In this it also appears that the work of preaching belongs not only to apostolic men, but also to any good persons who have been taught by Christ. Whence also Christ, when the disciples were forbidding a certain man who was casting out demons in the name of Christ but was not following Christ, said: "Do not forbid him," as is said below in chapter 9. For a good man ought to say what Moses said in Numbers 11: "Would that all might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them the Holy Spirit!" according to that passage in Philippians 1: "Whether through truth or through occasion, let Christ be proclaimed, and in this I rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice."
69. Third, as regards the commission of office, it is said: And tell how great things God has done for you: in which he sends him to preach and to make known the divine benefit; Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brethren," etc.; and Tobit 12: "It is good to hide the secret of a king, but it is honorable to reveal and confess the works of God." And God commands this to be done: Psalm: "How great things he commanded our fathers, to make them known to their children." And this is the office enjoined upon preachers.
70. Fourth, as to the publication of the benefit, it is added: And he went through the whole city, declaring what had been commanded: Jonah 3: "Arise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it the preaching." But Jonah was preaching peril, whereas this man was publishing and preaching a benefit. - On account of which he adds: How great things Jesus had done for him, so that he might truly say that word of the Psalm: "Come, hear, all of you, and I will declare how great things he has done for my soul." To this the Angel invited in Tobit 12: "Bless God and declare all his wonderful works." He says this, however, not because it is in our power to declare all his works and benefits, since it is said in Sirach 18: "Who is sufficient to declare his works?" but because this ought to be in our desire and will, according to that word of the Psalm: "I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will declare all your wonderful works"; not because the tongue suffices to express them, but because the gratitude of the heart desires to render and proclaim praises for all things.
71. Note here that according to the letter, four notable points can be drawn from what has been said. The first is that the Lord willed to be made known to others through lowly and humble persons, such as through swineherds and herdsmen.
Second, that not all are to be admitted to the state of perfection, but only those who are suitable.
Third, that those whom Christ cures from the vexation of the devil are not to be barred from preaching the name of Christ. - Fourth, that we ought to be most ready for the giving of thanks for benefits received, after the example of this demoniac, who announced the benefit of God to all.
72. Now it came to pass, when Jesus had returned, etc. Above, the Evangelist showed the dominion and authority of Christ over corporeal creation in the calming of the tempest, and over spiritual creation in the expulsion of the demon; here he shows that he has dominion over the creature composed of both in the healing of the woman with the flow of blood and the raising of the girl. Now this part has two sections, inasmuch as human nature is composed of two things, namely body and soul. For first is shown the lord of bodies in the healing of the woman with the flow of blood; second, the lord of souls in the raising of the girl, at the place: While he was still speaking, etc. The explanation of each miracle is introduced to manifest the dignity of Christ's power, which he demonstrates quite perfectly in the miracle of the healing of the woman with the flow of blood.
For first is demonstrated in this part the benignity of Christ's desirable presence; second, the sublimity of his inestimable power, at the place: And a certain woman was in a flow of blood, etc.; third, the profundity of his ineffable wisdom, at the place: And Jesus said: Who is it that touched me, etc.
The kindness of Christ's presence is shown to be desirable from the people receiving him with joy, from the prince supplicating with confidence, from the multitude accompanying him with benevolence. The first regards Christ's coming, which the people meet; the second, Christ's station, to which the prince has recourse; the third, Christ's progress, toward which the multitude runs together. From the meeting, therefore, and the recourse and the concourse of the multitude, the presence and coming of Christ is shown in manifold ways to be desirable.
73. (Vers. 40.). First, therefore, as regards the reception of joy made by the people, it is said: Now it came to pass, when Jesus had returned, namely across the sea into Galilee, from whom he had for a time withdrawn his desired bodily presence; according to what was prefigured in Third Kings ten concerning Solomon: "And all the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had given him." By this Solomon we understand Christ, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men," etc. — And therefore it is added: A great crowd received him, namely with joy and gladness, so that that word of Isaiah twenty-nine might be fulfilled: "The poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel." — And therefore it is added: For all were waiting for him, namely with desire, because, Lamentations three, "it is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God." For "the Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him"; "for he shall be the expectation of the nations," Genesis, the second-to-last chapter; Psalm: "Wait therefore for the Lord and act manfully," etc.
