I invite you to turn this morning to Matthew chapter 8, Matthew chapter 8. We're continuing now right on in to the gospel of Matthew. We're continuing following our study in the Sermon on the Mount. And today we come to chapter 8 and we're looking at three accounts of Jesus healing. And so we'll be looking at 1 through 17 this morning of Matthew chapter 8 found on page 966. let's give our attention this morning to the word of the lord this is chapter 8 beginning at verse 1 this is the holy word of the lord when he came down from the mountain great crowds followed him and behold a leper came to him and knelt before him saying lord if you will you can make me clean and jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying i will be clean and immediately his leprosy was cleansed and jesus said to him see that you say nothing to anyone but go show yourself to the priests and offer the gift that moses commanded for proof to them when he had entered capernaum a centurion came forward to him appealing to him lord my servant is lying paralyzed at home suffering terribly and he said to him i will come and heal him but the centurion replied lord i am not worthy to have you come under my roof but only say the word and my servant will be healed for i too am a man under authority with soldiers under me and i say to one go and he goes and to another come and he comes and to my servant do this and he does it when jesus heard this he marveled and said to those who followed him truly i tell you with no one in israel have i found such faith i tell you many will come from east and west and recline at table with abraham isaac and jacob in the kingdom of heaven while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth to the centurion jesus said go let it be done for you as you have believed and the servant was healed at that very moment and when jesus entered Peter's house he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever he touched her hand and the fever left her and she rose and began to serve him that evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah he took our illnesses and bore our diseases may the lord bless the hearing of his word this morning on a world that is utterly filled with sorrow sickness illnesses and death we open uh one of the most well maybe it's not as surprising as it should be because we've read these accounts so much but we open what should be a surprising section of scripture to us to demonstrate something powerful about our lord and something powerful about his kingdom that has broken out into the earth and what this is communicating to us about his great kingdom and he as the king it's meant today this passage to be a source of great encouragement to us and strength to walk through this life it is meant to be that and i'm hoping and praying that you'll be able to recall this sermon when these sorts of things affect you and remember just a bit what was said because the Lord is intending to help us in this great text today with something that has always been confusing for us. He had just finished the Sermon on the Mount, at least as Matthew has put these things together. The word of the kingdom had come in such power, remember, that it blew away the minds of those who heard it. You'll see that in verses 28 and 29 of chapter 7 When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes. They were struck out of themselves when they heard him preach. That's how much power and authority came from the word that he had spoken. Nobody had ever spoke like this. But I want to say as we continue to move on now into Matthew and the way that this is laid out the major theme of that sermon is not lost in what brackets this sermon and in what follows throughout the whole course of Matthew Matthew now wants to show us sort of ground level the very principles of this sermon working out at the heart of this sermon in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said something. He said, I have not come to destroy, but I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets. That was a remarkable statement. And that is summarized for us in part today with something that Jesus says, which is why I take these three narratives together. There's a summarizing principle of these three narratives in verse 17, All of this was done, this was done, and I take it to be these three accounts since the sermon and in what preceded the sermon, to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He took our illnesses and he bore our diseases. That is a remarkable verse to pull out of Isaiah. The entire sermon, if you will, is bracketed by this very truth. Just before the sermon started, in the Sermon on the Mount, we read, He went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease, and every affliction among the people. It's a remarkable statement. How much healing did Jesus really do? I don't think we've stopped and thought about. They brought to Him all the sick. All those afflicted with various diseases, pains, demon-possessed, epileptics, paralytics. He healed them all. That's what it says. There's something captured here about the kingdom that Matthew doesn't want us to miss. Opening gate kingdom that's being displayed about us the coming of the kingdom with power and the king and just after this sermon this is then picked up again this major theme that he is picked up again with all three accounts now zeroing in on three accounts to emphasize this great truth with the entire intention today that we would know what it looks like which is what the sermon intended of what faith is of what right response is what it looks like what he's after so you've got it here it's just really a wonderful section today i'm thrilled to preach it i trust it will be immensely comforting message for you that's the intention of this our savior has listen carefully carried all our illnesses bore all our diseases and he is willing and compassionate to do that for you now that's sort of the summary today i think you see that in his in this emphasis of matthew first on his willingness to heal and then his great compassions and his desire to heal and then the purpose that is accented here and the reason for why he was healing. What we have now, which I'm taking together, are three accounts to show this. Again, summarized by Isaiah 53. I want to go through them somewhat quickly here and then show you what's intended by way of application. You'll notice in verse 1 then, we