By His Stripes

Good Saturday morning! Think about this one for a bit, "By His stripes are we healed." (Isaiah 53:5) That makes no sense to us in the world. Imagine going into the doctor's office. He does a few pokes, asks a few questions, determines the answer according to his professional education and experience.

"I have it! You have contracted whatchmagotitis, a rare inflammation of the whatchamagot!"

A definite answer, you are elated, now for the other shoe to drop.

"Doc, what is the cure? A course of pills, several painful shots you like so much, what?"

"No, not that at all, it's..."

"An incredibly expensive surgery, I should have known."

"No, let me finish. The cure is that we take Edmund over in the next room and have him flogged."

"Eh? What does Edmund have to do with it? How will that heal me?"

Now imagine poor Edmund's dismay when he receives the prescription for your cure. This statement from that verse is another of those things that makes no sense in human wisdom. Jesus received the lashes, we got the healing. And then we have the question, healing of what? The other prophecies in the verse don't help: he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. That does sound like someone taking punishment for something we are guilty of, but how can any of that heal us in any way? The message that I receive healing by Jesus taking the blows of the whip startles me in its mystery. I cannot explain how the stripes across the back of our Lord provided healing. Doing damage to the innocent skin gave healing to the sinners.

Praise God that prophecy has been fulfilled in one specific person. If that method worked for all healing in the world, the damage that would ensue to heal the powerful and wealthy would be dreadful. Caesar has the gout! Oh dear, 5,000 slaves will perish before his physicians get that healed. Sorry, the president has cancer. Run for the hills! Of course, there is the other side too. "We need 50 volunteers to take 10 lashes each to heal the president of his flu bug. Come on, step on up here, anyone...anyone at all?"

Praise God for the day,
Bucky