Jesus the Compassionate Healer

Intro

John 4:43–45 CSB

43 After two days he left there for Galilee. 44 (Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 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.

Return Home

Jesus had just spent some time in Samaria.

John tells us there was there for 3 days and then makes his way back to Galilee.

And we get an interesting note from John 4:44 “44 (Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)”

What’s going on here?

Because right after we read that we see Jesus in his home town Galilee and he is welcomed by the people there.

But do you see why he is welcomed… b/c they had seen what Jesus could do.

They had witnessed his signs and wonders.

And they were excited to see what He was going to do in their town.

They didn’t care about Jesus the Messiah.

They didn’t care about Jesus the King.

They didn’t care about Jesus the Creator of the Universe.

They wanted Jesus the magician.

They wanted Jesus the miracle worker.

They wanted Jesus the healer.

Jesus the Savior.

Not Jesus the Lord.

And if we’re not careful we can fall into the same trap.

Where we desire the gifts of God, but not the giver of those gifts.

These Galilean fanfare welcomed Jesus, but notice they didn’t believe in Jesus.

And John is directly contrasting their response to Jesus with the response from the Samaritans.

In John 4:41 “41 Many more believed because of what he said.”

The Samaritans listened and believed.

The Galileans saw and welcomed.

To those in Galilee, Jesus’ own people, Jesus was a sideshow to be witnessed not the Lord to be worshipped.

But their reception of him doesn’t mean that he isn’t compassionate.

That Doesn’t mean that he cares less about the hurting.

He is still going to do some miraculous things in the sight of the Galileans.

John 4:46–54 CSB

46 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. 47 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, since he was about to die. 48 Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” 49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my boy dies.” 50 “Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed. 51 While he was still going down, his servants met him saying that his boy was alive. 52 He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him,” they answered. 53 The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54 Now this was also the second sign Jesus performed after he came from Judea to Galilee.

A Father’s Plea

Jesus returns to Cana where he turned water into wine.

And as he is there, a royal official comes to plea with him about his son.

This man most likely served Herod, one of the governors in this region.

And he was used to being in power and having control.

But he is now in a situation where he has no power and no control.

He hears that Jesus, this miracle worker, is traveling around and he can do miraculous things.

So out of desperation and heartache for his son he travels some 22 miles from Judea to go and ask Jesus to heal his son.

I know that there is not much more heartbreaking than watching a child suffer.

I know that for my parents when they were trying to figure out what was going on with me they were absolute wrecks.

And even when my kids have a cold or the flu it is absolutely painful to watch them suffer.

And this Dad’s son is dying.

He is desperate for a miracle.

And in that desperation he runs to Jesus and begs him to come and see his son.

He believes that Jesus has to be near his son for the healing to occur.

He doesn’t recognize who Jesus is.

He doesn’t know that the Son of God works all kinds of miracles near and far.

But the Father and the crowd receive some push back from Jesus.

jn 4:48 “48 Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.””

Jesus is speaking to both the Father and the crowd when he says this.

Jesus sees that the only way that they will believe in the him is if they see something Amazing, something spectacular, something awe inspiring.

All the while missing that the most amazing, spectacular, and awe inspiring God of the universe is standing before them.

These people are no different that some people today.

I know that you have heard of people that say, If God would do this one thing, If God would reveal himself to me, If he would make this mountain move then I would believe in him.

But here’s where the push back from Jesus happens.

He knows that a belief in him based on a Miracle is a shallow and hollow faith.

Because a faith built on a miracle means that if the miracles cease you may cease to believe.

That kind of thinking views God not as the Lord and Savior of the World, but as a mystical and magical Genie ready to serve your every whim.

That is a very low view of who God is.

And a radically too high a view of who you are.

Jesus is more concerned with their belief in him than he is in their trust of what he can do.

The Crowd there in Galilee had already heard about and maybe even saw the miracle at the wedding where he turned water into wine.

In verse 45, it states John 4:45 “...the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen everything he did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival.”

And Yet those weren’t enough to cause them to believe.

Rather they wanted more.

They wanted to be wowed again and again.

Jesus is more concerned with saving their souls than he is with meeting their physical needs.

Jesus came to solve our greatest problem.

He came to conquer sin and death.

He came to pave a way for us to be in right relationship with the Father.

He came to restore us.

And often times all we can see is what can Jesus do for me.

How can he make my life better.

How can he end my current suffering.

How can he serve me.

How selfish can we be?

How arrogant can we be?

Jesus, Give me ______ and I will commit my life to you.

Give me a promotion.

Give me a new boyfriend/girlfriend.

Heal my mom/dad/friend and I will believe in you.

Show me a sign.

Accomplish this impossible task and I will believe.

Give me children/grandchildren.

Heal my Marriage.

Without even recognizing it we put the condition clauses on our belief.

And then if Jesus doesn’t show up in the way we think he should then we don’t believe.

And if he does show up this time, but he doesn’t the next time we stop believing.

