Sermon Tone Analysis

Why Share Jesus?

Intro:

Transition:

Context:

For Jesus to lodge there, eating Samaritan food and teaching Samaritans (v.

40) would be roughly equivalent to defying segregation in the United States during the 1950s or apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s—shocking, extremely difficult, somewhat dangerous.

The Jesus of the Gospels is more concerned with people than with custom.

Read

Jesus has power to transform v.43-47

The distance from Capaernaum to Cana was about 15 miles.

The journey was mostly uphil (like grandpa used to tell, uphill both ways)

MAC SN- 1Capernaum approx 16 miles NE of Cana

Some of us may be experiencing emotions similar to those of the nobleman—a sense of closing darkness or a feeling of futility in life.

If this is your experience, you may be on the verge of great blessing—if you turn to God.

You have heard, as the nobleman did, that there is One who can meet your need.

Fly to his feet

The man’s journey probably would have been between eighteen and twenty-two miles depending on the exact route and site of the Cana encounter.

The fact that the servant reported the healing as being on the previous day would certainly suggest a walking trip rather than a riding trip by the official.

The healing event would seem to have taken place either in the early afternoon at one o’clock (if according to some by Hellenistic time the seventh hour were counted from 6:00 a.m.) or about sundown (if counted by Roman time from noon).

The imperfect tense of the verb erōtaō (was imploring) indicates that he repeatedly begged Jesus to cure his son’s disease.

Swallowing his pride, this respected member of Herod’s court begged for help from a carpenter’s son (cf.

Matt.

13:55; Mark 6:3).

Antipas was a son of Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine at the time of Christ’s birth.

After his father’s death, Antipas was made ruler of Galilee.

First, unlike the centurion (Luke 7:6–7) and the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24–30), he assumed Jesus had to be physically present to heal his son.

Second, he hoped Jesus had the power to heal his son’s illness, but had no hope that He could raise him from the dead.

Only temporary view on what God can do and what God wants to do is eternal...

flawed faith disregarded His message and mission of salvation and focused instead on the sensational miracles He performed on their behalf.

How often do we disregard the message and mission and instead focus on our own desired outcomes?

Jesus uses the phyisical need to get to the spiritual issue.

He heals this son physically so he can heal this father spiritually.

By healing his son physically, the Great Physician moved to heal the father spiritually.

111

v.47 language implies repeatedly imploring Jesus… (MAC Sn)

The imperfect tense of the verb “begged” (ērōta, from erōtaō, to “ask” or “request”) implies repeated or persistent action.

The request was not casual but insistent.

Tenney, M. C. (1981).

John.

In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.),

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol.

9, p. 60).

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

THIS MAN HAD A CRISIS so coming to Jesus

Why should people come to church?

Often people come for different reasons (say in transitions, so as you think of who to invite who do you know in a transition they may be open), people come (ah its for the kids, I don’t want to be brainwashed, oh but its good for your kids to be brainwashed?

No people come because they are missing something… some of you are believers in Jesus and still sense something is missing (we will get to that)… what’s missing in your life?

This man was in need, need causes us to swallow our pride...

His son had been sick, and undoubtedly he had exhausted all the local means at his disposal.

Failure of position and money to solve his problem drove him from Capernaum to the village of Cana, 20 to 25 miles away, hoping that the Healer would save his son from death.

His son “had” been sick, this didn’t just happen… the desperation when a child needs help.

You essentially have to be heartless to not care about a child that is dying… We can think about adults, bad choices, someone else should help, they should have someone etc… BUT with a child, your own child… Money and Power failed to solve his problem...

His son “had” been sick, this didn’t just happen… the desperation when a child needs help.

You essentially have to be heartless to not care about a child that is dying… We can think about adults, bad choices, someone else should help, they should have someone etc… BUT with a child, your own child… Money and Power failed to solve his problem...

Huh, does that sound familiar?

I get it you go we saw real poverty… can come home and have guilt and then heap that guilt on you so I could rant about how well we have it here in N. Raleigh, but that’s not the point.

How many try to solve their problems with money and power?

If I have money ____ (my boss when I went to resign, money can’t buy happiness but it sure makes life a lot easier… If I have power _____ We think if I have money ___ .

If I have power ____.

The reality is we can never have enough… how much is enough?

I need more then reach for Jesus

Solomon owned a forest, we are excited about our garden, come look at my tomatoes,

There are many things money cannot buy.

Money can buy a king-sized bed, but it cannot buy sleep!

Money can buy a great house, but it cannot buy a home!

Money can buy a companion, but it cannot buy a close friend!

Money can buy books, but it cannot buy brains!

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

And as our text suggests, money cannot buy life and health.

Wealth cannot buy the life of a loved one.

The basilikos was in agony.

Nothing could relieve him.

Nothing!

The end appeared inevitable.

I like that nobleman.

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.

It was a risk for this guy.

The Herods didn’t like Jesus (killing all those babies… and Jesus wasn’t favorable toward Herod Antipas… (listen my job can’t help me here… my boss can’t help, in fact I am helpless unless you can help me Jesus) See IVP below)

probably means that this man is one of Herod Antipas’s court officials, although Herod’s official title was tetrarch rather than king.

Jesus was extremely unfavorable toward Antipas (Lk 13:32; 23:9; for reasons, cf.

Mk 6:17–29); this man who comes to Jesus would be a wealthy aristocrat, probably much influenced by Greco-Roman culture and not very religious by general Palestinian Jewish standards.

The boys illness involved fever (HCSB) 4:52 and was apparently terminal (v.47, 49)

v.48 the you or unless you people is plural… All yall...

v.49

The use of the aorist tense of “die” (apothanein) to describe the impending crisis is in contrast with the present tense in v. 47 (apothnēskein), which describes the progress of the illness.

This indicates that the case was desperate.

WIERSBE 303: The guy made two mistakes.

He did well thinking that Jesus could heal his son, but he made 2 mistakes 1.

He thought that Jesus had to go with him.

2.

He thought if the boy died in the meantime it was too late.

Mistaken about circumstances and mistaken about timing… ME: We often make mistakes when we limit what God can do according to the boxes we try to put him in (COULD DO AN OBJECT LESSON ABOUT PUTTING GOD IN A BOX)

Jesus response was confronting… often we think Jesus is like a big nurturing mother, come here and tell me all about your ailments… if you want to get past a bunch of the sentimental garbage people perceive about Jesus I have a cure.

Read your Bible.

This man comes in dire need his worst tragedy and Jesus confronts Him not comforts Him.

Many of us want to whine to Jesus and when we get rebuked we act like Jesus isn’t listening, the reality is He isn’t doing what we wnat but He is always doing what we need.

Did you get that?

Jesus rarely does what we want but He always does what we need.

Jesus’ response was confronting: ‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’