1 Peter 2:24

When we think of Christ's atonement, we usually think of his suffering on the cross. However, his atonement did not start there. Before Jesus went to the cross, he had already been beaten to shreds with a Roman whip. He was so weak from this that he could not even carry his cross all the way to his crucifixion site. The stripes (literally the bruise) laid on Jesus was part of the punishment for our sin that he had to bear. (Although he was lashed many times, apparently his back ended up being one big bruise.)

It was the bruise inflicted on Jesus that healed us. How could his bruise heal us? He was bearing the physical part of the curse for breaking the Law. He was bearing the curse in his body as our substitute. This frees us from having to bear the curse for breaking the Law (which includes all sickness and disease) in our bodies.


If Jesus were not supposed to provide physical healing for us, he could have just hung on the cross and shed his blood for our forgiveness. He would not have had to endure the scourge that brought physical healing to us. The only explicitly stated benefit of the scourging that came before his crucifixion is healing. This is really where his body was broken, more so than on the cross. This is the act commemorated by the communion bread. The wine commemorates his blood, which was shed mainly when he was pierced after he died, although surely he shed quite a bit of blood while he was still alive.

Jesus did more than shed his blood for us. He allowed his body to be broken for us. We celebrate both when we partake of communion. We should walk in the benefit of his broken body (healing) as well as the benefit of his shed blood (forgiveness).