The context in Isaiah 53 suggests that the suffering servant's death would heal the nation from its sin (Is 53:4-6, 8-9; compare 1 Pet 2:22-25), a figurative expression frequent in the Prophets (Mt 13:15; Is 6:10; 57:18; Jer 3:22; 6:14; 8:11; 14:19; Hos 14:4). But the broader context of Isaiah shows God's promise for his people's complete wellness in the era of the kingdom (Is 29:18; 32:3-4; 35:5-6), suggesting secondary nuances of physical healing in 53:4-5 as well. The servant's suffering would, after all, restore to Israel all the benefits lost through sin (compare Ex 15:26; Deut 27-28). Thus Matthew cites Isaiah 53:4 to demonstrate that Jesus' mission of healing fulfills the character of the mission of the servant, who at the ultimate cost of his own life would reveal God's concern for a broken humanity.

Matthew himself also recognizes that genuine physical healings can illustrate principles of spiritual healing (9:5-7, 12; 13:15). But we should note the correct caution of D. A. Carson (1984:207):

This text and others clearly teach that there is healing in the Atonement; but similarly there is the promise of a resurrection body in the Atonement, even if believers do not inherit it until the Parousia. From the perspectives of the NT writers, the Cross is the basis for all the benefits that accrue to believers; but this does not mean that all such benefits can be secured at the present time on demand, any more than we have the right and power to demand our resurrection bodies. Because the kingdom is present as well as future, God often heals in the present, but what he does not choose to heal now he has promised to heal in the end (Blomberg 1992:145). More practically than simply quoting a few verses that address healing, we should meditate on biblical examples of healing and what we can learn thereby about how God feels about human pain. By doing so we can develop deeper intimacy in our relationship with Jesus, trusting his compassion, which is the basis for every kind of healing he graciously performs.