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16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." ~ Matthew 8:16-17
Today, we return to our study of the gospel according to Matthew where Matthew intentionally arranged the chapters with a deliberate rhythm. As we mentioned before, the gospel of Matthew is not chronological. This chapter begins with three miracles in v.1–17, followed by teachings on discipleship in v.18–22. Then Matthew adds three more miracles in 8:23–9:8, followed by more discipleship in 9:9–17. And finally, three additional miracles in 9:18–34. It’s all designed to highlight and to authenticate the fact that the Lord possesses absolute authority, which demands unwavering allegiance from all of His creation.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick."
It was end of the Sabbath day, it was evening, and the sun had set. This moment marked the time the Jews would stop their Sabbath rest and get back to work. This is why it is noted here that the people began to bring those who were possessed with demons and the sick to the Lord Jesus. And, it is noted that the Lord Jesus cast out the demons from the people and He healed all who were sick. He came to snatch the sick from the domain of the enemy. In healing them, He gave them a deeper look into His coming kingdom. In His eternal kingdom there will be no more night, death, sorrow, pain, sickness or disease because He will have given the final death blow to sin itself.
I find it most intriguing that Matthew was led by the Holy Spirit to highlight the fact that these miracles were performed in the evening. In fact, I find it most interesting that the very first exorcism in the gospels occurred at night. Satan is not called the father of lies for nothing. We live in a world where Satan is alive and active. It is he who blinds unbelievers to the gospel. The Bible informs us that demons are the power behind religion. Demons also empower idol worship, black magic, and devil worship.
In the first few miracles recorded in this chapter we see the power of the Lord Jesus not just over the curse of sin, but also over the domain of darkness, the Kingdom of Satan himself. The Lord Jesus’ authority extends not just over the world of physical matter, bodies and illness, but also extends over the spiritual world. This is what it means for Him to be our Messiah which is Hebrew for Savior.
The ministry of the Lord Jesus of exorcism means that the world which had been given over to the devil by Adam, the one to whom it had been originally entrusted, was returning to its proper ownership. The God-Man, Christ Jesus the Lord, came to this earth to wrestle this domain back from the enemy, to bind him, and to deliver the willing from the effects of sin. When the Lord Jesus cast out demonic spirits from people, He triumphed over the kingdom of darkness. But, not everyone benefitted from His eternal work while He was on this earth.
Central to the ministry of the Lord Jesus at casting out these demons from people was His Word. The Word of God is the definer of all things good. It was the devil who came trying to redefine everything God had said was good. The Lord Jesus rebuked demons and they in every instance obeyed His sovereign Word. This happened because the Lord Jesus words are supreme. His words are the supreme words of the Supreme Being.
In v.17 of today's passage we read, "...that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'"
The Lord Jesus performed these miracles in order to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53. Throughout the Old Testament the coming of the Messiah is greatly accentuated. The many prophecies present the Lord Jesus as the Savior of the world and as the Lamb of God who takes away sin. And when the Lord Jesus came, He fulfilled every aspect of being the Savior of the world. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross He for eternity took away the penalty for our sin, but He didn't remove all of the consequences of our sin. No, the consequences of sin will be done away with when we depart from this realm.
Here in v.17 is accentuated a certain aspect of our salvation prophesied by Isaiah in Isaiah 53. When the Lord Jesus took on sin, He took on infirmities and sicknesses. Sin preceded infirmities and sicknesses. The cause of infirmities and sicknesses is sin. Our biggest enemy is sin, even more than our infirmities and sicknesses. Isaiah 53 is an important chapter in the Bible because it predicted the forgiveness of our sin through the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. In the atonement, as indicated in this verse, is included physical healing but the healing is a precursor for the most important part of this promise which isn’t just for now, it is for eternity. Sadly everyone who has been healed has not been saved. Sadly, there are those who have only benefitted in the temporal and not the eternal. The most important aspect of the Lord Jesus being our Savior is how it will impact eternity. The fact is we will get sick and we will die physically, but our eternity is secured through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust you have invited Him into your life to be your Savior.
