Day 15: Jesus carried away your diseases

In our discovery of the blessings that God has promised to us as his heirs, let's look at the physical blessings that were purchased for us by Jesus. Isaiah 53:4-5:

“Surely he [that's Jesus] took our infirmities and carried our sorrows [pain], yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he [that's Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed.” (NIV)

Notice, He took the physical consequences of disobedience that we might in turn have healing. That phrase at the end of verse 5, "by his wounds we are healed," more literally in Hebrews it says, "by his wounds it was healed for us." I think we could perhaps say, "by his wounds healing was obtained for us." Healing was made our inheritance through the wounds that Jesus bore on His body.

Now this passage is quoted in the New Testament by Matthew in his Gospel, chapter 8:16-17, describing the ministry of Jesus in healing the sick and casting out evil spirits. This is what it says:

“And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled saying, ‘He himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.’” (NAS)

Notice that Matthew has no doubt who is the person referred to in Isaiah 53, for he applies it to Jesus. Notice also that Matthew, who was a Jew and understood Hebrew, had no doubt that the application of those verses in Isaiah 53 is physical. It was the physical healing of the sick that was the fulfilment of the prophecy given in Isaiah. Why was Jesus able to heal all who were sick? Because in the eternal purposes of God, He was to bear our infirmities and carry away our diseases. And because the cross, in a certain sense, is eternal, although it had not yet been fulfilled, in God's sight it was already accomplished. From the foundation of the world Jesus was the Lamb that was slain. And so, God identified with the ministry of Jesus, identified with His sacrifice, gave His seal of blessing upon it in the healing of the sick.