A Serious Problem With Depression, Part I
Can a medical doctor help a patient with depression?
Sherry Marsden had a serious problem and she was about at the end of her rope with it. A doctor whom she knew socially had recommended that she see Dr. Ben Kaplan. It seemed like an odd recommendation to Sherry. Why should she see an expert at medical diagnosis? Sherry knew what her diagnosis was. It was depression. Sherry was suicidal. And no one had been able to help her so far. So, she made an appointment to see Ben.
“Good morning Mrs. Marsden. How can I help you today?”, asked Dr. Kaplan.
“Doctor, I’ve nothing left to live for. I don’t know why, but I have no hope. I don’t see any future for myself. There doesn’t seem to be any meaning to my life. I have a wonderful husband and two great kids. I’m not poor. I don’t know what to do. I’ve seen a psychiatrist. I’ve seen her weekly for three years and I’ve been on a number of antidepressant medications. Nothing has helped. My primary care MD has run a number of tests looking for some underlying medical cause. The tests have all been normal. So, as a last resort I’ve come to see you,” said Sherry.
“I’m glad that you came,” said Ben. “How long have you felt this way?”
“I’m 38 years old and I’ve felt this way for as long as I can remember. But it’s getting worse.”
“You’ve obviously got a tough problem, Mrs. Marsden”, said Ben Kaplan. “I know that you’ve been evaluated extensively. I have records from your PCP. Everything does indeed appear to be normal. I would like to do a head to toe physical examination on you. Just in case anything was missed. Is that OK?”
Sherry agreed. In the examination room, Ben’s medical assistant Denise asked Sherry to disrobe completely and put on a medical gown. When Sherry was ready, Ben and Denise entered the exam room and a complete hands on examination was done, from head to toe. Sherry then dressed and met Ben back in his consultation room.
“I have to admit that I’ve never had an examination like that, Dr. Kaplan. Did you find anything? And please call me Sherry, OK?”
“Sherry, I’m glad to report that I found nothing abnormal.”
“That’s good news, Doctor. I actually do feel some comfort in knowing that. But, can you do anything about my depression?”
“I don’t know that I can. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there there is no help for you,” said Ben.
“That sounds strange, Doctor.”
“I imagine that does sound strange, Sherry. Can I ask you a personal question?” said Ben.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Do you have a religion?”
“I’m Jewish.”
“Do you believe in God?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you believe that God loves you? I mean personally. Does the creator of the universe love Sherry Marsden?”
“I don’t believe that He does, Dr. Kaplan. And I have serious doubts that He cares about my people, the Jewish people. Look at the Holocaust. Would a loving God allow that? And what about the massacre in Israel this past October 7? And anyway, what in the world does that have to do with why I came here today?”
“I need to ask you another question, Sherry. Do you have a Bible at home? A Bible that contains both the Old Testament and the New Testament?”
“I do, doctor. I was a religion major at Brandeis University. But again, what does that have to do with my problem?”
“I want you to do something for me, Sherry. I want you to read verses 18-25 in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:18-25). And then come back to see me in one week. Would you do that, please?”
“I don’t understand why I should do that, doctor. What’s the point?”
“Sherry, you’ve told me that you are severely depressed, even to the point of considering suicide. That has to be very difficult. Absolutely nothing so far has helped. I’m asking you to trust me and to do what I’m asking you to do. Will you please do it?”.
“Yes, Dr. Kaplan. I’ll do it.”
“Well, Dr. Kaplan, I read the verses that you asked me to read,” stated Sherry.
“What did you think?” asked Ben.
“I’m not sure. I’d like to read them to you now.” Sherry picked up her Bible and read:
Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
“A couple of things to start off with, doctor. Verse 18 says that Jesus is the Messiah. Where in the world does that come from? Jewish people don’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. And verse 21 says that Jesus will save his people - I guess that means the Jewish people, because Jesus was Jewish - from their sins. What does that mean?! I’m not a sinner. Is this verse telling me that he came to save me? That’s crazy! And by the way, Dr. Kaplan, are you Jewish?”
“Yes, Sherry, I’m Jewish. Sherry, let’s take your second point first. You don’t think that you’re a sinner. Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments?”
“I am, Dr. Kaplan. I went to synagogue for many years and we read the Torah portion every Shabbat. In fact, I still go but not every week.”
“OK, let’s look at the Ten Commandments, Sherry. In fact let’s look at just the tenth commandment. It’s in Exodus 20:17. Would you mind reading it?”
“Sherry read:
Exodus 20:17 (NIV)
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
“Sherry, have you ever coveted anything that belongs to your neighbor? To covet means to yearn to possess or have something. Did you ever yearn to have something of your neighbor’s? Something that was not yours? Even one time?”
“Well, I really loved my next door neighbor’s husband when I was ten years old. I really wished, yes I yearned that he could be mine. Maybe he could replace my father or possibly be my husband when I grew up. I don’t know. But I never did anything about it. It was only in my mind, Dr. Kaplan.”
