THE GREAT PHYSICIAN


A. "THOSE WHO ARE WELL HAVE NO NEED OF A PHYSICIAN, BUT THOSE THAT ARE SICK" - Matt. 9:9-13
  1. The words of our text show that our Lord speaks of Himself as a Physician:
    1. Healing of bodily ailments was the main function of His ministry - Acts 10:38
    2. It consumed the major portion of his time and energy - Matt. 11:5
    3. The physician of the soul is a common picture in ancient thought - Jer. 8:22; Ex. 21:19
  2. The work of a physician was most difficult in ancient Israel:
    1. The prohibition to the Jews to touch dead bodies - Num. 19:11; 31:19
    2. They looked upon sickness as a punishment from God and for a doctor to heal the sick was to set himself against God's just punishment - John 9:1- 3; Luke 13:1-4
B. THE WORK OF A PHYSICIAN
  1. It has been said that the lawyer sees men at their worst, a minister sees men at their best, and the doctor sees men as they are:
    1. That is the only way that he can help the sick.
    2. It would be impossible for him to know what to prescribe without knowing the nature of the ailment.
  2. The physician is the man with the mind and the eye trained to diagnose what is wrong:
    1. He sees signs that a layman cannot see, and he interprets them in accordance of the law of the body.
    2. A cure is impossible unless and until the ailment has been ascertained.
    3. Having seen the man and fully diagnosed the sickness, the physician is eager to prescribe the remedy.
    4. The physician is the man who often will risk his health and life to help the sick to get well.
    5. The patient will and must trust the physician to be healed.
C. JESUS CHRIST THE DIVINE PHYSICIAN
  1. He is incomparable in the fullest sense of the word:
    1. He who made man to begin with knows our mental, moral, and physical difficulties.
    2. Knows and has the remedy for our troubles in his own power.
    3. His loving compassion moves him to bring healing to body and soul - Matt. 9:36; 15:32; Luke 7:32
  2. He uses his own means and his own methods:
    1. Never the same. Compare Mark 10:46-52 with John 9:1-7; Matt. 15:22-28
    2. To the lepers he said, "Go and show yourselves to the priests" - Luke 17:12
    3. To another he said, "Take up thy bed and walk" - John 5:12
  3. He goes to the root of our difficulty:
    1. Sin is the root of difficulties in life, and our Lord saves us from sin, thus prepares the way for the healing of mind and body - Mark 5:1-15; Luke 15:11-17
    2. He and He alone has the power to deliver from the power of sin - Matt. 28:18-20
  4. We, who seek to be healed, must cooperate with the Great Physician:
    1. "Wilt thou be made whole?" - John 5:6-9
    2. "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" - Matt. 13:58; Mark 9:24
    3. "Thy faith hath made thee whole" - Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48; 17:19
    4. "The faith in his name made him whole" - Acts 3:16
  5. It is most wonderful to note that our great Physician combined the forgiveness of sin with the healing of the body: Compare Ps. 103:1-3 with Mark 2:1-14
  6. What has the great Physician done for you and me?
    1. Has He forgiven us our sin?
    2. Does He hear our prayers and heal all our sicknesses?


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