Table Of ContentThe Great Physician
G Campbell Morgan
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FOREWORD
THE studies found in this volume were given for the most
part in the cities and towns of the United States during
the years 1919-1932, in my Conference work. Then,
returning to London, and resuming my work at the Westminster
Bible School, they were given there, and prepared for
publication.
The title reveals the purpose of the considerations. Our
Lord referred to His work as that of the Physician. The
statement that He went about healing “ all manner of disease ”
applies to the spiritual as well as to the mental and physical.
His own words in connection with a mighty work of healing,
“ I made a man every whit whole,” reveal the fact that He
dealt with the whoIe of personality. Moreover, the supreme
concern of His heart was ever that of dealing with spiritual
and moral malady.
Our purpose, then, is that of reverently watching Him at
this work. As He went about, we are privileged to see Him,
meeting in different places, and under varying circumstances,
varied types of men and women, and to observe how He
dealt with them.
Such a consideration must be of value to any who have
committed to them the cure of souls, or in the terminology
of to-day, who are doing personal work. The business of all
such is not that of healing, but that rather of bringing the
sin-sick face to face with the One Healer. To do this demands
some knowledge of His methods, and these are most radiantly
revealed in the records of His earthly ministry. He is the same,
yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
The printed pages retain much of the roughness of the
spoken word, but are sent forth with the prayer that they
may be of some service in setting forth the glories of the
Great Physician.
G. CAMPBELL MORGAN,
WESTMINSTER CHAPEL,
LONDON, 1937.
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THE PHYSICIAN HIMSELF
THE description of our Lord as the great Physician is warranted
by the fact that He Himself employed that designation
illustratively in reference to the whole fact of His mission.
Twice over He used it, once when He was referring to a possible
criticism of Himself in His native town:
“ Doubtless ye will say unto Me this parable, Physician,
heal Thyself.”
This was, of course, a passing quotation, and might not be
considered proof that we have any right to speak of Him in that
The other occasion, however, recorded by Matthew, and
ztz’by Mark and Luke in almost the same words, does give us
that right. Let us read the three occurrences. The narrative
in each is the same. Matthew thus gives the record:
“ But when He heard it, He said, They that are whole
have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. But
go ye and learn what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not
sacrifice; for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
(Matthew ix, 12, 13.)
The record of Mark is a little briefer, but essentially the
same thing (ii, 17).
“ And when Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They
that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that
are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Luke’s report runs thus (v, 31, 32):
“ And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are
whole have no need of a physician; but they that are sick.
I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance.”
It is perfectly self-evident that these words of our Lord uttered
upon this particular occasion made a profound impression.
Matthew doubtless heard Him, for it was in his house that they
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10 THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
were uttered. Mark quite possibly wag present at the time,
though it is not said so. Luke, who gathered his information from
eye-witnesses, has carefully recorded the utterance, thus further
emphasising the fact that it had made a deep impression upon the
minds of those who did hear it.
The occasion was the feast made in the house of Matthew,
and the reason why these words were uttered was that of the
criticism of Jesus by the religious rulers, because He was surrounded
by sinning people. The meaning of His great declaration is clear.
He was conscious of the sickness of humanity, of the fact that men
were suffering from moral malady. The implicate of the declaration
is equally patent that He was a Physician, confronting that malady,
and able to deal with it.
We observe with what carefulness the three recorders have
reported His words:
“ I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Luke adds the words “ To repentance.” In the light of the story
itself, these words cannot be read without a consciousness of an
element of sarcasm for these men who were critical of Him. They
did not understand their own Scriptures which revealed the fact
that God desired mercy and not sacrifice. It was as though He
had said to them, If you are righteous, then I have nothing to say
to you. I came not to call the righteous. My mission has not to
do with those who are whole and healthy in the spiritual and
moral realms. Such have no need of healing. I came to call
sinners. I am the Physician. The business of the physician is
never with those who are in health. It is always with the sick.