“That’s what coveting is, Sherry. It’s not an action. It’s in the mind. It can lead to action, but it doesn’t have to. According to the Torah, “do not covet” is a commandment of God. You broke that commandment when you were ten years old”.
“Isn’t that something, Dr. Kaplan! I did break the tenth commandment. What does that mean though? My Rabbi never taught me anything about that.”
“I want you to search the Torah for the answer to that question, about what it means to break a commandment of God, about what the consequences are. I don’t think you’ll find it difficult. You can even use an internet Bible, search for the word sin and see what you come up with. What is the consequence of sin and what can be done about it? Let me know next week. OK?”
“I will, Dr. Kaplan.”
Sherry was confused about what Dr. Kaplan had asked her to do at their last visit. She had gone to him for help with her depression and Ben had told her to read verses from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew. It didn’t make sense to Sherry. And Ben was asking her to research, from the Bible, what happened if a person broke one of God’s laws. Sherry had admitted to Ben that she was definitely guilty of violating the Tenth Commandment - she was guilty of coveting. And she knew that according to the Bible that was a sin. Well, what of it? Surely the Bible and its laws were not applicable to modern times, to today, were they? Sherry was a successful trial attorney and one of the founding members of Cohen, Marsden, and Sachs. The firm’s income last year had exceeded eight figures. Sherry knew about laws. She was a lawyer, after all. She was an expert! Laws were things that were bent or broken all the time and often with little or no consequences. Were Biblical laws any different? There was a nagging concern that she had been feeling ever since leaving Ben’s office and reading the verses he’d asked her to read in the Gospel of Matthew. Could it be that God’s laws were more important than Sherry had ever realized? She would keep her promise to Ben Kaplan and look into the consequences of breaking one of God’s commandments. What were the consequences of sinning against God?
“Hi, Sherry. How are you this week? How is your depression?”
“Well, Dr. Kaplan, I’m confused. You asked me to search the Torah to find out the consequences of my breaking the tenth commandment when I was ten years old. Remember, I coveted my next door neighbor’s father?”
“I certainly do remember, Sherry”, said Ben.
“So I searched my Bible and here is what I found out about the consequences. I’d like to read you this passage from Leviticus that describes what the priest is to do when a leader comes to him asking for forgiveness:
Leviticus 4:24-26 NKJV
And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD. It is a sin offering. [25] The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. [26] And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
“So an innocent animal, a goat in this case, is slaughtered, killed, and its blood placed on the altar. And that’s how the priest makes atonement for the sin that this person committed. The innocent animal dies instead of the person who committed the sin. An animal’s life for the life of a person, right?” asked Sherry. “Is that the idea, Dr. Kaplan?”
“Exactly right, Sherry,” said Ben.
“That doesn’t seem fair, Ben. By the way, can I call you Ben?”
“By all means, call me Ben. But Sherry, the Bible is the word of God. God is perfect. If He tells me, or tells the priest in the Old Testament to do something, it is not for me to judge whether it is fair or not. I have to just accept it and obey it.”
“Wow, Ben! I’m having trouble wrapping my head around that. It doesn’t seem natural to me.”
“Of course it doesn’t, Sherry. It probably goes against everything that you’ve been taught, even in law school. But God’s ways and His thoughts are different than ours and they are much higher.”
“Ben, is this going to lead to something that is going to lift my depression?”
“I think it might, Sherry. Let me read another verse from Leviticus to you and a couple of verses from the prophet Isaiah:
Leviticus 17:11 NKJV
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.'
Isaiah 53:5-6 NKJV
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
“Sherry, do you have any thoughts about what God might be telling us here?”
“The Leviticus verse seems to be telling us about the blood of an animal which represents that animal’s life. If the animal is killed, its blood or life makes atonement for our souls. We don’t die then, right? The animal becomes a substitute for us, or me in this case, because I broke the tenth commandment”, said Sherry.
“Exactly, Sherry! But an animal’s blood can’t provide perfect or permanent atonement for the sin committed by a human. That’s where the Person offered up for us in the Isaiah passage comes in. The Person described in this passage is the Messiah, the one and only Son of God. He is Yeshua or Jesus, God in the flesh. He came to earth as the perfect sacrifice, to die for our sins, your sins and mine. He took the penalty that you incurred for breaking the tenth commandment. He paid the debt that you owe, if you accept what He did for you by faith. If you do that, you will be justified - God declares you to be righteous - He gives you the status of a righteous person. It is as if you had never sinned at all.”
“Ben, my head is spinning! Would God actually do this for me? After all the evil things that I’ve done in my life? Why?”
“Because God loves you, Sherry.”
Sherry began to weep and then began to sob uncontrollably. Ben came over to her and put his arm around her.
“Sherry, I think you’ve been born again. I want you to go home and rejoice! Come back in a few days and we’ll talk some more, OK?”
Sherry nodded and without saying a word she left the office.