The Great Physician

When Jesus sat down to eat with publicans and sinners, the Pharisees asked his disciples derisively, "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" To this Jesus replied, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." People just don't normally go to see a physician because they are well, but rather they go when they are sick. When God's people see themselves as sinners they begin to see themselves needy of a physician who can take care of their sin problem. Jesus is that great Physician.

Jesus demonstrated his power to heal by the many miracles he performed. He caused the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak. He caused the lame to walk; he restored the shriveled limbs; he healed the lepers; he cast out devils; he cured all manner of sicknesses and diseases. Moreover, he raised the dead. Jesus specialized in what many would consider the impossible, such as, giving sight to a man born blind; healing lepers; restoring shriveled limbs, and causing the dead to come alive.

Jesus went far beyond physical healing as the great Physician. He healed us of our sin condemnation problem. This principle is taught in 1 Pet. 2:22 24, "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." I don't find the scripture to teach or to illustrate that Jesus did partial cures, but rather when he healed, his healing was complete. Jesus, at the cross, healed us of our sin condemnation problem. We, because of his healing, no longer stand condemned of our sins before God.

Next, according to Ps. 147:3, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." When the publican came to the temple to pray, he smote upon his breast and cried out, "God be merciful to me a sinner." When God's elect feel the burden of sin guiltiness upon their heart, their heart being broken by their own condemnation of mind, and they cry out unto God, Jesus brings the light of understanding to their minds that they may see themselves forgiven through the atoning blood of Christ, and thus their hearts are healed and they can go on their way feeling themselves justified by a Just and Holy God. Isaiah in his experiences illustrated this concept in Isaiah chapter 6. When he cried out, "Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." His heart remained broken until the seraphim laid a live coal upon his lips and proclaimed "Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." Yea, often we see where Christ uses the gospel message to bring healing to our broken hearts.

Jesus also heals us in our daily attempts to walk in discipleship.  According to Hebrews 12:6 13 God uses chastisement to turn his people away from a lifestyle of sin unto a walk of obedience and discipleship.  Verses 12 and 13 read, "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." Thus the design of God's chastisement is to heal us of our sins and errors, so that we may "yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

One of the duties of a physician is to prescribe medication to his patients. In 2 Chron. 7:14 we have a medication prescribed to us that when followed will result in healing: "If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." While the first application of this would have been to Israel, yet the example of this working is found in the book of Jonah where the Ninevites at the preaching of Jonah, humbled themselves, prayed, sought the Lord's face, and turned from their wicked way. Consequently, God heard from heaven, forgave their sin and healed their land.

God's people are to pray for one another for healing. James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Some have gone beyond the text to suggest this is speaking of physical healing. However, the subject of the text is "our faults." We are to pray for one another that we may be healed of our faults. Who among us doesn't have faults that we need to be healed from? Remember this isn't just a formal exercise as we are told "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Furthermore, our great Physician has so designed that the lives of his disciples may be the healing medication for others. In Rev. 22:1, 2 we read, "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."  In comparison to this figurative language the word of God proceeds forth from the throne of God as a pure river flowing to nourish the Lord's church (tree of life). The church yields her fruit and the lives of her members (leaves of the tree) brings healing to the nations of those which are saved (Rev. 21:24).

Finally, the gospel is our "balm of Gilead" to heal our lives from the service of sin. This principle is illustrated in Ezek. 47:1 12. In this passage wherever the (gospel) waters went forth they brought forth healing. Similarly, when the gospel is preached in power and demonstration of Spirit and is received into the hearts of God's people it serves to bring forth healing into their troubled lives. What a great Physician we have. His name is Jesus Christ.