Matthew 8:14-16 - Why Are We Sick?

Hello and welcome to the Bite-Sized Gospel with Aneel Aranha. Today we will reflect on Matthew 8:14-16. Listen.

When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
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. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“He took up our infirmities
and bore our diseases.”

Many years ago, the prophet Isaiah had prophesied about Jesus. Among the several things he said, he said this: Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 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.

Matthew quotes Isaiah as he narrates how Jesus healed *all* the sick who came to him, saying Jesus came not only to take away our iniquities but also our infirmities. In simple English, he came to take away not only our sins but also our sicknesses. Which leads to the question: if this is what Jesus came to do, then why are so many of us sick?

There could be several reasons why we are sick. An obvious reason is that we don’t look after our bodies as we should. We have poor eating habits with little exercise, and sickness is one of the consequences we face. What’s the remedy? We should look after our bodies better. They are, after all, temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Another reason is that we may not have appropriated the blessings from being Easter people or people of the Resurrection. Baptized Christians are those who are crucified with Christ and buried with him only to rise again to new life with him. In simple words, Christians who are born again. However, many of us seem stuck in the tomb. Let us get out.

A third reason is that we block grace from flowing in our lives with unrepented sin, an unforgiving heart, and a life that is not surrendered to Christ. In my experience, when these three issues are addressed, healing is often immediate. A fourth reason is that we don’t live in isolation; we are part of a body, and if one part of the body is sick, it infects the whole body.

Let us do what we can to ensure we live in obedience to God and trust him to do what he has to do.

May the Spirit be with you.