John 4:43-54 True Life Saving Faith

08.02.09 John 4:43-54 (NASB)

Audio Sermon File: John 4:43-54

Going Deeper: Study Guide

True Life Saving Faith

In light of Jesus’ public ministry we have been able to witness, over the past few sermons, Jesus’ growing harvest. In chapter 3 - TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH is offered and received by well known religious leader - Nicodemus. Then as we examined over the last 3 sermons it was offered to a woman with a past. Salvation was not only offered to her but also to her towns people - Samaritans - the enemies of the Jews. And today the changing of hearts takes place in the life and family of someone else. Our text reveals:

43 After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast. 46 Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." 49 The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50 Jesus said to him, "Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

Today we will discover in our passage the theme of ‘Unbelief and Belief.’ It is evident in the people of Galilee, as well - and certainly more defined - in a royal official and his family. The underlying witness that the Apostle John presents to us is this - Jesus’ true identity establishes that life comes through the Son of God, and believing on Him brings eternal life. TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH comes only from our wonderful Lord - Jesus Christ. TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH in our Scripture passage is developed through 3 phases of interaction:

THE LIFE THREATENING REQUEST (made by the royal official) v.43-47
THE LIFE CHALLENGING RESPONSE (posed by Jesus) v.48-50
THE LIFE GIVING RESULT (granted by Jesus) v.51-54

In this recount, through the REQUEST, RESPONSE, and RESULT - we see Jesus leading the royal official from unbelief to TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH through a dilemma of faith..

1. THE LIFE THREATENING REQUEST
(by the official) v.43-47

v.43 After spending two days with the Samaritans, Jesus packs up and gets back onto His original travel itinerary, that was to go to Galilee as He purposed back in verse 3.

v.44 In relation to the direct context of verse 44, that is Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritans, the Apostle John makes note of a proverb that Jesus Himself had stated - which is - a prophet has no honor in his own country. This proverb contrasts the belief of 2 people groups. The first is the Samaritans and the second is Jesus’ own people - the Jews. Jesus had a successful ministry in Samaria with those whom the Jews despised. But to His own people - the Jews, He was certainly met with opposition. The Samaritans characteristically responded with belief - and in contrast the Jews characteristically demonstrated unbelief. The Jews were rejecting Jesus in reluctance to believe due to the hardness of their hearts. So this statement sets the overall tone of what is to come in the following passages.

v.45 As Jesus sets foot into the Galilean region, He is received enthusiastically - the people received Him. Jesus was no stranger to these people and this also included His disciples. All of Jesus’ disciples had come from Galilee, with the possible exception of Judas Iscariot. So people were familiar with them. Those who had welcomed Jesus into Galilee, as the text states were even there in Jerusalem at the Feast - and as a result had seen what Jesus did. We the readers are already aware what Jesus did at the Passover Feast - which is recorded back in chapter 2:23 - He did many signs. Not only this, but Jesus also cleansed the temple of the crooked animal merchants and money changers. So because of all these things the people welcomed Him - but the nature and motives of the welcome is going to be revealed to us - later in this passage.

v.46 If you remember back to the events of chapter 2 of the gospel, Galilee was the geographical backdrop, and more specifically the town of Cana. This was where Jesus began His public ministry. At Cana Jesus performed His first sign - turning water into wine. And here in our passage Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee. At this same time, a royal official is introduced. This royal official was probably stationed at Capernaum, as a servant, under the authority of King Herod Antipas. King Herod ruled Galilee during this time, a reign which begun in 4 BC and ending in AD 39. Herod was the King that had been foolishly trapped into beheading John the Baptist - and displaying the Baptist’s head on a platter for all his guests to see. Now, this official, in our passage had his home in Capernaum, which was about 18-20 miles north east of Cana. This is slightly greater than the distance of walking from UBC to SFU. The town of Capernaum was located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The text tells us that the official had a son who was sick at Capernaum.

v.47 It is apparent that the news that Jesus was back in town caused some stir - and the news of Jesus’ arrival rapidly spread into the region. As a result the news in turn reached this royal official. Being an official of the royal court this man was well off and had some status in town. He probably was also well connected because of his position, so it could have been that he had tried every resource to have his son physically restored. It is clear, however in the text, that nothing sought out, worked for him as his son… was at the point of death.

Desperate times require desperate measures. As an outcome of Jesus’ arrival in Cana, the official went to [Jesus] and was imploring [Him] to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Now the original text makes it clear by the tense of the words that this official went at once to Jesus (ingressive aorist indicative). The situation was quite desperate - death was imminent - and he didn’t have to think twice about searching out Jesus’ help. I believe that those of you who are parents would appreciate and really understand the circumstances. Of course he didn’t have a car back then, so the trek from Capernaum to Cana was not something one would do casually. When he got to Jesus the man begged Jesus. Once again from the Greek tense used it is clear that this was not a simple request or plea (imperfect active) - but the picture is of this desperate official repeatedly, and persistently making his request to Jesus again and again….please Jesus come down and heal my son….please Jesus…I beg you - my son is at the point of death…he is dying and I need you to come to Capernaum….please.

