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Lemma v1.1

At a Glance

“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.” --- Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)

The question: Does “by his stripes we are healed” mean physical healing?

The Hebrew underneath is broader than most English translations reveal. The word behind “griefs” in verse 4 is choliy --- which most often means sickness. The word behind “healed” in verse 5 is rapha --- one of the most common words for physical healing in the Old Testament. And the “peace” the Servant’s suffering produces is shalom --- wholeness of body, soul, and relationship. The Hebrew genuinely carries both physical and spiritual weight.

Two inspired New Testament authors quote Isaiah 53 in different directions. Matthew applies verse 4 to physical healing, using Greek words that are unambiguously about bodily illness, and deliberately rejecting the Septuagint’s spiritual rendering (Matthew 8:17). Peter applies verse 5 to spiritual healing from sin, in a context entirely about righteousness and restoration (1 Peter 2:24). Neither contradicts the other --- they draw out different dimensions of a passage richer than either application alone.

Jesus healed freely and compassionately, connected healing to the kingdom of God, and the Gospels record no case of someone coming to him in faith for healing and being turned away. He also promised tribulation, corrected the equation of sickness with sin, and in Gethsemane submitted to suffering the Father did not remove.

The earliest Christians (pre-325 AD) practiced healing but grounded it in God’s sovereign power and the Spirit’s gifts, not in Isaiah 53 or a theology of the atonement. The earliest Jewish sources read Isaiah 53 as messianic.

Three views faithful Christians hold today:

  • Healing in the atonement. The cross addresses body and soul. The same faith that receives forgiveness receives healing. Held by respected 19th-century evangelicals (Gordon, Simpson, Murray) and over 600 million Pentecostal and charismatic believers worldwide.

  • Spiritual healing only. “Healed” means restored from sin. Peter settles the meaning. God still heals sovereignly, but healing is grace, not a covenant right. Held by Warfield, MacArthur, and the broader Reformed tradition.

  • Already, but not yet. Healing is in the atonement but follows the same pattern as all redemptive benefits --- accomplished at the cross, genuinely available now, fully consummated at the resurrection. Held by Carson, Grudem, Fee.

What all three agree on: God is compassionate toward the sick. Prayer for the sick is commanded. God can and does heal. Suffering is not faithlessness. Ultimate bodily healing is guaranteed at the resurrection.

Three things every believer can do, regardless of their view: Pray for the sick. Love the suffering. Hold fast to the hope of the resurrection.

This study does not pick a winner. It presents the strongest case for each position, names the honest challenges each one faces, and trusts you to weigh the evidence. The full study follows.