Straightaway the people knew him. Some, no doubt, had known him before, he was now the general object of interest and attraction wherever he went. They began to carry about on their beds ( ἐπὶ τοῖς κραββάτοις) those that were sick, where they heard he was. The original is very expressive ( ὅπου ἤκουον ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἐστι where they heard, He is there. But the best authorities omit ἐκεῖ. Villages, or cities, or fields (Greek, ἀγρούς); literally, country, where the pursuits of agriculture would be going on. They laid the sick in the streets (Greek, ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς)—literally, market-places; the proper rendering—that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment. The border ( κράσπεδον) means the" fringe" or "hem;" the garment was the outer robe worn over the tunic. And as many as touched him were made whole ( ὅσοι ἂν ἤψαντο αὐτοῦ ἐσώζοντο); ΄αρκ might mean either "him" or "it," that is, "the border of his garment." But the difference is of little importance; for it was faith in those who touched which brought the healing virtue to the sick, whether they touched the Saviour himself or only his clothes.
HomilETICS