Part One: Parable Sayings

I. Chiding Physicians

The first parable in time sequence which Scripture records Christ speaking
is the parable in our text. That it is a parable is plainly stated in
Scripture. But in spite of this fact, it is all but completely ignored in the
lists and books on Christ's parables.

The plain indication that our text contains a parable is found in the word
"proverb" in our text. Christ said, "Ye will surely say unto me
this proverb, Physician, heal thyself." The word "proverb" is a
translation of the Greek word parabole which is translated
"parable" 46 of the 50 times it appears in the New Testament (see
Preface). This is the only place in the New Testament where it is translated
"proverb."

The "physician" parable of our text was a common saying among the
Jews in Christ's day. It also appeared "in Euripides and Aeschylus among
the Greeks, and in Cicero's Letters... and the Chinese used to demand it
of their physicians"—(Robertson). This "physician" parable is
recorded only in the Gospel of Luke. But that is fitting, for Luke was a physician.

To further examine this first parable in time sequence of Christ, we will
consider the meeting for the parable, the message of the parable, and the
misuse of the parable.

1. The Meeting for the Parable

Christ spoke this parable at a meeting in the synagogue in Nazareth, the
town which had been His home town for twenty-eight or so years until He left it
to go into His public ministry. At the time of this meeting, it was early in
the public ministry of Christ. But in spite of the short time of His public
ministry, His fame in Galilee (where Nazareth was located) had already
"went out... through all the region round about"—(Luke 4:14).

The crowd in the synagogue meeting was hostile to Christ, and that fact is
why the parable was spoken by Christ. The hostility was so great that after
Christ taught in the meeting, the crowd took Him to a cliff and tried to push
Him off it to kill Him (Luke 4:29). But
Christ disappeared miraculously to foil their murderous efforts (Luke 4:30).

2. The Message of the Parable

To examine the parable's message, we note the condemnation in the message
and the clarification about the message.

The condemnation in the message. The parable's primary message is a
condemnation of hypocrisy. This parable compares a physician who heals others
but not himself to those who do not act themselves as they advise others to
act. Barnes said about this parable, "The meaning is this: Suppose that a
man should attempt to heal another when he was himself diseased in the same
manner; it would be natural to ask him first to cure himself... [to] manifest that
he was worthy of confidence."

Thus the message of the parable tells us to fulfill our own responsibilities
before we tell others to fulfill their responsibilities. "In one of his
familiar epistles to Rome's greatest orator [Cicero], then dejected at the loss
of Tullia, Sulpicius made this appeal: 'Do not forget that you are Cicero; one
who has been used always to prescribe for and give advice to others; do not
imitate those paltry physicians who pretend to cure other people's diseases,
yet are not able to cure their own'" (Bevan). Paul gave the same message
in his epistle to the Romans when He wrote, "Thou therefore which teachest
another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal,
dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou
commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?" (Romans 2:21,22).
The parable's principle is in our saying, "Clean your own doorstep before
you clean other's."

This parable saying is good support for high qualifications for church
officers and teachers. It is a forceful reminder that those who would proclaim
the Gospel to a lost world must also embrace the Gospel in their own hearts.—We
need the application of this parable in our government, too; for, as an
example, congressmen are notorious for making laws for the citizenry which they
exempt themselves from obeying.

The clarification about the message. It needs to be made clear that
the focus on self in this parable is not an encouragement to be selfish; it is
instead an encouragement to be a good example. Taking care of your own needs
before helping others may appear on the surface to encourage selfishness. But
that is not the case at all here in this parable. Rather, this parable says we
should evidence in our own life what we are trying to improve in the lives of
others. A doctor who tells overweight people to diet to avoid the peril of
being overweight is not selfish because he first dieted to remedy an overweight
problem. Rather, he is simply being a good example of his advice.

