John 4:27-54 • October 9, 2019 • w1276
Pastor John Miller continues our study through the gospel of John with a message through John 4:27-54 titled, “Believing Is Seeing.”
Pastor John Miller
October 9, 2019
4:27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?" 28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him. 31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." 39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word. 42 Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." 43 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. 46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." 49 The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" 50 Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" 52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household. 54 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
In John 4:25, “The woman saith unto him,” that is, Jesus, “I know that Messias cometh, which is called the Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” Notice verse 26, “Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” I pointed out that the word “he” is italicized, so Jesus was actually just saying, “I Am.” This is an amazing full revelation of Jesus to this woman. Actually, Jesus never did that with Nicodemus, the religious Jew; but this sinful Samaritan woman, He disclosed completely, “I Am.” He used that name for God, “I Am the eternal Jehovah God,” the name that God used at the burning bush when He commissioned Moses to go to Pharaoh, the declaration of who Jesus is.
Now, it picks right up without any break in the narrative in verse 27. It says, “And upon this,” that’s why I backed up and read verses 25-26. The moment she heard that Jesus said, “I Am,” “And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did,” and then notice she says, “is not this the Christ?” Jesus just told her, “I Am.” She said, “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things,” and Jesus said, “I Am.” She immediately leaves her water pot and makes a beeline into the city and tells the men of the city, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did.”
Notice verse 30, “Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him,” or begged Him, “saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat,” King James uses “meat,” but it’s not talking about meat as we would use the word, it’s talking about food in general. “I have meat,” food, “to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?” Somebody must have fed Him. “Jesus saith unto them, My meat,” food, “is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” No sooner had Jesus disclosed Himself to this woman, “I Am,” that immediately His disciples show up.
The disciples had gone into the town of Samaria to buy some food. Remember last week we saw that Jesus sat on the well because He was weary; and after sitting on the well, when the woman approached Him, He said, “Can I have a drink?” I pointed out to you that that’s a couple of references there to the humanity of Jesus. It’s evidence of His humanity. There is another indication that He was a human in that they came with food and begged Him to eat. Evidently, they had gone on a mission to get food, to bring it to Jesus so He could eat. We could gather from this: 1) Jesus was tired, 2) Jesus was thirsty, and 3) Jesus was hungry. You say, “You just described me, Pastor John, I’m tired, I’m thirsty, and I’m hungry.” If so, it just reminds us of the fact that when God came down from heaven in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ, He came to be a sympathetic and compassionate High Priest who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities or our weaknesses so that He can understand and empathize with us. God isn’t far removed; God feels, God knows, God understands. When somebody would accuse God, “How could God do this,” and “How could God do that,” and “Where’s the God of love?” How marvelous to realize that God in His love condescended and came from heaven—stooped down and came from heaven—born a human being and suffered just the way we have suffered. Jesus was lonely. Jesus wept. Jesus lost people He loved, and He wept at the grave of Lazarus. All of the emotions that we go through and the feelings in our humanity, Jesus could identify with.
I want you to note, first of all, that they marveled that He talked with a woman. Isn’t it amazing to see the Savior’s compassion and passion for the lost. To see that Jesus cares about the individual, that Jesus loves people, that Jesus takes the time to care for this person. Remember, we did talk a lot about her being a Samaritan, and the Samaritans were half-Jew/half-Gentile. They were despised by the Jews, yet it’s clear that Jesus has dealings with the people of Samaria. It reminds us of the fact that the gospel is universal. It’s for everyone. It’s not just for a chosen race or someone from a certain ethnic background, but the gospel is for everyone. Jesus in His marvelous love for sinners…and the disciples were blown away.
The disciples were blown away for a couple of reasons. First, He is talking to a woman. No male Jew would ever talk to a female in broad daylight out in public. It just wasn’t something that they would do—let alone a Rabbi that Jesus was, the Teacher, and let alone the fact that she was a Samaritan. She had all these negatives going for her, but Jesus reached out to her. By the way, this is a good little point to remind us that Jesus loves women. Amen, ladies? Jesus didn’t come just to save, teach, disciple, or mentor the men, He came for the women as well. He reached out in love. Remember last week we saw the passage said He was down by the Jordan River, and it said that He wanted to go to Galilee, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” I pointed out with the map that He could’ve gone the east side of the Jordan River, up Perea, and into Galilee; but He went right through Samaria, which no good Jew would do because they despised the Samaritans, because He had a divine appointment with this woman at the well. How God, in His love, orchestrated this encounter; and then Jesus reveals Himself to this hungry heart. What a glorious story this is.
