Isaiah 53:4-5 By His stripes we are healed

DISCLAIMER: I revised this post a few months ago only to discover than some have used this passage to name and claim physical healing for all people all the time, thus making it controversial, so I took it down. I am putting it back up today with the note that I do believe God still heals miraculously in our day and age. But I also believe He sometimes chooses to wait until heaven for the healing of others. That said, I hope this post causes you to ponder out for yourself what this all means. I’d love feedback to this post via comments.

Have you ever clung to the verse, “By His stripes we are healed?” Isaiah 53: 5b

Me, too. But then one day I began to wonder if it really referred to physical healing, or only with making us right with God spiritually, or both. At about the same time my Bible study encouraged people to reread the events of the crucifixion. And I did.

All that motivated me to look up key words in Isaiah 53:4-5 to learn more. I hope you will go deep with me as I list out the definitions I found (some of which surprised me), add some historical information and draw a conclusion. My conclusion is my own opinion based on what I see in these definitions. At the very least skim down to the conclusion where I’ll put it all together in my own words.

The Scripture – Isaiah 53:4-5

For clarity let’s read the NIV translation first.

⁴ Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ 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.

The Words

Now let’s look up these words as used in the New King James Version

⁴ Surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Jesus was: (We are looking at verbs first here.)

Stricken – H5060 Naga – to lay the hand upon, violently, to strike, smite,

Smitten – H5221 Naka – strike, beat, indeed to kill, slaughter, slay, scourge, attack, destroy

Afflicted – H6031 ana – to afflict, oppress, humble, be bowed down

Wounded – H2490 – to wound (fatally), bore through, pierce, to be slain. BUT WOUNDED according to Strongs H 2490 ALSO MEANS to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate (Not only was his body pierced and bored through, he was profaned, defiled, polluted and desecrated by my sin. I didn’t see that one coming from our English translation of wounded)

Bruised – H1792 Daka – be crushed, contrite, broken, shattered, allow oneself to be crushed

Chastised – H4148 Musar – discipline, correction, chastening such as children get from their parents or men get from God.

Stripes – H2250 Habura – to bruise, stripe, wound, blow, a weal (or black and blue mark itself) blueness, hurt

Because He took our:

Griefs – H2483 Holi -Sickness, disease, grief: from H2470 – malady, anxiety, calamity (I expected this to only indicate emotional anguish, not sickness and disease)

Sorrows – H4341 Makob – physical pain, mental pain, sorrow

Transgressions – H6588 Pesa – rebellion, from H6586 a revolt (national, moral, or religious: rebellion, sin, trepass

Iniquities – H5771 Aon – perversity, i.e. (moral) evil, fault, mischief, sin, guilt

And gave us:

Peace – H7965 Shalom – completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, prosperity, contentment, peace from war, friendship with human, with God, especially in covenant relationship

Healing – H7495 Rapa (Rapha) – primitive root to mend by stitching, ie, (figuratively) to cure: cause to heal, physician, repair, make whole

*see the end of this post for more verses showing the use of the word Rapha. One of which specifies healing the broken in heart, the rest refer to physical healing.

My Conclusion : Jesus gave us all encompassing physical, emotional and spiritual healing.

Now let’s add some historical information that will, sadly, make us face the brutality of the crucifixion, which, frankly, makes me want to cover my ears like a kid yelling, “La la la la la. I can’t hear you.”

But in order to gain a deeper understanding of what He accomplished on the cross and the fullness of the gift He gave, we need courage to look fully at what He suffered.

Historically a flogging, or scourging, preceded crucifixions. The whip used contained lead balls, and sharp pieces of metal, glass, or bone. It was so brutal, the ripped, torn flesh, and bruises sometimes caused death before the victim was hung on the cross. Hebrew law required no more than 40 lashes be administered in flogging. But Roman law held no such protection against scourging.

Let’s put together the Hebrew word definitions along with the historical information to gain a clear picture. 

Flesh- ripping, muscle- traumatizing scourging caused Jesus to be so weak He could not carry the cross. His body, marred beyond human recognition (Isaiah 52:14), then endured nails pounded into His hands and feet. All the defilement, pollution and desecration that human depravity is capable of clung to the body of the innocent one while He held our every illness and disease, our every grief and anguish, our every sin and transgression on H

is shredded shoulders.

For those of us who believe He died for us we have the certainty that He gave us shalom (peace) and healing.  His death opened the door of friendship with God, of unimpeded relationship with the Father, the Son and  the Holy Spirit. He gave us completeness, safety, contentment, health. (That reminds me of the Greek word zoe that refers to the fullness of life that comes from a relationship with God.)

In closing: Every time we feel excruciating pain or the wasting of disease, when we feel anguish in our hearts, or the betrayal of a friend, we can have shalom, and the hope of healing, because He died and rose again. Sometimes our physical healing comes once we leave this earth and arrive in heaven, but spiritual healing happens here and now. Amen

Additional Examples of verses using the Hebrew word. Rapha:

Ex. 15.26 I am the God that heals thee

Ps.103:3 Who heals thee of thy diseases

Ps 147:3 He heals the broken in heart

Is. 30:26 Heals the stroke of their wound

I counted about 25 other verses where this word specifically referred to physical healing.