John 4:46–54 Sermon

Scripture

John 4:46–54 ESV

46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

Introduction

When it comes to where we have been as far as location, we can see that beginning in , John the Baptist was in Bethany across the Jordan.

28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

This is also where Jesus came toward him and John said in verse 29 of chapter 1,

John 1:29 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

We see later that Jesus decided to go to Galilee where He found Philip.

Cana was located in Galilee and this where Jesus turned water into wine.

Afterwards, we see Jesus traveling to Jerusalem during the time of the Passover.

This is where we saw Jesus making a whip of cords, driving out everyone from the temple, overturning the tables of the money changers because of making the temple into a house of trade.

While in Jerusalem, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night where we see the interaction happening in chapter 3.

After this in verse 22 of chapter 3, we see Jesus going into the Judean countryside where his disciples were baptizing.

And we know that many were going to Christ instead of John.

While in the Judean countryside Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John. We see this in .

So because of that he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.

learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John

On His way, He passed through Samaria.

We saw how he came to a well and talked to a Samaritan woman.

He revealed Himself as the Messiah to her and we see her going into the town to tell them of what He had said and done.

The Samaritans came to Jesus and because of the testimony of the woman about Jesus they came to the belief that He was the Savior of the world.

He stayed there for two days and after we see that He had arrived to Cana in Galilee where He had made water into wine.

Again, we must remember why these things were written.

John 20:31 ESV

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The passage today does speak of belief. And we will see specifically why John reminded us of this event.

Outline

1. The Setting and Situation (v.46)

2. The Request (v.47)

3. The Problem (v.48)

4. The Solution (v.49-50)

5. The Result (v.51-54)

1. The Setting and Situation (v.46)

Verse 46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.

In verse 46, we see that in Capernaum there was an official.

John uses a term that could have meant someone who was a member of the royal family of Herod. But most likely it was a Roman official who was serving as a ruler over the region.

We see that the official’s son was ill.

We cannot forget the first miracle Jesus did there where He turned water into wine.

In , we see that the servants who served the wine knew that it was Jesus who provided.

They knew about the miracle and it is very possible and most likely that they had spread the news of what happened there.

Jesus never told them not to tell anyone as He had done before and we also see in ,

Question: Do you remember ?

John 4:43–45 ESV

43 After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

Question: Why would Jesus say that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown and in verse 45 we see that they welcomed him?

Answer: Thier welcoming of Him was not because of who He was it was because of the things He had done.

They welcomed him, having seen all that he had done.

This is not good. Jesus would deal with this later in our text.

Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

The news of Jesus and His miracles must have spread.

So much that a Roman official heard it and it prompted Him to make a request of Jesus.

2. The Request (v.47)

Verse 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

Notice that:

First, the official asked someone considered lower than himself.

This shows us the desperation of the official

Making a request from someone who was considered a subordinate must have been a humbling experience

The greek verb “asked” is the same verb and tense that meant “begged.”

The official was begging Jesus to come down and heal his son

An official who was a ruler was asking someone considered lower than him

Second, the official believed that Jesus could heal his son.

He must have heard of what others were saying about the miracles of Jesus

We know that in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he went throughout Galilee.

Matthew 4:23 ESV

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

Mark 1:39 ESV

39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

The news of Jesus working miracles, preaching and teaching spread in Galilee.

Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom and healed every disease and every affliction among the people. And throughout all Galilee, He was preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

The official most likely heard what Jesus had done.

His request for Jesus to heal his son came because he believed Jesus could do it.

The situation where his son was at the point of death forced the official to beg him

Whether he felt that he had nowhere to go or that he actually believed, we know that he knew to go to Jesus for something not commonly done

Whether he felt that he had nowhere to go or that he actually believed, we know that he knew to go to Jesus for something not commonly done

The official did what any father would do in his situation. He asked someone who was performing miracles to heal his son.

But Jesus, as He has done before, saw the deeper issue.

We see clearly that there was a serious problem here.

The official’s son was at the point of death.

Question: But was this the main problem here?

Jesus, as we have been reading, was aware of something more important.

With Nicodemus, Jesus pointed out that one had to be born again

With the woman at the well, Jesus spoke of her condition without living water

With the disciples, Jesus spoke of food that they didn’t have

With this official Jesus spoke of something that needed to be addressed.

Namely, a belief that came only by seeing signs and wonders.

By the way this is the only time in the gospel of John that Jesus speaks of wonders.

