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Matt. 9:10-13 - The sick need a physician


10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

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.”


My translation
Submitted by andrew on Mon, 23/04/2007 - 14:00.

The allusion to Hos. 6:6 LXX (’I desire mercy and not sacrifice’) brings into view the wider context of Hosea’s prophecy. The people of Israel will take their sacrificial animals to the temple, but they will not find the Lord there (Hos. 5:6). He has withdrawn from them until they acknowledge their guilt and seek his face, saying: ’Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him’ (Hos. 6:1-2).

Here is the significance of the saying about the physician. Israel is sick (figuratively) because it is under judgment; if the people repent and turn to the Lord, they will be healed - and significantly will be raised up on the third day to live before God. The tax collectors and sinners perhaps then represent that part of the population that turns to the Lord in their distress looking for healing and resurrection.

The healings in the Gospels are, of course, a concrete prophetic enactment of this forgiveness.


Re: The sick need a physician

Submitted by Virgil on Fri, 24/11/2006 - 18:15.

The healings in the Gospels are, of course, a concrete prophetic enactment of this forgiveness.

Most certainly Andrew. Remember the guy lowered through the hole in the roof by his friends to be healed by Jesus? For a long time I never noticed that the very fist thing Jesus says to him is “Your sins are forgiven” - only then is he actually healing his physical ailment. Great commentary!

Re: The sick need a physician

Submitted by oleg on Tue, 06/02/2007 - 03:53.

Israel is sick per Hosea prophet (see previous comment) , people of Israel at the time of Jesus were sick, but now days?; who is sick now days and who needs a physician now days?? any ideas.

Do the sick still need a physician?

Submitted by andrew on Wed, 07/02/2007 - 00:24.

It’s a good question and one that the historical reading of the New Testament will continually have to address: the more we confine the meaning of the texts to the past, the harder it is to explain their relevance for the church today.

In this case, I think the answer may have to do with how healing works within the different stories that are being told. If we believe it to be the case that God heals people today, the ’miracle’ may not look any different to Jesus’ miracles. But the interpretive framework may be different. In the Gospels the healings appear to have been essentially signs of the renewal of Israel. Now I would argue that they are signs of the renewal of creation: they would be one of the ways in which that fundamental hope is acted out in our midst. The difference may not be great if it is right to think of Israel as being from the outset a ’new creation’.

It is probably important, though, to recognize that if healings are signs, they are not normal or normative. Healing is strictly exceptional - that is part of their prophetic character. They happen not because the Christian has some sort of right to health (as the prosperity gospel may argue) but to point beyond themselves to the final renewal of the cosmos.

Re: The sick need a physician

Submitted by peter wilkinson on Wed, 07/02/2007 - 16:38.

Jeffrey John’s ‘The Meaning in the Miracles’ gives a very good account of the miracles as signs - especially of the inclusion through Jesus of people who tended to be excluded in the religious and social life of Israel - the lame, blind and physically deformed, a woman with bleeding, lepers/those with skin diseases of all kinds, and this in addition to those who were excluded for all kinds of reasons and not needing miracles performed on their behalf - women, children, tax collectors, sinful people of all kinds, including those whose offences would have merited summary execution.

As such the miracles were signs of the kingdom - not just relating specifically to health issues, but in the kingdom’s social and community purposes as well. If the kingdom is allowed to have relevance today, which it should do, since Jesus has been “a king (reigning) in righteousness” since his ascension, one who gave flesh and bones to many of the word-picture prophecies of Isaiah concerning the kingdom, then we should no less expect supernatural means of health recovery, especially on behalf of those who have least access to health care.

The prevalence of healing and supernatural signs in least developed parts of the world may also point to the social/community/justice aspects of the kingdom. They point to what God wants in a society, as much as the individual benefits which supernatural healing may bring. The disadvantaged are at the forefront of God’s intentions, not least in global terms. This is also true of more developed parts of the world - which always have their own share of people who experience injustice and disadvantage.

Re: The sick need a physician

Submitted by tim essex on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 06:58.

do the sick still need a physician? yes, they still do. but i dont take jesus to mean literal healing of sickness. he was talking about sinners and how he came to bring life and forgiveness to the sinners, thus healing those that needed him. i take it to mean that Jesus did not come for those who thought they could make it on their own, who thought their religiousness and works were good enough. he came for the broken and lost sinners. he came to “seek and save those that were lost.” i think this is a beautiful part of the message Jesus brought. yes he came for the world in general, but you can never fully appreciate him unless you first realize your complete brokenness and sinfulness without him. so Jesus went to the sinners who could see their depravity, and were willing to find new life because they knew that they were completely hopeless the way they were. much unlike the pharisees who thought their hypocritical ’religiousness’ was enough to get them right with God.

but does God still use miraculous healings today? i wouldnt rule out the possibility, but i think it is not the norm. much like in the new testament where miracles usually had a specific and temporary purpose.

well those are just my few thoughts. hopefully they were a little bit relevant.

tim

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