One of the clearest New Testament passages about healing and the atonement is Matthew 8:16–17. Matthew doesn’t give us a theoretical answer. He gives us a real-life moment of Jesus healing people everywhere He went:
“He healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.’”
— Matthew 8:16–17 (quoting Isaiah 53:4)
This is not symbolic.
This is not about inner healing.
This is not merely emotional healing.
Matthew says Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 53 by physically healing bodies.
Before we get into 1 Peter 2, before we talk theology, before we debate about “spiritual vs physical healing,” Matthew already makes something uncomfortably clear:
Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 53 in physical healing.
Isaiah 53 includes actual sickness.
Healing is part of the atonement.
Let’s walk through it carefully.
1. Isaiah 53 Clearly Includes Physical Sickness
Isaiah 53 uses words like:
- cholî (sickness, disease)
- mak’ōb (physical pain)
Jewish scholars, Christian scholars, and Matthew himself all agree: the text includes literal sickness.
Isaiah does not say:
- He bore “emotional burdens”
- He carried “figurative pains”
It says:
- He took sicknesses
- He carried pains
Matthew 8 confirms Isaiah 53 is not a metaphor.
Physical healing is included in the Servant’s suffering.
2. Matthew 8 Proves That Healing Is Part of the Atonement
People often say:
“Isaiah 53 is about spiritual healing only.”
But Matthew gives us the inspired interpretation.
Matthew 8:17 directly ties:
- Jesus healing sick people
- to Isaiah 53
That means:
✔ Healing is in the atonement
✔ Jesus carried sickness just as He carried sin
✔ Healing flows from the same work of the cross
You don’t need a commentary.
You don’t need a Greek lexicon.
Matthew already interprets it for us.
3. Then Why Does 1 Peter 2:24 Speak of Spiritual Healing?
Here is the verse:
“By His stripes you were healed.”— 1 Peter 2:24
Peter uses the same Isaiah 53 language but applies it to spiritual healing—specifically our forgiveness and righteousness(“He bore our sins”).
Peter is talking about spiritual healing because that’s the point of his paragraph.
But Matthew 8 shows something crucial:
Peter is not changing Isaiah 53. He is applying one part of its fulfillment. But Isaiah’s and Matthew’s context includes both healing and forgiveness.
Just as Jesus bore:
- sins (1 Pet 2:24)
- sicknesses (Matt 8:17)
Both are in the same chapter of Isaiah.
Both flow from the same stripes.
Both come from the same cross.
4. Yes, Healing Is in the Atonement
Now comes the big question:
“If healing is in the atonement, then why am I not healed?” People ask this question as if experience determines theology.
But think about Romans 6.
The Bible says:
- You are crucified with Christ.
- You are dead to sin.
- Sin shall not have dominion over you.
Yet…
Do believers still sin?
Yes.
So does that mean Romans 6 is not true?
No.
Romans 6 is true.
Our struggle does not cancel the truth.
Our experience does not define the gospel.
We still sin because there is a difference between:
- Truth
- Walking in the truth
The cross secured the truth.
Sanctification is learning to walk in it.
The same applies to healing.
✔ Healing IS done.
✔ Healing IS YOURS.
✔ Jesus DID carry sickness in His body.
✔ “By His stripes you WERE healed” is past tense.
If someone says:
“But why am I not healed?”
The exact same question could be asked:
- “Why does a sanctified person still sin?”
- “Why does someone dead to sin still struggle?”
- “Why does someone righteous still feel condemned?”
Answer: Because our experience often lags behind truth.Truth is the foundation; experience catches up.
The gap doesn’t mean the cross failed.
It means we are growing into what is already ours.
5. Spiritual Healing Is Real — But Matthew and Isaiah Also Mean Physical Healing
Some say:
“1 Peter 2 only refers to spiritual healing.”
Correct — Peter is applying that truth to sins.
But the Bible teaches both:
✔ Spiritual healing (forgiveness, made righteous, new heart)
✔ Physical healing (because Jesus carried sickness)
They are not competitors.
They are not alternatives.
They are two sides of the same atonement.
6. So, Is Healing Available for Every Believer?
Yes—in the same way that freedom from sin is.
Meaning:
- Healing is purchased.
- Healing is yours.
- Healing is accomplished.
- Healing is part of the new covenant inheritance.
- Whether you walk in it perfectly or not, it is still finished.
Your struggle doesn’t redefine what Jesus did.
Your experience doesn’t change Isaiah 53.
Your symptoms don’t rewrite Matthew 8.
Your reality is the finished work of Christ. Your experience is catching up.
Just like holiness, righteousness, and freedom from sin.
7. Final Thoughts
Healing is not:
- a bonus
- a side benefit
- a special blessing
- reserved for the spiritually elite
Healing is part of the same atonement that forgave your sins.
Matthew 8 settles it.
Isaiah 53 confirms it.
1 Peter 2 applies one dimension of it.
Healing is not the prosperity gospel. Healing is the atonement gospel.
It flows from the crucified body of Jesus just as surely as forgiveness does.
And just like sanctification, the gap between truth and experience does not deny the truth—it simply shows that we are growing into what Christ already secured.
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