Bible Truth Foundations
Part 2 of 3: Growing in Christ
Please begin by answering this question honestly in your own words.
When you pray for someone's healing, what do you honestly expect to happen? Where did that level of expectation come from?
Isaiah 53:4–5
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Seven hundred years before the cross, the prophet lists what the Servant would carry. Read the list slowly: griefs, sorrows, transgressions, iniquities, peace, healing.
The central idea of this lesson
At the cross Jesus carried sins and sicknesses together; healing is not a lucky extra but a purchased provision of the atonement.
Did the cross deal only with sin, or with sickness too? The question is not academic; it sets the level of every prayer for healing you will ever pray. Scripture's answer is given by an inspired interpretation of Isaiah's prophecy, made while Jesus was healing real bodies.
Matthew 8:16–17
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 sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."
Matthew, writing under the Spirit, applies Isaiah 53 to physical healing: bodies cured of real diseases, in fulfilment of what the Servant would bear. Whatever else Isaiah 53 means, Scripture itself says it includes the physical. The context resists being spiritualised away, because the healings it describes were not spiritual metaphors; blind eyes opened and fevers left.
Note
Some traditions read "by His stripes we are healed" as emotional or spiritual healing only. Matthew 8:17 makes that reading impossible to sustain: the fulfilment named is the healing of sick bodies. Peter repeats the truth looking back at the cross: "by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24), past tense, accomplished.
The Greek word sozo, translated "saved", is used in the New Testament for forgiveness of sins, rescue from danger, deliverance from demons and healing of the body. Salvation in Scripture is a whole-person word. The same James who tells the sick to call the elders promises that "the prayer of faith will save [sozo] the sick, and the Lord will raise him up" (James 5:14–15).
Matthew 10:7–8
And as you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Jesus never sent His messengers with words alone. Preaching and healing travel together in His commissions, including the great one: "they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:18). The kingdom announced is a kingdom demonstrated.
Caution
God is not the author of sickness. Hardship may drive people toward God, but that never makes the hardship His gift; Jesus healed all who came, and everything He did was the visible will of the Father. Do not credit to God what Jesus spent His ministry destroying.
Healing is purchased and available; it is not a test of salvation or of love for God. Believers can love God deeply, die unhealed and be welcomed home; nothing in this lesson licenses condemnation of the sick. What the atonement settles is the direction of God's will: He is for your healing, and prayer can be prayed from provision rather than from uncertainty.
Practical Tip
Pray for the sick the way you pray for the lost: on the basis of what the cross has already provided, not as a lottery. "Lord, You bore this" is a very different starting point from "Lord, if You are willing." The leper who prayed the second way was answered: "I am willing" (Mark 1:41).
Work through these on your own before your group meets. Type your answers directly into the table below. Your answers are saved automatically in your browser.
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| Question | My Answer | Group Discussion Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 53:4–5 lists what the Servant carried. Which item on that list have you never consciously thanked Him for carrying? | ||
| Matthew 8:16–17 applies Isaiah's prophecy to physical healing. Does your theology of the cross include your body? How can you tell? | ||
| 1 Peter 2:24 puts healing in the past tense: "were healed". What is the difference between praying for something to be given and receiving something provided? | ||
| Jesus joined preaching and healing in Matthew 10:7–8. Why do you think the two belong together, and what happens when the church separates them? | ||
| Where has fear of disappointment quietly lowered your expectation in prayer? What would praying from provision sound like this week? |
These questions are designed for open conversation at any level of experience. There are no trick questions and no single correct answer.
Provision changes posture. Consider how a purchased healing reshapes each of these areas.
| Context | How I Apply This |
|---|---|
| Personal life | Memorise 1 Peter 2:24 and pray it over your own health needs this week: "by whose stripes you were healed." Let the past tense of the verse set the tense of your prayers. |
| Church community | When someone asks for prayer for sickness, actually pray, there and then, on the basis of the atonement. James 5:14–15 assumes the church is a place where the sick are prayed for expectantly, not merely sympathised with. |
| Difficult seasons | If healing tarries, refuse both despair and self-accusation. Keep receiving prayer, keep the Word before your eyes, and rest your identity on what is certain: the same cross that carried your sins carried your sicknesses, and God's will toward you is good. |
Tap each card to reveal the answer.
What did the Servant carry according to Isaiah?
Isaiah 53:5
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5
How did Matthew interpret Isaiah's prophecy?
Matthew 8:17
"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.'"
Matthew 8:17
What tense does Peter use for healing?
1 Peter 2:24
"Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed."
1 Peter 2:24
What does the Greek word sozo cover?
The New Testament word for "saved" covers forgiveness of sins, rescue, deliverance and physical healing. Salvation is a whole-person word: spirit, soul and body.
What did Jesus command alongside preaching?
Matthew 10:7–8
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
Matthew 10:8
What does prayer offered in faith do?
James 5:15
"And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."
James 5:15