18 While he (Jesus) was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.
Matthew, on his first tour of duty with Jesus, gets to see a double miracle - the healing of the woman with an issue of blood, and the raising of this little girl from death. And all this was on the same evening as his calling and party. As we will discuss later this morning, Matthew's account was the shortest; it was all kind of overwhelming for his first day, but he is able to give us a few key observations: The woman barely touched Jesus and she was healed and He simply held this girl's hand and she was revived to life. But in both cases, it was not just the touch, but the words he spoke, which in the case of the little girl Matthew was not in there to hear. For Matthew these are not two unrelated events. When he concludes in verse 26 with And the report of this went through all that district, he is talking about the double miracle. Jesus not only heals whomever He sets out to heal; he heals those Who come along the way. There are no interruptions with Jesus; He is always ready for people to come to Him.
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