When Faith Became Real 1-19-25 AM
I. The framework of the passage.
a. There is a timestamp on this passage just as there was in last week’s study.
i. The two days in verse 43 refers to the two days Jesus spent in Samaria.
ii. Jesus had been in Jerusalem after leaving Galilee.
iii. He then was preaching and teaching in Judea, the area outside of Jerusalem.
iv. When the Pharisees found out about what He was doing, Jesus decided to go back to Galilee to avoid confrontation.
v. On His way back, Jesus had the conversation at the well with the Samaritan women.
vi. Jesus stayed there for two days (John 4:40).
b. Jesus left there on the second day and went back into the area of Galilee where He had been earlier.
c. John 4:44 provides some difficulty.
i. Why would Jesus say that a prophet has no honor in his own country, or town as that word can be translated, but be going back to His area, Galilee?
ii. There are a few ways to look at this, but the one that is the simplest is usually the best.
iii. This statement is found in the other three accounts as well (Matt. 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24).
iv. In each of these accounts, Jesus is referring to His city, which was Nazareth, which was in Galilee.
v. If you read John 4:1-3 and then go straight to verse 43, this is what makes the most sense.
d. People in the area are now ready for Jesus to come because some saw what Jesus had done in Jerusalem, according to verse 45.
i. Jesus had cast out the moneychangers and apparently done miracles at the feast.
ii. Some had been there and brought back word about what He had done.
iii. Now they wanted to see what Jesus could do.
iv. Something similar happened in the country of the Gadarenes, also known as the land of Gennesaret.
v. Jesus healed a possessed man, we know him as legion, and then the demons went into the swine and then they ran off a cliff.
vi. All the people wanted Him to leave (Lu. 8:37).
vii. Later, Jesus comes back to that area and they all begin to bring their sick and lame to Jesus to be healed (Mk. 6:53ff).
e. Jesus is now popular and comes back to Cana of Galilee.
i. We are told this is where the first miracle took place.
ii. This is a minor city remember.
f. We are then introduced to a certain nobleman.
i. The word for nobleman could be rightly translated as “little king.”
ii. It carries the idea of someone who walks in kings courts.
iii. Some newer translations have “royal official.”
iv. Br. Lipe, and others, suggest he was some type of advisor to Herod.
g. This official had a son who was very sick.
h. When he heard that Jesus was in Galilee, he came to Jesus and asked him to come heal his son.
i. Just a side note to show the accuracy of the Bible:
ii. He asked Jesus to come down to Capernaum, which was actually north of where Cana is believed to have been located.
iii. Cana was higher in elevation, because Capernaum was on the seashore.
i. Jesus first rebukes the man and we will see why in the next point.
j. The man pleads saying his son will die if Jesus does not come.
k. Jesus tells him to go back home because His son is going to live.
l. The man goes his way and, the next day, is met by some of his servants who tell him that his son is well.
m. He asks when and they tell him he the fever lifted the day before at the 7th hour.
n. The father knew that was the time he had been told by Jesus that his son would live.
o. We read that this was the second miracle that Jesus did in Galilee.
II. The father.
a. This man came looking for Jesus.
i. I can’t imagine being in this man’s shoes.
ii. He knows his son is dying.
iii. Maybe some of you have experienced the death of a child.
iv. You can relate somewhat to this man’s feelings.
b. That he came looking for Jesus sounds great doesn’t it?
c. Remember the response of Jesus to the first request: “Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
i. It is important to realize that when Jesus answers this way, He was not just talking to the official.
ii. Jesus was speaking to all those listening.
iii. They all wanted to see Jesus do the things He had done in Jerusalem.
d. The way this is written is that the man had done all he could do before he came to Jesus.
e. He had heard of Jesus and the things Jesus did while in Jerusalem so the official came to Jesus as a last resort.
f. Jesus does rebuke the man but the man does not go away.
i. It seems he believed that Jesus was His only hope for saving his son.
ii. He again asks Jesus to come to his home.
g. Jesus tells him to go on home and that his son lives.
i. Live is in the tense that shows continuous action.
ii. Jesus restored a whole life to the boy, healing him of the sickness is the idea.
h. This was good enough for the man.
i. Jesus showed His power over sickness and distance.
i. Jesus did not have to go the 15-20 miles to the man’s house.
ii. He did not have to physically touch the boy to heal him.
j. To the man’s credit, he believed what Jesus said and left Jesus.
k. Something important to note is that the father did not find out till the next day that his son was healed.
i. His servants that met him told him that the boy’s fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.
ii. The seventh hour is 1 PM in our way of keeping time.
l. The father shows that he grew in faith from the time he came to Jesus to the time he left him.
III. The faith of the father.
a. I just mentioned that the father grew in faith from the time he came to Jesus to when he left Jesus.
b. His faith, to begin with, was very shallow.
i. He had heard about Jesus.
ii. He believed Jesus could perform miracles, but He did not believe Jesus was God’s only begotten Son.
c. After meeting Jesus, his faith grew to the point that he believed when Jesus told him his son would live.
i. Verse 50 says the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken.
ii. His faith deepened.
d. But notice verses 52-53.
i. The official asks his servants when the boy began to amend, or get better.
ii. They told him that the fever left at the 7th hour.
iii. He didn’t begin to get better, his health was completely restored all at once.
iv. At that point, when he realized the time matched the time when he was told by Jesus that boy lived, it says he believed again.
e. Notice what this level of belief led him to do.
i. His whole house believed.
ii. How could the whole house believe?
iii. The official had to tell them about Jesus.
f. His faith grew throughout this ordeal.
i. It started shallow – believing Jesus could do miracles.
ii. It deepened – he became trusting enough to believe Jesus that his son was going live.
iii. It solidified – he told those of his house exactly what Jesus did and now believed who Jesus was.
g. This is our faith journey.
i. We come to hear about Jesus at some point.
ii. We learn a difference between Jesus and all others.
iii. We grow to the point that we believe Jesus is who He says He is.
h. When we get to that point, we start to tell others about Jesus.
i. Br. Guy N. Woods wrote, “Before, he believed about Jesus; now, he believed on Jesus.”
j. We need to understand that Jesus was and is more than a miracle worker.
i. Jesus is able to restore life.
ii. Jesus is able to make whole that which was marred by sin.
k. Jesus is not performing miracles today.
i. He doesn’t need to.
ii. The record of His miracles are enough to cause belief (John 20:30-31).