I'm going to be preaching from
Matthew chapter 8, where Isaiah 53 is quoted, but I'd like you
to turn first to 1 Peter chapter 2. This passage that I just read
is quoted twice in the New Testament. 24, Peter is quoting that passage
that I just read, ìWho his own self bear our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed."
Now, when Peter speaks of Isaiah 53, he says he bare our sins
in his own body on the tree. Now, would you turn to Matthew
chapter Verse 16, When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils. And he cast out the spirits with
his word, and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, himself took
our infirmities and bare our sicknesses." Now, when Isaiah
speaks, he's quoted twice. By Peter, he bore our sins, and
by Matthew, he took our sicknesses and bare our Now, if you look
at Isaiah 53, that passage I just read, both of these things are
mentioned. It says he was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. There our sin is spoken of, but
it also says, surely he had carried our griefs. That's the word that
is generally translated diseases. He had borne our sorrows, our
anxieties, our anguish. Both ideas are in Isaiah 53. Ideas is not the right word.
I don't know how to express it. But my sin and my sickness. Now, sin in many respects can
be compared to a disease. A disease is something that's
going on on the inside. You remember the Lord's words,
the whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. Sin is compared to a disease,
to a sickness. And in many respects, sin can
be viewed just like that. You know this in your own experience.
Sin is a disease that is inherited. Now, in my wife's family, I think
of Chuck and Lynn and Leanne, their mother had a disease which
was called polycystic kidney. 50% of the people, when you have
children, 50% get it, 50% don't. Chuck and Lynn got it. They were born with it. They
were born with this disease called polycystic kidney. And when you're
born with it, you have it when you're one day old. There's no
way you can get out of not having it. You are born with it. I am
born with this sinful disease. I'm born with it. I was born
a sinner. I inherited the sin of my first
father, Adam, and I am born a sinner. But look in Matthew 8, verse
16, when the even was come, you know, when someone, let me say
this, when someone has a disease, we feel sorry for them, don't
we? We pity them. Our heart goes out to them. Compassion. The Lord was moved by compassion
at the diseases of the people that came into contact with him.
Scripture says he was moved by compassion. So sin as a disease
is something you feel sorry for, you pity. But look in verse 16. When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he
cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were
sick. Now here the word sick means
evilly sick. Sickness brought on by evil. Sickness brought on by sin. Now, there is a sickness that's
brought on by sin, like the sickness that would be brought on by substance
abuse or the sickness brought on by transmitted diseases, sexually
transmitted diseases, and people could get these sicknesses. It's
their fault. Now, what's the point I'm making?
My sin, I was born with it. I was born with it. I was born
a sinner. No way I can get out of it. And
my sin is all my fault. Yes, I was born with it. And
there's nothing I can do about that. And yes, my sin is all
my fault. And if I don't realize the idea
of personal responsibility in my sin, in my disease, in my
sickness, I make myself a victim. Not someone who's guilty, but
someone who's been victimized. It's not my fault. And that's
no way to look at sin. My sin. Yes, I was born with
it. I couldn't control that. I was
born with it. But all of my sin is all of my
fault. Now, understand, sovereign grace,
God's sovereignty and salvation does not in any way take away
the element of personal responsibility for sin. My sin. My guilt is
all my fault. Even my sinful nature. I'm not
blaming Adam. It's all my fault. And I know this, until I deal
with the personal responsibility of my sin, all I am is a victim. And you never really cry for
mercy until it's all your fault. And when it's all your fault,
then you know what you need? You need mercy. You need grace. That's what I need because my
sin is all my fault. So sin can truly be compared
to a disease in both ways. A disease I'm born with, that
I have no control over, and a disease that is all of my fault. And sin as a disease brings with it such problems. You think of the problems. If
you've ever been sick, you know what sickness does to you. It
brings such stress. It brings such pain. It brings
such anxiety. It brings such depression. It brings such despair. It brings such weakness. It brings such fear. When you're
sick, all these emotions come into play and sin does the precise
same thing. Now, in Matthew chapter eight,
there are three healings that took place in our text before
this quotation from Isaiah 53. We have the healing of a leper.
