The role and perception of physicians in the Bible is multifaceted, reflecting both the practical and spiritual dimensions of healing. Physicians are mentioned in various contexts, often highlighting the tension between human and divine intervention in matters of health and sickness.

Old Testament References

In the Old Testament, physicians are acknowledged for their skills, yet there is an underlying emphasis on God's ultimate authority over health. In Genesis 50:2, Joseph commands his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father Israel, indicating the presence and practice of medicine in ancient times. This passage shows the practical role of physicians in society.

However, the limitations of human healing are also evident. In 2 Chronicles 16:12, King Asa's reliance on physicians rather than seeking the LORD is criticized: "In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians." This suggests a caution against placing ultimate trust in human means over divine intervention.

New Testament References

The New Testament continues to reflect on the role of physicians, often in the context of Jesus' healing ministry. In Mark 2:17, Jesus uses the metaphor of a physician to describe His mission: "On hearing this, Jesus told them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" Here, Jesus acknowledges the need for physicians while emphasizing His role as the ultimate healer of both physical and spiritual ailments.

Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, is identified as a physician in Colossians 4:14: "Our dear friend Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings." Luke's profession as a physician is noteworthy, as it underscores the compatibility of medical practice with Christian faith and service.

Healing and Faith

The Bible often presents healing as a divine act, with God as the ultimate healer. In Exodus 15:26, God declares, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." This passage highlights the belief in God's power to heal and protect from disease.

The interplay between faith and healing is further illustrated in James 5:14-15: "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." Here, the act of healing is closely tied to prayer and faith, suggesting that spiritual practices are integral to the healing process.

Conclusion

Throughout the Scriptures, physicians are recognized for their role in society, yet there is a consistent reminder of the supremacy of God's healing power. The Bible encourages a balanced view, where medical practice is respected, but faith in God's providence remains paramount.2 Chronicles 16:12
And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.
Nave's Topical Index

Matthew 9:12
But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Nave's Topical Index

Mark 5:26
And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
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Luke 8:43
And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living on physicians, neither could be healed of any,
Nave's Topical Index

Concerning Perfection.
... the apostle saith of many saints in general, Ephesians 2 ... to the universal scope of
the scriptures, the testimony ... and applied themselves to a physician for remedy ...
/.../proposition viii concerning perfection.htm

General Index to Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History.
... of priests, who expound the Scriptures, takes cross ... Gerontius, a physician, becomes
bishop of Nicomedia, [3328 ... Gerontius, a traitorous general of Honorius, [3330 ...
/.../general index to sozomens ecclesiastical.htm

Messiah's Easy Yoke
... The skill of a physician may be acknowledged, in ... The general name of Christians,
which was first ... perpetual commentary on what the Scriptures teach, concerning ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/messiah vol 1/sermon xv messiahs easy yoke.htm

On the Words Incarnate, and Made Man.
... the King when about to become our Physician, girded Himself ... Are not the Holy Scriptures
our salvation ... denote the Incarnation in a perfectly general way, without ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/lecture xii on the words.htm

Concerning Lowliness of Mind.
... they did not say to Paul, "Physician, heal thyself ... to correct those who use the
Scriptures without reference to ... Gibbon, using this is the general sense, has the ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/concerning lowliness of mind.htm

The Gospels in General
... having been written by Luke, the physician, the companion ... it seems to account for
the general agreement in ... for those who believe that the Scriptures have been ...
/.../drummond/introduction to the new testament/the gospels in general.htm

Faustus Denies that the Prophets Predicted Christ. Augustin Proves ...
... sin to themselves, saying to the Physician, as it ... still deny that Christ is foretold
in the Scriptures. ... Faustus, instead of the vague general accusation which ...
/.../faustus denies that the prophets.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1812 to the Death of ...
... Question Will you give any commandment concerning your bones ... himself with living
to meet the General Conference which was ... of calling in the aid of a physician. ...
/.../chapter 2 from the close.htm

Basil: Letters and Select Works
... Chapter IX. Definitive conceptions about the Spirit which conform to the teaching
of the Scriptures. ... To Andronicus, a general. ... To Eustathius the Physician. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/basil/basil letters and select works/

General Index to Socrates' Ecclesiastical History.
... Adamantius, Jewish physician of Alexandria, [28]159 ... Areobindus, a Roman general,
[197]162 ... 15; his letter to Eusebius Pamphilus on copying the Scriptures, [546]16 ...
/.../general index to socrates ecclesiastical.htm

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