He Has Borne Our Griefs and Carried Our Sorrows

Introduction:

Matthew's gospel demonstrates that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the Old Testament. He is Immanuel - God with us.

As we read through the Gospel of Matthew, it is important to see this connection. After Jesus descended from the mountain where He preached His famous "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus performed a serious of healings that fulfilled what Isaiah had to say about the promised Messiah; that He would bear our griefs and carry our sorrows.

You know, Jesus came to make us whole spiritually, but to demonstrate this to the people, He also made people whole physically. Faith was the key element in their healing and it is the key element in our spiritual healing as well.

Turn with me to Matthew 8 as we look at these three pictures of the one who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Matthew 8:1–4 ESV

1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Pray

These healings that we are going to look at this morning, take place in three major scenes as we make our way down the mountain and into Peter’s house in the city of Capernaum.

As we look at each of these people who are healed, keep in mind their is a spiritual lesson to be learned about Jesus and Who He is.

The first lesson we need to learn is...

1. Jesus is willing to make you clean (vv. 1-4)

Matthew 8:1–4 ESV

1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Notice this scene outside of the city. Jesus has a crowd that is following him now. He’s already cast out demons and his reputation is growing in the region.

This leper comes to Jesus. Now, stop there for a moment. That may not seem odd to you, but it is a red flag to anyone living in Israel at the time of Jesus. You see, lepers were supposed to turn and go the other way. They had to get out of the way so they didn’t make anyone else unclean.

This leper doesn’t care about the crowds or propriety. He wants to get to Jesus so he can be healed.

He comes to Jesus and notice his posture:

He kneels in humility

He submits to Jesus’ will

He pleads for help

All of these three things are necessary if we want to be clean from our sins.

But notice what he says to Jesus. “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

He never has a doubt that Jesus can heal him, his question is whether Jesus is willing to help him.

The answer is encouraging to all of us.

Jesus says, “I will. Be clean.”

Let me tell you that for all of the teaching the Bible gives on the sovereignty of God in salvation, it also teaches us that God never rejects to heal a begging sinner.

If you will come to Jesus, He will make you clean. He wants to cleanse you.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

So know this....Jesus wants to cleans you. But what is needed to be clean?

Do you need to clean yourself up first and then you can come to God?

The second lesson we need to learn about the one who’s borne our griefs and carried our sorrows is..

2. Faith is necessary to make you whole (vv. 5-13)

Matthew 8:5–6 ESV

5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”

This next encounter is amazing if you really break it down. Again we have someone coming to Jesus. The progression of Jesus’ journey down the mountain is from outside of the city, to entering the town of Capernaum, and then going all the way into the home of Peter where his mother-in-law lay sick with fever. We will get to her in a moment, but first as we enter the city, we see a centurion come to Jesus.

What do we know about centurions?

They were Romans, not Jews

They were in high positions of authority (usually over 100 soldiers)

They were often harsh and mean

They had authority to command people to do what they wanted and usually they got what they wanted

This centurion seems to have a different heart. He comes to Jesus, a country, Jewish rabbi and appeals to him for help. The word used for appeal here in v.5 is the Greek word parakaleo which means to implore or beg or urge someone on. It’s interesting because the word that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit that would come in John 16:7 is the word paraklatos, which comes from this same word.

John 16:7 ESV

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Its a word picture of the Holy Spirit helping us by urging us and imploring us on. I believe that this centurion had the Holy Spirit urging him to appeal, or implore Jesus to help his servant.

Faith is already present in this man’s heart in Jesus, just like it was in the leper we already looked at.

Look at the man’s faith. Matthew 8:7-9

Matthew 8:7–9 ESV

7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 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. 9 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.”

You see again Jesus’ willingness to help this man’s servant. Jesus is willing to help you and I be made whole.

But here the man demonstrates his great faith. He won’t have Jesus trouble Himself with coming under his roof. The centurion does not feel he is worthy to have Jesus come.

Look at his humility. He is a Roman. He is a centurion. Jesus is just some Jewish backwater preacher to so many of his peers, but this centurion humbles himself to beg Jesus for help. He shows his empathy and compassion for his servant, who very well could have been a Jewish slave. We don’t know this, but it was common in that time.

Look at his faith. The man gives an illustration of his belief in Jesus’ ability. He uses his position as a Roman centurion to basically say that when he orders something to happen, it gets done. He has no lack of faith in the authority of his own commands and that these servants or soldiers of his will certainly do what he says. They have no other choice in the matter.

