physician heals the sick. In verse 10, the Scripture tells
us, "...and it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house,"
this was most likely the house of Matthew, the publican who
was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and had spread the feast at his
house, "...and behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down
with him and his disciples. 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 to them, They that behold need not a physician, but they
that are sick. Our Lord Jesus, in this verse
here, rebukes these Pharisees for their self-righteousness.
And at the same time, He reveals to all His purpose of coming
into this world. The purpose of Jesus Christ coming
into this world was to save His people from their sins. He tells him in just a minute,
in just the next verse, he says, "...I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance." Our Lord Jesus Christ came to seek
and to save that which was lost. He came to save sinners. Sinners. And He rebukes them. As often as Jesus rebukes these
Pharisees, He does it in such a way that everyone can understand. May God help me to be such a
preacher as to preach so that everyone can understand. I don't
want to speak above anyone. Our Lord Jesus Christ here tells
us something that is plain, earthy, very understandable. It's self-evident. It is a truth that is so true
that it cannot be disputed. Even from a child can understand. Even a babe can understand this. They that are well do not need
a doctor. But those that are sick need
a doctor. That truth is so self-evident. It needs no other explanation. It is very simple. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus,
didn't He use the same kind of language? You must be born again. He used a earthy thing such as
a natural birth to explain a deep spiritual truth. and he does that here. He does
that in such plain language that he cannot be misunderstood. It's
very easy. This is self-evident. They that
are whole need not a physician but they that are sick. This morning I expressed my hatred
of going to the dentist. Well, A doctor is pretty much
the same thing for me. I just don't care to go to the
doctor. Especially if I feel good. If
I feel fine, I don't need to go to the doctor. Some people
call me a hypochondriac, but that's all right. I mean, that's,
you know, if you're a hypochondriac, you go because you think you're
sick, at least. You think you need a doctor,
and when the doctor sees you, he says, you don't need me. Go
on, you're all right. He sends you away. But if you are sick,
if you're sick and in pain, you know that you need help. You know you need a doctor. You
need a physician. Some of us, again, are too proud
to go. When we feel a little bad, I
had an ear infection and I waited it out. I didn't go. Joanne said,
you need to go to the doctor. You need to go get that taken
care of. In my pride, I waited it out, and praise God, it took
care of itself. I don't need a doctor right now.
I feel fine. Sometimes we're too proud to
go. But I'll tell you what, that infection spread long enough,
and I promise you I'd go. If I felt enough pain, I would
go. And so would you. The same is
true spiritually. This self-evident truth is also
true in a very real and spiritual sense. Do you know that there
are only two types of people in the world? I love the Lord
Jesus Christ teaching because he makes it so plain. There's
not twenty different groups of people. There's not There's two. There's goats and there's sheep. There's wheat and there's tares. There's whole and there's sick. This morning you are one of these
two. You're one of these two. You're either whole and don't
need a physician or you're sick and you need one. There is no
other spiritual ground. There is no half sick, half whole. There's either sick or there's
Not sick. First of all, who are the whole
people? Who are the well people? These
are people who have no spiritual sickness known to themselves. These are people like the Pharisees
who feel that they are righteous. These Pharisees, they ask Jesus,
why is your master sitting with publicans and sinners? If He's so righteous, why is
He sitting with these people? Shouldn't He be sitting with
us? We're worthy of Him. We don't need anything. We're
righteous enough, and if He's righteous, He'd be with us and
not with them. That's what they were saying.
They had no idea what He was here for. They didn't need Him because
they thought they were good enough. These well people are people
who may feel some guilt of sin. They may feel a twinge of guilt.
The Lord Jesus made them feel guilty. Remember when that woman
was cast out there naked in front of Him and committed adultery?
And Jesus, riding on the ground, He said, You that without sin
cast the first stone. What happened? They began to
turn away because their conscience was pricked. They felt a little
guilty. He made them feel just a twinge
of guilt. And they all turned away without
stoning her. They all knew they had sinned. So you may feel a little twinge
of guilt. You may have some physical sickness
or distress in your life that causes you to be concerned about
your soul for a minute. But soon, if you're well, if
you're all right, these twinges of guilt fade away and it heals
all by itself. These men say they need a spiritual
physician, and so they go out and find some man, some priest,
some preacher. Some spiritual person to bind
up their wounds by telling them good and positive things. Isn't
that the modern gospel today is the good and positive? We
don't need to talk about sin. We don't need to talk about all
those... Don't talk about ailments. Just talk about positive things. These whole men find no remedy. in their, they find remedies
in their own sacrifices. These Pharisees that Jesus was
dealing with, they may have had a twinge of guilt, but you know
what made it went away? When they went to the sacrifices.
