From Philo to Wesley – How the Church Replaced Healing in the Name with Healing by Man
Sirach 38:1-15 appeared to praise physicians and medicines, claiming that “the Lord created medicines out of the earth,” and urging Yahweh’s people to “honor the physician.” This passage, though absent from the Hebrew canon and often overlooked in Protestant circles, profoundly shaped Jewish and Christian views on healing. It gave theological cover to the growing cultural acceptance of physicians and medical remedies.
Below are examples of influential historical figures – from Philo through Maimonides and the Reformers – who praised the use of medicine and aligned with or echoed Sirach 38. Their views laid the foundation for a Church that gradually replaced healing through the Name of Yeshua with healing through the hands of men.
Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 B.C. – 50 A.D.)
Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, lived immersed in Greek culture and integrated it with Jewish theology. He frequently used medical metaphors and showed great respect for physicians. In Embassy to Gaius, he refers to Apollo as “the inventor of healing medicines” and “the great physician,” revealing that in his worldview, medicine was a divine gift, not a worldly intrusion. While Philo emphasized spiritual healing, he did not challenge the legitimacy of physical remedies, and his thinking reflects the early roots of compromise.
Origen of Alexandria (c. 185–254 A.D.)
Origen explicitly defended medicine as a good and necessary art. In Contra Celsum (Book III), he writes,
“The science of medicine is useful and necessary to the human race… there are found numerous sects in medicine just as there are in philosophy.”
Origen argues that differing opinions don’t discredit medicine any more than heresies discredit the faith. This analogy shows that he saw no conflict between Christian belief and the use of medical treatments – a view in clear alignment with Sirach 38.
Moses Maimonides (1135–1204)
A Jewish rabbi, philosopher, and practicing physician, Maimonides taught that healing was a Torah obligation. He claimed that the command to restore what is lost (Deut. 22:2) included restoring health, and that doctors fulfill a mitzvah by healing the sick. In his writings, the physician’s role is not merely permitted – it is required. Maimonides even prayed,
“You have appointed me to watch over the life and health of Your creatures…”
In doing so, he elevated medicine to a spiritual duty, helping to entrench faith in physicians within Jewish tradition.
Later addition: We must understand the dilema this Jewish rabbi and all Jews faced. They did not believe Yeshua was the Messiah – so were not benefited by His sacrifice like those who have believed. No Temple sacrifices could be made. They were still under the Moses covenant which saw healing from obeying Ex 23:25. As that requires obedience to the NT commands, they could be healed no other way.
Martin Luther (1483–1546)
During a plague outbreak, Luther strongly encouraged the use of medicine:
“God has created medicine and given us intelligence to care for our bodies… If one makes no use of intelligence or medicine when he could do so… he must beware lest he become a suicide in God’s eyes.”
Luther viewed medicine as part of Yahweh’s providence. While he did not abandon prayer, he believed refusing treatment was a sin. His view aligned perfectly with Sirach’s idea that medicines are Yahweh’s creation – and this thinking deeply influenced Protestant culture.
John Calvin (1509–1564)
Calvin affirmed that all useful knowledge, including medical skill, comes from God. He frequently compared Yahweh to a physician who treats the soul, and accepted earthly physicians as legitimate instruments of healing. Calvin’s theology of “common grace” made room for medicine without question. For him, trusting a doctor was not opposed to trusting Yahweh – it was a way of receiving Yahweh’s gifts.
John Wesley (1703–1791)
Founder of Methodism, Wesley was one of the strongest advocates for medical practice among Protestant leaders. He studied medicine to help the poor, founded a free dispensary, and wrote Primitive Physick, a book of natural remedies. In the preface, he wrote:
“The art of physic [medicine] is of divine original… God who taught it to the beasts and birds did not withhold it from man.”
Wesley never saw a contradiction between praying for the sick and treating them medically. He believed Yahweh ordained both, placing him firmly within the tradition of Sirach 38.
Conclusion: A Long Descent
From Philo to Wesley, history is full of respected voices who legitimized, praised, and even sanctified the use of medicine. Many of them were sincere. Some were brilliant. And many will use this to justify ignoring the mistranslations exposed in this book. But they were wrong. Their endorsements – explicit or implicit – laid the groundwork for a Church that now trusts more in doctors than in the Name of Yeshua. Isn’t it obvious?
This is not a footnote in church history. It is the slow, deceptive drift away from healing through the Name that Acts 4:12 so clearly declares. Let the reader understand: it appears pharmakeia was not imposed upon the Church as much as it was welcomed by many of her leaders.
That sobering reality demands a deeper reckoning. If welcomed, was it truly deception—or was it something more? Scripture draws a line between those who are innocently misled and those who knowingly reject the truth because they love something else more. As painful as it is to say, we must consider that some leaders—perhaps even revered ones—were not merely deceived by Sirach or drawn in by ignorance. They saw the promise of medical science, admired its power, and welcomed its gospel. They believed the lie because they wanted what it offered.
Yeshua told the religious leaders of His day, “You are of your father, the devil” (John 8:44). These were men who knew Scripture—but had no room for the truth. Paul warned of those who would be given over to strong delusion because they “did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12). That is not accidental deception. That is a spiritual verdict.
Many today still claim, “But I was deceived. A just God would never punish me for that.” Yet Scripture says otherwise. Yahweh does not condemn those who stumble in weakness but those who refuse the truth when it is presented. Deception becomes judgment when it is preferred over repentance. Sirach, the stethoscope, the medical priesthood—all of it may have served as a cover for rebellion that had already taken root.
It is hard to say these things, especially about church fathers or movements we once revered. Methodists, Wesleyans, Nazarenes—many cannot imagine that John Wesley, a man of such fire and conviction, could have erred. But he did. He carried medicines on horseback and taught their usefulness, unintentionally helping to blend the gospel with pharmakeia. That’s not to condemn him—but to call us to sober discernment. Past devotion does not excuse present deception.
Let the reader weigh this not with sentiment but with fear and trembling. Yahweh is not mocked. What the Church has sown, she is now reaping.
You have read what I now strongly believe is Biblical truth. It is also the truth that Medical Science cannot heal the soul or the spirit. As of now, you can only claim to have been deceived if you now repent. If it is truth, and you do not receive it, then He was right about you and the others – “because they refused to love the truth that would have healed them.”
If you still doubt, then ask yourself: what risk is there in obeying Him—if all you lose is the world?
Let this appendix stand as a witness – not of my judgment, but of His truth. What you do with it will either confirm your repentance or reveal your rebellion. May it be the former.
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