Question: “What is the meaning of ‘Physician, heal thyself in Luke 4:23?”
Answer: Early in His ministry, Jesus was in Nazareth speaking in the synagogue. Nazareth was His hometown, and the people there were familiar with His family and had watched Him grow up (Luke 4:16). When Jesus read a messianic prophecy from Isaiah and claimed to be the fulfillment of it, the crowd in the synagogue immediately balked (verses 17–22). It was then that Jesus made reference to a proverb of the day: “Physician, heal thyself” (verse 23, KJV) In the proverb, “Physician, heal thyself,” Jesus is the physician, and the Nazarenes are demanding that He heal Himself. It’s another way of saying, “We won’t believe a word you say until you take care of what ails you” The basic idea is that no one wants to visit a feverish doctor who is hacking up phlegm. The advice of a dermatologist whose face is covered with an itchy, scaly rash carries little weight. “Hey, Jesus,” the crowd is saying, “before you can help us, you have to take care of your own problems!”
As Jesus expounds on the proverb, He mentions the miracles He had done in nearby Capernaum—miracles that the Nazarenes had heard about and wanted to see duplicated in their own city.“Physician, heal thyself” is similar to our modern proverb “Charity begins at home.”
Likewise, if we are not healed in body, mind, and spirit, how else are we to be glorifying God with our lives? Not only is it a “temple of God” but it is also our responsibility to keep it in an optimum condition to do God’s work. After all, are we not the “physicians of our own bodies?” How will people believe in us if we do not practice what we preach or in some cases, preach what we practice? Our lives must be living examples of God’s Word. It is very powerful to lead by example. As they say, “talk is cheap” and that “actions speak louder than words.”
Therefore, I truly believe that “Charity begins at home.” We need to love our family before we can go out to love other people. It is at most times challenging to love the people in our families but as long as we try our best, God will surely do the rest.
The most important thing to know is that we need to be whole, in body, mind, and spirit, to administer to those who are “ailing” and Christ has promised not to leave us as “orphans” but He will send the Spirit to be our helper. “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 1:15-18)
Truly, my brothers and sisters in Christ, heal thyself in body, mind, and spirit. Only then, will you be able to glorify God with your lives. #physicianhealthyself