What does 1 Peter 2:24 mean?
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.””
Christ ‘bore our sins in his body on the tree,’ so that, dead to sin, we might live for righteousness—‘by his wounds you have been healed.’
Echoing Isaiah 53, Peter describes the cross as substitution: Jesus carried our sins so we could be freed from them.
The purpose is transformation—‘die to sins and live for righteousness’—and the deepest healing is reconciliation with God through his wounds.
Does ‘by his wounds you have been healed’ mean physical healing?
Its primary meaning is healing from sin—salvation. God can heal bodies too, but the verse centers on spiritual restoration through the cross.
Hebrew word studies — original-language background to the verse.
Original BibleDawn explanation · reviewed 2026-06. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.