The great physician
Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick" (Matthew 9:12). The Pharisees saw Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners and asked His disciples why He did that. This text was His reply.
Need A Doctor? — The New Testament is rich in many ways. one of which is the secondary teaching found in many places. Secondary teaching often comes from necessary inference. For the primary instruction to be true, something else must be true. The primary instruction here is that the tax collectors and sinners needed a spiritual physician. The secondary instruction is that it is legitimate to have doctors physically. There are those who claim that Christians should not use doctors, relying solely on faith and prayer. It is true that the Bible condemns relying solely on doctors. King "Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was very severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians" (2 Chronicles 16:12). The Bible also teaches that Deity can heal beyond that of the doctors (Luke 8:43). However, there is no passage which indicates that using medical treatment as a part of our dependence on God to heal is any more wrong than eating food as a part of our dependence on God to feed. Luke was a beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). If it is wrong for the Christian to use physicians then Jesus used an ungodly practice to teach a godly practice. That is not the way He taught!
Need A Savior? — This is not the first time Jesus called Himself physician. Earlier He said, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’" (Luke 4:23; Cf Luke 5:31). Jesus came to "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). In order to find, teach, and save them, He had to associate with them. "Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there not recovery for the health of the daughter of my people" (Jeremiah 8:22). Jesus healed the nobleman’s son without being present (John 4:46-54) and proved He could master the distance from heaven to earth (John 3:13). He healed the impotent man who had been ill for thirty-eight years (John 5:2-9) and proved that time was His tool not His enemy (John 4:23). He healed the man born blind (John 9:1-7) and proved He is the light of the world (John 9:1-7). He can heal us of whatever sin sickens us.
Know Others In Need? — In Matthew 9:2 and Mark 2:3 there were some who brought a paralytic man to Jesus. They had to uncover the roof and let him down to Jesus. Jesus healed his paralysis and proved "that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins." Do you know someone needing to be brought to Jesus for the healing of sins? There may be some roofs to uncover, obstacles to overcome, but the Great Physician is ready to heal all unrighteousness. Peter said it is by His stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24).