And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. – Matthew 9:11-12
We have doctors for everything in our modern world. The American Association of Medical Colleges list over 135 medical specialties that a person could study. I didn’t read the entire list and I suspect you probably won’t either. However, this just gives us a small idea of the number of things a person can be dealing with.
We can search and find how mental health disorders are on the rise, heart health is the leading cause of death in the United States, how physical health and body weight, and the list goes on. Physical health is easily seen, mental and emotional health however isn’t. While Jesus healed people of their physical problems, He did so much more! There is a specialty that isn’t covered in that list I linked above, which is spiritual health.
Jesus can heal someone physically, but far more important than that was His healing of them spiritually. Jesus is the only way for us to have true spiritual healing through salvation. The verses in Matthew 9 are Jesus comparing the publicans and sinners with the Pharisees. Those that sought out the Physician were sick and needed Him! Others didn’t see the need and didn’t look for Him.
Let me ask you this, if you are sick or injured, would you seek out the assistance of a local doctor? In most cases, I believe we would if the severity warranted the need. Now let me ask you, if you are feeling fine and nothing wrong, would you go visit your doctor for no reason? Not considering regular checkups with your doctor, I doubt many of us would!
Here is the explanation of this analogy. When we have regular check-ups and see our doctor, it is to ensure we are in good physical health. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day, did not see a need to have a check-up with the spiritual doctor. They saw their religion and works as being in good health. Those that were “sick”, the publicans and sinners, went to see the Physician that could help them with their needs. They knew and understood they were sick and were looking for an answer.
The question is, when was the last time you went for a spiritual check-up? It isn’t a requirement but the Physician has no wait time and no appointment requirements. You simply have to call out to Him in prayer and He will be with you. If you have the need for salvation, He can help. If it’s that you’ve grown distant, He can help. Or even if you have turned your back on Him, He doesn’t have penalties or dismiss you from the practice like a regular doctor might. Our Physician will take you back in.
We need to schedule some checkups with our spiritual Physician. When we schedule those checkups, we can check how our prayer life is, how our Bible reading is going, and many other elements of our spiritual wellbeing. Just like our regular doctors, we have to make an effort and talk to them to ensure everything is alright.
Author Nick Dyson is the host of the Modern Age Christian Podcast.