Wonders is:

33.480 τέρας, ατος n: an unusual sign, especially one in the heavens, serving to foretell impending events—‘portent, sign.’ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ γῆς κάτω ‘I will perform portents in the sky above and signs on the earth below’ . In ancient times a portent might consist of a particular arrangement of the planets, an unusual display of northern lights, a conspicuous comet, or a cluster of falling stars. For a discussion of σημεῖον ‘sign,’ see 33.477.

an unusual sign, especially one in the heavens

An example can be found in

Matthew 16:1 ESV

1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

serving to foretell impending events

—‘portent, sign.’ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ γῆς κάτω ‘I will perform portents in the sky above and signs on the earth below’ . In ancient times a portent might consist of a particular arrangement of the planets, an unusual display of northern lights, a conspicuous comet, or a cluster of falling stars. For a discussion of σημεῖον ‘sign,’ see 33.477.

Signs is used 17 times in this gospel.

Signs is used 17 times in this gospel.

A Sign is:

Question: What was the actual problem here?

an event which is regarded as having some special meaning

an unusual or even miraculous type of occurrence, and in a number of contexts σημεῖον may be rendered as ‘miracle.’

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 33.477 σημεῖον, ου

33.477 σημεῖον, ου n: an event which is regarded as having some special meaning—‘sign.’ εἰπὲ ἡμῖν … τί τὸ σημεῖον τῆς σῆς παρουσίας ‘tell us … what will be the sign of your coming’ Mt 24:3. In translating σημεῖον in Mt 24:3, it may be necessary in some languages to say ‘tell us what will happen that will show that you are coming’ or ‘tell us what we will see that will make us know that you are coming.’

σημεῖον as an event with special meaning was inevitably an unusual or even miraculous type of occurrence, and in a number of contexts σημεῖον may be rendered as ‘miracle.’ Certainly that is the referent of the term σημεῖον in Jn 2:23 (πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, θεωροῦντες αὐτοῦ τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει ‘many believed in him as they saw the signs he did’). For the Gospel of John, however, a σημεῖον is not simply a miraculous event but something which points to a reality with even greater significance. A strictly literal translation of σημεῖον as ‘sign’ might mean nothing more than a road sign or a sign on a building, and therefore in some languages σημεῖον in a context such as Jn 2:23 may be rendered as ‘a miracle with great meaning.’

σημεῖον as an event with special meaning was inevitably an unusual or even miraculous type of occurrence, and in a number of contexts σημεῖον may be rendered as ‘miracle.’ Certainly that is the referent of the term σημεῖον in (πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, θεωροῦντες αὐτοῦ τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει ‘many believed in him as they saw the signs he did’). For the Gospel of John, however, a σημεῖον is not simply a miraculous event but something which points to a reality with even greater significance. A strictly literal translation of σημεῖον as ‘sign’ might mean nothing more than a road sign or a sign on a building, and therefore in some languages σημεῖον in a context such as may be rendered as ‘a miracle with great meaning.’

For the Gospel of John, it wasn’t simply a miraculous event but something which points to a reality with even greater significance.

A strictly literal translation meant nothing more than a road sign or a sign on a building.

So signs and wonders are simply supernatural acts that had special meaning that are not normally done and exceed natural law. And the purpose of them was to point to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.

The problem Jesus points out in this gospel is that there are people who gain a belief from signs and wonders without faith in Him.

Remember ?

John 2:23–25 ESV

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing but Jesus did not entrust Himself to them. He knew what was in man.

It is possible to have a belief without faith in Jesus Christ. This is what John has already warned us about in this gospel.

Remember Jesus’ brothers in ?

John 7:3–5 ESV

3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.

His own brothers knew He could do miracles. But they did not believe in Him.

There is a belief about Jesus that is not a belief in Jesus.

People with this belief seek signs and wonders and not Christ

People with this belief only want signs and wonders and not Christ

People with this belief will be left only with signs and wonders and not Christ

It is even possible to do these things and not have Jesus Christ.

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

This is a serious problem.

To think that you know Jesus and that you love signs and wonders but not have Jesus.

This is a problem that Jesus addresses in the middle of the request by the official for his son.

He exposes this problem in verse 48.

3. The Problem (v.48)

Verse 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

It’s important to note that when Jesus says “you” in verse 48 it is plural.

So He wasn’t just speaking to the official. He was speaking to those who were seeking signs and wonders.

Remember .

