A Nobleman's Growing Faith

Last week, we saw the amazing grace and love that Jesus showed a Samaritan woman. We looked at Jesus as he spoke truth, as he revealed his deity, as he offered grace, and we saw a woman, disregarded by society, completely change after an encounter with the Messiah. Jesus stayed in the town of Sychar, Samaria for two more days, and many people believe on him.

You may remember that last week we mentioned that about this time, John the Baptist is arrested by Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. We will talk about John the Baptist's arrest later when we get to the period of time when he is executed, so as to tell the whole story at once.

Matthew and Mark tell us that at this time, when Jesus hears of John the Baptist's arrest, he leaves Samaria to go to Galilee. Luke, in chapter 4:14, tells us that Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a reference that Jesus' return to Galilee is one marked by miracles.

As we continue in the book of John, we see in 4:43-45 that he was received by the Galileans because they had seen him perform miracles in Jerusalem during the days of the Passover.

John 4:43-45 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. 44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. 45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

And as Jesus goes into Galilee, Mark, and Luke tell us a general account of Jesus' teaching. Mark 1:14-15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Jesus preached the gospel, the good news, of his own arrival and the setting up of this unending kingdom. It was good news because this kingdom would convert the world to righteousness and save the souls of men.

So Jesus is announcing the coming of this new kingdom.

The King had already arrived (that's Jesus), but the kingdom organization and administration were still "at hand," that is to say, almost here.

Until the crucifixion of Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the believers, the kingdom could not be fully organized. It was the blood of Jesus that would allow individuals to enter into the kingdom, and it was the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that would allow those to live a kingdom lifestyle.

So Jesus, much like John the Baptist, begins to preach in order to prepare others to enter this kingdom. His message is, "Repent. Prepare for this kingdom by repenting of sin and believing that the King is here."

Luke 4:14-15 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

Synagogues were plentiful in Jewish cities and towns. These were places in which people met on the Sabbath and feast days. They were not meant for ceremonial worship, like the temple in Jerusalem, but were used to study and to teach the application of the Scriptures.

We go back to the book of John now, 4:46-54 and are able to observe one of these miracles that Jesus performs. As we read, we will see that we find ourselves once again in the city of Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine.

46 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. 47 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. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50 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. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 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. 54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

A certain nobleman, most likely this would have been someone in the court of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, hears about Jesus and comes to him because he has a son who was sick in the city of Capernaum.

I want to take note of this man and his condition. He is a nobleman with a desperate need. For all his position and riches, none of this could heal his son's condition. When he hears that Jesus had come out of Judea and was in Galilee, the passage says that he "went away unto him" (v.47). As I studied this passage, I found that scholars agree that this phrase contains a verb that suggests that the father was reluctant to leave his son, even to seek aid. (J.W. McGarvey) This man had to tear himself away from his son. Can you imagine being the father? As a nobleman, you would have had access to the finest doctors money could bring in. All had been tried, but still your son is close to death. Then, there is news that Jesus, who has been performing miracles in Judea, is in Cana, about a day's journey away. You now have to make the decision: stay and be with your son during his final moments; or leave your son's side, travel for a day to ask Jesus if he will heal your son. But what if in the journey your son dies? What if healing someone so close to death is beyond this Jesus' capabilities? What if after a day's journey, you do find Jesus and travel back with him, but by the time the two of you get back, your son has died, and you were unable to be there with him?

But the man does tear himself away from his son's side, and he goes to find Jesus. When he finds him, the Bible says he begs Jesus to go and visit his son to heal him.

Jesus answers in a very peculiar manner. He looks at the nobleman and says, "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." And though he speaks these words to the nobleman, they were intended for the greater audience around him. We know this because Jesus uses a plural form of the word you which is translated here "ye".

Galileans were generally found to be a faithless lot. This is why earlier in we read that Jesus says that a prophet has no honor in his own country. As we continue to study this series of Jesus' life, we will arrive at a time where Jesus enters Nazareth, and after teaching in the synagogue there, the citizens of Nazareth (remember, these are people the would have grown up with Jesus, hung out with him during his childhood, babysat him when Mary and Joseph went on date nights), these same people wanted to throw Jesus off of a cliff!

The General sentiment toward Jesus in Galilee was one that lacked faith. Jesus wanted people to believe in him because of his character and his words, but the people wanted their faith validated by miracles. Jesus' miracles were his credentials, if you will. They validated his ministry, in part because to claim to be from God, you had to have power of God, and in part because the prophecies said he would come doing certain miraculous signs and wonders.

There will come a time, while John the Baptist is in prison, that his faith begins to waiver. He sends his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you truly the one we have been waiting for?" Jesus told his disciples to answer according to what they had seen: the blind received sight, the lame walked again, the lepers are healed, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them.

The Jews looked for these signs, the attestations that Jesus did indeed have God's approval, and though this may seem a reasonable thing, remember from where Jesus just came. He came from Sychar. This town simply believed in him because of his words. He worked no miracles there; he only spoke, and so many people believed in him.

And again, the nobleman asks Jesus to go with him to see his child as he was dying. V.49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

He felt the need that Jesus' presence be at his son's side for there to be healing. We see that his urgency belies his belief about Jesus' power: that it is effective only for the living.

