Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (pains); yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten (struck down) by God and afflicted. But He was wounded (or pierced through) for our transgressions, He was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes (blows that are cut in) we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5 NKJV

We know from Scripture that Jesus took the punishment that was due to us for everything we have done wrong. “By His stripes” is specifically referring to the beating and scourging Jesus endured just before He was crucified. Scourging was a form of punishment normally given to criminals and prisoners in biblical times. This form of punishment was absolutely brutal in terms of inflicting pain and suffering, and could even result in a person’s death. The Roman scourge was made from strips of leather bound together with sharp objects which would tear open a person’s flesh when used. 

We know that when Jesus was crucified, He took all of our sin upon Himself (For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us – 2 Corinthians 5:21) as well as all the consequences of sin such as: sickness, disease, curses as well as God’s wrath and punishment. He suffered for our sake and died our death so that we could receive His perfect righteousness, forgiveness, mercy and healing. I understand that there is so much more which can be discussed about what Jesus did for us on the cross, but for the purpose of this specific message, I would like to only focus on the healing aspect for now.

Who Himself (Jesus) bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes (wounds) you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24 NKJV

I am so very grateful to our precious God and Savior for His perfect sacrifice and what that means for us. Because He took our sickness, grief, sorrow and pain on Himself, we can receive His perfect healing in exchange. God has recently opened up my eyes to the fact that not only can we receive physical and emotional healing, but we can also receive spiritual healing. There is an extremely important hidden message for us to understand within this context of Scripture. Sin is spiritual sickness, and when Jesus took our sin upon Himself, it was so that we could also receive His perfect healing from sin – which is spiritual sickness.

Let me put it this way, because of what Jesus did for us, not only can we receive healing from pain and diseases such as cancer, migraine headaches, diabetes, heartache, etc. but we can also receive healing from spiritual sickness such as jealousy, hatred, pride, rebellion, lust, greed, etc.

In order for us to receive healing from spiritual sickness (sin), we must repent of our sins. Repentance means that we acknowledge what we have done wrong and we feel true godly sorrow for our sins. We change our minds about sin, and have a willingness to completely turn away from sin. It means that we hate sin enough to let go of it and make the necessary changes in our lives according to God’s Word.

I’d like to leave you with a message of encouragement and exhortation:

If you are in need of healing – be it physical, emotional, mental (example: trauma) or spiritual, make the exchange with Jesus. He took on our sicknesses, pains, sin and sorrows so that we can receive His perfect healing and forgiveness. As you pray to the Lord, thank Him that He has made the way for us to be fully healed and made whole. May I encourage you to hand over the sickness, hurt, pain, sin or heartache and let go of it. (Sometimes “letting go” can be the hard part, but I can personally testify of the joy, peace and freedom it brings.) Choose to believe His Word, “By whose stripes you were healed,” and move forward in full assurance of faith that you are completely healed and set free. Remember the last words of our precious Lord just before He gave up His spirit on the cross – He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

Thank You Jesus! We praise You Lord.