A Reason Behind Sickness
Feb 23, 2015
Mark 2:17 "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'"
I've never fully understood the statement Jesus made about only the sick needing a doctor. It seems rather obvious and Jesus rarely stated the obvious. Of course sick people need a doctor. Jesus spoke in parables like the one about the woman who lost a coin in her home. He spoke in idioms like the one about a camel fitting through the eye of a needle. Seldom did He remark about the unremarkable. His statement about only the sick needing a doctor, if you compare it to all of His recorded statements, seems out of character....unless there is actually more to it. While I'm not in the habit of adding to Scripture, if more is there, I'd like to uncover it. I speculate we never fully dive deeper into this one specific statement because it does seem so obvious.
In reading the one verse and the verses surrounding it, you find Jesus was almost at the height of His ministry. Thousands of people were flocking near Him just to hear Him speak or hopefully heal an incurable disease. Four men had just lowered a paralytic through the roof and Jesus forgave the man's sins before healing the paralysis. The pharisees were witnesses to all this. After forgiving someone's sins and healing an incurable disease, He then went to have dinner with a tax collector (considered the chief of sinners). A man who had God-like qualities of forgiving sins and healing miracles was then seen hanging out with the scummiest of scums. It didn't make sense. This is the moment when Jesus made the obvious statement of only the sick needing a doctor. He was really saying if there was no sickness (no incurable diseases) and if there were no sin (no pardon required), then there would be no need for Jesus. In other words, sickness and sin are the only reason we need Jesus. It is the context of our current situation, that we cannot change, from where we reach out in need of a savior.
This is also why He said it was easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to make it to Heaven. The rich man can buy anything He wants, what use is a savior to Him? He has all He needs with no perceived need of a savior. Consider this: if there are no large bodies of water, then there is no need to learn how to swim. If there is constant sunshine and heat, why would someone need a snow shovel or even know of a snow shovel's intended use? I am not thankful for pain in this life but it makes me painfully aware of my need for Jesus. Sickness (physical or spiritual), though it is deplorable, creates in us the need for Him.
If the Lord placed you in a utopian environment, then you would never come to realize Jesus. This original utopia was the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve never had a use for a savior. As soon as they left the Garden, the need for a savior was imminent. In your sickness, the need of your situation, you become aware of your need for Him. If you could heal yourself, your salvation would come from yourself. If you could fix your problems, your need for Jesus would cease. Last I checked, each and everyone of us needed a savior.
Don't take my word for it; look it up: Ps 143:2, Is 45:21, Matthew 9:1-13, Romans 3:9-11, 1 John 1:8
Mark 2:17 "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'"
I've never fully understood the statement Jesus made about only the sick needing a doctor. It seems rather obvious and Jesus rarely stated the obvious. Of course sick people need a doctor. Jesus spoke in parables like the one about the woman who lost a coin in her home. He spoke in idioms like the one about a camel fitting through the eye of a needle. Seldom did He remark about the unremarkable. His statement about only the sick needing a doctor, if you compare it to all of His recorded statements, seems out of character....unless there is actually more to it. While I'm not in the habit of adding to Scripture, if more is there, I'd like to uncover it. I speculate we never fully dive deeper into this one specific statement because it does seem so obvious.
In reading the one verse and the verses surrounding it, you find Jesus was almost at the height of His ministry. Thousands of people were flocking near Him just to hear Him speak or hopefully heal an incurable disease. Four men had just lowered a paralytic through the roof and Jesus forgave the man's sins before healing the paralysis. The pharisees were witnesses to all this. After forgiving someone's sins and healing an incurable disease, He then went to have dinner with a tax collector (considered the chief of sinners). A man who had God-like qualities of forgiving sins and healing miracles was then seen hanging out with the scummiest of scums. It didn't make sense. This is the moment when Jesus made the obvious statement of only the sick needing a doctor. He was really saying if there was no sickness (no incurable diseases) and if there were no sin (no pardon required), then there would be no need for Jesus. In other words, sickness and sin are the only reason we need Jesus. It is the context of our current situation, that we cannot change, from where we reach out in need of a savior.
This is also why He said it was easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to make it to Heaven. The rich man can buy anything He wants, what use is a savior to Him? He has all He needs with no perceived need of a savior. Consider this: if there are no large bodies of water, then there is no need to learn how to swim. If there is constant sunshine and heat, why would someone need a snow shovel or even know of a snow shovel's intended use? I am not thankful for pain in this life but it makes me painfully aware of my need for Jesus. Sickness (physical or spiritual), though it is deplorable, creates in us the need for Him.
If the Lord placed you in a utopian environment, then you would never come to realize Jesus. This original utopia was the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve never had a use for a savior. As soon as they left the Garden, the need for a savior was imminent. In your sickness, the need of your situation, you become aware of your need for Him. If you could heal yourself, your salvation would come from yourself. If you could fix your problems, your need for Jesus would cease. Last I checked, each and everyone of us needed a savior.
Don't take my word for it; look it up: Ps 143:2, Is 45:21, Matthew 9:1-13, Romans 3:9-11, 1 John 1:8
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