Physician, heal yourself. (Luke 4:22-30)
Today we will spend some time in Luke 4:22-30. In our last lesson Jesus delivered his sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth. He has shown that he himself will fulfill the Messianic prophecies in the prophet Isaiah. The prophecies are being fulfilled. This is good news. But things are going to turn sour very quickly. You might be surprised to learn that the scribes and Pharisees were not the first to try to kill Jesus during his ministry. Not the chief priests. Not the Sanhedrin. And not Pilate. The first people who tried to kill Jesus during his ministry were those from his very own synagogue. The very synagogue where he grew up. And it was on the Sabbath day, the day the Jews were to keep holy.
Now Luke 4:22-30.
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. How gracious: freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, the oppressed set free.
But then they begin to ask, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” His father was a carpenter. And Jesus is a carpenter. They have their doubts. And Jesus knows that they have their doubts.
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
Jesus knows the hearts of men. He knows where this is going. You will say to me, “Physician, heal yourself.” You will say to me, “Show us miracles like you have done in Capernaum.” (23)
Physician heal yourself. A very common proverb. It is found among the ancient rabbis and the Greeks. Even the Chinese had their own version.
“Physician, heal yourself!” One Greek way of saying it was: A physician for others, but himself covered with sores.” (Euripides, c. 450 BC). Or, Jewish: “Physician, physician, heal your own limp.” (Genesis, Rabbah 23:4)
Physicians are expected to heal themselves. I go to a doctor’s clinic. The receptionist takes my information and asks me what the problem is?
And I say, “Well, I have acne. My face is covered with pimples.”
In a few minutes the doctor comes out to get the next patient. And the doctor is covered with acne. The specialist in acne is covered with acne.
Physician, heal yourself. Heal acne. Heal your limp.
Jesus, you have come to us. You say that you are the Messiah. You say the Spirit of the Lord is upon you. Show us. You say that you are anointed. Show us. You say that you were sent to heal the blind. We know that you are a carpenter. So, show us that you can do what you say you can do. We have heard, but we have not seen. Show us. Do some miracles. Like you have done in Capernaum. Physician, prove yourself.
Well Matthew and Mark say that Jesus did a few miracles in Nazareth. Laid his hands on a few people in Nazareth and healed them. But, it wasn’t much. Nothing spectacular like in Capernaum. (Matt. 13:58; Mark 6:5, 6) (Note: some scholars think Matthew and Mark are recording a later visit to Nazareth)
Spectacular miracles!
Capernaum is where the disciples had caught a miraculous catch of fish. (Lk. 5-11)
Jesus healed Peter’s mother in law (Mt. 8:14, 15)
Jairus’ daughter raised back to life. (Lk. 8:40-56)
And he healed the woman with a bleeding disease. (Lk. 8:42-48)
Those are spectacular miracles!
The paralytic was let down through the roof, forgiven and healed and went home rejoicing. (Lk. 6:17-26)
In Capernaum Jesus healed a man with a withered hand (Matt. 12:9-13 )
He healed two blind men who were following him and asking for mercy. (Mt. 9:27-31)
Jesus healed the centurion’s servant and said, “I have not found such great faith in all of Israel.” (Lk. 7:1-10)
But in Nazareth, “he did not do many miracles because of their lack of faith.” (NIV, Matt. 13:58)
Jesus laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. “He was amazed at their lack of faith.” (NIV, Mark. 6:5,6)
A few healings, but not the great number done in Capernaum.
No Prophet is Accepted
And then Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his own hometown.” (NIV, Luke 4:24)
There is a long line of prophets who have gone before Jesus.
A history of Jews rejecting prophets. Persecuting prophets. Killing prophets.Jewish history says that Jewish prophets are not accepted by the Jewish people.
Prophets like Elijah. And prophets like Elisha. “I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.” (NIV, Luke 4:25)
She was not a Jew. She was a Gentile.
“And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet none of them was cleansed––only Naaman the Syrian.” (NIV)
Elijah was rejected by unbelieving Jews. Like King Ahab and Jezebel. When God called Elijah to go and help the widow, he was living in a ravine. Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning. And again in the evening. Fed by ravens. Rejected by Ahab. Rejected by Jezebel.
A time of draught and hunger. A lot of hungry widows. Jewish widows. Gentile widows.