When they offered those lambs and bulls and goats, they thought
that took away their sin. They thought they did God a service. While others today find the cure in the Lord's table. Some people
find a cure not in a great physician, not in the Lord Jesus Christ,
but they find it in the Lord's table, or they find it in baptism,
or they find it in attending church. They find something,
something physical, something tangible to heal a spiritual
ailment. These people say they have no
need. By doing so, say they have no
need of a physician. Some find their doctor to be
their own free will. They look back at some profession
of faith that they made, and they say, I'm whole, see?
I made a profession. I don't need the Lord Jesus.
Jesus said, go and learn what this means. I will have mercy
and not sacrifice. Sinners, God does not want your
sacrifices. He doesn't want them. God does
not want your fasting or your feasting. God does not want your
goodness or your religious ceremony. Because all we do by nature is
sin. This is all we can do. This is
all man can do, is sin. The truth is, all men are not
spiritually wounded. All men are not spiritually bruised. All men are spiritually dead
in trespasses and sins. Dead. This is the natural man, dead,
because this death was inherited. When you were born into this
world, you were not born spiritually feverish, with some good mixed
with you. You were born completely dead,
dead. Adam was not just the first man,
but he was the first representative. And in the day he sinned and
he died spiritually, even so did every one of his race die
in him. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men. What's the proof? Four. All have
sinned. Have you sinned against God? There's your proof. There's your
proof that you were born dead. This is the reason why we cannot
know God. I can have all kinds of classes.
I can have all kinds of instruction, but one thing I cannot teach
you is to know God. Only God can teach you who He
is. Only God. This is the reason why no man
can come to Christ. No man can come. Jesus said that, no man can come
unto Me. That has to do with ability.
You don't have to be a genius to understand that grammar. Can. Can has to do with ability. You
cannot come unto me except the Father which has sent me draw
you. Draw you. Man does not have the spiritual
flu. He's spiritually dead. And what a physician do we need? What kind of physician do we
need? Our sister Linda went to, what
is it, an oncologist or something like that. Yeah, that treats
cancer. Now if you had cancer, I mean,
you wouldn't go to a pediatrician. I mean, that's handling little
kids. It's not the right doctor. And I tell you, you have such
a problem with sin, you are dead and you need a greater physician
than any man could provide. You need someone to give you
life. Life. And because man is spiritually
dead, therefore all men do is sin. What can a dead man do but stink
up the place? Is that not right? You lay a
corpse here and I don't care how you perfume it, eventually
this place will be so ripe nobody will be able to be in here. It
stinks! And I tell you there's nothing
we can do by our own nature that is not sin. Everything we do
is sin. Sin. Sin. Sin is not what we do as much
as it is who we are. In Romans 3, it tells us plainly,
Romans chapter 3 and verse 10, as it is written,
There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Simply, plainly, nothing we do is good. Paul said, In my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. Sin is what we do because it's
who we are. There are open sinners, there
are those who are openly immoral, and there are secret sinners.
There are those who pretend to be moral. Both are sinners. Is that not
right? Is there any difference Is there
any difference between the most immoral person and the most moral
person? Now, you may receive benefits
by being moral. That's true. If you're a moral
person, you're going to receive more benefits of other people,
but that doesn't do anything for your soul. Because all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. I don't care if you come a little
short or a lot of short. You're short. You've missed perfection. Both are sinners. One defies
openly the glory of God and the other tries to rob God of His
glory. Both are sinners. Therefore, all men truly need
a spiritual physician. All men need it. But you that think you're whole, you don't know your need. They that think they're whole will never have sense to know
their need of Jesus Christ. And they may see Jesus as a helper
to God. You that are whole may think
He can assist you to God along with your will or your works. But truly, you're dead. Truly,
you're dead. and you've not known the great
physician. Such men are dead in professions
of faith. Such superficial wounds need little to make the conscience
whole. These men may feel their guilt
of conscience, but soon they will feel it no more. They say,
I've found Jesus, but I have no more need of him. Have you
heard of people like that saying, oh yeah, I remember when I was
this and I was saved when I was little. Where do you worship? Well, I don't need them anymore. Why? They think they're whole.
