7. Healing and Health in Redemption

According to the Bible, by the “stripes” that Jesus sustained, He paid the price for us to receive divine healing and walk in health and wholeness.

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.

Firstly, notice how these verses repeatedly emphasise that Jesus endured everything for us, for our benefit, and on our behalf.

In verse 4 the Hebrew word used for “borne” is נָשָׂא (nāśā'). It means to lift, bear, carry, or take away. It often conveys the idea of taking on a burden or responsibility for someone else. In this context, it signifies Christ bearing the “griefs” of others, taking them upon himself.

This same Hebrew word, נָשָׂא (nāśā'), is also used in Leviticus 16:21-22. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest laid his hands on the live goat and confessed over it “all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins,” and the goat “shall bear (nāśā') on itself all their iniquities” as it was sent away into the wilderness. This foreshadowed Christ bearing and removing our iniquities and, through His sacrifice, also taking away the effects and consequences of sin including our “griefs.”

The Hebrew word for “carried" in Isaiah 53:4 is סָבַל (sāḇal). It means to bear or carry a load. It emphasises the act of bearing or carrying something heavy or burdensome. In this verse, it indicates Christ carrying the “sorrows” of others, enduring them on their behalf.

The Hebrew words behind “griefs” and “sorrows” are broader in meaning than what the English translations tend to reveal.

The Hebrew word behind "griefs" is חֳלִי (ḥŏlî), which typically means sickness or disease. It can also refer to grief or anxiety, thereby encompassing both physical and emotional suffering.

The Hebrew word used for "sorrows" is מַכְאֹב (maḵ'ōḇ), which means pain or sorrow. It can refer to physical pain as well as emotional or mental anguish.

The truth that the meaning of these words, “griefs” and “sorrows”, includes physical suffering is made clear in the following New Testament verses:

Matthew 8:16-17

When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.”

Matthew, under the inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16), clarified beyond any doubt that Jesus did indeed bear our sicknesses and infirmities, and carried our physical pains. (Matthew 8:16-17 is like God providing commentary and extra clarity on His own Word spoken in Isaiah 53:4-5.)

Jesus did not merely experience our infirmities, sicknesses, and pains; He bore them upon Himself so that we don’t have to. As a result, He “healed all who were sick”. Jesus took from us our infirmities, sicknesses, and pains.

In the original Greek of Matthew 8:17, the word translated “infirmities” is ἀσθένεια (astheneia), which refers to weakness, infirmity, sickness, or bodily frailty.

The word translated “sicknesses” is νόσος (nosos), which refers directly to sickness, disease, or illness.

Matthew’s wording therefore confirms that Isaiah 53:4 includes real sicknesses and infirmities, not merely emotional griefs or symbolic suffering.

Looking at Isaiah 53:5 (“And by His stripes we are healed”), the Hebrew word behind "stripes" is חַבּוּרָה (ḥabûrâ). It refers specifically to the bruises, stripes, wounds, and blows Jesus sustained.

The Hebrew word behind “healed” in Isaiah 53:5 is רָפָא (rāp̄ā'), which means to heal or to make whole.

Isaiah 53:4-5 gives us the picture of what Jesus bore for us: our sins, sicknesses, pains, and the chastisement for our peace. By His stripes we are healed.

Some claim that because Matthew 8:17 states that Jesus “fulfilled” the prophecy of Isaiah 53:4-5, physical healing no longer applies today. However, this objection does not hold up under careful examination of Scripture.

If Matthew 8:17 meant that the prophecy was fulfilled in the sense of being completed and no longer applicable, then Jesus would not have continued healing people afterwards. Yet throughout the remainder of His earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly healed the sick and afflicted. This demonstrates that the word “fulfilled” in Matthew 8:17 does not mean that the prophecy ceased to apply.

Furthermore, well after the events recorded in Matthew 8:17, and well after Jesus had ascended to the right hand of God the Father, the apostle Peter quoted Isaiah 53:5 in his first epistle. He wrote to the believers that by the stripes of Jesus they were healed. If healing through Jesus’ redemptive work were no longer relevant or already an accomplished truth, Peter would not have included this in his letter.

1 Peter 2:24

who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

The original Greek word behind “healed” in 1 Peter 2:24 is ἰάομαι (iaomai), which means to cure, to heal, to make whole. Just like the word “healed” in Isaiah 53:5, it refers to physical healing and wholeness.

The original Greek word translated “fulfilled” in Matthew 8:17 is πληρόω (plēroō). In this context, it means to carry into effect, to bring to realisation, to realise. The healing ministry of Jesus Christ brought the prophecy of Isaiah into manifested reality, rather than bringing it to an end.

1 Peter 2:24 also shows that God is withholding healing. God Almighty is not waiting for some future moment to ‘release’ healing. Through the finished work of Jesus, born-again believers have already been made healthy and whole. By His stripes, we were healed—past tense. Just like salvation, healing and wholeness have already been paid for and freely provided to us by grace.

There is a clear connection between Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:16-17, and 1 Peter 2:24. These Scriptures reveal that through His redemptive work, Jesus paid the price for believers to experience divine healing and health. This truth is further supported by many other Scriptures that highlight the comprehensive nature of Jesus’ sacrifice. Examples include:

Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Luke 4:17-21

And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The Prayer of Faith:

The promise of divine healing (and the need for relevant faith) is clearly stated in James 5:14-16. If Jesus did not pay the price for us to be healed and healthy, then God would not have promised that the prayer of faith would heal the sick.

James 5:14-16

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

In verse 15, the original Greek word translated as “save” is σῴζω (sōzō), which encompasses both physical healing and restoration, as well as spiritual salvation and deliverance. The NIV, a more thought-for-thought (as opposed to word-for-word) translation, begins verse 15 with, “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well…”

Notice the wording of these verses: “Is anyone among you sick?” and “the prayer of faith will save the sick”. Healing, and health, is a promise of God for all believers.