By His Stripes!

Isaiah 53:4-5- “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

There is so much packed in these verses, but I want to focus on the end of verse 5: And by His stripes we are healed.

The world is filled with sick people. The medical and pharmaceutical professions are growing by leaps and bounds. No matter how many people die from well meaning doctors, treatments, and prescriptions, people continue to pour their money into getting healed by them. No matter how many devastating side effects medicine has, people are still purchasing them and giving them a try for hope of healing or just plain relief.

Well, Isaiah prophesied that by His (Jesus) stripes we are healed. This chapter is actually foretelling the death of Jesus on the cross. No genuine bible scholar will argue with that. Jesus died to bring us salvation from our sins. This punishment of being whipped was for our salvation. And yet, there is controversy when it is taught that we are healed by His stripes the same way we are saved by them.

The woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8) also spent all she had on medical treatments, and was left with no hope, until Jesus! I know that was a different day and there is treatment for this condition, but I personally know someone who experienced this same condition and was also healed by Jesus!

Psalm 103:5 states that He (Jesus) forgives all of our sins and heals all of our diseases. Again, salvation from sin and healing from diseases are in the same verse. And let’s not forget 1 Peter 2:24 which carries the same theme.

How have we come to a place of trust for salvation, which we cannot fully experience until we transition from this life, but we cannot trust Him for healing, something we can fully experience in this life.

I know there are a lot of questions and a lot of examples that can be referred to about who didn’t get healed, but I can share just as many examples about who didn’t get saved. That doesn’t change the truth of God’s word that He wants no one to perish, and He isn’t the author of sickness and disease, so He doesn’t want you sick.

If you are sick in your body, you need to know that by His stripes you are healed. I am not anti-physician or medicine, but I encourage you to go to God on the basis of His word for your healing. Just as He desires to save all, He desires to heal all. Don’t buy the lie any longer that Jesus no longer heals. Reach out with your faith today and know that by His stripes you are healed! Wonderful Jesus!