Are Healed and Were Healed

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 53:5 (NKJV) emphasis mine

Isaiah was given a revelation of the coming redemption that Christ would bring. He was shown that Jesus would bear all our sins and trespasses, plus He would pay the price for our healing. The word stripes could also be translated wounds. His wounds were the payment for our physical bodies to be made whole. His body took the pain so our bodies could be pain-free.

Note that Isaiah says that by His tripes we ARE healed. Isaiah was viewing it as a present promise although Jesus had not yet taken the punishment upon His own body.

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. I Peter 2:24 (NKJV) emphasis mine

In this passage, the Apostle Peter quotes Isaiah 53:5, but he makes an important change. Instead of saying that we ARE healed, he says that we WERE healed. This is a significant distinction because it points to the fact that the sacrifice for our healing has already been made. It puts it in the past tense, showing us that Jesus already took the wounds upon His body and we were healed at that time. Nothing more must be done for healing to be ours. It was already accomplished approximately 2,000 years ago when the whips tore the flesh from Jesus’ body. This is an important truth. Our healing was purchased and is simply waiting for us to claim it as our own. We WERE healed.

If you are experiencing sickness, pain, disease or injury in your body- lay hold of the healing that Christ already paid for. Take it by faith. Say, “I am healed because I was healed by the stripes of Jesus.” It’s already done. It is yours. Receive the healing that has been waiting for you.