74. (Vers. 41.). Second, as regards the supplication of confidence made by the prince, it is added: And behold, there came a man whose name was Jairus, whose name is expressed because the person was notable by reason of his office of governance, according to what is said in Second Kings seven: "I have made you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth"; or also because the name corresponded to his office and dignity. For Jairus is interpreted as illuminated; such a one ought to hold governance among the people. — Whence it is added: And he was a ruler of the synagogue; Sirach forty-five: "He established for him a covenant of peace and made him prince of the holy ones and of his people." Now this prince, although he was exalted in glory, so that there could apply to him that word of First Kings two: "That he might sit with princes and hold a throne of glory"; was not thereby puffed up through pride, but humbled through reverence, heeding that word of Sirach thirty-two: "Have they made you ruler? Be not lifted up." — Therefore it is added: And he fell at the feet of Jesus, knowing it is written, Isaiah forty-five: "Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear"; and in the Psalm: "Come, let us adore and fall prostrate before the Lord." He fell prostrate, therefore, that he might honor the majesty of Christ by his reverence; Sirach three: "How great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble"; and also that he might implore his mercy with confidence.
Whence he also adds: Asking him to enter into his house. This he did with insistence, so that he could say that word of Song of Songs 3: "I held him and would not let him go, until I brought him into the house of my mother."
75. (Verse 42). But to this insistence he was driven by need, which he expresses when he says: Because she was his only daughter, and thus very much to be loved. For, in 2 Kings 1, "as a mother loves her only son, so did I love you," said David. Moreover she was lovable not only because she was his only child, but also because she was a young girl; and therefore he adds: About twelve years of age; and because she was tender, she was therefore to be loved with a tender love, according to that word of Genesis 37: "Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had begotten him in his old age." And because her life was very much to be loved, therefore her death was very much to be grieved.
On account of which he adds: And she was dying; which could not be without great sorrow, such as is in the mourning for an only child; Jeremiah 6: "Make for yourself mourning as for an only child, a bitter lamentation." Therefore Jacob said concerning Benjamin in Genesis 42: "My son shall not go down with you, he said, for his brother is dead, and he alone remains. If any harm should befall him on the way, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." So also here he could say the same concerning his only daughter.
76. Since therefore he approached the presence of Christ with dutiful reverence, asked out of confidence, and desired out of need, therefore his prayer was heard, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 4: "Do not reject the petition of the afflicted." Hence it is that the Lord did not rebuke this man who was asking him to come to his house, as he did the royal official in John 4; because the royal official believed that he could heal the sick more readily than raise the dead, whence he said: "Lord, come down before my son dies." But this man believed that he could do equally well in either case, whence he regarded his daughter as already dead. — And therefore another Evangelist, namely Matthew, introduces him asking on behalf of one who was dead, although according to Luke and Mark some life yet remained. Whence Augustine in On the Harmony of the Evangelists says that Mark and Luke expressed the ruler's words, but Matthew expressed his meaning, because he regarded her as dead.
77. Third, as to the accompaniment of benevolence shown by the multitude, it is added: And it happened, as he went, he was pressed by the crowds: because out of the affection of love all wished to touch him, as above in chapter six: "The whole multitude sought to touch him." In this also, conversely, the benevolence of the Savior is shown: who even wills to be pressed by the multitude, as if repelling no one from himself. For he it is who says in John six: "Everyone who comes to me, I will not cast out"; he who calls in Matthew eleven: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you"; he it is who knocks at the door; Revelation three: "I stand at the door and knock." This pressing together is caused by mutual love, which is the bond of the lover and the beloved: because, First Corinthians six, "he who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit"; and John fifteen: "Abide in me, and I in you." Whence perfect love is not content with any sense without touch: on account of which the bride says in Song of Songs one: "Draw me after you"; Jeremiah thirty-one: "With everlasting love I have loved you, therefore I have drawn you."
78. (Verse 43.). And a certain woman was in a flow etc. After the desirable presence of Christ has been shown, his admirable power is shown in the wondrous healing from a flow of blood. The Evangelist shows that this healing proceeded from admirable omnipotence, both on account of the long duration of the illness in the woman, and on account of the impossibility of curing by medical art, and on account of the ease of the remedy from the Savior.
