Janice Bingham
Medical Missionary in Residence
College of Biblical Studies
Abilene Christian University

Why are we as Christians involved in medical missions? That same question has resounded down through the ages as the church has struggled with what role medical missions should play. Is it simply a humanitarian effort and nothing more? If that is true, there are many organizations accomplishing this task much better than the church.

In order to correctly answer this question we must refer to Jesus, our example and Scripture as our guide. So what does the Bible say about Jesus as he encountered suffering humanity. Matthew 9:35-36 says, "Jesus went through all the town and villages,…preaching the good news and healing every disease and sickness. Why did Jesus heal? He knew our pain and our suffering and he had compassion. Jesus’ reaction, when he encountered the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, was to react out of love and compassion. Thirty-one of the thirty-five miracles that Jesus did while on earth, had to do with healing or relieving suffering in some way.

Later, when John’s disciples came to Jesus to ask if he was truly the Messiah, Jesus’ response was not a theological definition but a description of who the Messiah really was. "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." So, by Jesus’ own definition, the Messiah is one who cares for all the needs of man, both spiritual and physical.

Jesus and the poor and suffering were inseparable. The needy flocked around him, the beggars, the blind, the lame, the destitute and the hungry. And he was touched by their infirmities. Ten times the New Testament records that Jesus was "moved with compassion", each time in the context of Jesus’ personal confrontation with suffering people.

Medical missions attempts to be compassion in action; that living demonstration of God’s love. There is an African proverb that says, "An empty stomach has no ears". The suffering can only focus on their pain; therefore before they are able to hear the Good News it is necessary to try to relieve that pain. Words without actions lead to the age old saying, "I don’t care what you know, until I know that you care." On the other hand, action without words also fails miserably. This would be presenting only "half of the gospel". The Good News story of Jesus must be communicated in both words and actions.

In a world of desperate need; global poverty, world hunger and universal suffering, what will the response of Christians be? It’s easy to say that we are only concerned with the "spiritual" part of man, but that was not the response of Jesus. In Matthew 25 we have an account of the judgment scene. Jesus tells us what must be stamped in our passports in order to be allowed entrance into Heaven itself. The tasks that are mentioned are not difficult, as we might assume…"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,…. I was sick and you looked after me…. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Medical missions is all about giving cups of cold water and thus reflecting the love and compassion of the Great Physician.