Here then our Lord was implicitly claiming that He confronts
humanity in its deepest malady, and that He does so as the great
Physician.
It is with that particular phase of His mission that we are
roposing to deal in our present series of studies. We shall not
ge concerned in this attempt with His set discourses and discussions
as they are recorded for us in the Gospel narratives. We shall
rather attempt to watch Him at His work with individuals.
The purpose for such a series of meditations is twofold.
It is first that of attempting to help those who in any sense have
committed to them the cure of soulsl and this, of course! means
preachers and teachers, and all who m any wise are coming into
contact with human life with desire to lead it t’o the place of healing
and full realisation, That of course is the business of the whole
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THE PHYSICIAN HIMSELF 11
Christian Church. The importance therefore of watching our
Lord Himself doing this very work cannot be overestimated.
At the same time, such a continued study will constantly have
in it the possibility of helping those also who are in need of such
healing. Infinite, in the variety in many ways of expression, is
this common malady of sin, and nothing is more marked, as we shall
see again more fully, than the infinite variety of the methods
employed by our Lord in dealing with it, In this opening con-
sideration therefore ..we confine ourselves to general statements
on the whole sub,je& Our knowledge of the New Testament
reminds us at once of the very many different persons that are
seen as we follow our Lord along the pathway of His earthly
mission. By way of introduction to the more detailed study,
therefore, we now notice first! the basis of His approach to the
human soul; secondly, the universal recognitions in His method;
and finally, that to which I have referred, and which is the whole
theme, His varied methods.
As to His universal recognitions we may say that He always
approached the human soul in the same way. As to varied methods,
we may say that He never approached two human souls in the
same way. Such a paradoxical statement is of value, because it
at once compels a little close attention. Nevertheless its meaning
is surely self-evident. When our Lord approached a human being,
there were great facts common to humanity, for ever present
to His mind ; whereas it is equally true that the infinite variety
of human needs was so recognised that He never employed the
same exact method twice over.
With regard to the first of these matters, the passage at the
F close of the second chapter in the Gospel of John is illuminative.
“ When He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the
feast, many believed on His name, beholding the signs which
He did. But Jesus did not trust Himself unto them, for that
He knew all men, and because He needed not that any one
should bear witness concerning man; for He Himself knew
what was in man.“
The statement at the commencement is in itself interesting,
declaring that many believed on His name, but He did not trust
Himself to them. It should be observed that the verb variously
rendered there in our translation, is nevertheless the same
concerning the attitude of the people, and our Lord’s attitude.
We might render, Many believed on His name, but Jesus did not
believe in them. Or we might say, Many committed themselves
to Him, but He did not commit Himself to them. Without
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dealing further with that, we now observe that John tells US tke
underlying reason of our Lord’s attitude. He did not commit
Himself to these people:
“ Because He knew all men, and . . . needed not that
any one should bear witness concerning man; for He Himself
knew what was in man.”
Notice the declaration is that He knew all men, that is, individually;
secondly, that He knew what was in man, that is, He knew human
nature.
This declaration by John must of necessity be linked with
his thought concerning the Lord Himself, and that thought is
revealed at the opening of his story.
“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God . . . and the Word became
flesh.”
His knowledge must always be thus interpreted. It was not
merely that resulting from observation of men by another Man.
It was the knowledge of One Who, in His humanity, bore the
name Jesus, and Who in His essential Being, was the Word.
Thus we have the twofold fact, that He knew all men
individually and universally; Simon as the son of Jonah; Nathanael
as the watcher under the fig-tree; the woman by the well as having
had five husbands, and so on, and ever on.
But He not only knew individuals individually, He knew
humanity generically. He knew what was in man. On this twofold
basis of knowledge He constantly proceeded, and this, let it be said
resolutely, accounts for His unique ability in dealing with
humanity. He knew perfectly what men are to-day seeking to
understand. All the quest of the psychologist is a search for tt;e
ultimate truth concerning human personality or individuality.
