(by Pastor Jean)
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4; NKJV). Isaiah 53 verses 4-5 point to Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross. In Hebrew, the word for “griefs” actually means sicknesses and diseases. The word, “borne” means carried away or taken away. The word “sorrows” refers to pains. This coupled with the last line of verse 5, “By His stripes we are healed” is definitely referring to physical healing and Matthew alludes to it in Matt 8:17 where he quotes this very portion of scripture and said that Jesus was fulfilling it. Going back to Isaiah 53:5, we read that He was “wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (NKJV). The suffering Jesus bore in His body was also for our sins. Peter confirms this in 1 Peter 2:24. It also says in Isaiah 53:4 that, “punishment for our peace was on Him” (CSB). This means that the death of Jesus on the cross not only brought forgiveness for our sins and healing for our bodies but also peace for our minds. The end of verse 4 says that Jesus was, “smitten by God and afflicted” (NKJV), which shows that the death of Jesus was all part of God’s plan. This whole passage is referring to the victory Jesus won for us at Calvary and we call it salvation. Salvation includes spiritual, physical and mental healing providing us with forgiveness, healing and peace. Complete wholeness, spirit, soul and body. This does not come to us automatically though; we have to receive it by faith. What an amazing God we serve!