But Jesus answers the nobleman in a way that will increase his concept of Jesus' power. He simply says, "Go thy way; thy son liveth." (v.50) Jesus, with these simple words declares that his power is not restricted by distance. And the man believed the word that Jesus spoke, and went away.

As the man travels back and nears his home, he is met by servants who greet him with astounding news, "Your son is alive!"

John 4:52-53 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 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.

I want to note the progression of belief for this man. First, he believes in the power of Jesus' presence. Then, the man believes in the power of his word (v.50). Finally, after finding out that his son began to get better the same hour Jesus said, "Go your way; your son lives," he believed in Jesus in general. He believed in the person of Jesus, not just in the power of Jesus.

And note that this belief, in the person of Jesus, was not confined just to him, but his whole house also believed. This is the first mention in the New Testament of a believing household.

This trust grew, from a belief in what Jesus could do to a belief in who Jesus was.

The passage ends with this verse, V.54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

Last week we spoke of the harvest. Jesus told his disciples that arrived as the Samaritan woman was bringing back people from Sychar to get to know Jesus. He said, lift up your eyes, the fields are white unto harvest.

He tells them, you're about to harvest where you didn't work, where you didn't plant or water or weed. You get to witness a harvest of a whole town coming to belief in me (Jesus) without having to have lifted a finger.

One little sign performed in Sychar, and a whole town is converted.

Two great miracles performed in the town of Cana (the water turned into wine, and now the healing of a nobleman's son), and only one household is converted.

J.W. McGarvey says that this shows that "often it is true that the greater labor brings in the lesser harvest."

But it is a harvest, nonetheless. And it is interesting that this would come to be our lesson today because it fits so well with what we just started to see on Wednesday nights.

This last Wednesday we started the Bible study through the book Experiencing God. How many of you were here for that?

There is still time to join in that Bible study, and if you have not, I encourage you to do so. Last Wednesday was a kind of introductory session. If you would like to watch it, you can on Facebook. If you would like a book, please talk to me and join us on Wednesdays. If you cannot join us on Wednesdays and would still like to do the study, please talk to me, I'll get you a book. I highly recommend this study.

Anyway, I want to point out how this nobleman in the text we saw today experienced God. He started believing in what Jesus could do but ended believing in who Jesus was.

Isn't that the way a lot of people come to Jesus? Somewhere they hear that Jesus can change their life, and so they go to seek Jesus. As they go, they witness the power of Jesus in other people's lives, even in their own, and that faith in what Jesus can do develops eventually into a faith in the person of Jesus.

This is what happens with Christians as well. We are not all born again into the family of God and into the kingdom of God with a giant faith. That faith starts small, but grows. But it can only grow if we follow the Lord. This is one of the principles that we see in the study Experiencing God. As we trust God and obey in little things, our faith in him grows for bigger things, and we begin to experience God in greater ways.

But we must be willing to trust Jesus. We've looked at it several times. Little faith must be exercised if is to ever grow. There is nothing wrong with having small faith if you will just use that small faith.

The faith of the man in question was just enough tear him away from his dying son to go seek Jesus and ask him to come back to his house. The belief wasn't in the person of Jesus, but in the works of Jesus.

But notice that throughout this interaction, the nobleman's faith grew from faith in the Presence of Jesus, to faith in the Person of Jesus; from faith in the WORKS that he had heard about Jesus, to faith in the WORDS of Jesus.

The question for today is, where is your faith now?

Is your faith in following Jesus dependent on what Jesus can do for you?

Or is it dependent on who he is?

Do you follow Jesus because everything is going right? Because your prayers are being answered now? Because everything is clear skies and sunshine? Or are you truly following Jesus because of who He is and what His words are?

Jesus' words are life. Jesus is life. He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. And if I have progressed and grown in my faith to the point where I follow Jesus because of who he is and what he says instead of what I can get out of it, then when the dark times come, I'll find myself still following.

Sooner or later light will give way to dark. Mountain top highs will give way to valleys of the shadow of death. Sunny, open skies will eventually turn misty grey and full of fog. This is when faith in the PERSON of Jesus makes all the difference. If I know that he is truth and he is life and he has the words of life, then when he says step forward, I'm going to step forward even if I can't see exactly where my foot will fall.

When he says to me, "I am not going to answer that prayer the way you want," I will continue to trust Him because he is truth and he is life and he is trustworthy because he is good.

Invitation:

The invitation for today will be short, unless God intervenes. I'll ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes. I have a couple of questions for you and then we are going to sing a song together.

Are you saved? Do you know Jesus as your personal savior? Have you trusted in him, the Son of God who died on a cross to forgive your sins and rose again on the third day? Have you asked him to save you, knowing that he is the only one that can?

The next question is for believers. Is your following of Jesus conditional? Is your faith so small and weak that it only ever helps you follow Jesus when everything is going right? Or does your faith keep you following Jesus even when the night has closed in all around you?

It can happen to any of us. All we have to do is to stop exercising that faith, and any one of us can grow weak. Knowledge isn't faith, and I will stack faith against knowledge any day.

The Samaritans had very little knowledge about the Messiah, but because they chose to have faith in Jesus, a whole town was converted.

The Galileans had knowledge about the Messiah, but their increased knowledge sought validation and when it came, the only ones who believed were the house of the nobleman.

I'll ask you this morning to sing this song with mem Faithful Now as Tahsha plays and the words are up on the screen.