“The Great Physician”

The only place I can find in Scripture where Jesus is referred to as a “physician” is in Luke 4:23. In that passage Jesus referred to Himself as a physician as if someone else was calling Him by that designation. “He said to them, “You will surely say to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself…” However, in both song and other literature Jesus is sometimes called the “Great Physician,” and certainly He is. Jesus is able to heal not only the body, but also the soul. There is no greater power than that of healing the “sin-sick soul.” But many people, even good, Bible believing, sincere people refuse to allow Jesus the opportunity to heal their souls of its sin sickness, primarily because they refuse to accept Jesus’ method of accomplishing that great feat.

Please allow me to draw a comparison.

Let’s say that Bob doesn’t feel well. He realizes something is wrong so he goes to a doctor. After an examination and a battery of tests the doctor informs Bob that he has a very serious heart issue. The doctor further informs Bob that the issue, if left untreated, will result in his death. However, the doctor also has some good news. Bob’s condition is very treatable. The doctor informs Bob that he must have an operation that will save his life. In one scenario Bob rejects the doctor’s proffered treatment. As a result Bob dies shortly thereafter. In the preferred scenario Bob accepts the doctor’s recommendations and submits to the suggested operation. Bob submits to the preparations for the operation. He is wheeled into the operating room and the surgeon begins his work. The whole time Bob is merely lying on the operating table. Bob is doing nothing, but much is being done to him.

Once the operation is completed the doctor informs Bob that he must make certain changes in his lifestyle. He must eat healthier food, get regular exercise, and avoid harmful activities such as smoking and drinking alcohol. In one scenario Bob rejects the doctor’s instructions and continues to engage in an unhealthy lifestyle. A short time later, overcome by and submerged in that unhealthy lifestyle, Bob succumbs to death. In a much better scenario, Bob follows the doctor’s recommendations and lives a long, healthy life.

Now, let’s apply those principles to Bob’s spiritual life. Bob realizes that he is lost in sin, so he consults the words of the “Great Physician” (Jesus). He discovers that, in order to be healed of his “sin malady,” he must believe in Jesus as the Son of God (John 8:32), repent of his past sins (Luke 13:3, 5), confess his belief in Jesus before others (Matthew 10:32-33), and be baptized for the remission (taking away) of his sins (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16). In one scenario Bob rejects the “treatment” offered by the Great Physician. As a result, in the Judgment Bob is condemned to the “second death” (cf. Revelation 21:8).

In another scenario Bob does all those things except the last (baptism). He just can’t see the need for it. He wonders about people who have become believers in the last moments of their lives but had no opportunity to be baptized, about how the thief on the cross was saved without baptism (cf. Luke 23:39-43), about the fact that he believes that being baptized is the equivalent of earning a “works salvation,” so he refuses baptism. He fails to realize that baptism is the procedure that removes sin (Acts 22:16, is the “reenactment” of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-7), puts a person into Christ (Galatians 3:27), and saves a person (1 Peter 3:21).

In the preferred scenario, Bob believes (Hebrews 11:6), repents (Acts 2:38), confesses (Romans 10:9-10), and submits to being baptized “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” for the purpose of having his sins remitted/washed away (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38). Bob realizes that by submitting himself to be baptized he is doing nothing more than acting on his faith in the promises of God. He realizes that it is God who is doing the “work” in the process of baptism (Colossians 2:12). Bob realizes he hasn’t “earned” anything. He has merely submitted himself to what the Lord, through the Scriptures, has instructed him to do in the very same way that Bob submitted himself to the treatment his doctor ordered in the aforementioned illustration. Bob has not done anything. However, much has been done to him. Because of Bob’s humble submission to God’s instructions God has “worked on” Bob’s soul, washing it clean from sin with the precious blood of Christ (cf. Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 1:18-19). So Bob has been saved, not by his own merit, but by submitting himself to the Lord’s instructions. He will continue to be saved so long as he continues “in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42) just as those who were baptized at the preaching of Peter, Paul, and others in the first century.