The Great Physician

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN

Mark 2: 13-17; Luke 5: 27-35; Matthew 9:9-15

13 “Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.”

Little of the teaching of Jesus was done in the synagogue. The people came to Jesus wherever He was. It may have been the healing and miracles that drew people to Him, but it was the teaching that truly effected people’s lives, both then and now. In the case of this morning’s lesson, He was again at the seaside. Could we teach Jesus on the beach? I think there is a lesson for us in today’s section of verses that we are examining and that it is the need for us to focus outward and not inward. We often get so caught up on the activities of the church and making everything convenient and pleasant for us that we forget our main purpose, and the main purpose of Jesus, to seek and save the lost. Luke 19:10 reads; “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” That was His purpose and if we wear His name, then it should be ours as well. How important is bringing souls to Christ to you?

· The teaching of Jesus changes lives.

· There is nothing more needed today than the teaching of Jesus.

· The purpose of this lesson is to motivate us at Midway to be more zealous in reaching out to the lost all around us.

· Jesus went out. Let us go out from this building and proclaim that Jesus saves.

“He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.” (ESV)

14 “As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.”

· Levi was Matthew

· As He passed by he called Matthew

o How many people do we pass by each day that need Jesus?

o Beginning today, let us be more aware of those around us!

· The Roman system had been to farm out taxes. They assessed a district at a certain figure and sold the right to collect that figure to the highest bidder. Anything he collected over that figure was his and there was much abuse.

· There was a poll tax for everyone from age 12-65. A ground tax which consisted of 10% of produce which could be paid in kind or in money. Income tax was 1% of a person’s income.

· Then there was all kind of duties; using roads, harbors, markets. A tax was payable on carts, on each wheel and on the animal that drew it. If a person could not pay his tax or duty then the tax collector might loan him money at an exorbitant rate of interest. Robbers, murderers and tax collectors were classed together. A tax collector was barred from the synagogue. Yet Jesus chooses a tax collector as an apostle.

“Follow Me”

· Have you heard the call of Jesus to “Follow Him?”

· Mark 1:17-18 “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him”

· It is not hard to follow Jesus and it is the most pleasant journey one can have traveling toward eternity. Others need to know this.

· Do the people around you everyday know that you follow Jesus?

· Luke 5:27-28 “After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

15 “Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.”

· After Matthew received the call and had left everything, he invited his friends and coworkers to meet Jesus.

· His friends also followed the teaching of Jesus because of their friend’s invitation.

16 “And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

· Do you look down on other people? Do you think you are better than others?

· These religious leaders of Jesus day thought they were better than others. They would not talk to or have anything to do with known sinners.

· These religious leaders did not like Matthew and his tax collector friends but they were not particular fond of Jesus either.

17 “When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

· My doctor visits

· We have a great physician who wants us to be healed completely. He wants all to be saved. The Lord is giving us opportunity after opportunity to change our lives and come back to him.

· "Mr. Clark, I'm afraid I have bad news," the doctor told his anxious patient. "You only have six months to live."The man sat in stunned silence for the next several minutes. Regaining his composure, he apologetically told his physician that he had no medical insurance. "I can't possibly pay you in that time." "Okay," the doctor said, "let's make it nine months."

· We have a physician who loves us.

· An evangelist wrote about a wise physician who told a young doctor, "I've been practicing medicine for a long time. I've prescribed many things. But in the long run, I've learned that the best medicine is love."

"What if it doesn't work?" asked the young man. "Double the dose," replied the doctor. If things are tense at home, if you're having trouble with a loved one, if someone has insulted or hurt you, love them anyway. And if that doesn't work, double the dose.

· The righteous as Jesus is referring to here, are those who thought themselves so good that they did not need Jesus, the great physician of love.

· Are you so good that you do not need a Jesus?

· Matthew 9:12-13 “When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

o It is not how many church services that you attend but it is the attitude of the heart that God examines.

o Don’t get me wrong if your heart is right with God then you will want to assemble with His people at every opportunity.

o The point was that it was not the laws and rules but the heart that was important.

· Repentance – the changing of one’s life, to turn to God.

· The Great Physician’s call, is a call to repentance.

· Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

· Bumper sticker: "If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-Turns"

· A woman in Florida had a malignant tumor in the facial area. Her physician told her that the only available treatments would cause much pain and some disfigurement. The treatments did not offer a cure, but they would probably buy her more time. She listened and then said, 'No thanks, doctor, I'm not going to take the treatments.' Somewhat alarmed, he said, 'Look, if you don't take the treatments you are going to die.' With an angelic smile and a steady faith she replied, 'Doctor, I didn't come here to stay.' All of us are transients on this earth -- some here for 90 years, some for 50, and some for less than a year. This life is just a prelude to the main event. That does not mean that this life is unimportant. It just means that the most important thing one can do on this earth is to make reservations for eternity.

How do we turn our focus outward and not inward?

· By sharing Christ with someone who needs him. How many sitting around you in our Bible classes need to hear the basics of Christ?

· Share Christ at our meals.

· Let us focus on those visiting with us.

· Our focus should be more on lost souls than popular issues.

· Our emphasis should be more on seeking the lost than pampering the mature. I spend much more of my time on the congregation than the lost. Should it be so?

· We need a renewed mindset of how we can bring the lost to Jesus.

· When we do get someone we then need a plan to train and keep them close to Jesus.

· We need an outward focus. We need to look beyond the needs of the Midway church of Christ and it’s physical property and see the harvest of lost souls that surround us.

“When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”