They think they're all right. When actually they're dead. Is
this your heart? Are you whole and have no need
of Christ? If this is so, then it's because
you're truly dead. Jesus said, if you were blind,
then you should see. But because you say, we see,
therefore your sin remaineth. Friends, I have no good news
for you that are whole. You that do not have a need for
Christ, I have no message for you other than judgment. Well, who are the sick? Who are
the sick? They that are whole need no physician. Who does? They that are sick. These are the ones that need
a doctor. These who are sick. Say you were in an automobile
accident. Both legs crushed. You're bleeding out. Your mind
is darkened. You fade in and out of consciousness,
and all you can think of is laundry. Is that right? Man, I left the
iron on. Is that what you're thinking?
No. The only thing you think of in
a time like that is, I need help. Help! Help! I need a doctor. I need a doctor. all your thoughts then would
be engaged in one pursuit to have a good physician. Even so it is spiritually all
who are well, all of us who were well, we were
well at one time, weren't we? We who believe in Christ, weren't
we well at one time? Then all of a sudden All of a
sudden, our heart and soul was consumed with our guilt. All
of a sudden, the guilt of our sins broke our heart. Has your heart been broken over
your sin against God? Our minds race with thoughts
of God's holiness and eternal judgment. we knew God was holy and must
punish sin and we were sinners I tell you before the Lord showed
me my sickness I knew everyone else was a sinner but when he
showed me my sickness I knew this I was the sinner I was the
sinner, like the publican I beat on my breast saying, Lord, be
merciful to me, the sinner. I don't know if anyone else was
a sinner, but I was. I was. The sinsick soul that is overwhelmed
with the truth of his deadness and sins He's aware of the righteousness
of God and that all His righteousnesses are His filthy rags. The sin-sick
soul not only sees his soul as full of sin, but also unable
to do anything about it. Listen to me. The Lord Jesus
Christ only heals incurable diseases. Incurable. Sin is an incurable disease. And only the Lord Jesus Christ
will deal with incurable patients. If you can find a cure
somewhere else, go to it. You won't be admitted here. But if you have an incurable
sickness of sin, then Christ said, I came to save you. I came to save you. These are
sin-sick souls with incurable diseases. Go over to Luke chapter
8. I'll read of one. There's many in
here we can read of, but Luke chapter 8. This woman had an
incurable disease. Luke chapter 8, verse 43. And a woman having an issue of
blood twelve years. Imagine that, twelve years. This
woman was bleeding constantly. She couldn't do anything. She saw doctors. She had an incurable
disease. She spent all her living on physicians. Neither could be healed of any. How many people spend all their
living on false, quack physicians? How many people go to doctor,
worldly wise man, who says, you just need to get moral. You just
need some morality. If you just stop doing this,
if you'd stop doing that, and you'd get in the church and you'd
do this, then you would be cured. Some people go to doctor formalist. who says, well, you just need
some ceremony. You need somebody to sprinkle
you with water or juice or whatever. I don't care. You need to be
baptized. You need to go through some ceremony.
Some go to Dr. Feelgood. Well, you just need
to be positive. Man, you got some guilt problems.
All you got to do is be positive about it. Let me just speak some
positive words and you can be cured. Dr. Freewill. all you gotta do is
determined to be cured and then you can be cured quacks false physicians who heal
the daughter of my conscience of the daughter of my people
slightly you see a person that has been
pierced through with the arrow of God's law will not settle
for any of these doctors None of these doctors will cure our
sickness. I tell you the truth, unless
you've spent all you had on these other things, you'll, if you've
been pierced by God's law, you will only grow worse and worse.
You won't get better. If any of these quacks can heal
you, you've never been sick. We who've been sick, none of
these could help us. We have an incurable disease.