John 4:45 ESV

45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

There were many who saw what Jesus did. And they welcomed Him. Even when Jesus said in ,

John 4:44 ESV

44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)

They welcomed Him. But it was only because they saw what He did and not for who Jesus said He was.

Question: What if Jesus had talked there like He talked in ? Would they have welcomed Him then?

In Jesus said,

John 6:35–36 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

John 6:53 ESV

53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

John 6:60–61 ESV

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?

The Galileans would have. They would have given no honor to Him. They welcomed Him because of the signs He did.

The problem Jesus points to is their need to see signs and wonders to believe without a belief in Him.

As we have made clear in previous passages going through the gospel of John, a belief that comes from signs and wonders is a belief without faith in Jesus.

John 2:23–25 ESV

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

As we saw before, there is a belief without saving faith.

Believing that Jesus can do miracles and believing that Jesus is the Son of God are two beliefs that are worlds apart.

Nicodemus, who didn’t receive the testimony of Jesus being the Son of God, believed that Jesus was a teacher from God and that God was with Him because no one could do these signs unless God was with Him. That is what He said in .

Large crowds followed Jesus because they saw the signs He was doing on the sick in .

But then later many left Him because He spoke of Himself as who He truly was.

Signs do not save anyone. By the way we will see that this was not the case with the official.

Signs do not save anyone!

John 12:36–37 ESV

36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,

Jesus makes this statement not just to the official but to everyone there.

Anyone who needs signs to believe will only end up with an ascent in right information about Jesus and not a trust in Jesus.

Signs and wonders had their place. They were used to point to Jesus Christ but they themselves were not what caused people to have saving faith.

Matthew 12:39 ESV

39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

The sign of Jonah being the death, burial and resurrection.

The problem we see here is that the official, along with others there, only had a belief in Jesus being able to do miracles.

That’s the problem here.

This can happen today. Examples.

People can want to come Jesus because Jesus can give them their best life now

People can want to come Jesus because they want a better marriage

People can want to come Jesus because they want freed from addictions

People can want to come Jesus because

There are many in the visible church who brag about signs and wonders and add to the gospel

There are many in the visible church who brag about signs and wonders and settle for an experience rather than the truth

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign. That’s a problem.

We are definitely living in that time today.

Jesus is pointing to the real issue. Which is not what the official thinks is the real issue.

He sees his son about to die and Jesus sees a belief without saving faith.

The purpose of this book is so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

But it seems that the people there were more about the signs He was doing than having life in His name.

John 20:31 ESV

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The official wanted life for his son. And rightly so. But Jesus was concerned with something more significant and important.

Namely, a saving faith in Him. Which is the solution to the problem of a belief that depends on signs and wonders.

Question: So how does Jesus deal with this issue?

Answer: He displays for us a belief that happens without seeing signs and wonders.

That is the solution to the problem of needing signs and wonders to believe.

Question: Can faith come apart from seeing signs and wonders?

Answer: The answer according to our text today is yes!

We see the solution to the problem in verses 49 and 50.

4. The Solution (v.49-50)

Verse 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

He totally didn’t get what Jesus said. In fact, it may have come off as insensitive.

John 4:48 ESV

48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

He totally didn’t get what Jesus said.

But the official was desperate. He wanted his son to be healed. Which shows us that after Jesus said what He said, the official remained with his trust that Jesus could heal.

Notice what he does next. In many of the miracles that Jesus did, people saw what He had done before they knew Jesus could do signs and wonders.

But here something else happens.

Verse 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.

The official didn’t believe because he saw the sign but he believed because he heard what Jesus spoke.

Remember the Syrophoenician woman in ?

a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.

The woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth

And she also begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter

Jesus said to her after her request “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

Verse 29 of , And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus saw here response as favorable and good! I believe the same for the official in our text.

Notice two things.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Notice what is amazing in our text!

First, the official believed without seeing the sign happen

the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and he went on his way

this is not a belief in a sign

he believed the word Jesus spoke

Second, Jesus in doing this revealed Himself to him and he believed!

He saw and believed Jesus as who He revealed Himself to be

Jesus didn’t need to go to his son to heal him

He did what God had done before which was speak a word and it was done and the official believed

Question: When was the last time someone spoke and thing came to be?

This was Jesus revealing Himself as divine

this was Jesus revealing Himself as divine

Only God could speak and make this happen with His own word

The official believed God the Son when He spoke

This is different. He came and asked Jesus to go to His son. Which Jesus did not do. Jesus didn’t give him what he asked for.