pick up with the narrative that he came down from the mountain. When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. These were big crowds. There were multitudes all around him following him as he walked through Capernaum. And you'll notice here that, behold, a leper came to him and kneels down in front of him. And he yells out to the Lord. He says to the Lord, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Now, I think you have to kind of stand back and looking at all three of these accounts to recognize as Isaiah is the summarizing principle here that there is progression in each of these accounts. I want you to notice the progression. I think it's important. Number one, he starts with a Jewish man and then he goes to a Gentile and then he goes to a woman and then he heals everyone. So that's progression. It's interesting progression with interesting responses. So you'll notice that progressive unfolding here. He has come to fulfill the law and the prophets. The first centers on this Jewish man who has leprosy. I don't think we appreciate this disease. It's an awful disease. I guarantee you, when he came running up, the whole crowd dispersed. nobody would have wanted to be around this guy modern medicine they say today has all but eliminated it you hear it in some parts of the world that it springs up it was one of the most disgusting diseases to have nobody would feel comfortable here today if a leper was sitting here it's highly infectious it's it's foul smelling it's disgusting it's the worst thing that could happen to your skin the infection is characterized by large scabs and sores where the scent the skin underneath turns white and smooth eventually those parts of the body where the skin continues to corrupt it will die off and loss of body parts would happen so your your body is essentially wasting away with this disease it would have been quite a scene as this man comes up highly infectious but more importantly among the jews this man is ceremonially unclean no one would get close to him due to a religious problem well he comes and he kneels before the lord and with just a word just a word jesus says be clean i don't know what they saw but it immediately happened the word you could imagine the sight of that where a full-on leper i'm trying to think where have i seen a leper braveheart that's what i remember i remember the king he had leprosy the whole body immediately repairs what would you do second matthew records a gentile centurion officer of the roman army language is a deep pleading this must have been a really respectable figure in the roman army lord my servant is at home paralyzed suffering terribly notice that suffering terribly notice the language that the man knowing jesus has authority says i'm not worthy for you to come under my roof great humility here i'm a man with authority i'm a commander here whatever i tell my servant to do he does i have soldiers under me i tell that one go and he goes To another come and he comes. Do this and he does it. You have authority. You have authority over sickness. Just speak the word. Jesus says, it's done. It's done. The servant was healed at that very moment. This is remarkable stuff. This is remarkable stuff we've read. I mean, you kind of come already to the point where you either call this madness that this was ever recorded or it happened. Or you could do the C.S. Lewis thing, liar, lunatic, or Lord. Third account, he enters Peter's house and Peter was obviously married. I believe his wife went on one of the journeys. I can't remember, but that's coming into my head. I shouldn't say those things when I don't know. His wife's mother was lying there sick with a fever. He comes and he enters the house and he looks upon her. And then he touches her. He embraces her. And immediately she rises up and begins to serve. The three accounts end with the masses coming to Him, oppressed by demons. He's casting out spirits. Notice it. With a word. This is the one through whom everything was created. Right? The Word of God. With a word. He spoke this into existence. And He healed all who were sick. now we know these stories we are familiar with these stories i think it's good to look at them a little differently by putting them together we've heard these stories but we have to i think take a giant step back and and see what's being said to us here notice the progressive unfolding here again an israelite a gentile a woman all and here we see something overwhelming regarding the compassion of our lord why did jesus come into this world why does this world need a savior it was of course one great evidence here is to bring in the kingdom of god the rule of the Messiah but here we see how the first thing that's accented and illustrated about this what our Lord was intending to accomplish what a savior he is there are certain things you don't want to miss here Matthew gives great attention to something that should really stand out the leper comes up to him and kneels down and says if you're willing if you're willing you can make me clean and what's the first thing we read i am i'm willing And he stretches out his hand and he touches him. You understand nobody could do this according to Old Testament ceremonial law without becoming unclean. No one was allowed to simply touch a leper. Transfer. He touches human uncleanness. Whatever sort of uncleanness is in the person, that person becomes unclean. You know the power of touch. I wish we could have seen it. What do you think it was? I think it was full on embrace. Embraced him. I'm willing. Be clean. and with the centurion when he appeals to jesus to come would you come the next word is i will come and heal him no qualifications i think that's striking there's no real qualifications here the third he comes in and gazes his eyes on peter's sick mother-in-law with a fever and he reaches out and touches her again this is something to park on for a minute what are we all burdened with all the time it's sickness and death we're just a moment away from it just a moment away from it when it touches you they all know the cells are in the body the cancer in every one of us i want you to notice the willingness and the compassion of our saviors greatly emphasized in this section you can't miss it this has been greatly confusing for us i think when it comes to illness and sickness some of you have been we all know we've been burdened for the little baby that we've been