THE MAN TOOK JESUS AT HIS WORD
John 4:43-54
Key Verse 4:50
“Jesus replied, ‘you may go. Your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at his word and departed.”
According to John 20:31, Jesus came to this earth and revealed himself through words and miracles for one specific reason “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” If we believe anything less about Jesus then we do not have eternal life. We have missed the point of all he has said and done. In other words we cannot just see Jesus as one who can perform a sign or miracle in our life and then forget about him. How then can we not forget about Jesus Christ? From this small passage in John’s Gospel we will learn taking Jesus at his word in effect becomes, Jesus Christ living within us. Taking Jesus at his word empowers us to cross over from death to life. Jesus wants his disciples to be the kind of people that no matter what the situation, they will continue to press on in life because they are taking Jesus at his word. Today, let us hear what Jesus says to the royal official and learn to take him at his word.
First, a prophet has no honor in his own country. Let’s read verses 43-44: “After the two days he left for Galilee. (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)” Jesus had just spent two wonderful days reaping a spiritual harvest among the Samaritans near Sychar. The harvest started small with one lonely and bitter woman but soon spread to the entire town. Jesus did not need to perform even one miracle for these Samaritans to believe in him. After only sharing with them his word, the whole town with one heart proclaimed that Jesus was the Savior of the world. Jesus must have left Samaria grinning ear to ear with joy in his heart because of the fruitful work of God done among the Samaritans. Then his attitude quickly changed as he began to press on to Galilee. His disciples were happy about going home to Galilee. They thought they would be honored and respected as servants of Jesus among their friends and relatives. The word of Jesus did not support their excited anticipation. He pointed out to them that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
Let us see how Galileans received Jesus. Look at verse 45: “When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they had also been there.” Their welcome was warm but lacking sincerity if we look at a more detail account of it in Mark 6:1-6. It didn’t have the same spark as the Samaritans’ goodbye. The Galileans looked at Jesus as a miracle man who went around performing miracles just because he was a nice guy. They did not believe nor even did they care that Jesus was the Savior of the world. Jesus predicted this would happen. A prophet, even the Christ himself, does not receive honor in his own country.
It goes against common sense that a prophet should receive less honor among his own people than from strangers. After all, shouldn’t love and respect increase as we get to know a person more and more? But this is not the case when dealing with sinful men. With sinful men familiarity breeds contempt, not honor or respect. Before a man gets married he feels once he marries the right woman, it will fill in everything missing in his life. The woman believes once she marries Mr. Right, she will finally find someone who will satisfy her thirst for love and security. With these two powerful reasons to marry they become husband and wife. Now with their lives united their love should grow. Instead the opposite happens. After awhile they find themselves waking up and looking at each other saying: “Oh, no, not you again.” When a person doesn’t repent of the contempt that has taken root in them, they begin to suffer with very short-term memories. They forget how God miraculously answered their prayer. Instead every new day they ask: “What have you done for me lately?” This contemptuous attitude also gives rise to crooked eyesight. A contemptuous person has an amazing capacity to cynically filter everything they see. Though they see the work of God going on as plain as day, instead of thanking God they fault every word and deed.
But when Jesus said a prophet does not have honor in his own country, he didn’t mean that it had to be that way. It wasn’t like he just gave up under the weight of man’s sin. Jesus wanted his people to be different. However, the only way they could be different was if they faithfully held firmly to the salvation God freely offered them through faith in Jesus Christ. When a person accepts Jesus as Lord, this ugly cycle of sin and contempt can be broken. He can serve God in holiness and righteousness all of his days. He can have hope in the Kingdom of God. This is the desire Jesus had for his people.
Second, “You may go. Your son will live.” Jesus left that place and once again visited Cana in Galilee. This was the site of his first miraculous sign. Jesus performed that miracle while attending a wedding. In the middle of the wedding festivities the wine had dried up. Mary, the mother of Jesus, quickly noticed this would quickly ruin the joyful occasion. She brought the problem to Jesus. Jesus acted upon Mary’s prayer. He turned 180 gallons of water into the most delicious wine ever produced.
