*****John 4:46-54

There is a word from the lord this morning, coming from the book of John

And you should find these words as printed

John 4:46–54 (NRSV)

46 Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. 51 As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” 53 The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54 Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

That’s enough , I want to talk for the next fleeting moments with the help of the holy spirit and your prayers

I want to talk about

Trouble comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes. Trouble comes to all people: no matter what color, what gender, what nationality, what social standing, and what age they may be. We will not get out of life without facing trouble. John declared the trouble that the nobleman faced and the triumph that the nobleman embraced. When trouble comes we must turn to the right place and trust in the right Person.

I want to challenge God’s people to have faith in the word of God and believe in the power of God to work in us, for us, and through us. Are you facing trouble in this life? Who are you going to call in the face of trouble?

→ Nobleman:

which means a royal official, a king’s man, a king’s officer, or petty king.

This man’s title says much about the man’s position and his prosperity. This man may have be financially well off, but we learn that his life was about to crumble. Someone has well said,

• Money can buy you a bed, but it cannot buy you sleep!

• Money can buy you a house, but it cannot buy you a home!

• Money can buy you companions, but it cannot buy you a close friend!

• Money can buy you books, but it cannot buy you brains!

• Money can buy a church building, but it cannot buy entrance into heaven!”

Though this man was in a position of authority and power and plenty, he was not immune to the troubles of life.

We learn in this passage that his son lay sick and even to the point of death. It was an urgent matter, that took desperate measures.

This passage of Scripture reveals some factors in troubles that lead to triumph.

I. The expectation of the man. (vs. 46–47)

A. He traveled to Jesus. (vs. 46–47a)

“So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him”

The mighty works and miracles and marvel of Jesus had preceded Him. News had spread quickly!

EX: No cellphones; no satellite television; no internet, no telephone, no fast cars, no trains, no airplanes, and yet news spread quickly.

The man heard that about the power of Jesus and he had heard about the place of Jesus. He had heard that Jesus was near. The man heard about Jesus and he listened and paid attention to what he heard. He did not:

• turn a deaf ear to the message

• think himself too important

• consider the message to be foolish

• mock the person sharing about Jesus.

He heard about Jesus and he came to Jesus. Facing one of the severe disasters of life, the man came to Jesus. Jesus was the only person he had ever heard about that might be able to help.

Cana was about 15–20 miles away from Capernaum. That was much closer than Jerusalem. He traveled to call on the Lord while He was near.

Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”

This man had a measure of faith! We see in his traveling to Jesus his expectation of Jesus. The nobleman believed that the Lord Jesus could heal his sick son. R. Kent Hughes wrote, “He went himself! He did not send a servant. He did not send his wife. In that nobleman we see a man who was involved with his family, who was so wrapped up in his children’s destiny that he did not send someone else but went himself.”

Take heed parents: don’t let the world and the devil have your kids—bring your kids to Jesus. He is the only One who can save them, give them life, provisions, protection, and eternity in heaven! Many parents are oblivious to the real state of their children—they try to give them everything they want and neglect to give them what they need! This man was in desperate straits. He was in a desperate situation. The nobleman had a son in Capernaum who was sick.

Sick: astheneo to be feeble (in any sense) be diseased, impotent folk (man), (be) sick, (be, be made) weak. Sometimes the Lord allows us to experience desperate faith in order to move us toward deliberate faith.

That’s what He did with this nobleman. He traveled to Jesus. Next, we learn:

B. He travailed before Jesus. (vs. 47b)

“and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.”

This man had great expectation of the Lord Jesus. He implored Jesus to come down to Capernaum to heal his son.

Implored: erotao, er-o-tah’-o; to interrogate; by implication to request, ask, beseech, desire, entreat, pray. This word is in a continuous tense in the Greek language which conveys the idea of a persistent request. A.T. Robertson said, the nobleman “began to beg and kept it up.”

Travailed: means very hard work. I believe the man was giving all he had in imploring the Lord to come. He wasn’t bashful about his request. This man’s son was about to die and he had no one else to turn to. We tend to be self reliant, self sufficient, self dependant, but that outlook will never lead to triumph in trouble.

