What Does “By His Stripes We Are Healed” Mean?
By Samuel Waterhouse, author of You Were Healed ·
The short answer
“With his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5) means that the wounds Jesus took when He was whipped before the cross paid for the healing of your body, just as His blood paid for the forgiveness of your sins. Peter repeats it in the past tense: “by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
What were the “stripes”?
Before Jesus was nailed to the cross, He was tied to a post and whipped (Matthew 27:26; John 19:1). The Roman whip tore open His back. The marks it left are the “stripes”. Isaiah saw it about seven hundred years before it happened:
“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.”
Plain English (GIGAKJV): But he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and we are healed through his wounds.
The Hebrew word for stripes is chabburah (Strong’s H2250): a wound, a welt, the mark left by a lash. The word for healed is rapha (H7495), the Bible’s everyday word for healing a body. It is the same word in “I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26) and “who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:3).
Two things happened to Jesus’ body
Most believers have been taught one half of the gospel: the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. That is gloriously true. But Isaiah 53:5 has four lines, and they don’t all say the same thing:
- Wounded for our transgressions: pierced, for sin.
- Bruised for our iniquities: crushed, for sin.
- The chastisement of our peace was upon him: the punishment that made us whole.
- With his stripes we are healed: the whipping, for the body.
The blood was shed at the cross for your sins. The stripes were laid on His back at the whipping post for your healing. One sacrifice, with two provisions. That is why Jesus gave us two things at the Lord’s Supper: the bread for His body and the cup for His blood.
Is it really about physical healing?
Some say Isaiah only meant spiritual healing. The verse just before it settles the matter. “Griefs” is choliy (H2483), the normal Hebrew word for sickness, and “sorrows” is makob (H4341), pain. The Holy Spirit then quoted this very verse in Matthew, not about forgiving sins, but about Jesus healing sick people:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”
Plain English (GIGAKJV): Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, struck of God, and afflicted.
“When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed 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 bare our sicknesses.”
Plain English (GIGAKJV): When evening had come, they brought to him many who were possessed with demons. And he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all who were sick. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, He himself took our sicknesses, and bore our diseases.
Matthew tells us what Isaiah meant: Jesus healed all who were sick so that Isaiah 53:4 would be fulfilled. Healing isn’t a side benefit of the gospel. It was paid for by the same Saviour, in the same redemption, as your forgiveness.
“Ye were healed”: past tense
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
Plain English (GIGAKJV): He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, so that we, dead to sins, might live for righteousness. You were healed through his wounds.
Isaiah looked forward and said “we are healed”. Peter looked back and said “ye were healed”. The Greek word is iaomai (G2390), the word the Gospels use for curing the sick. Peter is writing to believers after the cross, and he doesn’t say “you might be healed” or “you will be healed if God wills”. He says it is done.
So when you pray for healing, you aren’t asking God to do something new. You are receiving what He already provided two thousand years ago, the same way you received forgiveness: by believing it and saying it.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;”
Plain English (GIGAKJV): Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.
How do you receive it?
Jesus gave the method in Mark 11:22–26: have faith in God, believe in your heart, say it with your mouth, believe you receive when you pray, forgive, and hold fast. Everything in You Were Healed is built on those five verses.
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Plain English (GIGAKJV): And Jesus answering says to them, Have faith in God. For truly I say to you, Whoever shall say to this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says will happen, he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, Whatever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.
Say it out loud
“I am healed and healthy by the stripes of Jesus. I am saved by the blood of Jesus. Amen.”
Questions people ask
Where in the Bible does it say “by his stripes we are healed”?
Isaiah 53:5 in the King James Version: “with his stripes we are healed.” The New Testament repeats it in 1 Peter 2:24: “by whose stripes ye were healed.” Matthew 8:16–17 applies Isaiah 53:4 to Jesus healing the sick.
What were the stripes of Jesus?
The wounds from the Roman whipping (scourging) Jesus received before He was crucified (Matthew 27:26; John 19:1). The Hebrew word, chabburah, means the welt or wound left by a lash.
Does “by his stripes” mean physical or spiritual healing?
The Hebrew words in Isaiah 53:4–5 are the Bible’s ordinary words for sickness (choliy), pain (makob) and healing (rapha), and Matthew 8:16–17 quotes the passage about Jesus healing sick bodies. The passage covers the body as well as the soul.
Go deeper
You Were Healed
How Scripture says to receive the healing Jesus already purchased. Isaiah 53 word by word, Jesus and the apostles in action, every common objection answered with Scripture, and daily confessions.
Read every verse in plain English, with the King James beside it, free at gigakjv.org.
Church leaders: invite Samuel to teach the Word and pray with people at your church or gathering.
Send an invitationThis article is Bible teaching, not medical advice. Every decision about your health is yours; don’t stop or change any prescribed treatment without talking to your doctor. In an emergency call 000 (Australia), 111 (New Zealand) or 911 (USA). Full disclaimer.