praying for on our prayer chain of a family here in the central valley and tied together with a family in this church we've been praying for that child and it seemed that the lord didn't hear for that baby died last week. We know of the situation of another family here, little Sarika. We could go down the line throughout history of situations like this. Another situation's coming, by the way. No one would dispute that. It's coming. We will hear a count soon, I'm sure, of somebody in another scenario. Maybe multiple. The first thing to note is the compassions of our Lord to the sick. This is where Matthew parks. I think we've been overreactive, rightly so in many ways, to the health and wealth movement that has told us that if you have enough faith, you will get well. It's a terrible doctrine. It's a destructive doctrine. It's a lie. that you will be healed of all your diseases and sicknesses in this life if you have enough faith in that great air though we've been left to think i think at times as reformed folk that the lord isn't as compassionate about these things or the lord doesn't care about these things how much we miss what the scriptures are telling us about this issue about sickness about illness how much he entered into our sorrows all through the gospel we see him caring for the sick caring for the afflicted caring for those dying it's remarkable how much it keeps saying to us in these opening accounts of Matthew he healed them all John would say listen there are so many miracles he did in this regard the books could not contain it all he went around doing this everywhere on a large scale on such a large scale that they couldn't record all the miracles of the burden of lazarus the one he loved when you have in your savior in his humanity taking on this humanity. Him weeping. Who can mind that? Who can process that? In His humanity, it was hard for Him. All that was created through Him to see this kind of sorrow. You get the sense He wanted to heal everyone. This is expressed as he moves from Jews to Gentiles. His purpose was to reverse the great problem, beloved, of death. And he wanted everyone to know it. Think of the very psalm we celebrate. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that's within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He, number one, forgives all your iniquity. We get to celebrate that tonight, by the way. Number two, he heals all your diseases. Does he do that? If you ask me how much have I seen him do it, as we have prayed for you and your loved ones, It'd be overwhelming to count, you know. We just move on and have forgotten all the times that we have prayed and he's healed and he's answered. But we all know we still live under the sentence of death and people do die. And he didn't deliver, it seemed. And because of this, we always sort of are struggling with this sickness issue. Does the Lord help? Does the Lord care? look at them the whole sermon is bracketed with this issue and it tells you something about him it tells you something about him we're all going to be here sooner than later and what is the surprising summary of all three of these accounts here it is he did all this to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet isaiah the greatest old testament prophets and what does he capture out of that whole section he took our illnesses and he bore our sicknesses well there's your answer you know when someone's dying or when someone dies suddenly there's this sense there was no answer from the lord you know that and you don't know what to say to the person your words almost seem to make matters worse all of us struggle with it I'm a pastor and I struggle with that what if it was your child lying at home ready to die and then he does what if it's your spouse taken suddenly we feel powerless to help because you don't have power you don't have strength to help real strength does Jesus care? Christ just didn't figure out words to say oh he comforts us in many ways in his inspired word but he did far more than that beloved instead he fulfilled isaiah he fulfilled isaiah 53 hear it he took all them on himself is what it's saying i don't do that you don't do that he carried them on his back you know the pain of trying to talk to someone when they're in this kind of sorrow you don't know how can you imagine carrying it for them the nas says it beautiful he carried them all away he didn't stand disconnected he did not feel the pain of trying to enter into it he took it and he carried it all to the cross that's what's being said you know when any New Testament author quotes a verse they want you to read around it surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted but he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with His wounds, we're all healed. All that sorrow. All that pain. All that sickness. All that death. And He can carry a world of it on His shoulders. That's how strong He is. That's how powerful he is. That's how much authority he has. There's a reason we call him the man of sorrows. He carried it on his back, the burden, the pain, the sorrow. He took it upon himself. I don't even know how to communicate it. All I can do is try to sympathize with someone. He not only is a sympathetic high priest, he carries it. While we try to figure out the words to say he's actually carrying it and he's taking the responsibility, listen, to overcome it through his death and the triumph of his resurrection to reverse it all. The Savior, did you hear me? He's willing. He's willing. His hand is outstretched. All day long, I've stretched out my hand. I'm willing. He embraces us. He puts his hand on us. And he takes our uncleanness upon himself that resulted in all this sorrow. Look at the willingness of your Savior. Some might say, well, he doesn't often answer. Are you kidding? What do you mean he doesn't answer? I could start by saying this. It's remarkable how many of us are in good health sitting here right now. I've just thought about that. You're the ones that have been hard on your life and body, not him. Death has to happen. He told us that. There's a benefit of death. Did you realize that? Your benefit is you get to glory. Putting off sin and putting off sorrow. It's gone forever. Is that such a bad proposition? All of us have to cross the bridge. The next time you face the surprising death of a loved one, remember this. Of course he answered. Of course he answered. The whole message of