Isaiah 53 Question about Healing and Redemption?

Question

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 (Is.53:3-5)

The text suggests that those who mocked him found healing through his suffering. Do Christians hold the belief that individuals who ridiculed and took part in the crucifixion of Jesus were redeemed by his suffering?

Answer 1

And by His stripes we are healed (Is.53:5)

This is the central truth of the NT and Christianity; that Christ's death provided salvation for all who believe as taught many times in the NT, most famously:

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The "healing" in Isa 53 is the healing of the sin problem for which there was only one single cure - that provided by Jesus. That cure is applied by The Father, Son and Holy Spirit to the sinner and is accepted by faith to provide eternal life.

Indeed, in the NT the very word "salvation" comes from the same verb meaning "to heal" but that is another topic. (Indeed, two words are used, soter and therapao, both of which are used to indicate eternal salvation in different contexts.)

Now, the above is understood very widely. However, there is another way that Isa 53:5 and John 3:16 was fulfilled literally at the cross by three individuals:

• Simon of Cyrene who was forced/conscripted to carry the cross, Luke 23:26
• one of thieves on the cross was saved, Luke 23:42, 43
• One of the soldiers who crucified Jesus, Luke 23:47

Answer 2

Took Part in Crucifixion
Did those who took part in the Crucifixion receive the benefits? Absolutely! But it must be realized that, not just those standing there in 30 A.D., but all of us in humanity took part in the crucifixion! We all who are guilty of sin are the crucifiers: Romans, Jews, and Gentiles. He was wounded for our transgressions. (Isaiah 53:4)

For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together... (Acts 4:27; see 2:36, 4:10, "all" are guilty)

And subsequently, everyone who repents and is converted is recipient of the blessings of salvation and healing. The wounds, stripes, and blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin, for those who acknowledge the redemption that is in the Cross of Christ. (John 3:16)

Jesus, in His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, so that We, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by Whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24, quoting Isaiah 53)

That Jesus wanted all standing there to be saved, as well as us all, we recall His compassionate plea to God:

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Healing
That healing is included in the Atonement, the writer of the Gospel of Matthew made it clear:

When the evening was come, they brought unto Him many that were possesssed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, "Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:16-17)

The words, healed, which is the subject of this discussion, are all-inclusive words that has many related meanings (rapha, Heb; iaomai Gk.):

• It is used in the O.T. to mean heal backslidings; that is to become converted. (Jeremiah 3:22, quoted in Matthew 13:15, John 12:40, Acts 28:27)
• It refers to healing broken-hearted. (Psalm 147:3, Luke 4:18)
• It often means the healing of physical diseases, of all sorts. And the "gift of healing" was practiced by Jesus, the 70 disciples, and Apostles, and the church body. (Luke 6:17, 9:2, 17:15, 22:51, Matthew 10:8, 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28).
• It also includes the healing of those oppressed/possessed by the devil(s). (Luke 8:36, Acts 10:28, Matthew 8 ;16-17)
• And of course, the concept of redemptive salvation is quite often meant. (1 Peter 2:24, John 12:40, Acts 28:27-28)

Benefits of the Cross
From the thief on the cross, whose sins were remitted by just one drop of blood of Jesus, and the Centurion who recognized "the Son of God...unto the millions of believers (Jew, Roman, and Gentile) from then on, around the world, who all at one time or other were despisers, ridiculers, pagan-worshippers---to them and us the Salvation of God is applicable and quite efficient unto eternal life!