“When the evening had come, they brought unto Him many who were possessed with devils, and He cast out the spirits with His word and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, who said, “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” (Matthew 8:16-17, KJ21)
There are numerous metaphors used to describe God and His strength which include substantial and solid elements and armaments such as Mighty Warrior, Deliverer, Tower, Rock, Fortress, and Refuge. These words convey concrete and tangible images for us to remember the power of God in providing security, safety, protection, and provision. There are numerous other metaphors that describe God and care and compassion as Father, Shepherd, Sustainer, Keeper, and Helper, and still more metaphors that describe God as Healer, Creator, and Giver of Life. Beyond those and hundreds of others, there are metaphors that note God as our Redeemer and Savior and finally as the King. In addition, the names for God in the Hebrew language give direct reference to His power, majesty, and superiority over all realms on the heavens and earth.
In Jesus Christ the Son, all that God is … become flesh, as Jesus reveals in a living presence the God, who the metaphors describe and name with honor. As Jesus lived, as He walked, as He taught, as He healed … He was God amongst the people of the earth. All that the Father was in strength and power, Jesus showed in His command over all the realms and elements of the world. The compassion, attention, and care of the merciful Father and Shepherd flowed through the Son in all the works He bestowed on those who came to Him. Even as Jesus was rejected, bruised, and crushed, He was bearing all the sins, curses, and diseases heaped on humanity on the cross as He was redeeming the sin of the world for all time. His ultimate victory over death as He rose up out of the grave, gave Him the sovereign place of King of Kings for all eternity.
The metaphors and the names, the essence and the character, and even the healing and the power are unbelievable and inconceivable in any possible true accounting and acknowledgment to us as human beings but it all gives evidence that Jesus was more than a man. Who Jesus was, what He did then, and does now, will always be “Good News” for each of us and for all the world.
Connecting with Christ Bible Reading … Matthew 8
Heinrich Hofmann, “Christ’s Image” Public Domain, 1894, Riverside Church, New York