Now again someone in Cana was coming to Jesus’ help. This time it was a matter of life and death. Look at verse 46. “Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son now lay sick at Capernaum.” Capernaum was 20 miles from Cana. In our group bible study there was much debate how long it took this royal official to travel from Capernaum to Cana. One thing is certain according to verse 52 the trip almost took the royal official an entire day to travel. Finally he arrived in Cana and found Jesus. Look at verse 47: “When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.” This man was a royal official. Perhaps he was one of King Herod’s confidants. Normally if he wanted someone to help him he would order his or her assistance in the name of the king. Yet this royal official begged Jesus to come and heal his son who was close to death. Seeing a grown man begging for help like this normally would move any man’s heart. The people around Jesus were moved at this father’s earnestness to help his son. Even Jesus’ disciples wanted Jesus to go and help this royal official because of his humbleness.
Jesus on the other hand saw this royal official’s request in a much different light. Let us read verse 48. “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, Jesus told him, you will never believe.” What is Jesus saying? With a superficial observation it seems Jesus was being mean to this man, kicking him while he was down. Is this the kind and loving Jesus of whom the Bible says will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick? It is one and the same Jesus. We must ask ourselves, “Why did Jesus speak such tough words to a desperate man who came to him humbly for help?” By saying: ‘Unless you people,’ we see Jesus is not only speaking to the man, his words were intended for all the people. This man represented what was ailing all people. They believed Jesus was a miracle worker, but they did not have faith to believe he was the Christ, the Son of God. Our Lord Jesus is full of compassion for the man. But his compassion carries a very biting spiritual reality. He did not come just to heal our infirmities or perform a miracle for us when we are in trouble. Jesus came to plant a faith in us that remains unmoved despite our human circumstance. Jesus does not want people to have faith like a roller coaster going up or down depending on what miracle they just saw or what trouble they may be in. With miracle faith a man cannot grow. He has no foundation God can build upon. Ultimately, a man with miracle faith is never assured he has eternal life. Eventually his belief in God will collapse like a house built on the sand. Often people will earnestly pray to God: “Please, help me to pass this exam I did not study for. Please help me to get married. Lord, I need a job. Help me get into a medical school. Help me get my Ph D…..” In his grace Jesus answers many of these. Then for no other reason than not wanting to carry the cross of Jesus the person will stop following Jesus. This is commonly called vending machine faith. We pray to God in Jesus’ name for something. Once we get it we take what Jesus gave us while throwing away any faith and personal commitment in Jesus.
Jesus’ words “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe” were actually given to train the royal official to have faith alone in Jesus’ word. Training is never easy but it is the only way to lead a person to life and victory. Even in the military they have a saying an ounce of sweat poured out in training will save a pound of blood in war. Many Bible teachers however are afraid to give such faith training to their students for fear they will feel insulted and run away. Jesus however was not afraid to train people to have faith in his word.
Let us read verses 49 and 50a: “the royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies. ‘ Jesus replied, ‘ you may go. Your son will live.’“ Jesus would not go to Capernaum as the man requested. Rather he answered the man’s plea with a command. He told the man to go and his child would live. Jesus was planting faith in the man’s heart to believe that he is God. The royal official would have to entrust his son’s life to the power of Jesus’ words. To take Jesus at his word was a matter of life or death for his sick son. This sounds too risky. But Jesus knew this was the only way for the man to truly have faith in him.
How did the man respond to Jesus’ command? Verse 50b says, “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” For a moment let us think about the importance of a person taking the word of another person who has authority and is in the know. For example would you like to fly in the plane of a pilot who could not take the word of the air traffic controller who is guiding his plane? If the pilot becomes disoriented in mile after mile cloud covered or in a turbulent dark thunderstorm there is no problem as long he takes the word of the air traffic controller. The ability of the pilot to be able to take another’s word is the difference between a safe landing or crashing the plane into a ball of fire. In the Bible Abraham is the father of all people who took God at his word. God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1. “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you”. Then God promised Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation.” God promised Abraham much more than this. To read it look at Gen.12. To be a great nation you need at least a son but he and his wife were a childless retired couple. You also need land. Abraham didn’t own one foot of land. Nevertheless Abraham took God at his word. He left his country, people and father’s household. For 25 years he struggled a great battle of faith of take God at his word. God helped him along the way to hold onto his word by telling him, “look up at the stars and count them so shall your offspring be.” He also promised to give him all the land he could see north, south, east and west. When Abraham was 100 years old and his wife 90 years old after all hope had tried up, God kept his word and gave Sarah a son. Four hundred and fifty years after this God gave all the land he promised to Abraham to nation God had raised up from Abraham’s offspring. Actually Abraham always had hope as long as he took God at his word. The same goes for us. As long as we take Jesus’ at his word we have hope. The great Christian challenge of life is to take our eyes off our life situation and place them squarely by faith on Jesus’ word. Jesus Christ words will never fail us.
