all right let's get back in to Matthew
chapter eight and be encouraged by the
record we have of the people whom jesus
healed in Capernaum on this particular
evening let me read once again Matthew 8
and verse number 15 just to set the
context here once again 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 and so according to matthew
jesus healed all who were ill we know
that Jesus is the same yesterday today
and forever he is certainly his
compassion hasn't waned his love hasn't
waned I mean he's the same and he's
still the healer do you have you heard
of anyone being healed by Jesus in a
miraculous way well there's your proof
right there and not only did Jesus heal
in during his earthly ministry but he
also kept right on healing during his
heavenly ministry after he ascended to
heaven and was seated the right hand of
God we see that in the book of Acts
still Jesus was the healer and so it's
only safe to conclude he is still the
healer and this scripture among others
is an encouragement to those who are
seeking healing if you would have been
there on that evening yeah and you would
have been sick you'd have walked away
healed right okay so the question is
simply this if it was God's will for you
to be healed then if you had been there
as God's will change and somehow just
because it's 2,000 years later what's
the difference there really is no
difference okay
so be encouraged look to the Lord Jesus
Christ for your healing we can read this
identical incident in Luke's Gospel and
dis aughtta also encourage you if you
need healing well this is in Luke
chapter 4 and verse number 40 while the
Sun was setting all those all those who
had any who were sick
anyone who knew someone else who was
sick with various diseases brought them
to him that's Jesus and laying his hands
on each one of them he was healing them
that's the unbiased report of physician
Luke who was supremely interested in the
people being healed
obviously right right okay so no
respecter of persons Jesus didn't tell
anybody wait awhile in God's time you
know maybe it'll happen you know maybe
it's God's will for you to keep on
suffering or you know it's not my will
not none of that kind of stuff that we
so often buy into today it was people
came and were healed and of course you
you can understand if you had been
standing in line you know waiting for
your turn for Jesus to lay his hands
upon you as you saw other people healed
who were preceding you you would have
been your faith would has been growing
and growing you too but you know if you
watch enough people you say goodness
gracious there's no chance that I'm not
gonna be healed jesus heals them all no
matter how difficult blind people are
seeing crippled people are walking deaf
people are hearing you know and so here
I am it's just a matter of time before
you know I'm gonna walk away without the
affliction that I currently have and so
Minh easier back then because we'd have
seen it with our eyes seeing those
healings so it's not quite as easy now
you have to read it and believe it and
imagine it and so forth but still faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the Word
of God the Bible says so let this just
encourage you just let it encourage you
now let's keep reading in Matthew
because this is where it really gets
interesting there's one more verse here
verse number 17 a commentary that
Matthew makes this was to fulfill what
was spoken through Isaiah the prophet
quote he himself took our infirmities
and carried away our diseases and so
Matthew he's the gospel writer who
quotes the Old Testament more than any
other because his Jewish audience needs
to be persuaded that Jesus indeed was
the Messiah who was promised in the Old
Testament and he cites a
promised a verse from what we know as
the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah and
Matthew says it's speaking of Jesus and
Matthew says by the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit that it's speaking of the
healing ministry of Jesus okay let me
quote it to you again this was to
fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah
the prophet now Jesus was healing all
who were ill that's that's what was
being fulfilled through Isaiah the
prophet quote he himself took our
infirmities and carried away our
diseases so fundamentally get this
Isaiah foretold of the healing ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ
you can't debate that okay but even more
interesting is the fact that if we go
back into Isaiah we find that there
isn't any doubt that Isaiah's prophecy
of Jesus himself taking our infirmities
and carrying away our diseases has
application that goes beyond just those
people who were healed on that one night
standing outside the house of Peter in
Capernaum okay let's go to Isaiah
chapter 53 this is the most famous
chapter of the Old Testament let's read
what Isaiah actually said because you're
gonna find that this is gonna be a huge
encouragement to you especially if
you're looking to the Lord for healing
yourself isaiah 53:3 he was despised and
forsaken of men a man of sorrows
acquainted with grief and like one from
whom men hide their face he was despised
and we did not esteem him verse 4 surely
our griefs he himself bore and our
sorrows he carried that's the exact
sentence that matthew was quoting in
Matthew 8 verse number 17 you noticed
that in my version what I'm reading from
the new American Standard it doesn't say
surely our infirmities he himself bore
and he carried away our diseases like
Matthew said
so who's right is Matthew misquoting
Isiah you know it is Matthew twisting
the scripture when an in reality Jesus
only just bore our griefs and our
sorrows and somehow or another Matthew
said oh I'll twist that and I'll make it
say something it really doesn't to say
at all I'll make it into sicknesses and
diseases and so forth okay well that's a
great question and I want to talk about
that next time and so I'll see you next
time