“Our Wounded Healer”
“Isaiah 53:1-5”
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.
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I. His Hurts
a. His wounds – physical abuse
This Hebrew expression refers to penetrating wounds which would include the nails in his hands and feet, the thorns in his brow, and the spear thrust into his side. It is also important to notice that these “wounds” were for our sake.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
b. His bruises – mental anguish
The word used here (ãëà dâkâ') means properly to be broken to pieces, to be bruised, to be crushed Job 6:9; Psalms 72:4. Applied to mind, it means to break down or crush by calamities and trials; and by the use of the word here, no doubt, the most severe inward and outward sufferings are designated.
ILL - An article in the National Geographic (9/91) tells of a young man from Hanover, Pennsylvania, who was badly burned in a boiler explosion. To save his life, physicians covered him with 6,000 square centimeters of donor skin, as well as sheets of skin cultured from a stamp-sized piece of his own unburned skin. A journalist asked him, "Do you ever think about the donor who saved you?" The young man replied, "To be alive because of a dead donor is too big, too much, so I don’t think about it." Difficult to do, yes, but Christians have also received a similar gift--overwhelming, and worth thinking about.
c. His chastisement -
This speaks of the punishment that he endured to secure our peace. Not punishment for him because he is the sinless son of God but our punishment!
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
ILL - Actor Kevin Bacon recounted when his 6-year-old son saw Footloose for the first time: He said, "Hey, Dad, you know that thing in the movie where you swing from the rafters of that building? That’s really cool, how did you do that?" I said, "Well, I didn’t do that part--it was a stunt man." "What’s a stunt man?" he asked. "That’s someone who dresses like me and does things I can’t do." "Oh," he replied and walked out of the room looking a little confused. A little later he said, "Hey, Dad, you know that thing in the movie where you spin around on that gym bar and land on your feet? How did you do that?" I said, "Well, I didn’t do that. It was a gymnastics double." "What’s a gymnastics double?" he asked. "That’s a guy who dresses in my clothes and does things I can’t do." There was silence from my son, then he asked in a concerned voice, "Dad, what did you do?" "I got all the glory," I sheepishly replied. That’s the grace of God in our lives. Jesus took our sin upon himself and did what we couldn’t do. We stand forgiven and bask in triumphant in Jesus’ glory.
d. His stripes
The obvious and natural idea conveyed by the word here is, that the individual referred to would be subjected to some treatment that would cause such a weal or stripe; that is, that he would be beaten, or scourged. How literally this was applicable to the Lord Jesus, it is unnecessary to attempt to prove (see Matthew 27:26). It may be remarked here, that this could not be mere conjecture for how could Isaiah, seven hundred years before it occurred, declare that the Messiah would be scourged and bruised? It is this particularity of prediction, compared with the literal fulfillment, which furnishes the fullest demonstration that the prophet was inspired. In the prediction nothing is vague and general. All is particular and minute, as if he saw what was done, and the description is as minutely accurate as if he was describing what was actually occurring before his eyes.
Leviticus 16:7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
II. Our Healing
a. Our haunts
When I think of this subject I think of the “ghosts” in our past. We all have them and they take many forms. For some it might be a word said in hate and anger to someone that you loved and now they are gone and they will never be able to say those two words that you so long to hear, “I forgive.” For others it is some deed that they now regret, some dishonesty or thievery that they have wanted to set right but can’t. We have learned over the last few years that abortion is not just the termination of an unwanted pregnancy but it has much more far reaching consequences. There are millions of women and men who are struggling with the “ghosts” of what might have been, was it a boy or girl, what would they be like today etc. There may be someone in this service today who is dealing with the abortion “ghost.”
b. Our hurts
Unfortunately in our culture we have millions who have suffered physical, psychological or sexual abuse. The stories of those who are victims of this type of behavior are heartrending and heartbreaking. The wounds are deep and the scars do not dim with the passage of years. Divorce has become epidemic in our culture and the harm done in terms of broken relationships is immeasurable. Even many of the social engineers of our day are finally beginning to acknowledge that the pendulum of social experimentation has swung too far to the left resulting in a breakdown of the most fundamental unit, the family, with all of its negative consequences. 50 years ago single parent homes were almost unheard of, there was no such thing as a latch key kids, and even though they are the subject of ridicule today we could use a return to the days of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It To Beaver and the Huxtibles from the Cosby show, where there is a husband and a wife who love each other and their children!
c. Our hindrances
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
ILL - A poor man in Ireland was plodding home, carrying a huge bag of potatoes. A horse and wagon finally drew up alongside him and the driver invited the man to climb aboard. He sat down but continued to hold the heavy bag. When the driver suggested that the man set the bag down, he replied, “I don’t want to trouble you too much, sir. You are giving me a ride already, so I’ll just carry the potatoes.”
d. Our habits
It is astounding to realize to what degree people can form attachments to things. These attachments form powerful bonds that are almost impossible to break! Let me mention just a few.
Alcohol is the drug of choice in America.
•There are more than 12 million alcoholics in the U.S.
•75% of all adults drink alcohol, and 6% of them are alcoholics.
•Americans spend $197 million each day on alcohol.
•In the United States, a person is killed in an alcohol-related car accident every 30 minutes.
•Three-fourths of all high school seniors report being drunk at least once.
•Adolescents who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than their counterparts who do not begin drinking until the age of 21.
•People with a higher education are more likely to drink.
•Higher income people are more likely to drink.
Drugs • In 2010 there was an estimated 22.6 million Americans over the age of 12 that were current or former illicit drug users within the last month of when the survey was given; This equates to about 8.9 percent of the population aged 12 or older.
Sex/pornography Sex addiction statistics show that 25 million Americans visit cyber-sex sites between 1-10 hours per week. Another 4.7 million in excess of 11 hours per week. (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Washington Times, 1/26/2000)
According to Datamonitor, in 2003, over half of all spending on the Internet is related to sexual activity, with 30 million people logging on at pornographic Web sites daily. The expectation is that this figure will fall due to the rise of other forms of Internet commerce.
Note: Internet sex addiction statistics do not include peer-to-peer file sharing which is rampant in the area of pornography. This means that the true figures are probably significantly higher.
ILL - Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him.
SOURCE: Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p.150ff
2 Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Lead character in Fireproof movie Kirk Cameron has an internet pornography addiction. It is about to destroy his marriage until he comes to faith in Christ. His deliverance from this addiction is summed up in the scene where he takes his computer outside and beats it with a baseball bat and on the desk where the computer once set is a note to his wife that said, “I love you more!”
In conclusion: “What comes to mind when you think of healing?” The Bible speaks of being made “whole!”
Matthew 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
How do we find this wholeness and healing? We find it at the same place this woman with the issue of blood found it. We find wholeness and healing at the feet of the “Wounded Healer.”
Robert E. Coleman writes that he once “heard a missionary tell about a boy who appeared at a mission hospital in Kenya with a gaping wound in his foot. He had been accidentally injured while cutting grass far out in the jungle. Part of his heel was cut off. Without waiting to inform anyone of the mishap, he set out across country to find the mission station where he had heard medical help was available. Every time the little foot touched the sandy earth it left a faint trace of blood. The journey was long and difficult, but at last he arrived. A little while later the boy’s mother appeared. The doctors were surprised that she found the way. There were no well-defined trails, and she had never made the trip before. "How did you do it?" she was asked. The dear woman, overjoyed to be with her child, replied, "Oh, it was easy. I just followed the blood!"
(Robert E. Coleman is Professor at, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary).
