Isaiah 53:5 

⁵… The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

You know, one of the biggest outcries against Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion Of The Christ, was that it was too violent, especially the part where Jesus was scourged.

Let me tell you this: It was not violent enough! The Bible says that at the cross, Jesus’ visage was marred beyond that of any man. (Isaiah 52:14) In the movie, even after all the beatings, the actor James Caviezel, who played Jesus, still looked quite handsome.

But the reality is that when Jesus hung on the cross, He had “no form or comeliness... there is no beauty that we should desire Him”. (Isaiah 53:2) He was beaten to a pulp until His face looked like jelly hanging out!

In the movie, when they scourged Him, only a small portion of His bones was exposed, so it was still quite tidy. But the messianic psalms say, “The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long” (Psalm 129:3), and “I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me”. (Psalm 22:17) All His bones were exposed!

My friend, He was thinking of you when the soldiers tied Him to the scourging post. As they raised their whips, He said, “Let it all come on Me!”

But what came on Him was not just the whip stripping the flesh off His bare back, but your sicknesses and diseases. Each time He was whipped, every form of sickness and disease, including arthritis, cancer, diabetes, bird flu and dengue fever, came upon Him. “The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

Today, healing is your right because Jesus has paid the price for your healing. So if the devil says, “You cannot be healed,” just declare, “Jesus has paid for my healing. Disease has no right to be in my body. I am healed in Jesus’ name!”

Every curse of sickness that was supposed to fall on you fell on Jesus instead. He bore every one of those stripes, so that you can walk in divine health all the days of your life. The price has been paid so that you can rise up and get out of your bed of affliction!

2 Peter 1:2 

²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

If you would like to walk in a greater measure of God’s favour, 2 Peter 1:2 says that grace, which is the undeserved favour of God, and peace, can be multiplied to you. Peace is the word “shalom” in Hebrew. Its definition includes wholeness, health, safety and provision. So when you walk in divine favour and peace, you will walk in blessings in every area of your life!

But how do the undeserved favour and shalom of God increase in your life?

It is not by your laboring or toiling to earn it. The Bible says that it comes as your knowledge of Jesus and His finished work increases. It comes as you learn more about and believe that through Jesus’ one sacrifice at the cross, God removed all your sins, gave you His righteousness as a gift and put you in Christ to enjoy everything Jesus has. God’s favour is multiplied in your life when you simply believe that the favour of God that is on Christ is also on you because of what Jesus’ work at the cross has accomplished.

Today, you don’t have to struggle for favour. Just release it by speaking forth God’s Word in faith. On your way to work, say, “God’s favour surrounds me as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12) As you continue to speak God’s favour over your life out of a revelation of Jesus’ finished work, you will see more of it being released.

When I first entered the workforce, I began to declare the favour of God in my job. Every time I was given a new assignment, I proclaimed that the divine favour of God was on me. The company began to prosper and I was blessed financially. By the time I left the company to serve God full-time, my income had increased so that I was in the top 15 per cent of earners in my age group in Singapore.

Today, in your workplace or at home, begin to declare the favour of God by faith. Expect to receive preferential treatment wherever you are. Say, “I am surrounded with the favour of God because of Jesus’ finished work. I have favour before God and man!” And see God’s favour work for you!