These things the great Physician knew perfectly. Reverently we
may say in this connection, like God, He ever remembered tl;‘,t
man is dust; and equally like God, He knew that man wds
infinitely more than dust. That was the basis of His approach,
and of course, finally interprets His healing power, His ability
to deal with all sorts and conditions of men. We are dealing in these
studies with the records only. It is good, however, to remind
ourselves at once that whereas they indicate the eternal principles,
they do not exhaust the theme, for through all the running
centuries that have come and gone, this Christ has been doing
the self-same things, confronting human souls, knowing every
one, knowing what was in man; and dealing with man according
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THE PHYSICIAN HIMSELF
to the facts of his inherent nature, and of all the facts resulting from
heredity and environment. Let it at once be said that when
to-day men attempt to study the story of our Lord as of one among
a number of teachers, they show they have never really seen
Him. It is perfectly true that we may watch Him garbed with the
simplicity of a peasant, growing weary in common with human
nature, and yet He is seen for evermore coming into contact with
other men and women and children, knowing completely not
only the incidental facts concerning each, but the very nature
and being of each. He was and is the great Physician, and the basis
of His approach to human nature is that of His perfect knowledge.
Then as we observe Him at His work we discover what we
have referred to as His universal recognitions. He dealt with men
and women of differing temperaments and different situations,
and in a very profound way He recognised certain universal
facts. In that way He treated them all as being alike. We may
at once cover the whole ground here by declaring that He treated
all as spiritual in essence, sinning in experience, salvable by grace.
When we say that He dealt with man as spiritual in essence,
we are not for a moment suggesting that He neglected either the
mental or the physical. It is impossible to watch Him without
realising that His words were ever characterised by intellectual
depth and majesty, of such a nature that human intellect fails,
even until now to completely apprehend. It was ever His method
to compel men to the use of their mental powers. He was constantly
asking questions, as though He would say, What is your opinion?
What do you think? What is your mental activity in the presence
of this matter?
He certainly was not unmindful of the physical. He cared
for it. This was ever demonstrated by the wonders of His healing
of bodily powers, and upon occasion in His feeding of physical
hunger. Nevertheless neither the mental nor the physical
constituted His chief concern. He was ever dealing with the
spiritual essence, which being at fault, everything else was at
fault. The keynote of His preaching was found in the words:
“ From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say,
Repent.”
That is a call to a mental activity, but He was addressing Himself
to the spiritual essence which had a mind. Or again, when He
said:
“ Seek ye first His Kingdom, and His righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you,”
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14 THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
the ultimate thought was undoubtedly that of the spiritual. As
one of His apostles wrote later:
“ The Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
One other illustration is climacteric in this regard. To
His disciples He one day said:
“ I say unto you, My friends, Be not afraid of them
which kill the body, and after that have no more that they
can do.”
On the level of much of our ordinary thinking, we should say that
if the body is killed, there is no more to be said or done. The words
of Jesus constitute a tender but definite mockery of that very
stupid idea. If a man kills my body, he has paralysed his own arm,
and can no further harm me, but I am still there. My body lies
dead, but I am not dead. From that standpoint He for ever
approached man, coming with a clear recognition that their chief
glory, the central fact concerning them was not the body which
dies, nor the mind that blunders, but the spiritual which is
central.
Then it is equally self-evident that He dealt with man not
only as spiritual in essence, but as sinnmg in experience, He
saw humanity missing the mark, failing at the centre, and con-
sequently suffering in all the circumference.
“ When He saw the multitude, He was moved with
compassion for them, because they were distressed and
scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.”
So He saw them, failing to be what God meant them to be,
failing to be what was possible within the mystery of their own
personality. In the words in which He spoke of Himself as the
great Physician, He made it perfectly clear that His mission was
concerning such, and in dealing with man He treated him as sinning
in experience.
The final word is that He treated humanity as salvable.
