Surely

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 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 (Isaiah 53:3-5).

The same sacrifice of Jesus that brought us salvation also brings us healing. The words borne and carried in the above text are Levitical words that pertain to the scapegoat bearing Israel’s sins once a year. We read in Leviticus 16 about the Day of Atonement for the Jews under the Old Covenant. This was the day that the high priest offered an animal sacrifice to atone or cover Israel’s sins. This happened once a year.

Two goats were presented. One was slain, and its blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat. The other goat was taken to the wilderness. There, the high priest laid his hands on the scapegoat and confessed onto it the sins of the children of Israel. The goat was then let go into the wilderness, signifying that it bore Israel’s sins away from them into an uninhabited place.

That scapegoat represents for us Jesus our Messiah bearing away our sins in his own body. He carried them so that we would be free from them.

The above verse in Isaiah relates that Jesus not only bore or carried our sins but also bore or carried our sicknesses and our pains. The Hebrew word for grief is choli and is elsewhere in the Old Testament translated sickness. The Hebrew word for sorrows is makob and is elsewhere in the Old Testament translated pains.

As surely as Jesus bore our sins He likewise bore our sicknesses and pains. He took our sicknesses and diseases upon Himself and carried them away from us. He carried all of our sins upon Himself so that we could be legally free from them. Jesus was our scapegoat. He legally carried all of our sin and all of our sicknesses and diseases upon Himself so that we could enjoy forgiveness and health.

Meditate much on the above scriptures. They form the foundation for faith in healing through Jesus’ sacrifice. He forgives all of our iniquities and heals all of our diseases. As surely as He bore our sins He bore our sicknesses. As surely as He forgives sin He heals our sickness and disease. Surely we should be as free from sickness as we are from sin. I’m sure!