That is the faith that this centurion has in Jesus’ ability to heal. He believed that Jesus could command whatever demon, sickness, or disease and it had to respond to Jesus.

His faith was so great that it led Jesus to marvel and make the following comments.

Matthew 8:10–12 ESV

10 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. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Jesus uses an Old Testament promise, remember that Matthew uses the Old Testament allusions a lot in his gospel, about Abraham being a blessing to the whole world.

He also uses a few Old Testament prophecies about the kingdom of God from Isaiah and Malachi.

Isaiah 59:19 ESV

19 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives.

and in Malachi 1:11

Malachi 1:11 ESV

11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.

What’s amazing about these prophecies and what Jesus warns is that many of these Jews who thought they were safe because they were Jews and would just automatically sit at the table and eat in the kingdom of God would not make it. They would be cast out into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is a clear picture of judgment.

Jesus is setting up the contrast of those who have faith but may not be ethnic Israel, with those who do not have faith but can claim Abraham as their physical ancestor.

It was the centurion’s faith that healed his servant.

Matthew 8:13 ESV

13 And 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.

Application:

The point Jesus makes it that it is faith that heals. Faith is also what heals us spiritually.

Some of you here this morning may be guilty of thinking like these Jews. You may think that your church membership or your service to God or your giving will buy you a seat at the table.

The only currency of heaven is faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. It is by faith we are saved and not of works so that no one may boast.

Let me ask you today, “Do you have the kind of faith to make Jesus marvel?” What would he say about your faith? Maybe you have little faith. He can help.

Let’s look at the last thing we need to see of the one who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.

This the portrait of Jesus as our Great Physician.

3. Grace meets you where you are (vv. 14-17)

Matthew 8:14–17 ESV

14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 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. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

This last scene takes us right down the mountain, into the city of Capernaum, and right into the house of Peter. She is sick and in desperate need of a physician.

Sometimes we don’t have the strength to get up and get to Jesus. That was the case for Peter’s mother-in-law.

If we look in Luke’s gospel we find a little more information about what his mother-in-law was suffering from.

Luke 4:38 ESV

38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf.

Here we find that others had come to Jesus, probably including Peter, on her behalf. She is struggling with a high fever.

Have you ever had a high fever before? Maybe you have had the flu or the Rona and you know how it can wipe you out.

What do you do when you have a fever? You take some medicine right? You pop a couple of Ibuprofen, because we all know that Tylenol is not the strong stuff, and we go get in the bed and lay down because we don’t feel like doing anything.

In the ancient world, while they may have had some medicinal herbs and poultices, these were not nearly as effective. There wasn’t a whole lot you could do for a really high fever except lie down and pray.

This fever seems to be one of the worse kinds of fevers and we don’t know if it will result in death or not, but what Jesus does when He heals her is incredible!

She immediately gets up and begins to serve everybody. I mean, you might think, “Give her a break! Let her take it easy.”

No, she wanted to serve right then because she wasn’t just a little better. She was all the way well! She was healed.

I can’t help but see a little bit of a resurrection picture here. She is sick with fever that could lead to death. She is lying in the deathbed position on her back. She is raised to serve with a new vigor.

Application:

That’s what the resurrection will do for us isn’t it? We are dead in our trespasses and sins until Jesus comes to us and touches us with His healing hand. He completely cures us by His precious blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins and then we are raised to walk in newness of life. This culminates in a new resurrected body that we will receive one day when He comes again for us.

That’s worth praising God over isn’t it?

Jesus not only heals these three, but the text says that He healed many so that the prophecy recorded about the Messiah in Isaiah 53:4 is fulfilled.

Isaiah 53:4 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

Conclusion:

Jesus is able to make even the worst leper clean. We have something even worse than leprosy, or lameness, or illness. We have a sin problem. We are in sin and it is a deadly disease that will kill us without treatment. There is only one Doctor that can give us the treatment we need. He doesn’t requires us to travel far or get a referral. All we have to do is come to Him by faith and He will reward that faith in Him with complete healing and resurrection on the Day of the Lord when He comes to gather us to Himself.

You see Jesus died on the cross to shed His blood for our sins and make our leprous spots white as snow.

Charles Wesley said it this way in O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing:

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise, The glories of my God and king, The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread through all the earth abroad, The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease— ’Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the pow’r of canceled sin, He sets the pris’ner free; His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and, list’ning to His voice, New life the dead receive, The mournful, broken hearts rejoice, The humble poor believe.

Glory to God, and praise and love Be ever, ever giv’n By saints below and saints above, The church in earth and heav’n.

Let’s pray.