Matthew 8:17
“that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.””
What does Matthew 8:17 mean?
Matthew is showing us that Jesus's healing work fulfills an ancient prophecy about God's compassionate nature. When Jesus healed the sick and suffering people who came to him, he was doing exactly what Isaiah had written centuries before, taking on their pain and burden as his own. This gives us a beautiful picture of what Jesus came to do: he doesn't stand apart from our struggles, but enters into them with us. The "infirmities" and "diseases" can mean our physical ailments, but also our emotional and spiritual burdens. In his healings and ultimately in his death and resurrection, Jesus demonstrates that he carries what weighs us down so we don't have to carry it alone.