We have the healing of a paralytic. And we had the healing of a woman
with fever. Look back in Matthew chapter
4. I would to God that he'll bless us in considering this.
Like I said, I've entitled this message, Healing. Healing. Verse 23, And Jesus went about
all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all
manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout
all Syria, and they brought unto him all sick people that were
taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those which were
possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those
that had the palsy, and he healed them. Now I pray that that is
what takes place even now. Healing. Now let's go back for
a moment to Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah 53. The last sentence
of verse says, with his strides, we are
healed. From Gethsemane's garden all
the way to his last cry from the cross, it is finished. He
experienced in his holy soul all of the effects of sin. That is why he sweat great drops
of blood. He experienced, he experienced
all the effects of sin. Now do I understand this? Do
I believe it? Most certainly. He never sinned
in his person. He's the only holy man to ever
live in that sense. He never committed a sin, not
in his mind, not in his word, not in his actions. He knew no
sin. Yet he experienced And I think
that's what this comparison with sin to a disease means. He experienced
all that sin is on the cross. Now, this is the great mystery
of the gospel. It can't be intellectually comprehended,
but it is to be believed. All that sin is. He was made
to experience the shame of it, the humiliation of it, Oh, in
his own body he felt the disease of sin? All that sin is, he was
made to experience. Now look in Isaiah 53, verse
4. Surely he hath borne our griefs. That word is generally translated
in the Old Testament, diseases. had borne our diseases. All that is associated with sin
He experienced on the cross. He had borne our grief and carried
our sorrows. You know, that's our anxieties.
You think of the anxious thoughts that you have. The anxious cares,
the anxieties, the agonies. All that is, He experienced in
His own body on the tree. This is so sad to think of what
our Lord went through. I mean, it makes me happy, but
it also makes me sad to think of what our Lord had to experience
on the cross. He had borne our griefs. He had
carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem Him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted, but He was wounded. for our transgressions, and he
was bruised for our iniquities. Now, I was looking at these two
verses, and I was thinking, why is it that what our Lord experienced
on the cross is described both as a disease and a sickness and
as transgressions and sins? Why is that? Now, this word wounded,
I thought, I want to see exactly what Isaiah is saying. I looked
up every word. I've never ever done this before. On this famous
passage of scripture, Isaiah 53, I've never looked up every
word, but I was shocked with this. That word wounded, he was
wounded for our transgressions. That's the word that is generally
translated profaned, defiled, polluted. That word wounded is
generally translated by those words, he was profaned. for our transgressions. He was
polluted for our transgressions. He was defiled for our transgressions. And that fills me with the first
emotion to think that the hell that's in my heart came on Him. That makes me sad
to think that The Son of God became sin on the cross. That's what the scripture says.
He was made sin and the pollution and the defilement and the profanity
of sin. He never sinned in His person.
Nobody can understand this. He never sinned in His person.
Yet all that I am was made to meet on Him to where He experienced
it. Just like, you know, a sickness. You don't have a sickness charged
to you. You become sick. After He experienced the sickness,
all that sin is, He was wounded for our transgressions. He was
bruised. He was crushed under the wrath
of God for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. Peter says, by whose stripes
you were healed. You were healed. Oh, we, verse
6, like sheep have gone astray, This is true confession of sin.
All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord hath... Notice it's
spoken of in the past tense before it took place. The Lord hath
laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He made to meet the iniquity
of us all. Now, healing. Healing. I want to be healed. I am a sick individual. Sin sick. I was born this way. I was born with this evil disease. David said my loins are filled
with a loathsome disease. And there's no soundness in my
flesh because of my sin. I'm born with this disease. The
very first day of my life, I had this disease and I am possessed
with it. Like that paralytic said, my
servant lies at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. That's what sin is. It's a grievous
torment. It's a sickness. It is an illness. And it is all my fault. I'm powerless to make myself
better. And I need healing. Do you? Luke 9-11 says, He healed them. that had need of healing. Now, in this passage in Matthew
chapter 8, preceding this quotation from Isaiah 53, we have three
examples of the Lord's healing. We have healing by a will, healing
by a word, and healing by a touch. Now, let's see what brought on
Matthew to speak of this. Turn back to Matthew chapter
8. Now, if you and I are healed,
this is the way we'll be healed. Are you interested in the Lord
healing you? My soul, I am. Verse 1, When he was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed him, and, behold, there came
a leper, and worshipped him. Now, this worship took place,
in this man's experience, before his healing. Very important. He didn't worship him because
he healed him. He worshipped him for who he
was. The Lord's to be worshipped.