But the Lord did not send Elijah to help the Jewish widows. Elijah was sent to help a Sidonian woman. A Gentile. No food for the Jews. Food for the Gentile. (1 Kings 17:7-16)
And Elijah performed a miracle. He had her take some flour and some oil from her jug and make him a loaf of bread. After she gives him the bread, he tells her that the flour will never run out. And her oil will never run out.
So every day she made food for her family. And, food for Elijah. And it did not run out until the famine ended. This blessing did not fall upon a Jew. It fell upon a Gentile. Later, Elijah raised her son from the dead. (1 Kings 17:17-24).
And the same with Elisha. Elisha was sent to Naaman the leper. The commander of the Syrian army. There were a lot of Jewish lepers. But Elisha was sent to a Gentile leper. Elisha told Naaman to dip himself in the Jordan River seven times. Literally, he told him to baptize himself seven times in the Jordan River. And Naaman did. He baptized, he immersed, himself seven times. And Naaman was healed. (1 Kings 5:1-15) His leprosy was gone. And Naaman declared, “Now I know that there is no God in all of world except in Israel.” (15)
So Elijah and Elisha were sent to help Gentiles. What do Elijah and Elisha have to do with these Jews in this synagogue in Nazareth? Well, they are thinking: Show us the miracles like you have done in Capernaum. Show us miracles. This is your hometown. Do them here.
There is a reason that I am not doing miracles here. Do you want to know why I do miracles there, but not here? For the same reason that Elijah was sent to Sidon to use his miracle working power to feed a hungry Gentile widow, but was not sent to feed Jewish widows. It has to do with belief and unbelief.
Why in Capernaum but not in Nazareth? For the same reason that Elisha was sent to Syria to use his miracle working power to heal a Gentile commander of leprosy, but he was not sent to any Jewish lepers.
No Jewish widows because of unbelief. No Jewish lepers because of unbelief. No Nazareth miracles because of unbelief.
The people were furious. They were angry. They got up. Drove Jesus out of the synagogue. Out out of the town. Took him to a hill to throw him off of a cliff. How dare you? You have said that Capernaum is more noble than Nazareth. You even said that some Gentiles are more noble than your own hometown.
The Day of Vengeance
The day of the Messiah was to be a day of blessing. It was also to be a day of vengeance! Let’s go back for a minute to Isaiah 61:1, 2. The verses Jesus read. Jesus read some of the verse, but not all of the verse. You need to look at in Isaiah. Not in Luke here.
The Spirit of the Lord will be upon me. He will preach to the poor. Bind up the broken hearted. Freedom for the captives and prisoners. It will be the time of the Lord’s favor.
The Messiah will bless us Jews! We are God’s people. He will come to bless us. But there is something else here in verse two: “the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus did not read about the day of vengeance.
The rabbis taught that the blessings would be for the Jews. And the day of vengeance would be for the Gentiles.
For the Jews: Our blind will see. Our deaf will hear. Our lame will walk. Freedom for Jews in captivity.
But for the Gentiles: a day of vengeance! Well, that is the way the rabbis taught it. The rabbis taught that the blessings were for the Jews and the day of vengeance was for the Gentiles. But the rabbis were wrong.
The blessings are for believers. Even Gentiles. Elijah fed the widow. Elisha healed the leper. Jesus healed the centurion’s servant.
Vengeance is upon the unbelievers. When King Ahaziah sent a captain with fifty men to apprehend Elijah, the prophet called fire down from heaven and they died. The king sent another captain and fifty more men. And there was more fire down from heaven and they died. The king sent a third group of men and Elijah said the king would die. And Ahaziah died. (2 Kings 1:9-17)
This is vengeance upon Jews!
And Elisha! Elisha was going up to Bethel. Some young boys mocked him. “Get out of here, bald head!” And so Elisha called down a curse. Two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. (2 Kings 2:23, 24) And they were Jews. This is vengeance upon the Jews.
Elijah blesses and judges.
Elisha blesses and judges.
Jesus blesses and judges.
The Jews in Nazareth have been excluded because of unbelief. But Jesus hints that Gentiles, some Gentiles, will receive the blessings. Even Gentiles. And that is why Jesus’ hometown synagogue became furious and tried to throw him off of the cliff.
Blessings upon them who believe. But vengeance upon those who do not.
Vinekeeper Bible Podcast
Rick Walker
Church of Christ
Georgetown, Guyana
