Now the common wisdom is,
even with the nobleman in this passage, chapter 4.53, that seeing is
believing; but we can see from ch. 4.39-42 that with Jesus in fact,
the opposite often applies...believing is seeing! And that's where
many of the people from the Samaritan town of Sychar found themselves
as a result of Jesus' ministry to one of their own...the woman at
Jacob's well.
You know, the way Jesus
Himself went about introducing spiritual things to that woman serves
as a good lesson for us in our own feeble attempts. We notice three
truths here that caused those Samaritan seekers to believe and
receive. First, it was...
1. by a simple testimony
of the Truth, vs. 39; then
2. by a simple
invitation, to come to the One Who knows
"all that
(we) ever did", vs.29 (30,40); and finally
3. by a personal
knowledge "of the Christ, the Saviour
of the world"!
vss.41,42
We read in Romans 10.17
that..."faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God"!
But what is faith? We read in Hebrews 11.1 that..."faith is
the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"!
So faith is exactly, believing without seeing, just as Jesus has
expressed, there in Jn. 4.48 of our passage.
Looking at vs. 46 of our
scripture, it seems that this nobleman had a problem...one that we
can all relate-to; his son was sick unto death, and most of us have
been there. Whether it be a spouse,or a child or another relative or
close acquaintance, our faith is put to the test, when we pray for
healing, barely believing! In fact, we often express our faith only
as a last-ditch effort, and that's exactly how this man's faith seems
to have begun. But praise the Lord, that's not how it ended!
Indeed, what we see in this story is a great miracle of physical
healing, but greatest and best of all, the birth of a saving faith,
and not just of the man himself, but of his entire household! But
let's look at the first aspect of this man's journey...
1. First of all,
he had a standard faith, vss. 46-49
Just like us, this man met
the standard of faith that had been set for him by his church or by
society or by his very present need... his son's terminal illness.
Whatever the case, he had heard that Jesus was back in Cana, and
remembered that on His last trip there, He had turned water into
wine; so why not seek Him out and put Him to the test?! After all,
we read in vs. 45 that the Gallileans had been pretty impressed with
the things they had seen Jesus do down in Jerusalem (see 2.23); so no
one would have expected a rebuke from the Saviour in response to the
man's plea, but that's exactly what happened (vs. 48).
You see, we have set a
standard for faith...in fact, we have a standardized faith...one that
reflects unbelief; and I know what I'm talking about, because I've
seen it in action! Jesus, plain and simple, told that nobleman,
along with any others who had come along with him, that their "signs
and wonders" mentality just didn't comprise real faith. We read
in Matthew 17.20 that if we had faith the size of a mountain we could
move a mustard seed...right? In fact, that is a far more apt
description of the kind of idea most Christians have concerning our
lives in Jesus! And it's that lack of faith that results in a lack
of action, or a lack of prayer. I'm not sure just what most
Christians believe about the power of God.
In any case, this nobleman
sought out Jesus and asked Him to "come down" and save his
child from death. It's ironic, really, because that's exactly what
Jesus had done...come down to save us from death! So there it
is...the nobleman, as a result of his standardized faith, pleading
with Jesus to "...come down, ere my child die"; and Jesus'
response brings about an unexpected change in that man's life, and
that is...
2. A superior faith,
vs. 50
Can you imagine what just
happened there? Jesus called that man to higher ground, and he
immediately rose to the occasion, with no questions asked! He didn't
say..."No, Jesus, that's not enough...You have to come to my
house...I need you to lay hands on him!" Rather, he simply
believed, and did as Jesus had told him to do. And I believe that,
just as we read back in ch. 2.24, Jesus knew this man's heart, and He
knew that there was more than just the wish to have another "healing
meeting". He didn't go to Jesus just to sit in the pews and
watch. He went to involve Him in his life , and Jesus sent him away
with a faith that was superior to any other in Gallilee that day!
Just like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman, he had a need; and not
just the miracle of the physical healing of his son, either, but
rather, for the spiritual healing of his entire household. How great
is that?! That's the result of a superior faith...it affects
everyone that it touches! That man's faith no longer simply met the
standard of the rest of the crowd; he no longer relied on the word of
others that he had been hanging with. He had the personal assurances
of the Lord Himself, and we see in the last few verses how that
resulted in...
3. A saving faith,
vss. 51-54
Complete faith in God has
it's rewards...in this case, a son's life was spared! However,
that's not always the result, and that fact can be one of the
greatest hindrances to full belief. But once we set out on that
journey there should never be a reason for turning back. In fact, by
obedience to the Lord, that nobleman not only received his son fully
restored to health, but also saw, so far as we can tell, his entire
family coming to salvation...just imagine...as a result of that
father's belief, from a superior faith to a saving faith! He didn't
just become a part of the church crowd; not just a bench warmer, but
rather..."I'm in it for eternity." And because of his
diligence, his whole household was saved! WOW!
Jesus wants to meet our
every need, but He has something even more important for us...a
miracle of grace! What sweeter words could a person hear..."Thy
son liveth", and not just his mortal body, but his eternal soul,
as well!
What a blessed way to end
your day...with the assurance of the Lord's hand on, and in your
life!
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