Healing In the Atonement, part 7 of 16

IV. Scriptural Arguments

The doctrine of healing in the atonement rests primarily on the words, "by his stripes we are healed," so I want to continue this discussion by having a look at Isaiah 53. I recommend reading it before continuing, and then following along as I discuss it. Isaiah 53 is one of the most comprehensive prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament. It talks about each stage of his life. This is how I would break it down:

• His childhood. Isaiah 53:2
• 
His rejection by his fellow Jews. Isaiah 53:2-3
• 
His healing ministry. Isaiah 53:4

• His suffering for sins. Isaiah 53:5-7

• His death. Isaiah 53:8
• 
His burial. Isaiah 53:9
• 
His resurrection. Isaiah 53:10-11
• 
His exaltation. Isaiah 53:12

What I want to focus on now is Isaiah 53:4 and Isaiah 53:5. If you'll notice above, I made a division between these two verses. Verse 4 is about the healing ministry of Jesus, and verse 5 begins his suffering for sins. This distinction becomes more clear when these two scriptures are quoted as proof texts in the New Testament. Verse 4 says, "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows." It's clear from Isaiah 53:4 that it is talking about physical ailments, but it's even more explicit when Matthew quotes it.

"When evening came, many who were demon posessed 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.'" (Matthew 8:16-17)

Since Matthew is using Isaiah 53:4 as a proof text for Jesus' healing ministry, it's obvious that Isaiah 53:4 has physical healing in mind. This scripture, however, cannot be used to support the doctrine of healing in the atonement because this prophecy was fulfilled during Jesus' healing ministry before the atonement ever took place. Since it is not associated with the atonement, it cannot be argued from this scripture that our healing is guaranteed because of the atonement.

Starting with Isaiah 53:5, the author begins to strongly emphasize the suffering of the Messiah for sins by saying the same thing over and over in several different ways. Four times, he says he suffered for our sins. Then twice he says everybody sins, and then one last time, he repeats that he suffered for our sins.

"But he was pierced for our transgression,." [i.e. He suffered for our sins.]

"he was crushed for our iniquities;" [i.e. He suffered for our sins.]

"the punishement that brought us peace was upon him," [i.e. He suffered for our sins.]

"and by his wounds we are healed." [i.e. He suffered for our sins.]

"We all like sheep have gone astray," [i.e. We are all sinners.]

"each of us has turned to his own way;" [i.e. We are all sinners.]

"and the Lord has layed on him the iniquity of us all." [i.e. He suffered for our sins.]

It would be quite odd and out of place if there, in the middle of these lines, the author had physical healing in mind when he said, "by his wounds we are healed." The pattern makes it emphatically clear that the author has in mind spiritual healing from sin, transgression, iniquity, waywardness, etc. The Hebrew word for "healed," in that passage is "raphah," which is used metaphorically many times in the Old Testament to indicate things such as healing [purifying] water (2 Kings 2:19-22), healing [sending rain on and restraining locusts from] land (2 Chronicals 7:13-14), and healing [changing] people's backsliding and waywardness (Jermiah 3:22, Hosea 14:4), which is the way it's used in Isaiah 53:5. When we see how it is used in the New Testament, it becomes even more clear that the author has spiritual healing in mind.

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2:24-25)

Here, Peter says that we were backsliding (like sheep going astray), and that Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we might stop sinning, live for righteousness, and return to the shepherd and overseer of our souls, and his proof text is Isaiah 53:5. Peter uses the scripture the way it was intended in Isaiah to mean spiritual healing from sin and waywardness. It could not be more clear, and yet this is the primary scripture that gets used to support physical healing in the atonement by isolating it from its context and reading into it what people want to hear.

Continue to Part 8.