It’s interesting that in Luke 15 the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with publicans and sinners, and they marveled and were amazed. Here you have the disciples marveling that He was talking to this sinful woman, and then the Pharisees, the scribes, and the religious community saw Him eating with publicans and sinners, and they marveled as well. Sometimes we do that as Christians: we marvel that Jesus would save a wretch like you and me. Amen? We sing, Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound; That saved a wretch like me. Isn’t it amazing that Jesus would come to you, that Jesus would come to me, and in His love that He would reveal Himself and would redeem us by His grace?
I want you to notice also in verse 28, that “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,” how grace changes everything. Notice the all-absorbing influence of this revelation of who Jesus is. She no longer thinks about water or her water pot or her job or her duty to get water. She’s so excited and so filled with the joy of knowing Jesus that she turns into an evangelist. You know, it’s interesting that when we meet the Lord that He so fills our heart with His love and grace that we want to tell other people about Jesus, right? She came there to get water. She had a water pot and was, no doubt, filling it with water. Now, she forgets that. You know, when you come to Jesus Christ, He liberates you from the mundane and from the temporal. Even though you may have to do your job, that’s not what your calling is. Your calling is to tell others about Jesus Christ. It’s not about just getting water every day.
Remember that bumper sticker we used to have years ago that people would put on their cars: “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” Does anyone remember that or am I just too old? Okay, all people over 60 raise your hand. I think it was probably 40 years ago or something. I used to look at that and think, What a philosophy of life—I owe money, so I gotta go to work. If you’re a Christian, you go to the well to draw water, so to speak; but your real job is to tell other people about Jesus Christ. Don’t get all wrapped up in your mundane tasks, duties, and responsibilities. Remember that God saved you by His grace so that you can tell other people about Him. Whatever your job, whatever your profession, whatever your calling, just remember that you’re to make the priority serving Jesus Christ.
This story reminds me of Peter, James, and John who when Jesus called them, that they left their fishing nets, their boats, their father Zebedee and the fishing business, and forsook all to follow Jesus Christ. Sometimes God calls us to stay at our job, sometimes He calls us to leave that and go into full-time ministry. The Bible says that when the Lord called Matthew (Matthew was a tax collector), he left his tax booth, a very lucrative, profitable business, and went to follow Jesus Christ. Many have pointed out that he actually left his tax ledgers and his money, but picked up his pen and wrote us a gospel.
This woman left her water pot, but she realized that she’s now called to do other things—to tell others about Jesus Christ. In verse 29, it says, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” She runs quickly and tells others about Jesus Christ. “Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.” She becomes an evangelist.
When Jesus Christ comes into your heart, you want to tell with your lips others about Him. One of the indications that you have truly been born again is you have a burden and a desire to tell other people. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to formally be a preacher or an evangelist; but in some simple, sometimes humble way, we all need to open our mouths and tell other people about Jesus Christ.
Now, it says, “In the mean while his disciples prayed him,” were begging, “him, saying, Master, eat.” As I said, again, this is an indication of His humanity—He was hungry, tired, and thirsty. Jesus makes an amazing statement that we don’t want to miss. He says, “I have meat,” food, “ to eat that ye know not of.” Immediately, we know from reading the story, Jesus is talking about doing the will of the Father. He’s talking about ministry. He’s not talking about, “I have a private stash somewhere. I’m going to eat a hamburger later on,” or “Someone brought me an In-N-Out burger,” or something like that. He’s not talking about a bagel or “Somebody brought me some fish,” or “cheese and crackers,” He’s talking about His calling to do the will of the Father. The disciples, like us, they’re kind of slow. They “said one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?” They don’t really get it. They’re not really computing. You can almost kind of wonder, Jesus, You sure You want these guys to be Your disciples?
Isn’t it interesting that God has called “the foolish things of the world to confound the wise,” ordinary people. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things as He fills us with His Spirit and uses us. They say, “What? Did someone bring Him something to eat?” Then, Jesus clarifies (verse 34), “Jesus saith unto them, My meat,” food, “is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” I would ask you tonight: What is your food? I don’t mean physical food. I mean, what is your passion? What is your calling? What is the gift that God has given you? What is the will of God for your life? I think every one of us as Christians should know God’s calling and God’s will for us and step through it. I know sometimes we don’t really see it clearly, and when that’s the case, we step out in faith or we walk by faith. We just kind of present ourselves to God and say, “God, lead me, guide me. I’m going to trust You,” and as God opens the door, we step through it; but how wonderful it is when God confirms through others, and through results in ministry or fruit of our lives, that God’s calling us to a task or a ministry or He’s given us an opportunity and we step through that.