First, therefore, as to the long duration of the unclean affliction in the woman, it is said: And a certain woman was in a flow of blood for twelve years. This was an unclean affliction, and therefore difficult to bear; Leviticus fifteen: "A woman who suffers a flow of blood, if it does not cease to flow, as long as she is subject to this affliction, she is unclean." It was difficult to heal on account of its persistence, because it was already of long standing: Sirach ten: "A prolonged illness weighs upon the physician." This affliction was therefore unclean, continuous, and of long duration; therefore degrading to live with, grievous to endure, and difficult to heal. Whence she could say that word of Lamentations three: "He has made my skin and my flesh old," and that word of the Psalm: "My loins are filled with illusions, and there is no soundness in my flesh." This woman, according to Ambrose, seems to have been Martha. For he says: "Christ dried up the copious flow of blood in Martha and cast out demons from Mary."
79. Second, regarding the impossibility of human assistance through art, it is added: Who had spent all her substance on physicians, seeking a remedy for her cure, according to the counsel of Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "Honor the physician for the need you have of him, for the Most High has created him." He says this, however, concerning the honor of gifts, not of words: whence she had honored them, because she had spent all her substance. And therefore it is probable that, if the illness had been curable, it would have been cured through art. — Nevertheless, art did not avail: whence he adds: Nor could she be cured by anyone, and thus neither by nature nor by art could she be helped, so that there might be verified in her that word of Wisdom sixteen: "Neither herb nor poultice healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all things."
80. Whence note that nature can do nothing without supernatural power, nor can art do anything without nature: whence where nature does not assist, art does not avail but rather harms, as in this woman, of whom it is said in Mark five that "she had suffered much from many physicians and had spent all she had, nor had she improved at all, but rather grew worse." But Luke the physician passes over this in silence, speaking more courteously of physicians. — From which it is gathered that the art of physicians is praiseworthy when it follows supernatural power and the underlying nature. Whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "Give place to the physician, let him not depart from you." But then the work of the physician will be blameworthy when he neglects either to consider nature or does not set divine power first, as is said of Asa in Second Chronicles sixteen: "Asa fell grievously ill with a disease of the feet, and yet he did not seek the Lord, but rather trusted in the art of physicians"; and it follows that "he died."
81. (Verse 44). Third, regarding the ease of perfect healing from the Savior, it is added: She came up from behind and touched the fringe of his garment. She came up, because she believed; Hebrews eleven: "He who comes must believe"; from behind, because she was afraid, just as a sister of hers, Mary, above in chapter seven: "Standing behind at the feet of the Lord." She touched, because she hoped to be healed; Matthew nine: "She said within herself: If I touch the fringe of his garment, I shall be healed." She touched, moreover, the fringe, that is, the lowest part of his garment, considering herself unclean and honoring the power of Christ, who can give healing through the lowliest things.
And because she believed and hoped, she therefore easily obtained what she sought. For this reason it is added: And immediately her flow of blood stopped: from which the wondrous power of God is apparent, which cured so prolonged and so grave a disease immediately at the touch of one small part of the garment. Wondrous therefore is the power of Christ, which through faith in him makes the impossible easy, according to that passage in Mark 9: "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes"; and John 14: "He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do"; and Acts 19: "God worked no small miracles through the hand of Paul, so that even from his body handkerchiefs and aprons were carried away, and diseases departed from them." If therefore it is so salutary to touch the fringe of his garment through faith, how salutary will it be to hold Christ himself? Whence Bernard says: "It is sweet enough to seek you, good Jesus, sweeter still to hold you"; whence the bride in Song of Songs 3: "I held him and would not let him go." "Sweet indeed is the touching of you; for even this joyful act is not without fruit. For the woman of the Gospel by a happy theft touched the fringe of Jesus, and immediately there stopped in her the flow of carnal enticement, carnal delight, and carnal care."
82. (Verse 45). And Jesus said etc. After it has been shown that Christ's presence is desirable and his power admirable, here thirdly his wisdom is shown to be infallible: and this in three ways, namely through the apprehension of hidden truth, through the disclosure of apprehended truth, and through the approval of disclosed truth.
First therefore is introduced the apprehension of hidden truth by Christ through his own inquiry, when it is said: And Jesus said: Who touched me? He says this not in order to learn, but so that what is known to him he may disclose to others, according to what is said in the Psalm: "His eyelids question the children of men; the Lord questions the just and the wicked"; not so that he might learn something from them, but so that he might teach what they do not know.
Whence, because they did not know the reason for the question, it is added: But when all denied it, Peter said, and those who were with him, that is, the other disciples, not understanding the reason for this question; whence that word of Matthew 15 could be said to them: "Are you also still without understanding?" — because they understood that question carnally, not spiritually.