3. The Misuse of the Parable

The main reason for the mention of this parable by Christ was to tell folk
that it would be misused against Him. The parable would be twisted, distorted,
and perverted to make it apply to Christ. Evil people are ever perverting truth
in order to oppose truth. They can misuse the best of parables and the most
holy of doctrines to accuse the innocent or to sanction evil. "The legs of
the lame are not equal, so is a parable in the mouth of fools"—(Proverbs 26:7).

We note two times in which the parable was misused against Christ. First, it
was misused by the countrymen of Christ; and second, it was misused at the
cross of Christ.

By the countrymen of Christ. Our text for this parable tells us two
things about the misuse of this parable against Christ by His countrymen. They
are the prediction of the misuse and the prompting of the misuse.

First, the prediction of the misuse. Christ predicted ("Ye will
surely say") that His countrymen at Nazareth would misuse this parable
against Him. This prediction revealed the omniscience of Christ. His prediction
evidenced that He knew what was in the hearts of His listeners in the synagogue
in Nazareth. He knew what they were thinking and what they would eventually say
to Him. He likewise knows the same about all of us; a truth that should sober
and purify us.

Second, the prompting of the misuse. That which prompted Christ's
countrymen to misuse this parable was their unbelief in Christ as Israel's
Messiah. In His teaching in the synagogue service, Christ had just spoken of
Himself as a healer (Luke
4:18); and He had already worked some miracles of healing in nearby Capernaum
(Luke 4:23)
which supported His claim as being Israel's Messiah. But because He did not
work similar miracles in Nazareth, the Nazareth people would not believe Him.
And if He did not work miracles in Nazareth, He was, in their opinion, like a
physician who could not heal himself. This was accusing Christ of hypocrisy
which was a ludicrous charge indeed! Unbelief, however, can be very ludicrous
in its criticism.

The unbelief of the people was totally unjustified. They had ample evidence
in the miracles done elsewhere to believe. Furthermore, "He had lived
among them for the most of thirty years a sinless life, the greatest of all
miracles in a sinful world"—(Edgar). This failure to believe Christ though
He had lived sinlessly among them for many years was reason enough for His
doing miracles elsewhere. Nazareth had not used the blessing of His presence
well, and so they lost future blessing. If you do not use your blessings well,
it will hinder you from receiving more blessing in the future. Poor stewardship
of privilege will shut the door to more privilege. So "he did not many
mighty works there because of their unbelief"—(Matthew 13:58).

At the cross of Christ. The most evil misuse of this parable saying
occurred at Calvary (the actual words of the parable were not used, but the
principle of the parable was embodied in the words that were used at Calvary).
All three Synoptic Gospels record this sneering attack on Christ at Calvary
which said, "Save thyself, and come down from the cross... He saved
others; himself he cannot save"—(Mark 15:30,31;
cp. Matthew
27:40-42; Luke
23:35,37).
When on the cross, Christ was accused of being one who said He would save
people but was not able to save Himself from the cross. So the accusers so much
as said Christ was a physician Who could not heal Himself. And until He did
save Himself, they said they would not believe Him. "If he be the King of
Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him"—(Matthew 27:42).

How dense were the minds of these unbelieving critics of Christ. They did
not understand the work of Christ. What the critics called hypocrisy was
instead great sacrifice, for the reason Christ did not save Himself from the
cross was so He could save others from condemnation! Saving Himself from the
cross would have ruined the Gospel. Christ became poor so we could become rich
(2 Corinthians
8:9). Likewise Christ died so others could live (1 Thessalonians
5:10). But unbelief perverts this action of Christ to that of a physician
who cannot heal himself.

Unbelief addles the brains of unbelievers. Hence, when we preach the Gospel
it is "unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks
foolishness"—(1 Corinthians
1:23). The unbelieving mind sees the Gospel as foolish and unworkable. So
they see Calvary as Christ's failure. Also they see capital punishment as murder
but murderous abortion as the "right" of women. They see pornography
as freedom of speech, but prayer and Bible reading in school as something else.
The unholy, unbelieving mind is as confused as it is corrupt. "Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools"—(Romans 1:22) is
the fitting epitaph for these unbelievers.