Isaiah 53:4–5

Midweek 3

Theme: By his wounds we are healed

⁴Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. ⁵But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

In the past two weeks we have meditated on passages from Isaiah that describe a sharp contrast between what Christ first appeared to be and what he really was. Often looks can be deceiving. We talked about how he had no outward glory or majesty, yet he was the outstretched arm of God’s salvation to all mankind.

Our text today speaks of sickness and pain. It is not often that we hear of someone who has not been sick at least one day of his life. Most of us get sick about twice a year. Some who are in poor health are sick more often and some have long term chronic illnesses like arthritis, Alzheimer’s or diabetes.

But regardless of how good or how poor our health is, in this world we are susceptible to disease, illness and suffering.

People often ask, “Why me?” when they are sick or suffering. They wonder, “What have I done to deserve this?” However, the Scripture tells us that the reason there is suffering and sickness in the world is because of sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounced a curse on the world. Death entered the world. The first mention of pain in the Bible is in the curse of painful childbirth after the Fall into sin.

Some people assume that sickness and pain mean that God is punishing you for something you did. But Scripture does not say that. We suffer because we are sinful, fail, human beings who live in a fallen world.

Our text has good news for us: Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

We see that sharp contrast in this description of Jesus Christ, our Suffering Savior. When Jesus Christ suffered some thought that he was being punished by God for his own sin. Listen to what they said as they mocked Jesus upon the cross: “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he takes pleasure in Him, for he said, “I am the Son of god.” these people thought that Jesus had committed blasphemy by claiming to be the Son of God and that God was now punishing Him by letting him suffer excruciating pain.

But our text corrects that false impression, that misunderstanding. “We had considered him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.” But in sharp contrast to that mistake, in fact, “He was pierced for OUR transgression, crushed for OUR iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. The nails that pierced Jesus’ hands and feet were placed there because of our transgressions. The sword that pierced his side was thrust into him by our sin. Christ had no sin of his own—no reason to suffer. But in love he took upon himself our sicknesses and pains.

The good news is that Jesus’ suffering has brought us forgiveness of all our sins. The punishment of Jesus was for our wrongdoing that we might escape punishment and be declared innocent before God. He grants us peace and healing. We are at peace knowing that we are forgiven. When we are sick or we suffer, never again should we wonder whether God is punishing us. Jesus Christ has already suffered the punishment for us. He grants us peace and cures our ills.

“By his wounds we are healed.” Some people interpret this in a narrow sense to mean that Jesus Christ promises us immediate healing of all our sicknesses. They promote faith healing and claim that God promises us a problem free life. “If you are sick, just believe in Jesus, and you will be healed,” they assert.

Some to so far as to preach that if that does not happen—if you are not healed—there must be something wrong with your faith. you must not have enough faith or the right kind of faith. (Or perhaps you haven’t given enough money to their ministry.) On way or another, it’s your fault! That sort of teaching destroys the Gospel in our text by making healing something that you or I are supposed to be able to achieve by our obedience to the Law. But the message of our text is not Law; it is Gospel.

Sometimes we may be tempted to err in a different direction. If God does not answer my prayers for healing, perhaps he is not listening, or even worse, perhaps he does not care about me. Perhaps God is too busy with important matters to concern himself with my earthly problems and physical maladies.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us. “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."

Our physical illnesses and problems indeed concern him. He does take the time to help us in our mundane, worldly needs and suffering as well as our spiritual suffering. He is concerned about our physical condition. God sent his Son to become a man, to take on our flesh and blood, and to be afflicted physically on our behalf. Jesus endured the sufferings and pains common to all humanity. He was pierced and died for us on the cross, then rose from the grave as the pledge of the resurrection of our own bodies. You have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. One day we too will be permanently healed from all sickness and pain. We will rise with an incorruptible body that will be immune to all suffering. Until that day of resurrection arrives, we have this sure word of promise: “By his wounds we are healed.” Amen.