An Atheistic Bible Study Of The Gospel Line Physician Heal Thyself

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One of the strangest lines uttered by Jesus occurs only in Luke, Chapter 4, Verse 23. The line comes amidst passages in which he is turned away by the people of Nazareth when he tries to preach and perform miracles there, in his home town. Sermonizing in the synagogue, he hears the heckles from the audience and throws this line back at them, that he expects them to say to him ‘Physician Heal Thyself’. He is getting the insult in before anyone can utter what was probably a clichéd remark of the time. The proverbial phrase refers to someone who looks in bad shape himself trying to heal others, or a fat man being criticised for telling everyone else how to diet. Though Jesus is humanized by failing to win over a difficult audience, this is in effect God failing to get hi message to the masses. It seems a fair criticism of Jesus, preaching about sin and virtue to people who are unconvinced that he is leading by example. He does not complete his service before the angry congregation drives him away. Arthur Chappell