea of doing nothing beyond touching the hem of a person's garment, and her fright when she had been discovered as doing even that, were presumably due just to the fact that her disease was one that rendered her ceremonially unclean, and which forbade her to touch another person. She thought she saw her way possibly out of this by touching only the hem of only a garment. Notice - I. THE ILLUSTRATION HERE AFFORDED OF HOW THE SOUL, DRIVEN BY WANT, BY WOE, BY SIN, NEED NOT BE DRIVEN WITHAL TO RECKLESSNESS, BUT CANNOT DO BETTER TITAN UTILIZE ITS DRIVENNESS OF STATE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE QUEST OF HELP BY METHODS EVEN THE MOST UNUSUAL. II. THE ILLUSTRATION HERE AFFORDED THAT WHERE EVERY LOOPHOLE, EVERY AVENUE, MAY SEEM CLOSED, IT MAY BE SAID TO BE ALWAYS TRUE THAT THERE IS ONE LEFT - THAT ONE THE RIGHT ONE, AS THE ONLY ONE - IT NEEDS TO BE SOUGHT, AND IT IS THEN TO BE FOUND. III. THE ILLUSTRATION HERE AFFORDED OF THE SUPREME EASE WITH WHICH THE OVERFLOWING GRACE OF CHRIST LENDS ITSELF TO THE SLIGHTEST CONTACT OF FAITHs, WITH THE RESULT OF INSTANTANEOUS CREATION OF LIFE - OTHER CONTACT UNFRUITFUL. IV. THE ILLUSTRATION HERE AFFORDED OF THE PRACTICALLY ASSURED VERDICT OF CHRIST, THAT HIS GRANDEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SAYING A BODY IS INCOMPLETE ESSENTIALLY WITHOUT THE SOUL SAVED ALSO. V. THE ILLUSTRATION HERE GIVEN OF CHRIST'S EARTHLY BENEDICTION UPON SUCH BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER MADE NEW. - B. Parallel Verses KJV: And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: |