He's to be worshipped, whether he heals me or not. He's the
Lord. He's to be worshipped. And if that's not settled, you
can forget healing. This leper, in his leprosy, full
of leprosy, he came and he worshipped him. Savior. Lord. He knew who he was. He's the
Lord. That means he's the dictator.
He's the one who has all control. You see, you'll only worship
an absolute sovereign. And this leper knew who the Lord
was. He came and worshipped him. He
knew he was the Lord. You know, the last verse of Matthew
chapter 7 says he spake as one having authority. Not like the
scribes. And Matthew chapter 8 is a demonstration
of his authority. This leper comes And he worships
him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Now, he acknowledged the sovereign
will of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is totally up to you. I have no control in this. It's
totally up to you. If you will, you can. He knew the ability of the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you will, you can make me
clean. You've got the ability to take
me and make me clean. Do you believe the Lord is able
to make you clean? If you will, you can make me
clean. He knew he was filthy. He acknowledged his filthiness
before God, his disease, his sin. Lord, if you will, you can. Make me clean. Hebrews 10.10 says, By the witch
will. We are sanctified. through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Now that man came saying, Lord,
if you will, I have no control in this. You have all control.
I'm in your hands. If you will, you can make me
clean. You know what the Lord said?
I will. Salvation. Healing. cleansing
by the will of God. As a matter of fact, Mark's account
says, he was moved with compassion, saying, I will be thou clean. Now, here's the first place of
healing. You know, if you're sick, you want to get to the
right doctor. You want to get to the right person, the one who can do something
for you. He came to the only one who could do anything for
him. He knew here's where it's got to begin. His will. He's
got to will this before it takes place. Now, if you're sick, you
come like this leper. Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. And you know that there's never
been anybody who came like that, that the Lord turned away. It's
not going to happen. You come like this leper. And
you're going to hear the same thing that leper heard. I will. Be thou clean. Now, verse 5. And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, a ruler of a hundred
soldiers, beseeching him, saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home
sick of the palsy grievously tormented. Who knows what all
this man was going through, but it was grievous torment. And
Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest
come under my roof, but speak the word only, and
my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority.
I understand authority. Having soldiers unto me, and
I say, Do this man go? And he goes, and to another come,
and he comes, and to my servant do this, and he doeth it. I understand
that if you speak the word only, My servant shall be healed. When Jesus heard it, he marveled.
And he said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have
not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. Now speak the
word only. Who is the Word of God? Here he is. He is the Word of
God. Note the word only. Christ is
the word. It is the word only that can
heal us, not Christ and. Not Christ and my contribution,
this thing of healing is not a cooperative effort. Speak the
word only if you introduce the word and to it is no good. Speak
the word only and my servant shall be healed. Now, here's
the point. Christ Jesus, the Word of God, He by Himself purged
our sins. No help from you. None at all. Speak the Word only. Oh, I love
this man's attitude. The Lord says, I'll come and
heal him. And he says, here's his response,
Lord, I'm not worthy that you should come under my roof. I
try to put myself in that man's place. And you know, it says
he had the greatest faith in Israel. I know. I said, well,
come on in. I mean, I'd be all excited. I'd think about him
coming in my house. I'd want him coming. But this
man who had the greatest faith in Israel says, I'm not worthy
to even come under your roof. And one of the other accounts,
I can't remember which one it is. He sent somebody to the Lord
to ask him to speak the word only because he said, I didn't
think myself worthy to come to you. I'm not even fit to ask
you. Speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. Now, when the Lord said it is
finished, that's the word only. No contribution. He did it on
Calvary's tree. He did it. Speak the word only,
and my servant shall be healed. Now, look in verse 14. We have
healing by a will, the sovereign will of Christ. We have healing
by a word. Speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. And we have healing by a touch.
