By His stripes

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. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. – 1 Peter 2.24-25

The previous verse have all been building to this climax. We have been told over and over that our submission and our response to different difficult situations is based on the example Jesus set for us. He submitted all the way to the cross. He did not attack His attackers. There was a more important task than making sure that He was not walked over by the world. 

He submitted in the greatest way possible when He bore our sins on the cross. He did it so that we could die to sin with Him and live righteousness. When I think about that it doesn’t even seem possible that Jesus would do that for me. Then I read Isaiah’s astounding words – ‘by His stripes you are healed.’

By HIS stripes WE are healed. He could do nothing about the curse of sin. The end result of our sin was death. Only Jesus could heal us of that curse. He solved our problem by taking our punishment for us. 

Words fail me. So lets just be reminded of what God said through His prophet Isaiah:

He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

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.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.