Matthew 9:17-26

9:17 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; ¹  otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins ²  and both are preserved.”

Restoration and Healing

9:18 As he was saying these things, a ruler came, bowed low before him, and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.” 9:19 Jesus and his disciples got up and followed him. 9:20 But ³  a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage ⁴  for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge ⁵  of his cloak. ⁶  9:21 For she kept saying to herself, ⁷  “If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.” ⁸  9:22 But when Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” ⁹  And the woman was healed ¹⁰  from that hour. 9:23 When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd, 9:24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they began making fun of him. ¹¹  9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and gently took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 9:26 And the news of this spread throughout that region. ¹² 

[9:17]  ¹ sn Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.

[9:17]  ² sn The meaning of the saying new wine into new wineskins is that the presence and teaching of Jesus was something new and signaled the passing of the old. It could not be confined within the old religion of Judaism, but involved the inauguration and consummation of the kingdom of God.

[9:20]  ³ tn Grk “And behold a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:20]  ⁴ sn Suffering from a hemorrhage. The woman was most likely suffering from a vaginal hemorrhage which would make her ritually unclean.

[9:20]  ⁵ sn The edge of his cloak refers to the kraspedon, the blue tassel on the garment that symbolized a Jewish man’s obedience to the law (cf. Num 15:37-41). The woman thus touched the very part of Jesus’ clothing that indicated his ritual purity.

[9:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.

[9:21]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verb is here taken iteratively, for the context suggests that the woman was trying to find the courage to touch Jesus’ cloak.

[9:21]  ⁶ tn Grk “saved.”

[9:22]  ⁷ tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.

[9:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “saved.”

[9:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “They were laughing at him.” The imperfect verb has been taken ingressively.

[9:26]  ¹¹ tn For the translation of τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην (thn ghn ekeinhn) as “that region,” see L&N 1.79.