Jesus is actually saying, “My passion, My food,” it almost kind of reminds us of that Scripture that says we should delight in His Word more than our necessary food. Do you know what’s more important than you eating? Serving God. Do you know what’s more important than you making money? Serving God. Do you know what’s more important than you having nice things? Serving God. Do you know what’s more important than you having success, as far as the world is concerned and as far as human standards are concerned? Knowing, doing, and fulfilling faithfully the will and the calling of God for your life. That’s more important, so I love it that Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work,” to finish the job He gave me to do. We all want to finish that race as Paul said in 2 Timothy 4, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith…there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness…and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
I don’t care what you do professionally, we’re all called to higher things. We’re all called to be servants of the Lord, to live for the Lord, to testify to the Lord. Maybe your mission field is your cul-de-sac at home, the neighborhood or the street that you live on. Maybe it’s your cubicle, maybe somebody you work next to. Maybe it’s a friend or a family member. Wherever God has placed you, use that opportunity to tell others about Jesus Christ, and make it your “meat,” your passion, your focus in life to be and to do the will of God.
Whenever a young fellow asks me, “What do I need to do to follow the call of God in my life into ministry?” I always start with, “Just give your life completely to God. Be willing to go where He wants you to go, do what He wants you to do, say what He wants you to say, and be what He wants you to be.” Usually, the young guys want five easy steps on how to get in the ministry, and they don’t want to start on their character. They don’t want to start with being broken before God, surrendered, and obedient to God following God’s will for them. They want to pattern themselves after someone else rather than saying, “God, what is it You have called me to do? What is Your will for my life?”
Notice what Jesus goes on to say, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest?” Don’t kind of dismiss what I’m saying and put it off as though it’s some distant thing,“behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” No sooner had Jesus disclosed that, “My passion, My desire is to do the will of Him that sent Me and to finish the job He gave me to do.” You don’t have to manufacture ministry, you just do what God has given you to do. Then (verses 35-38) He gives them encouragement that there are rewards for ministry, and in the context, it would actually be soul winning. I think every Christian should have a desire, a passion, and pray toward, “God, use me some way to win others to You.” It may not be that you’re the one that leads them in the sinner’s prayer and they come to know the Lord, but you pray for them or sow the seed or give for an evangelist or a missionary to go to them. You partner with your time, your talent, your treasure, working together to get the gospel out.
Sometimes we, as Christians, forget that. We just kind of rest on our laurels and kind of get apathetic, complacent, and don’t really stop and think, Lord, give me a burden for souls. Give me a passion for missions. Give me a burden for the lost. Give me a burden for my lost family members, my lost neighbors, my lost friends. Help me to have a concern for them. In this context, Jesus actually mentions, not passively saying, “There are yet four months,” before the harvest. He said, “No. The harvest is now,” (verse 35) “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
A lot of commentaries have mentioned over the years, and I think it’s an interesting observation, that most likely the woman with the men of the city were on their way back to Jesus who was still at Sychar’s Well, Jacob’s Well, and when He said, “Look, the fields are white to harvest,” He probably saw them coming. It may be that the fields were right there, the wheat fields were there, and He was pointing out that the wheat is ready to be harvested, but how fitting if He were actually looking beyond the wheat fields and was looking at the people. In reality, that’s what He had in mind. He didn’t have in mind a literal harvest, He had in mind the harvest of souls.
May God give us individually…and let me tell you something. This is a challenge to maintain. I know, as the pastor of this church, one of the greatest challenges that I have is to maintain a passion and a burden for lost souls. It is very easy to just get comfortable teaching Christians and to not preach the gospel to non-Christians and give them opportunity to repent and to believe in Jesus Christ. That’s what most churches do. They kind of settle in and just talk to the Christians but don’t really preach to the lost. We need to do it not only in the church, but we need to especially take it outside the church by way of personal evangelism. Each one of us has a responsibility to do it by the way of mass evangelism, missions, or reaching out to others. Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” It’s so very important, and that’s what Jesus is encouraging us here. He’s saying, “…and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest,” and He encourages us that there’s reward, “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal,” so it’s both he that sows and he that reaps.
Sometimes somebody will pray for someone, they’ll witness to someone, and they’re not saved yet. Maybe you’ve been praying for and witnessing to someone for years and they’re not saved yet. Then, someone else leads them to Christ and you think, Man, I didn’t get to do it. No, you sowed the seed, you shared the gospel, and you watered it with your prayers; and someone came along and harvested it. People come here on Sundays, many times, and their friends or their family have witnessed to them, prayed with them, been an example to them. They come to church, hear the gospel, and get saved; but it’s really a team effort. There’s a sowing, the praying, the watering, and the reaping. We’ll all get the rewards together. Amen? It’s not just the one that leads the person to Christ, it’s the sowing of the seed and the watering of that seed. Many times when you share the gospel, people won’t come to Christ. Don’t be discouraged. The seed has to be planted before it can bring forth fruit. Many times seed has to be watered. There’s a lot of times you’ll share the gospel with somebody, and a seed is sown in that heart. They might get saved years later, but it started that day that you told them about Jesus Christ. The Spirit began to use the Word that you sowed in their hearts; so let’s sow, let’s reap, and let’s look for rewards.