Look in verse 14. And when Jesus was come into
Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick. of a fever, literally on fire,
feverish. And isn't that what sin is? It's
like a fever. And he touched her hand. And the fever left her. And she arose and ministered
unto them. He touched her. Touch has to do with coming into
contact, doesn't it? He touched her. And her fever left her. And it
didn't just dissipate, it went somewhere else. Remember, he
himself bore our diseases and carried our sorrows. Let me show
you in Luke chapter 8. Turn with me there. Luke the 8th chapter. Verse 43. Twelve years, which had spent
all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any. She came behind him and touched
the border of his garment. We know from Matthew and Mark's
accounts, she said to herself, if I can just touch his clothes,
if I can come into contact with him, I shall be healed. So she comes through the press,
through the crowd in the back, and she touched the border of
his garment. Verse 44, and immediately Her
issue of blood stanched. It stopped. She was healed. And
Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they
that were with him said, Master, the multitude throngs thee, impresses
thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody
had touched me. For I perceive that virtue, power,
is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she
was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him,
and she declared unto him, before all the people, for what cause
she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Be of good comfort, thy faith
hath made thee whole. Go in peace. Now, in this touch. Healing by touch. When this woman
touched him, something left him. Power. Virtue. It left him and came into her. And something left her. and came into Him. And that's
precisely what took place on the cross. Healing by a touch. He came into contact with me.
My sin became His. And His glorious righteousness
becomes mine. by whose stripes you were healed. Now, is there anybody that has
need of healing? I've got news for you. You've
already been healed. You've already been healed. by whose stripes you were healed."
You see, He heals all those who have need of healing. Turn to Hebrews chapter 4, please. Now, in this thing of healing,
give me something to do. I don't read anything in these
instances. Healing. He heals by will. He heals by word. He heals by
touch. And you're healed. My sin. Oh, the bliss. of this glorious thought. My
sin, not in part, but the whole, has been nailed to the cross,
and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
O my soul. Now look in Hebrews chapter 4,
beginning in verse 14. Let's start in verse 13. Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but
all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom
we have to do. He sees everything as it really
is. Seeing then that we have a great
high priest that's passed into the heavens Jesus, the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession, our confession. What is my confession? My confession, this is what I'm
holding on to, that He healed me. Not that He will heal me,
but that when He said, it is finished, I was healed. That's what I'm holding on to.
That's my profession. That's my confession. 4, verse 15, We have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in
all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Now, he
is touched. He's moved to sympathy by the
feeling of our infirmities. You know, I remember in some period during 1990, I experienced depression for the
first time. And you know, before that, when
people talked about being depressed, I believe God, what's wrong with
you? This is just unbelief. That's
all it is, is unbelief. I mean, believe God. But when
I experienced it, I now had sympathy toward those
going through it. Now, the Lord never sinned. He never sinned. Scripture points
that out. He never sinned. Yet, He's touched by the feelings
of our infirmities. How can that be? Because He has
experienced every one of those feelings. There's nothing. You think of the feelings of
abandonment and sinfulness and shame and degradation and helplessness
and all the feelings associated with being a sinner. He's felt
them. He himself in his own person
has felt every single one of them. So he is touched. He is moved to sympathy by the
feelings of our infirmities. He was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly
with confidence unto the throne of grace. Yes, it's a throne
of sovereignty. It's also a throne of grace.
unmerited free favor. Let us, therefore, come boldly. This is for everybody who is
sick, everybody who needs Him. Let us, therefore, come boldly
under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time
of need. When's that time? Right now. Now may God enable each one of
us to come with confidence, come with boldness to the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, healing, and find grace to help
in time of need. What a great high priest. We
have. Healing through His will. Healing by the Word only. Healing
by His touch. Let's pray.