Healing and salvation are closely linked. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the price for both our salvation and our healing. The church has focused on the miracle of salvation, but salvation is only part of the priceless gift Jesus purchased with His blood. Healing is also part of the atonement.
What is the atonement? The price for sin is death; therefore, every time a person sins the penalty must be paid in blood. In the Old Testament God told the Israelites to use animal sacrifices to atone (pay for) their sins. When Jesus died on the cross He became our ultimate sacrifice, and His blood paid the price for all our sins. So, the term “atonement” refers to Christ’s work on the cross that atoned for all our sins and cured all the effects of sin, including sickness.
According to Psalm 103:3, God “…forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” Forgiveness and healing are inseparable. They are like two sides of the same coin. Right before Jesus healed the paralyzed man who was let down through the roof, He forgave the man’s sins. In the ministry of Jesus both forgiveness and healing were essential.
This verse proves that salvation and healing are connected.“…The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven” (James 5:15). Notice the prayer of faith will heal the sick, and cause the forgiveness of sins. The same prayer produces both salvation from sins and healing from sickness!
The Greek word for “salvation” is sozo. This important word contains the meanings of two English words. It can be translated as either “salvation” or “healing.” Let us look at two verses where this word is used. When Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood He told her, “…your faith has healed [sozo] you” (Mark 5:34). Right before Jesus ascended into heaven He told the disciples, “Whoever believes…will be saved [sozo]” (Mark 16:16). Both of these verses have the word sozo in them; the first verse translates sozo as healed, and the second verse translates sozo as saved.
Sozo carries two powerful meanings. If we ignore part of the meaning in any given context, we lose a portion of what the New Testament writers are trying to say. I believe almost every time this word is found in the Bible, it should be translated as both saved and healed. Let us insert both meanings into some popular verses to see how this translates into blessings for us.
* When Jesus healed ten lepers, only one of them returned to thank Him. Jesus said to the man, “Rise and go; your faith has healed you and saved you” (Luke 17:19).
* “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved and healed” (Acts 2:21).
* “Salvation and healing are found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved and healed” (Acts 4:12).
* “It is by grace you have been saved and healed, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
* God “wants all men to be saved and healed and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
By including the full meaning of the word sozo in these translations, we have discovered some powerful healing scriptures. Jesus is in the business of both saving people from sin and healing people from the effects of sin. His title “Savior of the world” also means “Healer of the world.”
Jesus bore our sins and sicknesses
Healing is just as much a part of the atonement as forgiveness of sins. Isaiah emphasizes this fact in his wonderful prophecy concerning the coming Messiah. He says, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4‑5).
When Isaiah says Jesus “took up” our infirmities he uses the same Hebrew word nasa that he uses in Isaiah 53:12 to say Jesus “bore” the sin of many. Many churches preach about how Jesus bore our sins on the cross, but not every church preaches the truth that Jesus also bore our sicknesses when He died on the cross. He carried our sorrows and pains, our sicknesses and diseases, and all our sins to the cross. He died in our place and took all sickness upon His body. Jesus is our substitute; because of His wounds, we can be healed.
This verse is confirmed in the New Testament. Matthew 8:16-17 reports on the many healings Jesus performed and explains, “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” Since Jesus bore our sicknesses once, there is no need for us to bear them again.
Peter also quotes from Isaiah “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Peter puts this promise in the past tense which means you have already been healed. Two thousand years ago you were healed, the price has already been paid, now all you have to do is claim what is rightfully yours. The devil has no right to put sickness on you. You are already healed.
Do You Need Healing? Be Healed in Jesus Name!
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