By Frank Vondracek
The above quotation is from Isaiah 53:5. We hear from many religious groups today these words of the prophet concerning the Messiah. The claim is made that when Jesus died on the cross, He died not only as payment for the sins of the world (John 3: 16), but also for our physical healing. But is this really so? Is this a valid, scriptural conclusion? Is this what Isaiah said by inspiration about the efficacy of the death of Christ?
As in every other case of Bible study, if we look at the context in which our verse(s) is found, it will help clarify the intended meaning, as with verse 5. It should be apparent that Isaiah was speaking about griefs, sorrows, transgressions and inquities. These words describe the most terrible of all afflictions of mankind - SIN! Notice in verse 10, Isaiah says that God made Jesus “an offering for SIN.” And verse 12 concludes, “Therefore, I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
When a person who has a physical disease, affliction or ailment is saved from his sins by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, does the physical affliction cease also? I am sure we all know someone who claims to be saved from his sins yet who continues to be physically afflicted. I once attended a “Miracle Tent Meeting” with a friend who belonged to a religious group who claimed that God still worked miracles through its prophet. At this meeting, the prophet, David Terrell, said that the Holy Spirit would be healing all kinds of physical diseases and afflictions that very night, in the name of Jesus Christ who died to bring healing to mankind. There was a man who entered the tent sitting in a wheelchair. Even as the “miracle worker” did his nefarious work that night - working the miracles by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus - that man left the tent that night still sitting in his wheelchair. My friend still has not answered my questions about that whole affair!
The Bible says, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will write them; and their sins and iniquities will remember no more” (Heb 10:16-17). If God heals both the soul and the body by the “stripes” of Jesus, how is it that physical ailments can and do remain and continue for a saved person while at the same time God forgets the sins He has forgiven? If God heals both the spirit and the body of one person because of the death of His Son, but not in another person, is He not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11)?
Indeed, all healing, both spiritual and physical, is the work of God. But the death of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, was for the transgressions and iniquities of mankind. Healing from sin is why Jesus died!
Frank Vondracek is a former engineer who started preaching full time in mid-1983. He has preached with churches in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Kentucky. He served as one of the elders with the Kimberly Road church in Davenport, Iowa. He presently preaches for the church in Tompkinsville, KY. He also has been involved in preaching the gospel in Kenya, East Africa since 1996. He can be contacted at frankv832@alltel.net.