July 16, 2025 - Isaiah 53:5 - "With His Stripes We are Healed"

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."

Unconverted minds often struggle to understand how a sinner can be declared righteous through the righteousness of another. Many, blinded by unbelief, object to the truth that the perfect obedience and sacrificial death of the LORD Jesus—imputed to sinners chosen by God the Father—is their entire justification before Him.

As Scripture says, “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). This is a profound mystery that human reasoning cannot fully grasp—but it is not beyond the understanding of those whom the Spirit of God teaches. When the Spirit opens the eyes of a sinner for whom Christ has paid the penalty of sin, they bow in humble awe and joy, just as the hymn writer expressed: 

“As at the cross I humbly bow, 

And gaze upon Thy thorn-crowned brow, 

And view the precious bleeding form 

By cruel nails so bruised and torn, 

Knowing Thy suffering was for me.” 

Sin is a terrible and deadly curse. Unless it is cleansed, the only outcome is eternal condemnation. The healing can only come through the full payment for sin and its complete pardon by God Himself. This is the heart of the Gospel message. The healing must be thorough, and it is accomplished only through the suffering and death of the LORD Jesus Christ. 

When the eyes of those for whom Christ has paid the debt of sin are opened to see what He endured for their complete justification, they are made to feel the weight of their sin, mourn over their guilt, and yet rejoice in the One who took their place. Through Him, they stand redeemed, justified, sanctified, and glorified. 

The LORD reveals to sinners—spiritually sick and depraved—that the only remedy for their condition is His sacrifice. He makes it clear to His elect that their sin is beyond any remedy they could produce through their efforts. Only through the obedience of the LORD Jesus unto death can their sins be fully and eternally put away (Philippians 2:8). He assumed their human nature—yet without sin—and bore their guilt by imputation. All the sins of His chosen ones were laid upon Him. In His death, He fully satisfied the curse of the law, becoming the curse in their place. He was treated as a criminal—not for any sin of His own, but for the sins of His people. As their Substitute, He was wounded, bruised, and put to death by the hand of divine justice. 

There is no salvation apart from Christ and His suffering. Therefore, we do not look to anything or anyone else, but only to His stripes—His fatal wounds. It is through Him alone that we are saved. The heart of the Gospel is the suffering and substitutionary death of the LORD Jesus Christ for His people. The words, "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," are not mere poetry—they are the sovereign declaration of God's redeeming love, accomplished through the suffering and death of His beloved Son. For those given faith to see it, this truth silences every boast, humbles every proud heart, and brings rest to the weary soul. Christ alone bore the full weight of our sin, and by His finished work, we are fully justified, eternally saved, and perfectly reconciled to God.