Going to the Doctor

Text: And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Move1: Who likes to go to the doctor?  Story about Dad and his back.  As a proud man, he couldn’t admit to himself, that something was wrong with him, and he needed a doctor’s help to fix it. 

Move2: Who likes to go to the doctor?  The prodding of the examinations, the poking of the needles, the cracking of the backs, the draftiness of the hospital gowns, the sound of the dentist’s drill, the side effects of the drugs that are worse than the problem.  With all these things that we must suffer at the doctors as part of becoming whole again, is it any wonder then, that so many people, like my father, avoid going to the doctor all together.  There is nothing wrong with me, I don’t need to go see a doctor.

Move3: But what happens when the doctor is Christ and in our pride, we tell ourselves, there is nothing wrong with me, we don’t need him?  If we don’t go to the Chiropractor, our back is never going to be healed.  If we don’t go to the doctor, this sinus infection is never going to go away.  If we don’t go to the dentist, our toothache is going to continue to bother us.  If we don’t go to Christ, then we will be forever enslaved to the sinfulness of our unclean spirits. 

Move4: Like the man in Capernaum’s synagogue, like Peter’s mother-in-law, if Jesus, the Great Physician doesn’t get involved, then the man will still be enslaved by the unclean spirit, and Peter’s mother-in-law are never set free.  If both of them do not draw near to Christ, and if Christ does not minister to them both, then there is no healing for either of them.  But not just these two people, Scripture tells us that at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together about the door.  And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; Everyone that was sick either physically or spiritually came to the Great Physician for healing and the Great Physician ministered and healed and casted out.  But the sick, recognized their need for help and drew near to the one most capable to help, Jesus the Great Physician.

Move5: Are we not sick?  Some of us are sick physically, with various types of illnesses and diseases.  But all of us are sick spiritually, with the incurable disease known as sin.  But there is one who in the vastness of his power and authority, has power over our sin-filled unclean spirits, and scripture tells us his name is Jesus.  But the question is will we the spiritually sick, go the one doctor that can cure us?  Will we the ones filled with wickedness and iniquity draw near to the one with the ability to cleanse us from those iniquities and wash us white as snow?  Will we draw near to the one who on the cross took our sin disease upon himself and bestowed upon us the health of righteousness?  Will we come to Christ and be cured, or will we withdraw from Christ and be sick?

Move6: Scripture is proclaiming to us this morning, that there is one who has the power to cure the afflictions of humankind.  There is one who by the power of his blood shed for the sins of all upon Golgotha, there is one who can cure what ails us.  Scripture tells us that there is a Great Physician, who can cure us of the great sickness of sin which plagues us.  But a Physician cannot cure the sick, if the sick never go to the Physician.  A patient cannot be cured unless the patient surrenders and lets the doctor minister them.  So too is it with Christ, unless he gets inside us, he is of no benefit to us.  Tylenol cannot cure our head ache unless it gets into our bloodstream through our stomach, so too can Jesus not cure us unless he gets inside us. 

Move7:  And this is where our faith comes into play.  Because through our faith in Christ, Christ comes to live inside us, through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Faith is how Christ enters into our bloodstream and goes to work healing.  Faith internalizes Christ.  But the greatest obstacle to faith is pride.  The unwillingness to go to the doctor, who alone can and will remove the sickness.  If we can’t go to earthly doctor for something as minor as a cold, how can we go to the heavenly doctor for something as major as our salvation.

Move8: My brothers and sisters in Christ, I personally know what it means to be sick, not just sick physically, but to be sick with sin.  I know the trap of pride to attempt to heal myself.  But no matter how hard we try, we just can’t get there.  The gospel message is that God has created another way, There is one who as Isaiah writes gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.  Even the young will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  We don’t have to be the physician that heals ourselves, in fact we can’t really heal anything.  But God has provided one with the power and authority over all things, including our sin sickness.  And his name is Jesus Christ.  There isn’t one of us who has not and will not faint, there isn’t one of us who has not and will not run out of strength and power.  But God has provided a remedy for our sin, a cure for our sickness, a doctor for us patients, let us all once again go to this doctor in faith, and commit ourselves to his tender, gracious and loving care. And we might just find our strength being renewed, we shall mount up with wings like eagles, we shall run and not be weary, we shall walk and not faint.  Because of his gracious acts as Jesus Christ, To God be the Glory.  Amen!