The Signs of Jesus Part 3
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Then He went again to Cana of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and pleaded with Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die.
Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
“Sir,” the official said to Him, “come down before my boy dies!”
“Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed.
While he was still going down, his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive. He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at seven in the morning the fever left him,” they answered. The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” Then he himself believed, along with his whole household.
This, therefore, was the second sign Jesus performed after He came from Judea to Galilee.
Intro
Intro
The Sports Illustrated Magazine once ran an article about the Dayville High School girls' volleyball team in Oregon who had a 65 game win streak before losing. If you are not impressed, maybe knowing that the entire high school had only 18 girl students: 16 were on the volleyball squad and a 17th kept the score.
Although Dayville is one of the smallest Class B high schools, it won the Class A volleyball championship for three years running. After their lose, this what a report said about the team, "The team rebounded and has a winning streak of one."
Genuine faith requires optimism, not related to what we can achieve all on our own, but what God will do based on the words of Jesus.
Holman NT Commentary: “The Bible records numerous “musts” for the practice of our Christian faith. The gospel does not center in signs and wonders, or even in healing and teaching, but in death and resurrection. An optimistic outlook is always healthy, but optimism is not faith. The kind of faith John has been talking about for four chapters centers in heart conviction that Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world can alone provide eternal life.”
What we learn in this morning’s reading, is that signs and wonders are exciting, but genuine faith rests in the promises of God. We find it in His Word. We ought to take Jesus at his word and obey Him.
Body
Body
Before we get to the healing of the officials Son, I want us to first take a look at the in between. What John chooses to include in the middle between the first sign and the second this second sign that we read this morning.
In chapter 4, Jesus currently is in Judea. He was teaching and preaching and it just so happened that many were being baptized by the disciples of Jesus and thus following him. At some point in his ministry there in Judea, Jesus finds out that the Pharisees come to the knowledge that he is making and baptizing more disciples than John is. He was growing in more popularity than John. And so it is very possible that they would exploit this opportunity to turn the people against Jesus. To cause a riot or to stir trouble for him.
Early in John’s ministry, he was well loved by the people. Even late in Jesus’ ministry and after the death of John the Baptist, still the Pharisees dare not speak ill of John.
When He entered the temple complex, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?”
Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for Me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from men?”
They began to argue among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
And so, in His wisdom, Jesus leaves Judea and he passes through Samaria on his journey to Galilee.
Now just one more piece of background before we get to the second sign. Jesus is in Samaria and is tired. He meets with a Samaritan woman and you all know the story....
Well, at the conclusion of this event, she goes back into the town and tells everyone about Jesus, the man who told her everything she had done! They believe. Having simply just heard, but they rush out to him and find him and this is what we read in
Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of what He said. And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
The people believed not because he turned all of the water in the well into wine. Not because he healed all of their sick or cast out demons. There is no indication that any signs were given or performed. It says, they believe because of His word. Amazing, they did not need anything more than that. Just the word He spoke was enough. Keep that in your minds.
Then he leaves Samaria and he goes to Galilee.
And how is Jesus received?
When they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival.
Well you may be wondering what exactly happened at this festival?
While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many trusted in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.
They welcome him based on the evidence of the signs. The Samaritans embrace him and keep him with them for two days on the basis of his word.
And so we have this in our minds when we finally encounter the second sign of Jesus. The passage with which we read this morning. John 4:46-54- The Healing of the Official’s Son.
Now there are a lot of similarities here between the First and the Second Sign.
Location: Both took place in Cana of Galilee
Proximity: The healing of the official’s son takes place at a distance. Jesus does not go to the official’s home. Similar to the water into wine. He does not collect the water, nor touch the water.
The knowledge of what occurs is veiled. What I mean is that there are a group of people who are aware of the situation. Just like the bride and groom were ignorant of who their savior was, Jesus was the source.
The response is of faith. The servants fill the jugs with water and serve it. The father believes the word of Jesus and returns home.
They both, like all of the signs, show us that Jesus is the Son of God, He is God. All Jesus has to do is tell the man: “Go your way. Your son will live.” This emphasizes that Jesus’ word alone has power and reminds us that he is God, as the John’s prologue says: “the Word was with God and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1)
There is yet one more similarity. Jesus gives an interesting remark. My time has not yet come. But here, we read Jesus’ response to the father in verse 48, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
Now, who was he talking to? Obviously, Jesus was not talking to nobody. He was talking to someone or some group of people.
The first option is that Jesus is talking to the father. “You” being singular. Well, that can’t be the case as it is actually a plural you.
So, it is actually more than likely that Jesus is speaking to the crowds of people. The ones who so readily accepted him. Which is odd isn’t it. If people accept you, shouldn’t you do everything you can to not mess that up?
