Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 9:12

"But when he heard it, he said, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick." — Matthew 9:12 (ASV)

They that be whole — Literally, They that are strong. Luke, with more professional precision, gives the phrase as They that are in health.

This element of our Lord's teaching—speaking from the perspective of His audience—appears here in its most transparent form. In anyone other than our Lord, we might call this grave irony. We know that those He was speaking to were suffering from the worst form of spiritual disease. Yet, in their own estimation, they were without spot or blemish, and so He addressed them on their own terms.

According to their own logic, they should not object to Him carrying on His work where it was most needed. The proverb He cited in Luke 4:23 shows this was not the first time He had referred to His own work as that of the Great Physician.