The Good Doctor
Doctors, nurses, and physicians have always been held in high esteem. Last week in our discussion on the body, soul, and spirit we saw that the spirit is dead until we accept Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation. So it goes without saying that God is the greatest physician that has ever and will ever exist. I have always loved Jesus response to the Pharisees after He had been healing individuals.
“12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:12-13
This is such a short response but it is a very powerful one indeed. Even in today’s world, we do not go to a doctor unless we are sick. What the majority of people fail to realize is that underneath their good or poor health, is a much deeper sickness. Unless you have accepted Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation, your spirit is dead. In order for your spirit to be brought to life you need a doctor. None other than Jesus Christ.
Those who view themselves as righteous, who fail to grasp the significance of sin, and who believe that their works are what makes God pleased with them, fall into the group that Jesus is talking about here. They view themselves as “well” and have no need for a physician. It is the same group that Jesus describes in Luke 18, “9 Now He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14. Those who lift themselves up have no need for a physician because they believe that they are well. Until these people recognize how dead their spirit is, there is unfortunately no hope for them. They cannot be saved because they don’t recognize that they need to be saved in the first place.
The second group of people that Jesus describes in Matthew 9:12-13 are the ones that have recognized that their spirit is dead, and they need someone to revive it. These are the people that recognize that they can do nothing more to add onto salvation than to just accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They understand what Jesus meant when He said, “13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’” Matthew 9:13a. This quote comes from Hosea 6:6, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” To break down the “meat” of this passage you would see that it means that God does not want your works, they will never be enough. Instead God wants you to simply recognize and acknowledge Him. He wants you to understand that your spirit is dead and only the greatest physician could bring it to life.
Today’s society has placed a lot of emphasis on physicians, but no matter what these earthly doctors do they cannot fix one important issue. They cannot bring the spirit to life. Jesus Christ’s simple three sentence response to the Pharisees holds so much more value than people realize, and He has not changed. He is still calling to those who realize that they are dead and it is only through Him can they gain life. “24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Matthew 5:24. This was done so that no one could boost on their own righteousness, only the righteousness of Jesus Christ, “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. For those who are reading this who are like the Pharisees and believe that they are righteous on their own, I ask that you take a deeper look into the scriptures and see that God does not want your sacrifices or your “good deed”. He simply wants you to acknowledge Him. For those that have reached this point, I ask that you call out to God and know that He hears you, He will answer you, and you will see how once you were dead but now you are alive.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex