And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. Luke 14:3,4
Many years ago, as I was traveling by taxi to an appointment in Fredericton, our route took us past the Victoria Public Hospital, which was the city’s primary hospital at that time. Pointing to the entrance to the emergency department, the taxi driver observed, ‘There are no locks on those doors!’ Nor should there be. Those doors were open at all times to ambulances and to anyone bringing in someone who was sick or injured. Inside those doors were highly trained doctors and nurses, people capable of dealing with any type of medical emergency. And some of them were always on duty. That department never shut down for vacations or renovations or statutory holidays. The same service was available regardless of the day of the week or the hour of the day or night. It’s a concept that the Lord Jesus endorsed as He dealt with a touchy situation in a Pharisee’s house.
The wisdom of the Lord Jesus is displayed in the question that He asked. The Pharisees had a problem with people doing any form of work on the sabbath. But Jesus did not ask about work, He asked specifically about healing. What could the Pharisee possibly say against that? It is no wonder that they held their peace. The Pharisees didn’t like it, but there was nothing they could do. The important thing to note is not whether healing is appropriate on the sabbath but whether anything – including the day of the week – should interfere with something as important as healing someone who is sick. And if nothing should stand in the way of healing the physically sick, how much more important is it that nothing should stand in the way of healing the spiritually sick?
During His ministry, the Lord Jesus healed many sick people, and even raised a few people from the dead. But in time, disease or old age would claim all of those healed people, and they are long since dead, and their bodies have returned to dust. During His ministry, the Lord Jesus also preached the Gospel to many people, and many of them believed on Him. The bodies of those people are also dead and returned to dust, but will rise again. And the souls of those who believed on Him are with Him in Glory. Those folks received spiritual healing. So has every one of the untold millions who have since then until today trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour. For two thousand years, the preaching of the Gospel has lead to spiritual healing, the raising of souls from spiritual death. But when the Gospel is not preached, souls have no opportunity to respond and be healed.
Do we allow anything to prevent the Gospel from reaching sinners, either by ourselves or by anyone else? The Lord Jesus never let anything interfere with His ministry of healing bodies and saving souls. -Jim MacIntosh