Heal Yourself First

In the story of God’s Good News for mankind, Jesus introduces a plan that is designed to bless people. He says in Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” A reference to Isaiah 61, which was also reassuring the Israelites that, although they had been “punished” for their rebellion towards God, He still had plans to bless them… someday. As Jesus is sharing this hope with the people of his day, He reveals how God’s blessings don’t always show up in the most expected way.

As we look into the Good News Luke shares, we get a glimpse of the kind of blessing that we’re called to be for our communities.

“Physician heal yourself” (Luke 4:23); is believed to be an ancient Jewish proverb more commonly stated, “Physician, heal your own lameness.” The meaning of that proverb was that a man ought to look at home, and take care of himself, and of those that belonged to him. Obviously, Jesus is talking about their disrespect for Him. Nazareth, where Jesus had grown up, had a population of about 4 00, so everyone knew everyone else. Traits that many historians use to describe the typical Nazarene (based on the trade and Jewish background) were ‘physically robust, strong-minded, practical, respectful of traditional and loyal to family.’ However, not in Jesus’ case.

Matthew 4:13 says when He got back from His 40 days of temptation, that He “withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtal," where He apparently began healing people; but His own people weren’t really convinced.

They either weren’t genuinely convinced, or they despised Him because they had watched Him grow up from a child into a man. The physician, Luke, wanted to begin his story of Christ showing how the Great Physician was someone that people like Theophilus could be legitimately convinced was indeed the Messiah that had been prophesied about.

What kind of convincing would we have needed that the carpenter’s nice little kid was actually the Anointed One promised centuries before? What’s different today? Different things might be the compelling factor for different folks. At some point, there is enough proof that He is who He said He was – will I simply believe it? James 4:6, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”