The Cure

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Isaiah 53:4-5

Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ 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.

(ESV)

Ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act or as some call it, Obamacare, health care has been a major issue.  However, the truth is that all the discussion about Obamacare is not about health care itself but about how to pay for it.  While it is true that when one cannot afford the health care they need, they technically do not have health care, health care has made advancements in the last century that are nothing short of miraculous.

Among the advances in health care that have revolutionized the world are

1)      Vaccines

2)      Surgical anesthetic and antisepsis

3)      Clean water and improved sanitation

4)      Antibiotics and antivirals

5)      Improvements in heart surgery and cardiac care

6)      Radiologic imaging

7)      Organ transplantation (1)

These advancements have led to increased longevity of life (2) and the eradication of many once fatal diseases.  (3)  However, our society and world is currently experiencing an outbreak that no advances in medical science can eradicate.  That disease is the internal rot, or cancer if you will of the moral foundation that has held society together for centuries.  However, there is a cure for this disease that lies beyond conventional health sciences.  That cure is Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah 53 is a prophetic passage of scripture graphically describing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Luke 23:26-49).  Crucifixion as a means of execution is believed to have originated with the ancient Persians who used it to execute pirates in the port of Athens in the 7^th century B.C. and was later adopted by Alexander the Great throughout his empire.  It was the Romans however who perfected this means of execution.  (4)  Living in Israel and writing in 722 B.C., (5) Isaiah most likely had not heard of the practice of crucifixion, after all we did not have mass media, the internet, or social media in 722 B.C. to spread the word.  It is therefore safe to assume he had no knowledge of the practice and only wrote what he was inspired to write by the Holy Spirit.  Isaiah 53 however does present a dilemma for rabbis since it points to Jesus as Messiah. 

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, humanity was cursed with the cancer of sin which, as with all cancers, spreads throughout the body causing death if left untreated.  However, even when God was evicting Adam and Eve from the Garden, he promised a cure for their disease, one who would come and, even though his heal would be bruised, would crush the serpent, the cause of the cancer of sin (Genesis 3:15).  The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is Satan bruising the heal of the seed of the Woman but the resurrection of Jesus three days later provides the cure for the cancer of sin, the crushing of the serpent (Luke 24:1-12). 

Christians are called to be the ones administering this cure for sin (Mark 16:14-20).  Unfortunately, however, in many ways churches have adopted a theology of religious moralism where they view their role as placing themselves on a pedestal of righteous pride through adherence to a high moral code when the truth in scripture is that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and no one lives on the pedestal of some high moral order for that position is only for Jesus Christ himself, the sinless man (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Let us therefore as administers of the Gospel instead become EMT’s bringing people afflicted with the cancer of sin to the ER where the cure for their disease can be administered.  In other words, let us bring them to Jesus Christ by,

1)      Sharing how Jesus has changed our lives and given us peace even in these chaotic times. 

2)      Inviting them to church, a trauma center where they can find the cure.

3)      Praying for them that they will come to grips with the seriousness of their disease and seek the cure.

If you are reading this and are currently afflicted with the cancer of sin in your life and want to be cured, please pray with me,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

You have now received the cure for the cancer of sin in your lives, however just as one afflicted with cancer can go into remission, we must make lifestyle changes to guard against a recurrence of the disease.  I therefore now encourage anyone who just prayed with me to,

1)      Spend time daily praying or conversing with God and reading His Word, the Bible.

2)      Find a church where the Bible is taught.

3)      Become part of a small group Bible Study.

The cancer of sin afflicting our society has a cure and that cure is Jesus Christ. 

1. Childs, Dan. 10 Health Advances That Changed the World. abcnews.com. [Online] ABC News, September 20, 2007. [Cited: February 26, 2017.] http://abcnews.go.com/Health/TenWays/story?id=3605442&page=1. 

2. Zocdoc.com. 5 Amazing Medical Discoveries That Increased Life Expectancy. blog.zocdoc.com. [Online] Zocdoc, June 6, 2014. [Cited: February 26, 2017.] http://blog.zocdoc.com/5-amazing-medical-discoveries-increased-life-expectancy/.

3. Roser, Max. Eradication of Diseases. ourworldindata.org. [Online] Our World in Data. [Cited: February 26, 2017.] https://ourworldindata.org/eradication-of-diseases/.

4. The Nazarene Way. Details and History of Crucifixion. www.thenazareneway.com. [Online] The Nazarene Way of Essenic Studies. [Cited: February 26, 2017.] http://www.thenazareneway.com/details_history_of_crucifixion.htm.

5. Bible.org. 1. Introduction to The Study of the Book of Isaiah. bible.org. [Online] Bible.org. [Cited: February 26, 2017.] https://bible.org/seriespage/1-introduction-study-book-isaiah.