Christianity is, that's why he came. This is what the cross declares. I answered you. We all have to die. Sometimes He chooses to take some in infancy, some in middle life, some in old age. The answer He's given you is, I've carried it all for you. I've bore it. And though we don't often see it this way, Far better for an infant to be with the Lord than here. It leads me to my final point today. What was the purpose Jesus gave all this? What was the purpose Jesus did this before the world? And it comes down to response, doesn't it? I think there's a progression in response. In the first account, the Jewish man, the leper, he heals him. Isn't it an interesting follow-up, a confusing follow-up? It's meant to be somewhat confusing. Jesus says, don't go say anything to anyone, but go show yourself to the priests and offer the gift that Moses commanded. We knew why. He went and told the Jews. That's all they sought was a sign. From the other Gospels we know, he went and told everyone. Created a lot of hardship for Jesus. Go show yourself to the priests according to the law of Moses. He's fulfilling the law and the prophets. He's not a renegade. He's not an antinomian. You can read about the confusion of the response, but when you put these together, I think you see progression. The Jews only wanted a sign. They only wanted someone who would heal all their diseases. They only wanted the kingdom to come in the way they wanted it to come themselves. But they didn't want a savior from sin. And I think that's the big issue. When it comes to this issue, what do you want from Jesus? Sickness is a result of something. Sickness is a consequence of something. And the most important thing has to be dealt with to remedy that. Jesus didn't want to just be a healer. The Jews didn't accept this. First response. We just don't seem to have faith here. Ah, but the centurion. This man of great authority. I speak and people go. I say go and they go. I say do and they do. So you are one of authority. When you speak, it happens. Ah, that's what I'm after. Right there. Everyone look at this. I have never found such faith in Israel. The man understood authority. That's why he's capitalized. That's why he's singled out. He understood authority. And he believed in the authoritative power of Christ over all of creation with just a word. He has authority over, listen, sin, sickness, and death. And Jesus makes a big moment of it. That's it. That's what I want. That's what I'm after, right there. This is the single great issue of life. The centerpiece of these three healings. What you believe about him. Who he is and what authority he has and what kingdom he's bringing. What a comfort. Every time we look at death in the face, we are taken here. You are faced with this question. You are faced with this issue. Who has the power to reverse this awful, painful enemy? and he has the authority. And he praises this, and he gives us such comfort. I tell you what, I tell you what, many are going to come from the east and the west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. We are all, isn't that an amazing choice of what we're going to go do? We're going to recline. the fulfillment of Abraham is going to extend to the ends of the earth and I'm going to fill my heaven with those who will recline of this faith. But faithlessness, there's a warning here, will result in an entirely different outcome. The sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness and that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That's the other side of Christianity nobody likes. But it's the reality. It's just judgment for not believing in him. I close with this. I remember Darcy's. I told this story before, but it so works here. Darcy's atheistic uncle lived in White Rock, B.C., very wealthy man. He took a liking to us. Me as a pastor, he saw me as successful. Does anyone think a pastor is successful? That's what he saw me as. So it worked, I guess. He got sick. So I drove to White Rock, went to B.C. I sat with him in the hospital room and prayed for him. And he said, Pastor, can you pray that I get healed? I said, I sure can. But I'm going to pray you believe. Well, he got well for a time. And when he got well, he hardened his heart. And he wanted nothing to do with me ever again. He died in unbelief. You see, you can get well, but you're going to die. See what Jesus is after here? Faith. He's the Messiah. He's the King. He has authority over sin and death to triumph over it. And if there's any connection to the third account, which I think there is, that when you have faith, Just like Peter's mom, mother-in-law, you get up and you become a servant of him. You serve. There's your evidence. There's your evidence that you're truly healed. You're a servant in Christ's kingdom. All of us will be here soon. by faith in christ you can have absolute assurance that he listen carried your illnesses and bore your sorrows he carried them all the way to the cross and he has saved his people from their sins and since he rose from the dead this is the great death benefit since he triumphed over death He's going to reverse this all. And with him, we're going to have a brand new resurrected body in a brand new resurrected new heavens and earth. Tell me what message is better than that? Who's the fool that wouldn't believe it? When no one offers you anything close to this, trust him. Believe him. He will not fail you. He cares for you. He cares for the hairs of your head. he is willing he's willing his hands outstretched your sicknesses and your sorrows he's answered us and he will answer us it's just a matter of time he's already answered in the cross but he will answer us in finality to prove this all so receive him believe him like the examples here trust him and do not doubt he will do everything that he has shown us and spoken to us in his word for indeed he forgives all our iniquities and he heals all our diseases amen heavenly father thank you for such encouragement thank you for the authority that is demonstrated here of the power of the king what an answer to us so that when we face these things we are not distressed or we have a savior who's born them give us faith oh lord to trust you and believe you and to not lose heart. May we go in your strength and see your compassionate, willing hand is still outstretched to a lost and dying world that needs a Savior. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.