“Therefore will I 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.” Isaiah 53:12
Who is Isaiah speaking of here in this famous prophecy of the suffering Messiah? Of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, of course! Jesus bore our sins as our substitute so we would have the opportunity to place our faith in that substitutionary work and receive from him eternal life. As II Corinthians 5:21 puts it, God “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” What a conspiracy for good at work in our lives long before you or I were born! What a work of addition through subtraction, right?!
For the last seven weeks we have written to you of our better covenant based on better promises because of a better Savior in this day and age we live in. We’ve thought each time of Jesus’ rightful position in the Universe. The Bible declares that it should be “first place,” yet we don’t see Jesus in first place in many lives, even many Christian lives. What’s the solution? According to the Scriptures, a key in Jesus being able to ascend to his rightful position in the hearts of humanity is the proclaiming of his Gospel. We’ve also asserted that there’s a fulness of the Gospel that Paul spoke of in Romans 15:29, and this is a fulness that not many New Testament Christians are enjoying today. It’s a Biblical fact that Jesus died so God could forgive us of our sins and we could have a home in Heaven one day, but according to the same Bible, Jesus died for our sicknesses so we could live this life healthy!
Despite the relative disbelief in our modern times of this evident truth, there’s plenty of Scriptural evidence to convince an open heart of the fact that Jesus suffered spirit, soul, and body so we could be well—spirit, soul, and body. In past weeks we’ve looked at Isaiah 53:4 and dug down into the original languages and intentions. We’ve seen that it was proclaimed that the Messiah to come would not only “bare” our sins as our substitute for our eternal salvation but also suffer physically for our physical wellness in this life. This important idea of substitutionary salvation is summed up at the end of the chapter and referenced above. It’s commonly accepted doctrine that when it states in Isaiah 53:12 that “he bare the sin of many,” he did it as our replacement so we wouldn’t have to bear that punishment. Now, if that’s what and how Jesus bore our sins, doesn’t it seem logical that that is what he did for our sicknesses? That he suffered physically and took that punishment so we wouldn’t have to? Of course!
“Well, I just don’t know about your interpretation of Isaiah 53, brother; that’s just the way you and your group sees it.” Okay, you don’t have to take my word on the interpretation, but I would encourage you to take our brother Matthew’s! In Matthew 8:16-17 we see the Holy Spirit Himself translating Isaiah 53 for us. There it states, “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Here we read in black and white, God’s own translation and application of Isaiah 53:4!
Friends, what I’m trying to get us to see is this—Jesus did more for humanity than most are giving him credit for. He did provide us life after this one, but he did more than that. He made a way so you and I could live healthy while we’re waiting for that day. Healing is a part of our salvation. It’s a part of the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel. It’s part of the prophesied plan of redemption. It’s part of the Atonement. It’s part of our New Covenant with God!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.