Does Isaiah 53:5 Guarantee that Believers will Receive Physical Healing if they Ask in Faith?


As Christian Youtuber Steve Kozar has repeatedly demonstrated, many so-called prosperity gospel teachers claim that Isaiah 53:5 promises (or guarantees) that believers will receive physical healing if they simply ask in faith.  Historically, Christians (and some Jews) have believe that Isaiah 53 speaks prophetically of the Messiah that is to come.  Christians obviously believe Isaiah 53 has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 53:5 says:

"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5; ESV).

One can certainly see why this passage has been understood to be talking about Jesus, but is the verse talking about physical healing?  And if so, does it guarantee our physical healing through faith?  As the Apologetics Study Bible for Students explains, this seems unlikely:

"...Isaiah is referring to forgiveness from sin, not a promise of miraculous healing.  Quoting Isaiah, Peter said of Jesus, 'He himself bore our sins in the his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed' (1 Peter 2:24).  While God is certainly able to heal sickness and disease, this is not always part of his plan for us.  Paul prayed to God for the elimination of a 'thorn in the flesh,' yet he was not healed (2 Cor 12:7-10).  He realized that suffering helped him understand that his weaknesses actually made him strong as he learned to depend on God.  Many biblical passages (i.e., Php 4:6, 19; 1 Th 5:17; Jms 4:2) encourage us to continually ask God to meet our needs, but we must never suppose that God will always see fit to answer in the way we think best."1

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

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