1. 1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the meaning of the clause “by his wounds you have been healed”?

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Peter lifts these words from Isaiah 53:5. The point is again that Peter stresses for suffering slaves that Jesus’ suffering on Good Friday has a benefit for how his people may handle the wounds they receive under life’s despots. Those wounds can be physical (e.g., a whip tearing open the skin on one’s back0; they can also be mental (e.g., the crushed spirit that comes from being abused in whatever form). In keeping with the prophecy of Isaiah 53:5, Peter goes beyond recognizing the existence of wounds to claiming that Jesus’ work gives healing to these wounds.