John Bunyan wrote, “I was driven to such straits that I must of necessity go to Jesus; and if He had met me with a drawn sword in His hand, I would sooner have thrown myself upon the edge of His sword than have gone away from Him; for I knew Him to be my last hope.”

The nobleman knew the Lord to be his last hope. The son was at the point of death—I say that the situation was desperate! The fact is that the situation around us is desperate, but we are not! When is the last time we have traveled to Jesus and travailed before Jesus?

• Do we implore of the Lord?

• Do we with desperation bring our needs to the Lord?

• Do we with urgency bring our children to the Lord?

• Don’t teach your kids to love the world, but teach them to love the Lord Jesus!

• Don’t teach them to sacrifice for temporal pleasures, but teach them to sacrifice for the eternal King!

We’ve seen the expectation of the man. Next, we see:

II. The exasperation of the Master. (vs. 48)

“Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”

Jesus had performed miracles in Jerusalem and during the feast and many saw and believed. (John 2:23) Because of Jesus signs we learn that a religious ruler named Nicodemus came to Jesus at night and talked with Him. Nicodemus said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” The Lord’s fame was wide spread throughout the land. The Lord Jesus came to Cana of Galilee and there the nobleman came to meet Him.

In this verse we sense the exasperation of the Master. Have you ever been exasperated? Exasperated?

• Our children’s constant nagging

• Traffic jams or bad drivers

• Interruptions—

• Overbearing boss

• Slacking off employees

• 1–800 telemarketers

• Gas and food prices

• Doctor’s appointments

The Lord’s reply is a rebuke to the nobleman and to others around. You: in the Greek is in the plural which indicates that Jesus was not just talking to the nobleman, but to everyone who had gathered around Him for the purpose of seeing these signs and wonders.

• Signs: are miracles done that have a deeper meaning or significance.

• Wonders: are miracles that cause men to be amazed at there supernatural qualities.

Jesus is not impressed with the philosophy of Missouri. The show me state is a state in which many in the world live today.

• Unbelief says ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.”

• Belief says, ‘I’ll believe it before I see it because You said it.”

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

We live in a world that longs to see the miraculous. People flock to see so called miracles!

So called faith healers fill auditoriums, convention centers, and stadiums to capacity with people wanting to be healed and longing to see the miraculous.

It is no different today as it was in the days the Lord Jesus walked upon the earth. If these so called faith healers had the power to heal they would be going to or healing the people in the hospitals and emergency rooms. In this passage Jesus gives an exasperating rebuke to the nobleman and those around.

Matthew Henry wrote, “Those whom Christ intends to honor with His favors, He first humbles with His frowns. The Comforter shall first convince.”

The Lord Jesus makes a profound statement here. Many will not believe unless they see. They will die in their sins and spend eternity in hell because they would not believe.

John G. Butler wrote, “We have a lot more unbelief in our church people, than what many suspect. This is evident in the emphasis on and the encouragement of the carnal program at church which stresses spectaculars instead of sermons, and sensational entertainment rather than spiritual edification.”

God help us to get back to believing His word.

We’ve seen the expectation of the man, the exasperation of the Master, and next, we see:

III. The execution of the miracle. (vs. 49–54)

A. He took Him as His word. (vs. 49–50)

1. The command to the man. (vs. 49–50a)

“The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.”

Sir: is the same word that is translated as Lord throughout the gospels. Both words are titles of respect. He implored Jesus to come down to Capernaum. This man had faith, but he had a deficient faith. Many of us have faith, but it is not a life changing and soul saving faith. This man believed Jesus could heal his son, but he didn’t believe that Jesus could do it from a distance.

He thought Jesus had to be present to perform the miracle. Jesus straightened out this nobleman’s faith.

John Phillips reminds us, “The Lord does not have to be physically present to act on our behalf; distance is no obstacle to Him.”

In verse 50 we see that Jesus commands the man. He says, “Go your way; your son lives.” The Lord Jesus spoke the word and the work was done.

→ This was the 1st of 11 miracles done by Jesus in Capernaum.

→ Capernaum was blessed with the Lord’s presence and the Lord’s power, but they were also more accountable to God.

Jesus has all power in heaven and on earth and He can do as He sees fit. He spoke the world into existence and it was no trouble at all to speak healing into the nobleman’s son.

