This morning, we’re continuing where we left off last week in the evening service as we see Jesus healing every sickness and every disease of the crowds of people following Him.

Matthew 8:16-34

16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah (53):

“He took up our infirmities

    and bore our diseases.”

The very next verse in Isaiah says:

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

This brought to my attention an interesting aspect to prophecy.  Here we have a prophetic word given by Isaiah about Jesus.  Living on this side of history, when I read Isaiah 53 verses 3 and 4, I always read them as one word and always believed that it was fulfilled on the cross.

According to Matthew, “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases” was being fulfilled before Jesus even picked up the cross to carry it.  Jesus taking up our infirmities and bearing our diseases was happening as He went about healing people from them.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever and Jesus always has been, is now, and always will be our healer.

This part of the prophetic word happened before He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, punished to bring us peace, and wounded to heal us.

So, if you’ve been given a prophetic word and a part of it came to pass, but the rest of it did not, it may just be that the time has not yet come for the rest of its fulfillment.

Don’t give up on every word and promise from God for they will never fail.  It’s not over yet, there is still hope and God is still at work!  Paul wrote to Timothy this very reminder:

1 Timothy 1:18-19

18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.

Recall those prophecies and keep fighting the good fight of the faith!  To follow Jesus is a whole-life commitment.  It requires us to trust Him and to let go of our own opinions.

For example, Jesus was healing the sick, driving out demons, and fulfilling the prophetic word that Isaiah spoke about Him.  The crowd kept growing of people who needed healing, deliverance, and people who wanted to hear the teachings of Jesus. 

We would think that this is a good thing and that Jesus would keep ministering to the needs of those who were coming to Him.  We would think that Jesus would encourage the growth of the crowd and be excited about it.  However, Jesus responded in an unexpected way.

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.

Jesus instead left the crowds and got ready to cross a lake.  Then, Jesus responds in another unexpected way.

19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

The choice to follow Jesus is not one to be made as just an emotional response in the heat of the moment.  The choice to become a disciple of Jesus and to follow Him is one that is to be thoughtfully considered.

In fact, there is another time when Jesus spoke very directly to the crowds with this same concern.  Often in our culture, we measure success by the size of the crowds and the numbers of those in attendance.  Though it is true that a healthy church should be growing, Jesus valued comm