And the only one to help us is Jesus Christ. The only physician
we find is by touching the hem of His garment, by faith in Him. When she touched the hem of His
garment, Immediately, she was cured. Immediately, she was cured. Friends, this is the work of
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must bring you
to the end of yourself. He must. The work of the Holy
Spirit is to plow down deep into the ground of the soul, to pull
up every stone of objection, to pull up every thorn and weed
of our works and this world, to plow up the cold dead heart
so that it may be able to receive the seed. If your heart has not
been plowed up by the Spirit, you've never received the seed
of life. This is the work of God. He must
convince us, convict us of our sin. He must. And only the soul whose heart
is tore up can be ready to receive life. Are you sick of sin? Are you beyond hope? Are you helpless to save yourself? If you are, then our Savior said, I came
for you. I came to save you. I tell you, look now, send sick
sinner to Jesus Christ, and He will heal your sickness. How does He do this? What is
the remedy that He uses to heal a dead sinner, to bring a dead
sinner from death to life? Because this is God's way. This
is God's way. In 1 Samuel 2 and verse 6, the
Lord killeth and maketh alive, He bringeth down to the grave
and bringeth up. This is God's way of salvation. This is how He heals. He brings
us to the grave to see our deadness and then He gives us life. How? What does He do? The remedy is
His blood. The remedy is the blood of Jesus
Christ. The hopeless, The hopelessness of our condition
is rooted in our sin and inability to pay an infinite debt. Here's the good news, you sin-sick
sinner. Jesus Christ, by His one offering,
has paid the debt that you and I could not pay. Here's the remedy! Here's the remedy for guilt,
is that He bore our guilt before God. And God poured out all His justice
on him so that we might go free. This is the remedy. This is the
remedy is His blood. His blood alone satisfies the
justice of God. His blood alone has blotted out
our transgressions as a thick cloud. Oh, cry out to Christ. If you're sick, not a little sick, if you're
completely dead, call out. Call out to Him. Believe on Him. Do you feel your disease? Are you sick beyond your own
help? and believe on Christ alone, repent of these other foolish
doctors and go to Him and He will give you life. This is why
He came. This is His purpose. If you are
a sinner whose whole head is sick, whose wound, whose soul
is full of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, Jesus ready
stands to save you full of pity joined with power. I tell you
what, I need pity. I need mercy. Do you need mercy? Do you need mercy? I need mercy. I need mercy. Do you find anywhere, do you
find anywhere that someone came with an incurable disease to
the Lord or that the Lord found incurable that he could not heal? that he did not heal. Think of
the woman that was bent over for those many years, 18 years
she was bent over and couldn't get up. The Lord Jesus healed
her in a moment. A man sat at 38 years sat at a pool waiting
for the water to be stirred and the Lord Jesus Christ came and
healed him. A man who was born blind healed him. He heals incurable
sicknesses. It's curable sicknesses of sin.
He's able to heal every one of you. Yes, but is He willing? I tell you, He's more willing
to save you than you are to be saved. Matter of fact, if you're willing
at all, I tell you that he's already begun to work. Isn't
that the evidence? That his people shall be made
willing in the day of his power. But I'm not more willing than
he is. He was more willing and able to save me. He is able and
willing to save sinners. And lastly, the great physician,
our Lord Jesus Christ. He not only came to save the
sick, to heal the sick, to call sinners to repentance, but I
tell you that He is a very thorough physician. A thorough physician. Jesus, when He was washing the
disciples' feet, Peter said, No, Lord, don't wash my feet.
I need to... No. And Jesus said, if I don't
wash your feet, you have no part with me. And he said, oh, Lord,
wash my whole body then. I need to be washed. And he said,
no. You need only say, wash your feet, and you'll be clean every
whit. Now, physically, that doesn't
make any sense, does it? My kids, I make them go and take
a shower. Oh, I've got to go take a shower.
If I told them, hey, all you need to do is wash your feet
and your whole body will be clean. Does that make any sense? No.
No. He was spiritually doing something
that was a spiritual picture here. The Lord Jesus Christ,
when He comes to the sin sick soul, He does heal us every wit
in that He gives us a new heart, a new nature, a new life, so
that we love Him, we serve Him, we believe on Him, we trust Him
with all our salvation. But I tell you what, we still
have this old man, don't we? Now I know this, I'm clean every
whit before God. But as I walk through this world,
I know I still have this old man, this old nature that dirties
my conscience. Isn't that right? This is why
the Lord told us through John, confess your sins and He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us. To cleanse
us. That's what He does. He cleanses
our conscience by looking to His blood and His merit This old nature, it's still just
as filthy as it was, and it dirties my conscience, but I tell you,
our Lord Jesus Christ is very thorough to press out all the
sores of this old man. The prophet Ezekiel was taken
by visions into these rooms, and every room that he went in,
the next one was always worse than the one before. Is that
not so with you, believer? that you have not become better
in your own estimation? What has the Lord done? Were
you any worse to begin with? No. He's just showing you what
you really are. And every time He brings us and
gives us a little more light into just how wicked we are by
nature. Why does He do that? Why does
the physician lance the boil to draw out the pus? And that's what our Lord does
for us. He refines the gold by drawing
the draws to the top and scraping it off. Not that the gold is
any better. The gold was always gold. The
dross was always dross. And as we grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we see exactly, we see more of
His great work on our souls. Do you not need him more today
than you did when you first started, when you first believed? I need
that great physician more today than I ever have before. I need him. And anyone who's
ever been healed of this physician will need him until we are fully
perfected in his glory. What are you? Are you whole? Are you sick? If you're sick, go to Christ,
the great physician. And we who have been to Christ
still come to Christ. We still. That's how we live.
We live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself
for us. May God be pleased to save sinners. Let's stand. We'll be dismissed in prayer.