“Those who are well”: Lessons from COVID for non-crisis times via Matthew 9:9-13

Abstract

As the world shifts to the next phase of the pandemic, bioethicists need to consider anew what moral responsibility looks like during non-crisis times. This article turns to the calling of Matthew (Matt 9:9-13) to provide biblical insights Christians can use to contribute to this bioethical conversation. Drawing on the narrative context, which buries this pericope within a section of the gospel focusing on Jesus’s healing ministry, this article explains how the calling of Matthew underscores the holistic vision of health and well-being animating Jesus’s work as a healer and adds to Jesus’s primary emphasis on restoration for the marginalized. Examining Jesus’s claim that “those who are well have no need of a physician,” this article argues that Christians can best embrace this broad vision of healing by prioritizing public health so that the community will be better prepared to weather the next health crisis, should it emerge.