This is why the Miracles of Jesus should not be the foundation of our faith.

They can be a catalyst for our faith, but not the foundation.

If the miracle drives us to love Jesus not just what he can do.

The greatest miracle of all is that God put on flesh and dwelt among us.

That he suffered and died on our behalf.

And that he rose again conquering sin and death.

The greatest miracle is the gospel message.

If Jesus never does another thing for you in your life.

He already performed the greatest miracle, He loved you.

That should be enough.

Now what I don’t what you to hear me say is that Jesus doesn’t care about your suffering.

That he doesn’t ever heal.

That he doesn’t ever physically restore.

That he isn’t interested in our physical lives at all.

Because that wouldn’t be a right view of Jesus either.

Does Jesus have the power and authority to heal? Without a Doubt.

Does Jesus always heal everyone? No.

Why is that the case? I don’t know.

But even if he doesn’t heal you.

Or your family member.

Or your friend.

He still deserves your worship.

He still deserves your praise.

Now this Father had just heard the rebuke of Jesus.

Jn 4.48 “48 Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.””

But he begs Jesus to come and save his son.

He’s looking at Jesus as his only hope.

Please Jesus help my boy.

Please Jesus heal my son.

Please Jesus.

And Jesus simply responds by saying “Go, your son will live”

And the man leaves.

Did he fully believe what Jesus said.

John tells us that he believed what Jesus said.

Perhaps he believed b/c he had done all that he could do.

Perhaps after Jesus’ rebuke, his final plea, and Jesus’ command to go he felt that there was nothing else left to do.

But the fullness of belief didn’t happen until confirmation of the son getting well happens.

On the way home the ma was met by his servants and they told him that his son was well.

He wanted to know when this happened.

It happened when Jesus Said that the boy was well.

And he believed.

He Trusted Jesus.

He and his household because something miraculous had taken place.

And John leads us to believe that this is a saving faith.

That this man continues to believe in Jesus because he recognized who Jesus was.

The Miracle was not the foundation of this man’s faith, but the catalyst for it.

This healing is followed by another that has drastically different results.

John 5:1–9a (CSB)

1 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Aramaic, which has five colonnades.

3 Within these lay a large number of the disabled—blind, lame, and paralyzed.

5 One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “Sir,” the disabled man answered, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”

8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.”

9a Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

Healing in Jerusalem

Jesus leaves Galilee and makes his way to Jerusalem b/c there is a feast taking place.

We don’t know exactly which feast this was and John doesn’t find it important to tell us.

But Jesus makes his way to this area where many disabled people lay.

We are told that this are is a large pool and there seems to be some sort of belief that this pool bubbles up and the first one in the pool of water gets healed from his ailment.

There are lame, blind, and paralyzed people laying around this pool.

So this is a widely held folk belief.

And Jesus singles out this one man sitting at the pool.

Why did he single out this man?

What was it about this man that caused Jesus to choose him?

Especially as we read further we recognize that this man doesn’t seem to deserve this miracle if we are looking at it through our eyes.

Jesus asks him, does he want to get well.

And immediately he starts complaining.

He starts fussing.

He starts whining about not being able to be placed in the pool when the waters get stirred up.

Because he’s been disabled for 38 years.

38 years of disappointment.

38 years of frustration.

38 years of anger, resentment, and bitterness.

Does he want to get healed? Yes.

Does he believe it’s possible? No.

He is helpless, hopeless, and depressed.

Jesus doesn’t listen to his pity party, rather he gives as simple command.

John 5.8 “8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.””

At the word of Jesus, Instantaneously this man was healed.

He regained all of his strength immediately.

Imagine for a moment all that had to take place for this man to walk again.

I know people who have broken a leg and needed months of rehab to strengthen their leg enough to walk.

Without use the muscles in the legs deteriorate.

They atrophy and are unable to be used without building up strength.

This man had been disabled for 38 years.

He had no muscle in his legs.

And when Jesus said, “Get up, pick up your mat and walk.”

And he did so.

Not wobbling around like Bambi.

But walking like he hadn’t missed a day in his life.

And he didn’t even thank Jesus.

He just walked off.

Not saying one word.

Ungrateful.

But the story shifts, b/c Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath and for the Jewish leaders this was a big deal.

John 5:9b–14 (CSB)

9b Now that day was the Sabbath,

10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath. The law prohibits you from picking up your mat.”

11 He replied, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’

12 “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked.

13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

Sabbath

The Day that Jesus healed this man was the Sabbath.

Now for us we may not know the importance of the Sabbath.

But this was a day set aside to honor and worship the Lord.

In Exodus 31, God Commands Moses to tell the people about the importance of the Sabbath.

Exo 31:12-14 “12 The Lord said to Moses, 13 “Tell the Israelites: You must observe my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you will know that I am the Lord who consecrates you. 14 Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people.”

God is interested in and

John 5:15–18 CSB

15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him: Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.

Lord of the Sabbath