The official comes to Jesus with a sense of unbelief, but is so desperate that there is a glimmer of true faith - and makes his plea. Jesus draws the official to a genuine belief by issuing ….

2. THE LIFE CHALLENGING RESPONSE
(posed by Jesus) v.48-50

v.48 Do you remember this little ditty? - ‘Jesus meek and mild.’ I am not even sure where it comes from but for some reason it has stuck in my head. I guess from all the years being in church - at some point these simple words of a song have been locked into my brain. Jesus meek and mild - well it is probably our expectation that Jesus, who is known for His compassion, would immediately accept the man’s pleas. But Jesus’ answer may shock you. In fact it is a RESPONSE of rejection - Jesus harshly replies - "Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe." Jesus speaks directly to the official, but His response is directed at all the people. What Jesus is saying is that all the people, and in particular the Jews, is that all they want are signs and wonders.

The phrase signs and wonders, is not two kinds of different acts, but it emphasizes the event - in other words signs and wonders could be expressed as ‘marvelous signs’ or ‘wonderful signs.’ So Jesus confronts the people point blank - all you want is signs and wonders otherwise you are never ever going to believe. If you don’t see a miracle then you will feel that there is no reason to have faith in Me. The people were so hard hearted that they needed to justify why they should believe. Jesus knew that all the people wanted from Him was a show - they saw Him as some kind of entertainer - maybe even some kind of magician - pull another rabbit out of the hat Jesus…show me another new trick Jesus...the bottom line that Jesus was driving at was that the people were not interested in a TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH. The heart of the issue was that the Galilean’s attitude reflected the deepest state of unbelief one could possess. There was a self centered focus on the need for constant wonderful signs, and a total disregard for the person of Christ.

One time I met a man who said he willing went to church many years ago, when he was young, but now has long rejected any reality that there is a God. At this point of his life He has placed his Bible on the shelf for many years to collect dust as an antiquity - and he has brushed aside the necessity for faith. I had quite a lengthy conversation with him. The bottom of the line for him was that he did what he could do, to the best of his ability and that was sufficient. He rejected the notion that God exists, but did express that the only thing that could convince him of the existence of this so called all powerful compassionate God, was if there was something so spectacular that it would instill faith in him. In short he wanted evidence. No evidence… no God was his formula for faith. I did offer to him evidence - since he hit on that theme so much - I did not offer to him empirical evidence, but called him to the powerful testimony of Scripture. The bottom line was that this man rejected the true knowledge of God and replaced it with lies and worship of self as the authority (Rom. 1:28). He stated the same kind of thing that Jesus directly confronts in our passage - that people want great displays of supernatural acts, but have no interest in personally knowing the One who performed them. In response to the testimony of Scripture, he relegated it to mere opinion - he did not want to accept the truth.

In verse 49 we see the royal official’s response. The official’s response comes in the form of an order - after all he was a royal official and therefore he had legal authority over Jesus - but we know that he did not have ultimate authority - for only God has that authority over His creation. The official commands Jesus to go with him - back to Capernaum. If you look down at your Bibles at verse 49 you will see the words - come down. Jesus wasn’t standing on something and was being asked to step down - but it refers to the geographical location of Capernaum which was a downhill trip, right to the north western shores of the Sea of Galilee. It is like saying let’s go down to the Fraser River, because our church is on a higher elevation than the Fraser. So the official, commands Jesus to make a LIFE SAVING trip to his hometown to save his son - before his child dies. Up to this point we know that the official has a son, but we are not made aware of the age of this son. We now find out that this was a child, a little boy, imminently facing death. We see here - not only a royal official, but we see that he is a loving father - a father’s who love is so real that he makes this trip long trip to seek out a cure for his little son.

We see a father who’s hopes in Jesus, even after being rebuked along with the people for seeking out signs and wonders - perseveres. This father had been tested and challenged to a deeper - true - faith by Jesus - and he arose to the moment. The father had to wrestle with his own faith - whether he was to place it upon receiving a supernatural demonstration - or rather would he place it solely upon Jesus and His Word?

v.50 This is how Jesus replies - He responds to the officials command by countering with His own command - and the original language gives us the force of what is being said. What Jesus commands here is ‘GO’ …your way. Why? Because Jesus has made a TRUE LIFE SAVING declaration. If you use the NIV - a weakness of the translation is shown here - it states - Your son will live - as if Jesus was only announcing the outcome of this little boy, down the road as he gets well from his illness. Why do I highlight this point? I do this because it is important to understand at this juncture, what Jesus is saying - because Jesus is not making some prediction, due to some foreknowledge of the outcome for this child. BUT - Jesus has at that moment - saved that little boys life - your son lives. Jesus demonstrates who He is - the Son of God - He performs a miracle - by the power of His Word.

