Matthew 8:17

Thursday, 13 March 2025

 

that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.” Matthew 8:17

 

“That it might be fulfilled, the ‘having been spoken’ through Isaiah the prophet, saying, ‘Himself, our infirmities – He took, and these diseases – He bore’” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, the people came to Jesus in the evening time. At that time, it says that He cast out the spirits and healed all who were brought to Him. Now Matthew states of this, “That it might be fulfilled.”

 

Matthew again ties the events of Jesus’ ministry to the words of prophecy. He is clearly and unambiguously saying by this that Jesus is the anticipated Messiah of Israel. Understanding that, he next records, “the ‘having been spoken’ through Isaiah the prophet.”

 

In other words, the Lord is said to be the ultimate Giver of the oracles of God. He spoke through His prophets, Isaiah in this case. This is a confirmation of the words of Peter –

 

“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:19-21

 

Isaiah didn’t just write things that happened to come true, as if anyone could have fulfilled them in some aspect at some point in time. Rather, the words are breathed out by God the Holy Spirit through chosen prophets. From that point, they anticipated a particular moment when they would be fulfilled. Each prophecy has its own time and aspect of fulfillment.

 

In saying that Jesus is the One to fulfill these words of Isaiah, Matthew is thus saying that He is the Messiah promised by God. Understanding this, Matthew records his next words, “saying, ‘Himself, our infirmities – He took, and these diseases – He bore.’”

 

It is a quote from the Hebrew manuscript of Isaiah 53 –

 

“He is despised, and left of men, A man of pains, and acquainted with sickness, And as one hiding the face from us, He is despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains -- he hath carried them, And we -- we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:3, 4 (YLT)

 

Of this healing, the Pulpit Commentary says –

 

“He did not perform miracles by magic (as is commonly asserted of him in the Talmud; cf. Laible, 'Jesus Christ in Talmud,' p. 44: Berlin, 1891),nor by the power of God exerted as it were externally on his behalf, nor by his own inherent Divine power, but by himself bearing the sicknesses that he removed. He wrought his miracles at his own expense, and that expense the greatest. The thought is far-reaching, and implies both that he bore the ultimate cause of sickness, the sin of the world (John 1:29), and also that each miracle of healing meant for him a fresh realization of what bearing the sin of the world included. In other words, the passage in Isaiah, as interpreted by St. Matthew, refers, not only to the Passion as such, but also to Christ's suffering an earnest and a foretaste of it at each miracle.”

 

Jesus was willing to take on not only the sin of the world but also to taste the consequences of it with each healing. He understood the effects of sin in an absolute sense by the time He went to the cross to eradicate it forever for those who would come to Him by faith for healing.

 

Life application: Consider what God has done. He united with humanity in the womb of a virgin. He was born under the Law of Moses, the law that He had given to Israel. He felt the pains of walking long distances, losing family members through death, experiencing hunger and tiredness, etc. He also came to understand the effect of sin on humanity: demon-possessings, broken bones, illnesses, plagues of leprosy, fevers, etc.

 

Each of these would be intimately understood by Him before He went to the cross so that when He went, He would know that His atoning death would bring those who believed in Him to a point of spiritual perfection through sinlessness that they would, at the time of regeneration, allow them to be like Him. He knew this would come about so that when He went to the cross, Hebrews 12 says –

 

“...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

 

Having experienced the temptations of things the world of sin offers, which includes the consequences of sin in humanity, He willingly accepted the cross, and He looked past the shameful trial He would endure. Instead, He looked to the joy that lay on the other side of the ordeal and prevailed over this world. God did this for each of us so that the joy set before Him includes each person redeemed through His atoning sacrifice. Thank God for Jesus Christ.

 

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:1, 2

 

Lord God, what can we say? You have done it all, and we are the recipients of the greatness of it. Forever and ever, we shall hail Your exalted name through our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, O God, great things You have done. Amen.