Notice in verse 39, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him,” so they all come to see this man the woman told them about, and believed, “for the saying of the woman, which testified,” they heard her testimony, and that’s one of the most powerful tools you have to win people to Jesus Christ, “I was blind, and now I see.” You don’t have to be an intelligent apologist or theologian, all you have to tell them, “This is the way my life was. I turned to Christ in faith and received Him as my Lord and Savior. This is now what He’s done for me, and this is how my life has changed.” No one can argue with that. No one can deny that your life has been changed by the power of God. They say, “We believe,” “…for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”
There’s a lot of application you can make from this, but I want to point out that there are different ways people are brought to faith in Jesus Christ. Take this woman, for example, she encountered Jesus, Jesus talked to her about her sin and her need, and then reveled Himself. She runs to the city and tells the men. They come out and believe at first because of her word, and then they hear Jesus themselves and believe because of His own word. There’s different ways and avenues that people come to faith in Jesus Christ, and that’s a glorious truth. Notice that they say, “…for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ,” that is, Messiah, “the Saviour of the world.” God works in different lives in different ways. Even though you hear a testimony from someone else, people come to faith in Christ, experience Christ, and believe themselves.
In verse 43, “Now after two days he departed thence,” they ask Jesus to stay in Samaria, and He stuck around for two days, “and went into Galilee.” He’s still on His journey north, “For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. 45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.” Jesus finally arrives in Galilee. It started way back when He left down by the Jordan River, went through Samaria, ministered to this woman, and this is interesting because you had the beginning of revival in Samaria. Remember in the book of Acts that Philip was called to go to Samaria? There was a revival in Samaria at that time, so God was doing a work among the people of Samaria.
Beginning in verse 46, we have a story that appears only in John’s gospel—it’s not in Matthew, not in Mark, not in Luke; it’s only in John’s gospel. It’s the healing of the nobleman’s son. Now, don’t confuse this story with the healing of the centurion’s servant. He was a Roman centurion and comes and asks Jesus to heal his servant. This is a nobleman who says, “Will You heal my son?” There are a lot of details that are different in the story. Verse 46, “So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.”
When Jesus made that statement (verse 48), He was doing so with a little sadness. If you could hear the tone of His voice, He’s kind of disappointed that, “You have to see miracles to believe in Me? You have to see signs and wonders to put your faith and trust in Me?” It was kind of disappointing Him because He realized that this was kind of a shallow faith. It wasn’t a strong, genuine faith. He’s going to take this nobleman from a weak, insufficient faith to a very strong faith; and he’s going to find answers to his prayer.
Notice the place of this miracle (verse 46), “…Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine.” This is a bit north of the Sea of Galilee, and notice the persons involved, “And there was a certain nobleman,” and his son who, “was sick at Capernaum.” Nobleman, here, doesn’t mean he was of royal blood or that he’s a king. This term “nobleman” conveys the idea that he was a royal officer for Herod Antipas. King Herod had servants that worked for him, so he was someone who worked for King Herod. He was, no doubt, a wealthy man, a man of power, prestige, and position; but it’s interesting that he had a problem: his son was sick.
Do you know the rich have afflictions as well as the poor? Do you know that your money can’t save you from adversity? No matter how wealthy you are, adversity comes to us all. The Bible says, “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” Here’s the point I would like to make, and it’s so common the way that God deals with these situations: God, many times, will allow and/or use affliction, adversity, and hardship to bring us to Jesus Christ, right? If we had a testimony service tonight, some of you would say, “I hit rock bottom. I was on drugs and alcohol,” or “I was in jail,” or “My marriage was falling apart,” or “My son or daughter was sick,” or “My family member had cancer, so I turned to God and cried out to God. He heard me in my plight, reached down, and rescued me.” Many times God uses adversity to turn us around and redirect our lives. This is the blessing of affliction.
This nobleman, in spite of all his power, position, wealth, and possessions, was facing a crisis; and he had a crisis of faith. He heard about Jesus. He found out He was in the area, so he goes to Jesus and begs. The Greek indicates it was a repeated, continual kind of begging, “Please, come and heal my son.” Jesus says, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” Sickness and death come to both young and old as well as rich and poor. This boy was sick and, no doubt, we’re going to see later he had a fever and maybe he was going to die. What a blessing it is when problems drive us to Jesus.
