Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). Faith is the opposite of the old saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” for faith does not believe what it sees; faith believes what it hears. St. Paul writes in Hebrews, Chapter 11, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God” (Heb 11:3).

The nobleman is an example of this faith. He comes to Jesus with a plan. “Lord, here is what I need you to do for me. I want you to come with me to my house and then lay your hands upon my child and heal him.” The man knows exactly what he needs Jesus to do. But, as all Christians learn, Jesus rarely does what we want Him to do. Instead, He does what is necessary for our salvation.

As soon as the man makes his need known, Jesus responds by talking about faith. “Lord, please come down to my house and heal my son.” Jesus answers, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe” (Jn 4:48). The man says to Jesus, “I need you to come to my house.” Jesus says, “No, what you truly need is faith.” “But Lord, it’s an emergency! Come to my house now, before my child dies! (Jn 4:49).

Jesus never does go to the man’s house, and this is why many Christians are angry with God. “I told God what I needed Him to do, and He didn’t do it. I prayed for the thing that I need, and God didn’t deliver.” But when God’s answer to prayer is “no,” it’s always because He has something better in mind. The man says to Jesus, “I need you to come to my house before my child departs this mortal life.” Jesus says, “No. What you really need is the faith that leads to eternal life.” And what we truly need, Jesus gives.

The man needs faith, so Jesus gives it. Remember, faith comes by hearing the Word of God. 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” (Jn 4:50). It’s a miracle that the man believes, because Jesus had just finished saying, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” By no means—that is, by no human means. It’s impossible for you to believe. You can’t muster up faith in your heart, no matter how hard you try. Naturally, you will only believe what you see. So Jesus must do what is impossible for man and create faith within your heart.

This is what Jesus does for the nobleman. And He creates faith by speaking. “Go your way; your son lives.” Impossibly, the man believes. Only a moment before he had been insistent that Jesus do things his way. “Come down to my house before my child dies.” But now he is content to go his way with nothing but a word from Jesus, “Go your way; your son lives.” Off he goes, and later he learns that his son was healed exactly at the moment that Jesus said, “Your son lives.”

What happens next? He himself believed, and his whole household (Jn 4:53). We’ve seen how Jesus gave the man faith, by speaking to Him. Now we see how Jesus gives his whole household faith, as a consequence of the father’s faith. Fathers and future fathers take notice! Your role in the faith of your children cannot be overstated. The man’s wife and children never saw Jesus; they never talked to Him. But they were brought into the household of faith because the father believed. We see this happen over and over in the New Testament. A man believes, and consequently, his whole household believes and is saved. The primary method of evangelism within the church is fathers and mothers teaching the faith to their children. This has remained true across the centuries. God works through this simple, ordinary means to accomplish something extra-ordinary: to bring the next generation to saving faith in Christ.

It is best, of course, when Dad and Mom are engaged together in this noble task. But studies confirm what the Scriptures have always taught: that the father’s role in imparting the faith is disproportionately important, and not by a small margin. In fact, it’s not even close. Children are three times as likely to remain Christians when Dad takes the spiritual lead in the home! The man himself believed, and his whole household. The Word of God created faith in his heart, and that Word also has the power to convert whole households. The man is called a nobleman, or royalty. But this could truly be said of every father: he is the royalty, the king, the pastor in the home, and he has a duty to impart the faith to his household.

Jesus said to the nobleman, “Go your way; your son lives.” But Jesus was concerned with far more than the son’s bodily health and life. Jesus gave the father faith, which in turn granted saving faith to his whole household. This is far more than the man had in mind when he came to Jesus. “Lord, come to my house and heal my son’s body.” Jesus never did go to the man’s house. But He did heal the son’s body, and what’s more, he did what the man never asked; He granted the entire household saving faith.

You see, even when God does not appear to answer our prayers, He is ever at work, accomplishing far more than we could ever ask or think. As we sang earlier this morning: God said to His beloved Son: “It’s time to have compassion. Then go, bright jewel of My crown, And bring to all salvation. From sin and sorrow set them free; Slay bitter death for them that they May live with you forever.”

When the man asked Jesus to come to his house, what he truly needed, and what his son and household needed, was not for Jesus to go to his house, but for Jesus to go to his cross. That is the only way to slay bitter death and bring to all salvation. But the man didn’t actually know what he needed, and neither do you. That’s ok, because Jesus does. And everything you truly need, Jesus gives. Your greatest good, which motivates everything He says and does, is your eternal salvation. This means that everything God permits, every circumstance He allows, every trouble you encounter in this life, is part of His plan to impart saving faith and usher you into eternal life. Therefore, if Jesus says, “Today, you will live,” it is for the good of your salvation. And if Jesus says, “Today, you will die,” it is for the good of your salvation. As the prophet Job says, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him” (Job 13:15).

We don’t know what the next day will bring, but we do know that whatever comes, God is working for our eternal good. And so we hold on to Jesus and His promises, trusting that He will be faithful to keep His Word. Let us close with the promise of Jesus, spoken through the mouth of His prophet Isaiah. No matter what comes tomorrow, this is how the story ends: The Lord will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Is 25:8–9). Amen.