. . . whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises
. . . whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises
whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises
A study of the Scriptures will give us strong evidence that the LORD has given us healing, through Jesus Christ. Healing is more than a promise. It is, based on the Scriptures, a gift that has been purchased for us by the Lord Jesus at Calvary, even as our salvation was purchased for us there.
One of the key passages for healing is found in Isaiah Chapter 53, though there are numerous other Scriptures on healing in the Bible. Let’s look first at a few other Scriptures on healing, and then go to Isaiah.
Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
In this verse in Exodus 15, we are given one of the redemptive names of Jehovah, in the phrase “I am the LORD that healeth thee.” The LORD was assuring Israel that, if they listened to Him and did what He said to do, that He would not bring on them any of the things that He had judged Egypt with, and said, “for I am the LORD Who heals you.”
There are seven redemptive names of Jehovah. The word “redemptive” is used, because these seven redemptive names reveal what He has become to us in the redemption we have in Christ. And one of the things He has become to us in Christ is that He is the LORD Who heals us.
Exodus 23:25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
Here is another promise of healing to the people of God. It spoke of the blessing of the provision of food and water, and the removal of sickness from the midst of them.
As we study these things, and we recognize that the Old Covenant was a prophetic book that was fulfilled in Christ, it should be readily recognized that Jesus Himself fulfilled this verse at Calvary, when He, according to Isaiah, bore our sicknesses, and carried our pains. In other words, He took sickness away from the midst of God’s people.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:5 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.
This was a prophetic picture of what would take place hundreds of years later at Calvary. Isaiah was foreseeing the suffering of Christ, as well as understanding the significance of what he was seeing. He saw the suffering servant, and he was given knowledge as to what it meant, that is, that He suffered not for Himself, but for us.
The help of a good Concordance gives further insight into what Isaiah is saying in these verses. The word “griefs” comes from a Hebrew word that means sicknesses and diseases. The word “sorrows” is from a word that means pains and sorrows. We could read it this way; Surely He has borne our sicknesses, and carried away our pains.
There are three things that Jesus purchased for us at Calvary. He was wounded for our transgressions, or to deliver us from sins, the chastisement for our peace, or our Shalom, or our ability to prosper, was upon Him, and with His stripes we were healed. He purchased our righteousness, our prosperity, and our healing.
Matthew 8:16 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:
Matthew 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
This, of course, is a reference that Matthew makes to Isaiah 53:4, that says that surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Matthew makes it very clear that the Scripture in Isaiah is referring to physical infirmities and sicknesses, and not spiritual sickness, as some would suggest. Jesus physically healed people to fulfil the prophesy in Isaiah 53:4.
In Matthew 8:16 Jesus healed people before He went to Calvary. But Isaiah is referring to the event of Calvary, and the suffering of Christ on the cross. So, even though Jesus healed people in His earthly ministry before He went to the cross, it was at Calvary that He consummated and fulfilled the Scriptures, taking away the sicknesses as well as the sins of the world.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
The Apostle Peter refers to Isaiah 53:4 in this verse in 1 Peter 2:24. He is again reiterating the truth presented by Isaiah, that the suffering servant that Isaiah saw, bore our sins, and by His stripes we were healed. He took away our sins, and He took away our sicknesses.
What Jesus did for us at Calvary must be received by faith, whether it be the forgiveness of sins, or the healing of our sicknesses. Begin to believe in, to exercise faith in, the finished work of Calvary. Begin to study Isaiah 53:1-5. Meditate in it, and ponder it. As we look to Calvary, we will begin to lay hold of those things that Jesus purchased for us there.
Jesus, in referring to the crucifixion that He would suffer at Calvary, made reference to a Scripture in Numbers Chapter 21, where Moses was told to make a brass serpent and place it on a pole, to stave off a deadly attack of serpents in the camp of Israel.
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
As we study the account in Numbers, it becomes clear that the brass serpent placed on the pole in the wilderness represented Christ at Calvary, in type and shadow.
Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Any man who beheld the serpent on the pole would live. If a man had been bitten by one of the serpents, he had been instructed to steadfastly look upon the brass serpent. No doubt he took it seriously, as his very life depended upon it.
In the same way, if we are in need of healing, we are to look to Calvary, and steadfastly gaze upon those things that Christ has done for us in the finished work of the cross. Take time to look toward it, think about it, ponder it, meditate upon it, and let faith to begin to arise in your heart, and allow the word of God to begin to work healing into your life.