“Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
Mark 2:17
Jesus’ concern is always to keep us whole. He knows that behind the physical ailments, bodily weaknesses, and decay, there’s a more serious affliction: people are estranged from God. Ill health—even death—remind us something’s wrong in our world. It’s not that our sins cause our sickness; rather, sickness is a result of sin.
When we cry out for healing, we’re really asking for wholeness, to be at peace with God, to be in harmony with others and the world. And that comes only through forgiveness and a right relationship with Jesus.
Jesus demonstrated that healing is easier than forgiveness. Indeed, forgiveness is much more costly. He came to make war on disease by wiping away the guilt of sin through the payment of His perfect life on the cross. That’s how costly it was! Through resurrection eyes, we see forgiveness is the hardest thing to bring about. Yet that’s what God sent Jesus for. His first concern is that we experience forgiveness and peace with God. Then, even when we’re broken or ill, we are whole eternally. Amazing!
When we cry out for healing, we’re really asking for wholeness, to be at peace with God, to be in harmony with others and the world. And that comes only through forgiveness and a right relationship with Jesus.
Jesus demonstrated that healing is easier than forgiveness. Indeed, forgiveness is much more costly. He came to make war on disease by wiping away the guilt of sin through the payment of His perfect life on the cross. That’s how costly it was! Through resurrection eyes, we see forgiveness is the hardest thing to bring about. Yet that’s what God sent Jesus for. His first concern is that we experience forgiveness and peace with God. Then, even when we’re broken or ill, we are whole eternally. Amazing!
Scripture Focus
Mark 2:13-17
Insight
American psychiatrist Karl Menninger once said, “If I could convince patients in psychiatric hospitals their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!”
Bible In A Year
- Genesis 12-13
- Psalm 6
- Matthew 10-11