Isaiah 53:4-5 portrays two aspects of what the Suffering Servant - our Lord, Jesus Christ - has done to our great benefit.  He has "borne our infirmities" and "was wounded for our transgressions."  

Sins and infirmities.  These two categories of human experience pose questions that call for wisdom and discernment.  What counts, in God's eyes, as sin?  (This question has dimensions that resist easy answers.)  What does he regard as infirmities? What does God forgive and what does he heal?  

A first-step answer is pretty straightforward.  "Infirmities" obviously refers to diseases.  This Isaiah passage says, "He has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases."  Yes.  True.  Is this the end of the story for understanding infirmities?  No.

The Bible also describes sickness of soul, which overlaps with physical illness but also goes beyond it into thoughts, feelings, and resulting behaviors.  Infirmities...