“He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

Matthew 8:1-17 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. ² And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ³ Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁵ And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, ⁶ and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. ¹⁶ When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

In today’s text we see several accounts of miraculous healings and deliverances performed by Jesus. In the first it says: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  The man with leprosy believed that Jesus was able to heal him and he submitted to the Lord’s will. The second account says: A centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;  but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.  The centurion recognized the authority of Jesus, that it was not limited by time or place. It requires great faith to believe in the power and authority of the infinite and eternal God when we are confronted by the circumstances and situations of this finite life.

Finally, the text says:   When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”   Jesus indeed has taken our infirmities. He Himself has carried away our diseases. In John 19:30, when He was on the cross, Jesus cried out saying:  “It is finished!”   All that was and is necessary for our healing and for deliverance has already been done. It is past tense, finished in the cross. Jesus taught us to pray saying: Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  There is no sickness, no disease, no infirmity; no demon possession in heaven. We are to pray that the circumstances and situations of earth would align with the realities of heaven; that God’s will would be done, that the realities of the kingdom would be manifested here and now. We need to know that not only can Jesus heal, but that it is already done. We need to know that there is nothing on earth that can limit His ability. Jesus authority is not limited by time or space. All that we need is already accomplished in eternity.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, may Your kingdom come and Your will be done in my life. I submit my life and my will to Yours. I believe that You are not only able, but that You already have accomplished everything I need. I submit to Your authority and believe that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that You are Lord. Thank You for the finished work of the cross. Through the power of the resurrection may the circumstances of the world come in to alignment with the realities of heaven. Amen.