That is a great old theological term, and is incapable of being
improved. In spite of all the dereliction, He saw man as salvable,
capable of the highest in spite of having passed to the lowest.
It is impossible to follow our Lord upon the pathway of His
service, and watch Him thus dealing with individuals, and then to
speak of hopeless cases. All those who are engaged upon this
selfsame sacred service are very conscious that there are occasions
when we are inclined to feel that the case is indeed hopeless.
Resolutely we declare He never did this. When no one else
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THE PHYSICIAN HIMSELF
believed in the possibility of the recovery of a human soul, He did.
We say, and we say correctly, that according to these records, men
and women were saved or made whole through their faith in
Him. It is perfectly correct to look more deeply, and if we do we
find that their faith in Him was created by His faith in them.
Thus He approached humanity, recognising it as spiritual in
essence, sinning in experience, salvable by grace.
And so we pass to the other matter where the interest, of
course, is enormous, and which is to occupy the whole of our
subsequent meditations. Here we summarise briefly by saying
that we never find our Lord dealing with two different persons in
exactly the same way. To take one or two brief illustrations, to
which, of course, we shall return for more careful consideration
later. To Andrew and John He said, “ What seek ye? ” To
&-I He said, You shall be Rock. To. Phrhp He said, “ Follow
” To Nathanael He said, Before Phrhp found you, I saw you.
To ‘Nicodemus He said, You must be “ born from above.”
With that last illustration we pause a moment to remark
that it is at least arresting that He is never recorded as having
said that to anyone else. It is true that He so said it as to show
that it applies to every human being; but it is equally arresting
that He is not reported as having said it to anyone else personally.
He was employing the method necessary in the case of the man,
and this He ever did.
At the commencement of this meditation we declared that
one purpose of this series would be that of helping those who have
the cure of souls. We then showed that He proceeded upon the
basis of His perfect knowledge. Here then for a moment we are
halted, because we cannot, of ourselves, have any such perfect
knowledge. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that we
should remember that all who are called to that work are called
to a fellowship with Him in and through the Holy Spirit. It is
only by such living, maintained fellowship, that we can ever do
this work. That is a subject which surely needs no argument.
It may be stated, however, with reverence and reticence, that
the measure in which those called to this sacred business are living
in true fellowship with Him, will be found to be the measure of
their understanding of men and women, and their ability to deal
with them, in order to their saving.
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JOHN THE BAPTIST
0 UR study this evening is concerned with the first man with
whom our Lord came into contact in His public ministry,
so far as the records reveal. Indeed, we have no account of
any words passing the lips of Jesus apart from those uttered to
His Mother at twelve years of age, until we find Him face to face
with His great forerunner. In this case, as in all that follow, we
shall attempt first to see the man, and then to watch our Lord’s
dealing with him. It should at once be said that there is something
unique in this story, because John had a special and great function
in the Divine economy. According to the records, he was a
supernatural child, and he was born for this definite purpose, which
he most gloriously fulfilled.
In considering the story of John there are three things which
stand out pre-eminently. They are those of his essential greatness,
his evident discontent, and his one great expectation.
As to his greatness, we are not left to speculation. In his
case the portrait of the man is drawn for us by our Lord Himself.
His estimate of John is recorded by Matthew and by Luke in
chapters eleven and seven respectively. We will take that as
recorded by Matthew, which is indeed almost identical with that
of Luke. In referring to John on a memorable occasion, Jesus said:
“ Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of
women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist;
yet he that is but little in the Kingdom of heaven is greater
than he.”
In passing, it is interesting to notice that Luke in recording
those words of Jesus uses the phrase “ the Kingdom of God,”
where Matthew says “ the Kingdom of heaven.” The terms
are really synonymous in their deepest meaning.
This reference was unquestionably to what we may speak
of as the natural ability and greatness of this man John, and
declared that among all others “ born of women,” none greater
than John had arisen. The phrase, “ born of women ” is in
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