The Role of the Physician

With contempt the Pharisees scoffed at Jesus, because he was eating with tax collectors and prostitutes--sinners.  Jesus responds, "Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick."  There seem to be two types of Christians we encounter from day to day.  Those like the Pharisees say not to interact with the sinful people of the world.  They will only bring you down.  Those like the Social Justice crowd say we must interact with the sinful people of the world.  We can only bring them up.  There is a middle way.  This comes in a word Jesus spoke to the Pharisees: physician.  The doctor does not treat the patient by sitting there calmly and letting the patient's sickness wear off on him, getting him sick.  The doctor attempts to HEAL the patient when they are together.  The only cure for the patient is the Gospel.  We must at all times and in all ways preach the Gospel to everyone we meet.  Expository Preaching is God's way of reaching his elect.  We cannot ignore the sick (Pharisees) and we cannot just make the sick comfortable in their plight (Social Justice).  As shepherds we bring the sick to the healer, who is Jesus Christ, and he heals them through his word.