Matthew 8:17,18 - He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases

8:17

Matthew, as was his wont, quotes a Scripture, this time Isaiah 53:4, “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases”. I am going to get on a hobby horse of mine. When people quote Isaiah 53 in support of healing it is almost always 53:5, “by His wounds (or stripes) we are healed”. The wounds and healing there are the wounds of sin and guilt, and we are healed of sin. Physical healing is not the primary meaning here. Go and read 1 Peter 2:24, what is Peter focusing on? Sin! So why don’t we stop being silly and follow the Bible, 53:4 deals with physical healing (among other things), 53:5’s primary concern is atoning for our sin. Just follow the Bible. You know it makes sense.

8:18

Jesus loved the people in the crowds, but it seems He did not love crowds. There are a number of times when He sought to get away from the crowds, either just by Himself, or with the disciples. Here “He gave orders” to cross to the other side of the lake. Crowds are good in that we can speak to large numbers of people, but we need to beware of either being carried along by the emotion of a crowd, or letting other equally important things being pushed out. We constantly need to learn from Jesus, and need to be restored by Him.