4 Minute Mile (Mark 9:23; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; Acts 14:7-10)

IMPOSSIBLE MADE POSSIBLE

The 4 Minute Mile: The Impossible made Possible

Many athletes and non-athletes alike, would know the story of how Roger Bannister, on May 6, 1954, did what was previously deemed to be impossible, and ran a mile in less than 4 minutes. Running a mile in under 4 minutes was not only a psychological barrier, but it was touted to be "scientifically" impossible, since it was considered to be physically impossible for the body to be capable of such consistently high speeds. Once Roger Bannister broke the barrier; the very next month, it was broken again, and since that landmark day, over 1400 athletes have run the mile in under 4 minutes.

DO IT!

Just because almost everyone says it can't be done, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. In fact, without striving, to do the impossible, very little of the exploits of physical feats; musical genius; business acumen; and profound scientific revelation, would be reveled in.

DOING IT!

The common motivational saying, is: "Those that say it can't be done, are usually being surpassed by those who are doing it!"

"If you can believe, all things are possible to whoever believes" (Mk. 9:23)

1 PETER 2:24 says,

"Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed"

POSSIBILITY

Before retreating into our religious understanding, and doctrinal position, on this portion of scripture, we need to try opening up our creative awareness, to the possibility of "breaking" the 4 Minute Mile, in relation to this verse, and the reality of it's application to us right now, today.

This verse is quoted from ISAIAH 53:5:

"...He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed" (KJV)

"Yet He was pierced for transgressions that were ours, was crushed for iniquities that were ours. The chastisement for our well-being was upon Him, and by His stripes there is healing for us" (Rotherham)

"t'was for our welfare that He was chastised, the blows that fell to Him have brought us healing" (Moffatt)

"...the chastisement He bore is health for us and by His scourging we are healed" (New English Bible)

"He was chastised that we might have peace; He was lashed - and we were healed" (Taylor)

"But he was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we are healed." (Douay Rheims)

"But He was slain for our sins, He was afflicted for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His wounds we are healed" (Lamsa)

"...certainly He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our sins; By His punishment, we were saved and by His wounds we were healed" (William F. Beck)

"But He was wounded because of our sins, and was made infirm on account of our lawless deeds. The discipline for our peace was upon Him; by His stripe we were healed" (LXX, Apostolic Bible)

"But He was wounded on account of our sins, and was made sick because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and by His bruise we were healed" (LXX, Brenton)

STRIPES

We know that when Jesus was whipped, the flesh was quite literally torn from his body, to the point, that it was a miracle that He didn't die from the scourging, prior to being crucified. The Jews had the practice of 40 stripes, save one. In other words, the Jews would only whip a person with 39 stripes. The Romans had no such restriction.

SINGULAR

It is often construed that this word translated "stripes" refers to that event, but the word is actually singular [i.e., stripe or bruise], and refers to the pooling of blood under the skin, from a blow or strike.

TORN FLESH

We have all had the misfortune of pinching our finger, or part of our skin, and we get a "blood blister", which is representative of what this is referring to. When Jesus was whipped, it was not a blistering or pooling of blood under the skin, which could happen, from a whipping or severe beating; His flesh was literally torn from His body.

INTERNAL

This word refers to His bruise; or His welt; or His stripe (singular). This is representative of something internal that could be observed externally. The scripture says, that by His stripe, we were healed.

PHYSICALLY HEALED

In the LXX, that Peter quotes from, it says that He was wounded or "pierced through" because of our sins, and was made sick because of our iniquities. The chastisement that He endured, brought us peace, and by what happened to Him internally, we were physically healed.

1 PETER 2:24 says He bore, or carried up Himself, to the sacrificial altar [the word "bore" is used of carrying or taking up a sacrifice to an altar, to be offered], our sins, in His body. This is very interesting, because how could Jesus remedy a spiritual condition [sin], by supposedly, containing it, or carrying it, in a "physical", or "material" body of flesh? Something spiritual had to be dealt with at it's origins, in the spirit. However, what He did bear, is the manifestation of that spiritual condition: sickness and disease.

HEALED

I recall a pastors wife, telling the story of how she received healing from the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis. God gave her a vision of when, at the crucifixion, "...there was darkness over all the earth..." (Lk.23:44) [The whole world went black for 3 hours], and He showed her, at that time, Jesus' physical body, twisted and contorted, as every disease known to man, came upon Jesus: part of the devastating effects of sin. She instantly received her healing, following the vision.

PHYSICALLY HEALED

This whole verse, is a declaration of healing, and what happened to Jesus, in carrying our sin, and dying spiritually. He paid the price for us to be delivered from sin, and have a new nature, but He also paid the price for us to be free from the effects of sin; for us to be physically healed.

ACTS 10:38 says, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, with the Holy Spirit, and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all the were OPPRESSED OF THE DEVIL, for God was with Him"

SIN & SATAN

Sickness and disease has it's origin in sin and Satan, our adversary.

Matthew 8:16-17, quoting Isaiah 53:4, says, "...He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah, the prophet, saying, 'He Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses' ".

Notice how the order of events from Isaiah 53:4 are reversed. In Isaiah 53:4 it says:

 "...surely our sicknesses He carried, and as for our pains He bare the burden of them..."(Rotherham)

"...surely our diseases He did bear, and our pains He carried..." (Jewish Publication Society)

"...surely He has taken on himself our sickness and carried our sorrows..." (William F. Beck)

"...surely He has borne our sicknesses and suffered our pain..." (Jubilee Bible 2000)

"Surely our sicknesses He hath borne, and our pains He hath carried them..." (Young's Literal Translation)

REVERSED ORDER

The point is that Matthew 8:17 says, "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses", while Isaiah 53:4 actually mentions sickness/disease first, and then pains/sorrows/infirmities, second. This order is to coincide with the example given in Matthew 8:16 of:

1) demonic deliverance - every kind of mental or demonically tormenting condition, then...

2) physical healing

3 FOLD RESULTS

When Jesus died on the cross, the results were 3 fold:

1) deliverance from sin - new birth

2) deliverance from demonic oppression

3) deliverance from all sickness and disease

ACTS 14:7 says:

 "...and there they preached the gospel" (KJV)

"...there were they announcing the glad tidings" (Rotherham)

"...they continued to proclaim the gospel" (Phillips)

"...there they were announcing good news" (Apostolic Bible)

The scripture goes on to say, that a certain man who was a cripple from birth, "heard Paul speak" (14:9), and Paul perceived that the man "...had faith to be healed" (14:9), so Paul shouted at him, in a loud voice, "Stand up on your feet" (TCNT, 14:10), and the man "jumped up and began walking about" (TCNT,14:10).

FAITH to be HEALED

Question: How did the man have faith to be healed?

Answer: They were proclaiming/announcing/preaching the

              gospel/good news.

FAITH to be SAVED

The word translated "healed" (14:9), is (sozo), 4982, which is elsewhere translated "salvation" or "saved". Paul perceived that the crippled man had faith to be saved.

PREACH the GOSPEL

You have not "preached the gospel", unless the good news of physical healing is part of your announcement, because when you are "saved", you are healed. "By His stripe, you were healed". (1 Pet.2:24)

REALITY

To break this 4 Minute Mile, in our thinking, we must first believe the reality of its very real possibility.

You Are God's Best and God's Best is Yours