The Healing of the Nobleman's Son

Introduction:

If you are like me, you like to look at reviews before you try something new whether its a new restaurant, a new barber, or even a hotel. Why? Because we like to have our decisions and doubts informed by facts which have been experienced by others. Most of us are students in here and if you aren’t one right now, you have been in the past which means that you can sympathize with the fact that we live in a world that is dominated by visible proof. For instance, I bet I check my grades in Canvas at least twice a day to make sure I’ve knocked out my assignments and that I’m doing okay in class. And even if you aren’t in school, you know that the world is dominated by visible proof when it comes to projects being finished and jobs being done. Regardless of that, as we look at John 4:43-54 today, we are going to find a passage which calls us to place our faith in the Word even when we can’t see how it’ll all pan out.

In this passage today, Jesus is returning back to Cana in Galilee. The last time that He was there was when He performed the miracle at the Wedding in Cana which we discussed last week and that’s a pretty substantial thing to keep in mind. As a matter of fact, John wants you to have it in mind because he brings it up for us in verse 46. But why? Well, it seems that John is forming bookends, or what we call “an inclusio” around this section. All that means is that John is using these two stories to emphasize a greater meaning. He shows us that he is doing this by stating that it is in both of these events that Jesus is performing His first and second signs. Now you may have never thought of these two stories as having a lot in common, but they are very similar. For instance, they are both performed in the same city, they both have present needs, they both have a perception of Christ as the solution, they both receive profitable rebukes, they both have a proper response to His rebuke, and they both receive a power resolution to their problem. Furthermore, in both stories, most people don’t see the miracle itself occuring and that’s the point John wants to make because today we will find that Jesus wants us to have faith in His Word even when the solution doesn’t seem to be in sight.

One last thing I want to make sure I mention at the beginning is that this passage is a condemning event as Jesus makes it clear that He is returning to Cana in Galilee because a prophet isn’t honored in His own country. Now He returns, people only want Him for His miracles, but here comes a man, a servant of the Roman ruler Herod, who displays true faith before them all. The reason that is a blow to the pride of the Jews, is because here is Jesus criticizing their faithlessness and here He is using this Nobleman, who might have possibly been a gentile but certainly was disliked for his job, believing on Jesus.

Faith Often Begins in Crisis

In verse 46-48, we find that as Jesus arrives in Cana, there’s a problem. This Nobleman, a man of power and authority, is frantic because his precious son is dying at home from an illness and the only hope he has left is that Jesus will step in and save the day. Now, this man’s faith isn’t perfect, he is expecting Jesus to walk down to his house to heal the boy. In the ancient world, it was common to expect a prophet or magician to be present when the miracle performs. Another thing is that he thinks that if the boy dies that there’s no hope either, but we see Jesus raising people from the dead throughout the gospels don’t we? So, he is a little deficient in his understanding about Christ’s power, but it’s okay, but Christ is going to fix that problem.

However, before He does that, we need to notice that when he asks Christ the first time, Christ responds with a correction for everyone, but he doesn’t stop asking does he? No, his heart is so overwhelmed and he is so confident that Christ is the only solution that he cries out, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Or we could say, “Jesus, if you don’t come there’s no hope!” Have you ever found yourself in this type of situation before? Where there is an overwhelming crisis which has consumed your mind and heart and you’re out of solutions and so the only thing you can do is go to Jesus? As hard of a place as that is, that is an okay place to be because not only can Jesus fix that problem, but Jesus can use that problem to fix or grow you.

So, when crisis sneaks into our life, we shouldn’t simply say, “Jesus, fix my problem!” Instead, we can cry, “Lord, please fix this problem, but regardless of the outcome, please help me to trust you more.” This shouldn’t simply be a one time thing, but should drive us to persevere in prayer in the midst of crisis.

Faith is Built by Trusting Christ’s Word

Next, we find that Jesus responds to the the man telling him to go to his son because he lives. Notice that John doesn’t say that the man stops to question what Jesus means or to get clarification, or even to ask Jesus to come with him in case the boy needs another dose. He simply hears the word of Jesus, believes it and goes to find his son.

What John wants us to get from this is that our faith must reach out and grab a hold of the promises of the Lord even when we don’t see the finished product in front of us. When we find ourselves going through hardships and wonder where the solution is and why things are so hard in this life, we have to take the word of the Lord, tuck it away in our minds, and believe by faith that what He said is true.

When we cry out about how the world doesn’t understand us, we have to remember the promise that the world rejects us because it first rejected Him and we believe that and walk on.

When we cry out to the Lord about how hard the temptations of life are, we have to remember the promise that greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world and we believe that and go on fighting.

When we cry out to the Lord about how lonely we feel, we have to remember that the Lord promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us and believe it.

When things in your life pop up that might lead you astray and cause you to violate the word, even if it seems to be a great opportunity, you’re called to walk by faith and not by sight.

Faith is Cultivated Through Experience

Finally, we find that the nobleman’s faith makes another development from crisis, to confidence, to confirmation when he meets his servant on the road home. When they get to talking, the nobleman realizes that the hour that the boy was healed was the exact time that Jesus told him that his son was healed.

I think there’s something significant for us to learn in John’s double usage of the word “believed” in this story. At first, the man hears and believes Christ’s words, but when he finally discovers that his boy is really alive, he believes anew. What I make of this is that although we may genuinely hear and believe Christ’s words to us, there is a sense in which we believe it to a new level when it applies directly to the experiences of our lives. For instance, you might believe that Christ is near to the brokenhearted even though you’ve had the best life ever with virtually no issues, but man, when life finally gets dark and you feel deserted by everyone and you finally find that reality to be true for yourself, your belief develops a new dimension to it.

Well, finally we find that the man returns home and his whole house believes in the Lord. Surely when he arrived to find his family rejoicing, he walked it to tell them the source of this healing. So, we find that this confirmed faith makes one more development in the end of this story to a contagious faith.

An example of this kind of faith was here just a few weeks ago: If you were here for our Sunday night missions month reports, you might remember meeting Wanda Taylor. Wanda has been a faithful missionary with her husband for decades and is currently fighting a serious cancer and although her fight is extremely difficult, the Lord has used this to reach those around her.

Conclusion:

A tightrope walker once shared his secret: he never looks down at the ground. Instead, he keeps his eyes fixed on the finish line, trusting that his training will carry him through. In times of crisis, it’s easy to focus on our fears and uncertainties, but God calls us to trust in Him and stay focused on His promises, much like how Peter walked on water when he kept his eyes on Jesus.

So, today I want you to think through where you’re at personally and pray for the Lord to give you faith to trust Him more in that specific area and to walk with Him by faith through whatever may be going on.