Matthew 9:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

NIV: On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

NASB: But when Jesus heard this, He said, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

CSB: Now when he heard this, he said, "It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.

NLT: When Jesus heard this, he said, 'Healthy people don’t need a doctor — sick people do.'

KJV: But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

NKJV: When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

Jesus has called Matthew to follow Him as one of His core twelve disciples (Matthew 9:9). Matthew was a tax collector, one of the most despised people in Israel. Tax collectors were Jewish men who took money from other Israelites and gave most of it to the occupying Romans. The remainder they could keep, as allowed by Roman order, as payment for their services. Most Jewish people saw tax collectors as greedy traitors. It would have been scandalous, in that culture, for a righteous man like Jesus to invite a tax collector to become His disciple.

Worse, Matthew then hosted a dinner party at his home with his friends (Matthew 9:10). These, of course, were other tax collectors and "sinners." As used in these passages, "sinners" are those people unwelcome in religious society because they did not follow the rules of the Pharisees or, in some cases, the law itself. That's not to say they were innocent of sin—their actions were certainly immoral—but these people were overtly identified by their sins in that culture.

The Pharisees make baffled accusations, asking Jesus' disciples why He eats with these people, something they would never do (Matthew 9:11). Now Jesus answers them in a way that both explains His actions and exposes the Pharisees.

Healthy people don't need a doctor, Jesus says. Sick people do. Jesus was not declaring the Pharisees to be healthy, but pointing out that they saw themselves that way. Jesus told them He was there to help people who knew they were sick. Spiritually speaking, they understood they needed help. They were open to the truth: that they needed saving.

Two important applications emerge from this statement. First, the purpose of good works and evangelism is to reach the lost (Matthew 5:11–16). Christians are not called on to barricade themselves away from anyone they see as a "sinner." Of course, it's important to guard friendships and associations (Psalm 1:1; 1 Corinthians 15:33). However, believers cannot live out the love of Christ while avoiding all possible contact with lost people (1 Corinthians 5:9–10). Self-labelled Christians, or churches, who turn their noses up at sinners are like doctors, or hospitals, who refuse to associate with sick people.

Second, Jesus was not condoning the wrong choices of the people He spent time with. Showing love and kindness does not require—and does not imply—endorsing everything the other person does or believes. Christ was introducing them to Himself as the only way to be forgiven and redeemed. He was showing them the true face of God, full of love and compassion for them.

Matthew 9:9–13 begins with Jesus calling Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him as His disciple. Soon, Jesus and His disciples are having dinner in Matthew's home with many tax collectors and others labelled as "sinners." In answer to a question from the Pharisees about why Jesus would eat with these people, He responds that the sick need a doctor, not the healthy. He tells the Pharisees to go learn the meaning of the Scripture in which God says that He desires mercy, not sacrifice. Jesus declares that He has come to call sinners, not the righteous.

Matthew 9 continues to show how Jesus authenticated His claims to be the Messiah by powerful miracles of healing and casting out demons. He heals a paralyzed man after telling the man his sins are forgiven. He calls Matthew to follow Him and eats dinner with Matthew and other tax collectors. He answers questions from Pharisees and others. A woman who touches His cloak is healed from a 12–year illness, and Jesus raises a dead girl back to life. He restores sight to blind men and speech to one who is demon oppressed. He is filled with compassion for the crowds.

Matthew 9 follows the same pattern of Matthew 8, showing through miraculous works of healing that Jesus is truly the Messiah. Christ forgives the sins of a paralyzed man and heals him. He calls Matthew to follow Him and eats with tax collectors and sinners. A woman is healed by touching His garment and a dead girl is given life by the touch of His hand. Two blind men see, and Jesus casts out a demon, restoring speech to its victim. Finally, Jesus declares that the harvest is plentiful and tells His followers to pray for workers. Chapter 10 builds on this compassion as Jesus commissions the Twelve to go and deliver His gospel to the people.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.