The Great Physician

A good physician understands that they aren’t just called to treat symptoms, they are called to heal sickness. There should be a saying in the medical field that ears are more important than stethoscopes. Unfortunately, sometimes a doctor's attention is more on the process than on the patient. Think of the doctor adjusting the X-ray machine to get the perfect shot while the patient sits in complete discomfort or pain. Or the doctor who relies heavily on diagnostic tools like MRI, lab tests, or digital monitors, and orders a battery of tests without taking the time to ask detailed questions or understand the experience of the patient. Has that ever happened to you?

Many people talk about the profoundness of Jesus touching the leper. Did Jesus have the ability to heal the leper by merely looking at him and speaking the healing into existence? You bet. Why, then, did the creator of the universe decide to reach out and touch the man with leprosy? You see, at that time many people (wrongly) believed leprosy was a sort of divine punishment; they believed the person was not only physically unclean but spiritually unclean as well. This resulted in severe ostracism and discrimination towards those with leprosy. When Jesus touched this man, He wasn’t touching the leprosy, He was touching the man behind the condition. And He wasn’t just restoring him physically, He was restoring his dignity, his place in society, his broken heart, and most importantly his relationship with God.

Jesus is the great physician, the one who doesn’t just heal the physical but the mental, emotional, and spiritual as well. Imagine the loneliness of the man with leprosy, the last time he had ever even touched another person, it had probably been so long that he forgot what it felt like. That is until Jesus reached out and touched him. Jesus doesn’t just treat, He heals. When the paralyzed man was lowered down on a bed before Jesus, He didn’t just heal the paralyzed body, He healed him spiritually as well. Jesus touches us in our most desperate places, not only the physical but the spiritual. Jesus is the great physician who wants to heal and restore us in our deepest needs.

Questions to ask yourself:

1. In what ways can I let Jesus touch my life (do I need healing physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually)?

2. Do you believe, not that Jesus can, but that He will heal you?

What’s next?

1. Reflect on these verses over the next week and remind yourself that His touch is always available to you and that He is willing to heal, forgive, and restore!

2. Jesus’ authority to heal us is not bound by our limitations, so step out in faith and go to Him with a bold expectation to be healed.

Pray this prayer

Jesus, I humbly present myself to you, knowing that I am in the hands of the great physician. You care deeply about the suffering caused by my ailments, whether they be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. I know you are capable of healing them all. Thank you, Lord, for being a healer who not only brings recovery but peace and restoration as well.