By Kevin Harris, pastor of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Dapto, NSW
When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mark 2:17
Not long ago I heard of an individual who makes an appointment with their GP every three weeks ‘just in case.’
On the other end of the spectrum are some who may boast, ‘I haven’t been to a doctor in years.’
But if they discovered that a tumour was growing, they’d see the doctor.
It’s not that they are healthy. It’s that they think they are healthy and therefore have no need of a doctor.
Notice the words in verse 17: ‘have no need.’ The Lord Jesus has just received criticism from the scribes and Pharisees for eating with publicans and sinners. His response is to say, ‘They that are whole have no need of the physician…’
He is speaking of the Pharisees.
Our Lord is not saying that they were healthy in a spiritual sense, for even this same chapter reveals that they were spiritually sick.
Yet they perceived themselves to be healthy. They didn’t need to visit their doctor because they were just fine.
But they weren’t.
And they thought they were.
Sometimes I too am deluded into thinking I have no need, when in fact I do. I can be like the Laodiceans. The Lord Jesus said to them, ‘Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked’ (Revelation 3:17).
Father, reveal my blindness to my true spiritual condition. Make me aware of my neediness. Help me to join the publicans and sinners of our day who flock to You because we recognise that we need You. Help me to sincerely and strongly sing, ‘I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee.’ I ask in the precious Name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
This article was written by Kevin Harris Wollongong pastor of Illawarra Community Baptist Church.