Healing of the Nobleman’s So

Overview

John 4:46–54 “So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he came out of Judaea into Galilee.”

This miracle is only found in John

It happens not long after Jesus cleans the temple the first time in John 2.

Cana of Galilee is the same place as where Jesus changed water to wine.

He was recieved with a warm welcome into Galilee

Galilee and Capernaum are 20 miles apart.

We must ask God for a proper perspective

The nobleman request was for Jesus to physically go to Capernaum and heal his son. He thought, that in order for Jesus to do the healing, He had to be physically there. He didn’t realize that Jesus was not limited by time and space like we are.

We all have a tendency in our life to view God through our own perspective, or our own lense.

Our perspective is usually shaped by our past experiences.

EXAMPLE - pull out TP roll and use it to demonstrate perspective

Alot of times when we have problems and issues, we try to figure out what God can do to fix the problem. But maybe He sent the problem to fix something in us?

So how do we handle the issues we face? We give them over to the Lord and have faith that He knows what is best for that situation. 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

When God doesn’t answer the way we want Him to, He is still enough

Jesus’s reply was, “except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” vs 48

He was essentially saying, the only reason you believe in me is because I’m doing something for you. In the next couple chapter’s Jesus is going to feed the 5000, but most of them were going to depart once Jesus wasn’t giving out food anymore.

looking back at this statement, it’s almost as if Jesus seemingly ignores the man’s request and reply’s with what would seem a harsh statement. Jesus Challenges the faith of not just, the nobleman, but also of those around Him. “Ye” is in the plural form in the greek.

Are we like the people in the Scriptures who only follow Jesus, or have faith in Him, when he is doing something for us? If God never answered our prayers, or healed our sicknesses, or did the impossible in our life, would our relationship with Him, be enough to sustain us? Is our faith in God still there, even when he’s not actively doing something for us?

The proof of our faith, is not in what we say, but in what we do.

In vs 50, Jesus gives the nobleman an opportunity to prove his faith. He says “Go.”

The nobleman had a choice to make. He could choose to continue to request Jesus’s presence to heal his son, or he could choose to abandon what he thought was best, and believe what Jesus said. If he choose his way, he would continue begging and pleading. If he chose to have faith in Christ, he would turn around and go home. His faith led to action, not to words.

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.”

James 2:20 “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”