The Nobleman’s Son John 4:46-54

Over the last several years, I’ve had the chance to lead mission teams to Livingston, Montana. It’s an incredible experience each time, but each trip has one thing in common. We take a day and head into Yellowstone National Park. We see a lot of different sights, but one of the “must sees” is Old Faithful. This geyser got its name because of the regularity of its explosions. When you show up, you’ll see a display board with the estimated time of the next eruption and generally, you can count on the eruption coming within about 10 minutes of that time. A couple of years back, I witnessed Old Faithful run late! It’s just my luck, to take a group of people all the way from Alabama to Wyoming and to have Old Faithful fail!

-Jesus is worthy of my trust

I. Jesus Receives Our Requests vv. 46-47

Last week, we began our look at John’s Gospel with Jesus’s first sign miracle, turning water into wine in Cana of Galilee; this week, He returns to the region and He is going to do a different kind of miracle

A lot has happened in the course of these two chapters and we see Jesus serve a lot of different kinds of people

He blesses a couple with wine at their wedding

He confronts the religious elite in the Temple

He meets secretly with a Pharisee, Nicodemus

He offers words of hope to a Samaritan woman

Now, Jesus is going to meet with an official, a nobleman, back in Galilee

As we see all of these interactions, we learn something about Jesus:

He is not a respecter of persons; He is willing to engage with people from all sorts of positions and backgrounds

He is willing to receive their requests; He does not go to them because of what He stands to gain from them but because of what He is able to give to them

This includes each of us! Jesus is ready to receive us, with all of our needs and requests.

During Thomas Jefferson's presidency he and a group of travelers were crossing a river that had overflowed its banks. Each man crossed on horseback fighting for his life. A lone traveler watched the group traverse the treacherous river and then asked President Jefferson to take him across. The president agreed without hesitation, the man climbed on, and the two made it safely to the other side of the river where somebody asked him: "Why did you select the President to ask this favor?" The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the President of the United States who had carried him safely across. "All I know," he said, "is that on some of your faces was written the answer 'No' and on some of them was the answer 'Yes.' His was a 'Yes' face."

II. Jesus Reveals Our Hearts vv. 48-50

Jesus responds to the request by highlighting a fundamental problem that is not only true for the man, but for all of us generally: Unless we see, we will not believe

This is not the response of someone who is trying to win a popularity contest!

This feels a little out of bounds, doesn’t it?

The man has already shown some faith; He has humbled himself and come to Jesus seeking aide, believing that Jesus can help.

The “You” is plural and refers to the crowd generally, but it also highlights some of what the man will be up against. Will he believe Jesus when Jesus does not work when or how he expects?

The man is going to be driven to a point of decision!

He has asked Jesus to come with him so his son will be healed

Jesus says to go away alone, but with a promise: the son will be healed

He must believe Jesus, without seeing, and he does

We must not miss this: Jesus makes the man and us confront the unbelief that is in our hearts

The goal is not to drive us away or tear us down

It is intended to lead us to a deeper kind of faith, the faith that cannot see the how, the when, or the why, but trusts in the who

This man made a decision to trust Jesus and it changed everything!

The Bible tells us about another man who trusted God for the life of his son, Abraham. Listen to how James describes the outcome of his faith:

James 2:23

[23] and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. (ESV)

III. Jesus Rewards Our Faith vv. 51-54

The man turns to home and the next day he is met by servants with news: His son was recovering from the illness!

Faith has become sight

Not only is his son healed, but he is healed in such a way that Jesus’s activity is unmistakable!

The nobleman receives the reward of faith, not only healing, but more faith!

It is a greater faith: He has seen Jesus’s mercy and power and he believes in it more deeply

It is a growing faith: It spreads throughout the household and others believe because of what has taken place

You can trust Jesus today. Take a small step in the faith and watch Jesus make it grow!

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 199: Faith

In 1972 NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, its primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to Earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at this time no probe had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy Pioneer 10 before it could reach its target.

But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Pioneer 10 was then hurled by Jupiter’s immense gravity at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At 1 billion miles from the sun Pioneer 10 passed Saturn, then swept past Uranus at some 2 billion miles, Neptune at nearly 3 billion miles, Pluto at almost 4 billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than 6 billion miles from the sun. (Not bad for a device that was designed to have a useful life of only three years.)

And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 was still beaming back radio signals that scientists on Earth could decipher. “Perhaps most remarkable,” writes Jaroff, “those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and take more than nine hours to reach Earth.”

Even a faint message can travel a long way. Similarly, even prayers with small faith can reach the heart of God, whose great strength can work the impossible.