Jesus in His infinite wisdom, performs the miracle at a distance so that no one present in the crowd who wanted to be entertained, by a supernatural marvelous sign, could be satisfied, by their requests. Instead the result was that the official had to wrestle with his unbelief and belief.
In the circumstance at hand there is presented to the official a dilemma of faith. Jesus commands the official to go back home because his son lives. But here is the dilemma - if the man does not take Jesus’ words seriously - by going back home - the official would have to continue begging Jesus to return with him to Capernaum. Then the begging would be an indication of the lack of trust in Jesus’ Words. With the lack of trust in Jesus so obvious, the official could view that as an insult toward Jesus - and therefore could conclude that he would not be rewarded with the restoration of his son’s health.

Yet if the official does obey Jesus, then he could face the possibility of going home only to find that the boy’s life is still in jeopardy - and if that happens there may be no time to spare - because he had to make the 18 mile trip back to Cana - look for Jesus - and then to beg Jesus once again - and then take Jesus back to Capernaum to perform a miracle in person - another 18 miles.

The first scenario calls for the demand for evidence that his son is restored - this would not be faith, but is a lack of trust in the claim of Jesus. The second scenario means that the official needs to exercise faith without any tangible evidence. Which in the officials mind could spell disastrous consequences upon his beloved little boy. So he was backed into a corner, but out of necessity - as the clock is ticking away - he has to exercise faith - and he chooses the better way - a faith exercised that offers no proof.

The critical question is - Do I believe solely upon Jesus by faith alone, or not? As it states in our passage - The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off . The man grew into belief by the supernatural drawing of Christ, and demonstrated that reality, by heading on the long journey back home. The official had true saving belief and responded to the Lord with obedience - he departed.

This is the kind of faith which we read about in Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of [things] hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Jesus calls the official to a genuine faith based on the person of Christ. Likewise it call us to a faith which is not based upon evidence, but solely upon the solid conviction of a future reality. True faith is not based upon something that can be measurable or experienced - but true faith rests upon divine assurance, which in itself is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8).

Jesus gives the official a serious life transforming challenge - faith or faithlessness. Through the Holy Spirit’s drawing, this man was given true faith, thus we now see…

3. THE LIFE GIVING RESULT
(granted by Jesus) v.51-54

v.51-52 On the way home the officials slaves met him. They reported to the official the great news - that this little child was living. It is most likely that the official thought back to the moment Jesus stated that his son lives. In doing so he inquired about the hour when he began to get better to his servants. His servants revealed to him that his little child’s fever left him at the seventh hour, which would be 1:00 pm the previous day - according to Jewish time keeping. This bit of information underscores the distance and large amount of time it took to get from Cana to Capernaum.

v.53 Discovering this fact, the official realized that [it was] at that hour - he recognized that this was the exact time when Jesus issued the decree that His child was healed. He also comprehends that this miracle took place without Jesus’ physical presence as the official had originally desired. This was a long distance, absentee miracle - which really demonstrated the beauty and power of Jesus’ majesty. The little child received his physical life back, but not only this, he responded to God, with TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH. The miracle gave life to the child and helped to strengthen the officials new found faith. As an overflow of grace that this father experienced, his witness became the catalyst which lead his family into TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH as well - and he himself believed and his whole household. Once again the echoes of a ripe harvest - in this chapter remind us of the crop around us.

v.54 Our account wraps up with a note from the Apostle John - This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. This was not Jesus’ second overall miracle in His ministry, but it was the second that He had done in Galilee - the first being the time He turned water into wine here at Cana.

If we step back for a moment - and look at the overall events of this chapter - we begin with an unbelieving crowd. A crowd where many had seen the miracles of Jesus while they were at the Passover - yet they still had no faith. But as the people spoke of these miracles of Jesus - and the news spread around - we meet a unbelieving man…a certain royal official. A man who became keenly aware that in Jesus, there may be a solution to his heart wrenching circumstances. His son lay at home with a fever - a life threatening event - and in hearing about the signs and wonders that Jesus was able to perform - he demonstrated some belief - yet wrestling with the presence of unbelief. Then as the official in desperation, came to Jesus and personally interacted with Him, he received faith - not in what could be seen - but in what he could not yet see. And as it was later established, through his servants, that his son was healed - his faith was confirmed. But his faith did not stop there - it overflowed into a testimony to his own family, and they were saved. From unbelief to overflowing belief - which is found only in Jesus Christ - Jesus gives life. Take your pencils and circle these words v.50 - lives; v.51 - living; and v.53 - lives. These words emphasize that Jesus gives life - not solely physical life as the little boy had received, but most importantly - spiritual life as this household rejoiced in.

The challenges of this passage are great, and the personal applications God calls us to are even greater. Aren’t we like the people in this account sometimes? We say - Lord show me something - show me a sign - and then I will believe You….do something tangible so then is it that I can respond in faith and obedience. But God draws us to the fact that it is the Hebrews 11 kind of faith that He is looking to reward - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (11:1).