Dr. Andreas Köstenberger (professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Seminary): “The Galileans’ ‘welcome,’ was in fact a rejection, because Jesus’ compatriots were interested only in his miracles. ‘Receiving’ Jesus is not necessarily the same as accepting him, in keeping with the Johannine pattern of initial ‘faith’ that is subsequently exposed as inadequate.” [In other words, John shows a number of instances in which a person believed for a while, but eventually gives up following Christ.]
You see the problem was not that they so readily accepted him, but the basis for their acceptance. And again we see, chasing after signs are not the focus. Jesus is!
<Illustration> For those of you who have been with us in our evangelism and open air teaching, you know that there are certain tactics that we use to draw a crowd. We will entertain them with riddles and trivia and prizes, but what if that were our whole purpose? Just to draw a big crowd and then do nothing with them but to entertain. It would be for nought. No we always very quickly want to transition to the Gospel and present them with Christ.
And Jesus is aware of this. That the Galileans are seeking for the extraordinary. They are hoping around like those in Pilgrims Progress in Vanity Fair. Looking for things that will simply tickle their fancies. No, Jesus rebukes them for this.
Holman New Testament Commentary: John D. Propagation of Gospel Witness (4:43–54)
But faith built only on the spectacular is not biblical faith. Perhaps Jesus drew a contrast here between the Samaritans in Sychar who believed because of his message and the Jews in Cana who were interested only in physical miracles.
That is very much an important message. As Jesus would later say to Thomas following His resurrection, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (20:29).
Some might say, but why is it that in verse 53 it seems to indicate that the father is realizing that Jesus could heal and then it says “Then he himself believed”. Well, it obviously cannot mean that the Father did not initially believe. Why?
vs 50 “The man believe what Jesus said to him and departed.” If he did not believe, he would have continued to beg Jesus come to his home.
We can learn from this response.
<Illustration> How many times do we doubt God? He gives us a Promise in His word and we doubt Him! But the father believes. He leaves Jesus, trusting in Him. He goes walking in faith. And do not the just, the righteous, the children of God, do they not walk by faith and not by sight?
And isn’t that the context of the passage? Trusting God, even in this life because we know that we are promised eternity with the Father in Heaven?
For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. Indeed, we groan in this body, desiring to put on our dwelling from heaven, since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. And the One who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.
So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight, and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.
No, the Father had full faith in Jesus. He trusted in Jesus. But what we are seeing is a growth in faith by Him.
<Illustration> Growth in faith...
We see that this faith is not selfish. The whole household are brought to give God glory! They all believe! 1st mention of household faith given in the Scriptures. They all believe in Jesus seeing and knowing what He has done!
This, therefore, was the second sign Jesus performed after He came from Judea to Galilee.
And thus this sign also affirms that Jesus is God’s true representative. He is truly God’s glory, he is the Son of God. He is more than a mere man.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Overflow Church, have we come to full terms of this truth? We have the Word of God, that is true. It is good and within we find many precious treasures. We find very wonderful promises from God for those who will follow Him. But we need to ask ourselves this. Are we chasing after signs, making promises to God if only he would help us in our times of need? As if we could barter or had anything to negotiate with that He did not already own. Are we chasing wonders? Or are we keeping tight and abiding in His Word? Trusting His Word?
Or....do we live as though He will fail? Do we live as though God is not able? Do we live not fully trusting in God’s Word? In the promises that He has given.
What a terrible thing that would be. It would be as though we were given a check written on it a very large amount. But not having the faith to deposit it, because we do not trust the one who has given it to us.
Worse, there may be some of you here this morning who do not feel as though you need God. Life is going relatively good and so you do not see your need. You do not see your sin. Even for self-professing Christians, we too often find there are those who will rejoice in their salvation, but not live for eternity. But rather they are living for the here and now.
Imagine if the father and the household rejoiced that Jesus had saved the son, and then continued to go on living the same way continuing with his own enterprise.
What a tragedy. But I think many people believe that this is what Christianity is. To just become saved and then to maybe come to church once in a while or do what they define as the bare minimum.
We can rejoice in our salvation as we should. But let us not doubt God. Maybe you are in a situation, like the father was, where you have no idea how you will get out of it. Trust that God has brought you into this trial in order to, as James 1 and Heb 12 reminds us, to grow us. To mature us. To discipline the ones he loves.
For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
Trust that He will provide a way out. And if not, rejoice knowing that you have your salvation in Him. Trust God. Trust His Word. Like the official trusted Jesus at His Word without needing to see the sign himself without needing Jesus to validate or provide some sort of insurance or security to His Word, He simply obeyed Jesus’ command. Jesus said to him in vs 50 “Go, your son will live.” And so, he obeyed Jesus and went.
In the same way, obey Jesus. And trust His Word. It is true and He is faithful. Let us be the worshippers He calls us to be.
But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”