But he gave the official what he needed.

This is different. He came and asked Jesus to go to His son. Which Jesus did not do. Jesus didn’t give him what he asked.

Jesus told him that his son would live. And the official believed the word Jesus spoke. Which meant that what he had witnessed and heard from God Himself he had come to genuine belief in the word He spoke.

The cause to his belief was not a sign. He didn’t see it when Jesus spoke.

Question: Is it possible that this was a belief without saving faith in Jesus?

He believed when Jesus spoke. Which is not what Jesus warned about in verse 48.

This is a good example of how to believe Jesus for something.

John 4:48 ESV

48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

The only thing I could do was compare this with the prior passage.

He didn’t see it. And notice, he didn’t try to convince Jesus to go with him after.

There are two things in the prior passage with the Samaritans that are not in this event.

He believed Jesus’ word. Which was the cause of his belief.

First, Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah.

What caused belief was the word of Jesus!

The word of Jesus!

He doesn’t do that here in our text today

And we know that it is the word of Jesus Christ that saves!

There is nothing here indicating that Jesus revealed Himself that way to the official

This reminded me of .

Second, the Samaritans believed Jesus to be the Savior of the world.

Romans 10:14–17 ESV

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

This is not noted here in our text

He heard the word of Christ. Even more, from Christ Himself.

What Jesus did say to him was, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe”

He saw a divine act from Christ Himself. And it would follow that He believed! Which came from not a sign but a word from Christ Himself!

It may be possible that the official had a belief only in Jesus as a miracle worker and not a saving faith in Him.

This is the belief John wants us to see here.

This is a belief that came not from signs and wonders but from the very word of Christ Himself

That is why we believe is Sola Scriptura

The Scriptures are the very word of God

That is why we must cling to His word because His word which gives us the gospel is power

Not only does the word of Christ cause the official to believe, we see that belief came to his household.

I can’t say for sure that this was genuine faith. In fact the text says that he believed in the word that Jesus spoke. Which was about his son being healed. Not in the truth of who Jesus was.

Question: Is the word of Christ enough? Or have you bought into needing signs and wonders to believe?

If this book is about believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name, then maybe the writer is showing us a belief without Jesus as the Christ that was asked with sincerity and need.

Question: What other than the word of Christ have you wanted?

That even when coming to Jesus for good things is not enough for saving faith.

What Jesus gave the official was a word that preceded the sign. And that was enough for him.

What we need is belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God!

What followed was again, a saving faith to someone who was considered an outsider and it was a faith that resulted in the belief of Christ in a household!

And the result being that we have life in His name!

That is far better than believing in miracles.

Belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God is what brings life.

But a belief only in what Jesus can do, leaves one to a belief apart from saving faith.

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This is descriptive of someone who genuinely believes.

Without it, one is left with what anyone else can do. Namely, believing that Jesus can do good things.

I can’t say with absolute confidence that the official didn’t have saving faith.

Maybe he heard the testimony of Jesus by others.

John’s testimony or the disciples. But according to what we see here, he only believed in the word Jesus spoke about his son being healed.

Which could mean that one can believe what Jesus said He could do without saving faith.

Which means that you can believe in the power of Jesus without believing in Jesus.

Again, I cannot say with absolute confidence what kind of belief this was but we do see Jesus healing the boy from simply saying so.

5. The Result (v.51-54)

John 4:51–54 ESV

51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

John

Verse 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.

54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

Verse 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”

Verse 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.

Verse 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

Remember ?

John 2:23–25 ESV

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

As we saw before, there is a belief without saving faith.

Believing that Jesus can do miracles and believing that Jesus is the Son of God are two beliefs that are worlds apart.

Nicodemus, who didn’t receive the testimony of Jesus being the Son of God, believed that Jesus was a teacher from God and that God was with Him because no one could do these signs unless God was with Him. That is what He said in .

Close in prayer

Large crowds followed Jesus because they saw the signs He was doing on the sick in .

But then later many left Him because He spoke of Himself as who He truly was.

Signs do not save anyone. By the way we will see that this was not the case with the official.

Signs do not save anyone!

John 12:36–37 ESV

36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,

Jesus makes this statement not just to the official but to everyone there.

Anyone who needs signs to believe will only end up with an ascent in right information about Jesus and not a trust in Jesus.

Signs and wonders had their place. They were used to point to Jesus Christ but they themselves were not what caused people to have saving faith.