We see the command to the man leads to:

2. The compliance of the man. (vs. 50b)

“So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him”

The man had never had anything like this happen to him and yet he believed the word. He didn’t debate with the Lord or defy the word of the Lord. Jesus declared to Him the facts and the man took Him at His word.

He was in the act of obeying Christ when he received the glorious news that his prayer was answered.

Again, it was believing the promise of Jesus and obeying Him that brought the blessing.

Both belief and obedience were essential.

The Lord’s word is more reliable than man’s word.

Years ago people believed that a man’s word was his bond. He didn’t need a contract or a lawyer to back up what was said. Business was done with a word and a hand shake. Even then though not everyone’s word was good. If you’ve ever known someone whose word was not reliable you know that you couldn’t trust them or believe what they say. Man will let you down, but the Lord Jesus will never let you down.

His word is better than gold!

His word can be believed and trusted.

We learn from the nobleman that He believed the word of the Lord. He took Him at His word.

B. He traveled on his way. (50c–51a)

“and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”

He took Jesus at His word and he traveled on his way.

Do you have that kind of faith?

This man believed the word of the Lord and obeyed the word of the Lord! This is faith in action. This man saw the hand of God at work in his life. When we step out on faith, we will see the hand of God at work in our lives as well.

Some of us, need to step out by faith and live out our faith. We need to be challenged by the Lord and commanded by the Lord and then we need to be compliant to the Lord. This man was compliant to the command of the Lord.

He took Jesus at His word, he traveled on his way, and next we learn:

C. He was told of the work. (51b–54)

“And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” 52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household. 54 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”

Jesus always has a reason for performing miracles. Jesus didn’t perform miracles to show off His power, but to manifest His glory.

The work of the Lord for the son brought glory to Jesus by the family. The nobleman went on his way he did not immediately run back to Capernaum to see if it was true.

The next day as the nobleman headed back home he was met by his servants who had good news for him. Capernaum was about 15–20 miles from Cana and it would have been about a five hour journey. The nobleman inquired of when the fever had left his son and the servants said that the boy got well at the 7th hour the day before. The seventh hour would refer to about 1pm our time.

We learn from this, that when Jesus told the man to go his way his son was healed, the man would have had time to travel back home on that same day.

He believed the Lord’s word and on His way he was told of the Lord’s work.

In verse 53 we learn two great feats that the work of the Lord accomplished.

1. His faith was solidified. (vs. 53b)

“So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed,

This man’s faith was solidified. He believed but after hearing the news from others his faith grew and deepened. Our faith in the Lord, needs to be growing, and expanding. The nobleman had faith that Jesus could heal the physical body, but after the miracle the nobleman believed that Jesus could save the spiritual soul. Belief in Jesus as Healer is always meant to lead men to faith in Jesus as Savior. Jesus showed Himself strong on behalf of the nobleman and the nobleman believed. The earthly king’s servant’s faith in the heavenly King was solidified.

Is your faith in the Lord Jesus solidified?

Is your faith in the Lord growing?

Alexander Maclaren wrote, “The way to increase faith is to exercise faith.

And the true parent of perfect faith is the experience of the blessings that come from the crudest, rudest, narrowest, blindest, feeblest faith that a man can exercise.

Trust Him as you can, do not be afraid of inadequate conceptions, or of a feeble grasp. Trust Him as you can, and He will give you so much more than you expected that you will trust Him more.”

His faith was solidified, lastly we see:

2. His family was saved. (vs. 53c)

“And he himself believed, and his whole household.”

The working of the miracle led to the salvation of the family. The nobleman not only demonstrated his faith by obeying the Lord’s word, but he also declared his faith by telling his family that it was Jesus Christ who did the work. This man and his family and servants were saved. Everyone in his household was saved. They believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Acts 16 the Philippian jailer was saved and his household. It is good when whole households believe on the Lord. I wish every believer had all their family as believers, but that is not the case in every family.

→ We can take comfort in knowing that the Lord desires to save our families as well.

There was a great spiritual progression that led to this family getting right with the Lord.

Warren Wiersbe declares it well, “This man began with crisis faith. The nobleman’s crisis faith became confident faith. His confident faith became confirmed faith. His confirmed faith became a contagious faith as he shared his experience with others.”