10 Key Bible Verses on Healing

This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series.

All commentary notes adapted from the ESV Study Bible.

1. Psalm 103:2–5

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
      and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
      who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
      who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
      so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Read More

Bless the Lord, O My Soul, and Do Not Forget His Benefits. Each member of the worshiping congregation urges himself to bless the LORD, i.e., to speak well of him for his abundant generosity. Thus forget not all his benefits is a crucial step in blessing the Lord, and the body of the psalm lists these benefits in order to bring each singer to an admiring gratitude.

Heals often refers to curing someone from a physical sickness, but it can also be used as a metaphor for restoring the moral and spiritual life (e.g., Isa. 6:10; 53:5; Jer. 3:22; Hos. 14:4). Since it is in parallel with forgives, the metaphorical use may be intended here. Thus iniquity is like diseases, which weaken and corrupt; it is God’s mercy that takes them away. These sentiments reflect David’s own experience of God’s forgiveness (cf. 2 Samuel 12; Psalm 51).

2. 3 John 2

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. Read More

Wishes for good health were standard in the openings of ancient Greek letters, but John prays for Gaius’s health and also expresses care for his soul. Though spiritual growth can come through sickness and affliction (cf. Ps. 119:67, 71), it is right to pray for good health, as Jesus’ earthly healing ministry also demonstrated.

3. Acts 4:29–30

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. Read More

Their prayer for boldness in witness shows a determination to directly disobey the command of the Sanhedrin. They do not pray against those who persecute them but pray for their own faithfulness in witness.

and signs and wonders are performed. The believers do not hesitate to pray that God would work more miracles as they continued proclaiming the gospel. Such a prayer does not indicate deficient faith but is rather an evidence of their strong belief that God would work in their midst in an immediate way that authenticates the gospel.

4. James 5:14–16

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Read More

James begins with those suffering (A), then addresses the cheerful (B), and concludes with those who are sick (A). He alludes back to James 1:2, where the one under trial was to “count it all joy.” Though “sick” (Gk. astheneō) can also mean “to be weak” (even spiritually weak, as in Rom. 14:1), when used (as it is here) without any qualifiers, it usually refers to physical sickness. Elders were pastors and overseers (cf. Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5, 7; 1 Pet. 5:1–2), known for wisdom and maturity, who functioned as leaders in the churches. This provides evidence for a plurality of elders in all the churches to which James was writing, for he simply assumes a sick person could call for “the elders of the church.” Some think that anointing . . . with oil was medicinal or sacramental (as in Roman Catholic extreme unction at death), but it is best seen as a symbol representing the healing power of the Holy Spirit to come upon the sick person (cf. the use of “anointing” for symbolic consecration to God’s use and service, both in the OT [Ex. 28:41] and in the NT [Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38; 2 Cor. 1:21; Heb. 1:9]). In the name of the Lord means it is God, not the oil, that heals.

5. Malachi 4:2

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Read More

Just as the sun drives away darkness and clouds, bringing light and joy, so the sun of righteousness will appear to dispel gloom, oppression, and injustice. For the image of the rising sun applied to a great visitation from God, cf. Isa. 60:1–2; for the recognition that the birth of John the Baptist had ushered in this expected era, see Luke 1:78. The “righteousness” brought by this “sun” includes both judgment on evildoers and reward for those who are righteous in their deeds. Its wings are a poetic image for the rays of this sun, bringing healing to all who come under its influence. Some suggest that ancient Near Eastern depictions of a winged sun disk are reflected in the image. Malachi’s readers probably would have thought this image predicted the sudden appearance of God himself, who is elsewhere compared to the sun (Ps. 84:11; Isa. 60:19–20; cf. Ps. 27:1; Isa. 60:1; Rev. 21:23). But Christian interpreters throughout the history of the church have understood this prophecy to be fulfilled in Christ, who is “the light of the world” (John 8:12; cf. John 1:4–6).

6. Psalm 34:18–19

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
      and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
      but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Read More

The Lord Cares for Those Who Trust Him. The final section speaks generally about how the Lord cares for his faithful ones—i.e., it does not recount specific instances as Ps. 34:4–7 do. There is also a stress here on the difference between the way God treats the faithful and the wicked. The Hebrew expressions brokenhearted and crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18) refer to the pride and stubbornness in one’s heart being humbled (cf. Ps. 51:17; Ps. 69:20; Ps. 147:3). The psalm is clear that both the righteous and the wicked will have afflictions (see the repetition in Ps. 34:19, 21); the difference is in the outcomes (none . . . condemned, Ps. 34:22; and condemned, Ps. 34:21). It is possible that John 19:36 has combined Ps. 34:20 (he keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken) with Ex. 12:46 to emphasize that Jesus was not only the Passover Lamb but also a righteous sufferer whom God would vindicate.

7. Matthew 4:23

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. Read More

The Galilee region had a population of about 300,000 in 200 or more villages and towns, with no major cities in the area. Jesus’ ministry included teaching disciples and those already familiar with his message, proclaiming truth to those unfamiliar with the message, and healing physical, emotional, and spiritual infirmities. Healing of every disease and every affliction gives an amazing foretaste of the age to come, where there will be no more disease (1 Cor. 15:42–43; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 21:4). Jesus combined ministry that met people’s physical needs with ministry to their minds and hearts (proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom).

8. 1 Peter 2:24

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. Read More

Tree was often used as a synonym for “cross” in first-century Judaism, possibly due to association with Deut. 21:22–23 (cf. Gal. 3:13; also Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; and see note on crucifixion at Matt. 27:35). The unique, substitutionary, sin-bearing death of Jesus is described here, with allusions to Isa. 53:4, 5, 11. healed. The healing in the atonement does not refer to physical healing in this context (though cf. Matt. 8:17) but to the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ death should lead to a profound change in the lives of believers, so that they now sever all ties with evil (die to sin) and devote themselves to living in a holy manner (live to righteousness).

9. Isaiah 53:5

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. Read More

But contrasts with “our” incomprehension in Isa. 53:4b. The servant’s anguish was “our” fault, not his own. our transgressions, our iniquities. His sufferings went to the root of all human woe (cf. Matt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24). pierced, crushed, chastisement, wounds. Isaiah emphasizes how severely God punished the rejected servant for the sins of mankind.

10. Revelation 21:4–5

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Read More

By wiping away every tea and eliminating death, mourning, and pain (Isa. 25:8; 65:19–20), God will reverse the curse that entered the world through human sin.

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