John 4:43-54

 

“After the two days he left for Galilee.  (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)  When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.

 

Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.  When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

 

“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

 

The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

 

“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

 

The man took Jesus at his word and departed.  While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.  When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

 

Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

 

This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.”

 

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Before Jesus went to Jerusalem for Passover, he pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  Luke chapter 4 records an incident where Jesus had some harsh words to say to the Jews in Nazareth.  He pointed out that Elijah only healed Naaman the Syrian and only helped Zarephath, a widow in Sidon.  Jesus implied that the Jews did not have faith.  For this, the Nazarites brought Jesus to the brow of the hill to throw Jesus off a cliff. 

 

Now that Jesus returned from Jerusalem people are glad to see him because of all the miracles that he did there. 

 

This seems to be one of the rules of society.  People will gravitate to other people that can do things for them. 

 

Missionaries often mention the problem of creating rice Christians.  The missionaries help people in their mission area with food and such, and they become Christians because they believe that will keep the food coming. 

 

When I was in a senior High School, my sister that was 2 years younger than me was dating one of my best friends that lived across the street.  One day, she showed my friend, Mike, how to become a Christian, and right after she did that they made love together.  Shortly after that, his sister, Monica, came over and told me that she wanted me to show her how to be a Christian and do what her brother and my sister did right after he became a Christian. 

 

Sometimes, people (quote) “believe” (unquote) because of something else that they can get.  These people in Galilee seem to be those kind of people.

 

Now, this is the second sign Jesus performed according to John. 

 

Jesus even says to the royal official coming to him for help, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”  It seems that the royal official must have had some faith because he came to Jesus expecting Jesus to heal his son.  Yet, Jesus is telling him that they don’t believe.  Perhaps they believe Jesus is a miracle worker and healer, but they do not yet believe who Jesus is. Perhaps this is why Jesus said they must see signs and wonders to believe. 

 

In the previous section, the Samaritans believed in Jesus as the Savior of the world.  Now Jesus is with his own people, the Jews, and they only believe in Jesus as a miracle worker.  This brings us back to John 1:11, where it says that he came to his own, but his own did not receive him.  

 

When Jesus says, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe,” the “you” is plural.  He is not only saying this to the royal official, but also the other Galileans that are there.

 

The royal official then begs Jesus, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

 

The royal official is still obsessed with what Jesus can do for him. 

 

Jesus responds with authority and simplicity.  He says, “Go, your son will live.”

 

 Jesus didn’t respond the way that the royal official wanted.  Sometimes Jesus doesn’t answer our prayers the way that we want him to.  Sometimes, those times are better than we could have hoped. 

 

One time I was at a Christian conference.  After one of the lessons, a message was posted on the overhead telling me to call a phone number.  I called the phone number.  It was a lady from church and she said that my grandmother was at the hospital.  My grandmother had a brain hemorrhage.  The lady from church said that she could let me in since she was a nurse at the hospital.  So, I drove there right away and met her at the door.  She led me to a room where there were several beds with people that had the same problem.  They were all unconscious.  There in the first bed was my grandmother lying unconscious.  I held her hand and asked God to heal her.  Nothing happened immediately.  Then I asked God to give us a sign that she would recover fully.  At that she sat right up and said, “Paul, I can hear you but I can’t see you.”  I told her what happened and that a doctor would have to operate on her.  Then I told her to go back to sleep, which she did. 

 

On the way out, the nurse said, “That never happens!”

 

I said, “It was just a sign.”

 

The nurse said, “No, what happened in there never happens.  People don’t just wake up or sit up when they have had an aneurism.”

 

A couple days later while I was visiting my grandmother at the hospital, she asked me what she needed to do to see again.  I told her to get out of bed each day and walk a bit, walking a bit further each day.  After that the surgeon came in.  The surgeon told me that as she was right then would be how she would always be.  He said that there was a lot of damage to the octal nerves and that they would never work again.  I said, “God gave us a sign and she will recover fully.”  The Doctor gave me a strange look as he left. 

 

The next day, my dad told me not to contradict what the doctor says.  I told him, “Dad, God gave us a sign.  Gram will recover fully.” 

 

A week later, I went to the hospital and my grandmother read to me from the Bible.  I asked her when she started to see.  She said that it was when she was walking down the hallway at the hospital for exercise. 

 

So, Gram recovered fully.  She even drove her car.  

 

A few years later, she took me with her to her follow up appointment with the doctor that operated on her.  He spent a lot of time looking at her eyes using an ophthalmoscope.  He said, “I still don’t see how it is you can see.” 

 

A few years after that, I was visiting Gram on Christmas Eve, and she said, “I don’t see how it is that I see.”

 

I told her, “It is a miracle, Gram.” 

 

Now, if Gram had been completely healed when I prayed, that doctor would have never known about the miracle.  By doing things the way he did, Jesus revealed himself to people that would not have been reached. 

 

So Jesus healed the royal official’s son in a different manner to reveal more about himself that people would not have known.  Instead of going there and healing the boy in person, Jesus says, “Go; your son will live.” 

 

“The man took Jesus at his word and departed.  While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.  When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

 

“Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.”

 

So now, Jesus was no longer just a healer.  Jesus is in Cana talking to the royal official and at the same time he is in Capernaum healing the royal official’s son. 

 

Now, the royal official and his whole family truly believed in Jesus.  They understood he was who he said he was.

 

Jesus proved that he was all-present and all-knowing as well as all-powerful, qualities that only God could have.

 

Recently, I was debating with an Atheist on Facebook.  He said, “If someone actually proved God, he would be world famous.” 

 

“Well,” I answered, “Jesus proved God and Jesus is world famous.”