John 4:46-54 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman… No one is more sought after in the East than the hakeem or physician. Let it be known that one of a travelling party of Europeans is a doctor, and all the sick persons in the neighbourhood make their way to his tent for free treatment. A European doctor in the East may have to complain of lack of fees, but he certainly will not have to complain of lack of patients. The invalids, or those who have persuaded themselves that they are invalids, will troop to his tent in the early morning, and squat there until evening, or until they are treated; and well persons will pretend that they are sick for the purpose of getting possession of the magicial powders which they value so highly. The European doctor who knows what is before him generally supplies himself, ere he starts for the East, with a plentiful supply of bread-pills, ingeniously coloured with tincture of iodine or similar chemicals, so that he may be able to keep his real remedies for real diseases. The lack of adequate medical facilities in the East is noted by every traveller; and it would hardly be possible to overestimate the amount of suffering caused by this lack. That is the reason why the Frankish hakeem can go safely where no other Frank dare go; and it may be said reverently that it is also one of the reasons why our Lord took upon Himself the character of a hakeem or healer. Those whom no other appeal would bring flocked to Him because they believed Him to be a powerful hakeem. It is also one of the reasons for the success of medical missions. The men and women who would curse the ordinary missionary as "a dog and the son of a female dog," will come humbly to the medical mission for healing, and will listen to the message which they would not listen to under any other circumstances. (H. C. Trumbull, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. |
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