The royal official took Jesus at his word and now departed back to his home in Capernaum. If this event happened these days the man would immediately take his cell phone. “Honey, I just begged Jesus Christ to come and heal our son. He told me, ‘go your son will live.’ How is he doing now?” This man of course did not have a cell phone. He only had the comfort of Jesus word to take with him. “You may go. Your son will live.” Often we want a coworker to comfort us. Either we will try to call them or will search out their company.” One day like all nice things in life they will not be there to comfort us. God’s word on the other hand is always with us to comfort us if we choose to hold firmly to it. When I first came to UBF and found myself alone at places like the library sometimes, I would get what I would call anxieties or maybe demon attacks. These attacks would throw my spirit and soul into turmoil. Instead of taking a pill or finding comfort from another person, I would recall Psalms 23. In prayer I would pray: “Lord Jesus, you are my shepherd. As you promised in Ps 23, please restore my soul.”One hundred percent of the time this word of God alone restored my soul. Similarly when dark thoughts and anxieties came to this man as he walked back home, only recalling and claiming Jesus’ words: “Your son will live.” would drive the dark thoughts of fear and dread from his mind. Every year this ministry encourages us to memorize 1 Cor 15. I am very grateful for this. Often, doubts of my salvation slip into my mind. Immediately I extinguish these doubts by recalling 1Cor 15:1-4. Can anyone here from memory quote these verses for us? Every time I recount this word of God and claim the promise that by the gospel of Jesus’ death for my sins and resurrection, God’s comfort, grace and assurance of salvation well up into my soul. All doubt is completely extinguished. May I suggest if you’re a person who has a tendency to seek human comfort, try to find comfort instead in God’s word for at least one week. This kind of spiritual work out will allow you to grow into a higher level of faith in God.
Look at verses 51: “While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When the man first saw his servants coming toward him his stomach suddenly became filled with butterflies. He could not help but to wonder if his servants were bringing him good news or bad news. As his servants came closer he could tell from the expression on their faces they were bringing good news. “Master, your son is completely recovered.” may have been their first words to the royal official. His boy was alive and completely healed. The royal official took Jesus at his word. Jesus’ word did not fail him. By the powerful word of Jesus his son was healed.
In the mist of the hugs and praises to God, a question came to the royal official’s mind. Look at verses 52-53: “When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his entire household believed. For many fathers the news their dying son got better would have been enough. They would have rushed to enjoy the company of their son and forget about Jesus. Jesus’ faith training however caused this father to come back to Jesus by inquiring as to the time when his son got better. Carefully notice what he and his whole household did when he learned his son was healed the exact time Jesus had said: “Your son will live.” Our Bible tells us: “So he and his household believed.” This means they believed Jesus was the God of Genesis chapter 1 who said: “Let there be light and exactly when he said let there be light, there was light.” The royal official and his family realized they could not just go on with how they lived before they met Jesus. Jesus to them was God made flesh. They realized they could no longer live on the fence regarding Jesus. A decision had to be made. They either had to believe Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and the author of life and with that belief begin living for Christ. Or they would have to reject Jesus and see him only as a man to go to when they needed a miracle. We see they chose to believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world. We can be confident with their new belief in Jesus, they now lived everyday by faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Look at verse 54: “This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.” Now that we have studied in detail this second miraculous sign Jesus performed, this closing verse in John 4 is now asking us: “What do each one of us believe about Jesus Christ? Do we believe he is just a person we go to when we need a miracle in our life and then forget about him once we receive it? Or do we make a decision to truly believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God as the Bible teaches. Then from this day forward live by faith in Jesus Christ and live for Jesus Christ. Let us now pray God by the power of the Holy Spirit may help us to invite his Son Jesus Christ to live in our lives by faith. For us who already believe in Jesus, let us pray the Holy Spirit may help us to make it our life goal to please Jesus Christ the author of life.