My question for you tonight is: Where do you go in times of a crisis? Where do you go in a time of affliction? What do you do when your world is falling apart? Some people go to drugs, some go to alcohol, and some turn to other therapeutic methods. Some people say, “I’m so depressed right now, I’m just going to go shopping.” They pull out their credit card and go on a shopping spree to make themselves feel better…until the bill comes in and then they’re really depressed. “I’m so depressed right now, I’m just going to go eat.” They go to Five Guys hamburger and eat six double-double’s or something, and then they’re really depressed! Whenever you are facing adversity, whenever you are facing difficulty, whenever you are facing problems—and maybe you are tonight—run to Jesus! Amen? Tell it to Jesus! Cast your cares upon Him, He cares for you. Take your problems to the Lord and leave them there. I love the verse that says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee.” Peter says, “Casting all your cares upon Him because He cares for you.”
Notice how limited this man’s faith was. He says, “Lord, would You please come down and heal my son,” “for he was at the point of death.” First of all, Jesus doesn’t have to come down to heal his son. Jesus could just speak the word, is what we’re going to see, and his son would be healed; so his faith wasn’t that strong, “You need to come and heal my son.” Remember Martha and Mary called for Jesus when Lazarus was sick? “Lord, please come quickly. Our brother is sick. We need Your help.” When He finally showed up, they said, “If you would have been here, our brother wouldn’t have died.” Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and there’s no limit to His power.
The second problem the nobleman’s faith had was that he thought that if his son died, all hope was gone; but Jesus has the power over death. He can raise him from the dead. He says, “Would You come down and heal my son, for he is at the point of death.” I love what F.B. Meyer said. F.B. Meyer is probably one of my favorite devotional writers. If you get any books by F.B. Meyer you will be so blessed and enriched in devotional truth. F.B. Meyer talked about the shallowness of this man’s faith at this point and says,
The shallow faith must have the assurance of outstretched hand, the audible voice, the physical presence; it craved the assurance which the outward and physical, the sensuous and emotional, supply. And in the absence of these it was in danger of expiring. But faith like this hardly merits the name, though, alas! it is too common with us all. We are brave at swimming so long as we are in our depth. We are grand soldiers so long as we stay within the castle enclosure. We believe so long as we can see or feel.
Isn’t that interesting? We have such a difficult time in walking by faith not by sight. We want to see or touch or feel or experience rather than just standing by faith on God’s Word. There is a lesson in this story that’s so marvelous of simply trusting and taking God at His Word.
When Jesus heard that, He was upset; and he was begging Him, “Please come and heal my son.” Notice verse 49. “The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die,” in other words, “I don’t want to quibble with you, I just need You to come down and heal my son.” “Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” If John is reckoning by Jewish time, that’s one o’clock in the afternoon. If it’s Roman time, it would be seven o’clock in the evening.
In verse 53, “So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. 54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.” This desperate nobleman said, “Lord, just please come down so my son doesn’t die,” and we see the power of Jesus. Jesus makes this statement, “Go thy way; thy son liveth,” stop right there. Jesus gave this man His word. What has Jesus given us? His Word, right? The man was put to the test: Is he going to keep begging Jesus, “No, You have to come! No, You have to come! Please come with me. I need You there, physically, to touch and heal him.” Or was he just simply going to take Jesus at His word? Jesus said, “…thy son liveth.” He could’ve stayed there and argued and debated with Him, “Well, how do I know? Give me proof. Give me evidence.” Jesus will test your faith. Jesus wants you to trust Him. You may not see the evidence. You may not feel it. You may not see the circumstances, but you need to trust Jesus’ Word. You need to rest in God’s Word. God speaks through what He has spoken.
I believe that God can speak to us subjectively. We can have a real experience with God, but I think primarily the Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” What’s important about faith (and you’ve heard me say it a million times, I’ll say it a million and one right now) is the object of your faith—not the intensity of your faith, but the object of your faith. You can have a lot of faith and a bad object, and it won’t do any good. You can put a LOT of faith in the United States government, and you’ll be disappointed. You can have a LOT of faith in John Miller, and you’ll be disappointed. If you put your faith in God, guess what? You’ll never be disappointed. Amen? If you put your faith in an organization, in your own righteousness, in your own good deeds, rites, or rituals, you’ll be disappointed. Jesus will never disappoint you. I believe (verse 50) this is a test of the man’s faith—faith in God’s Word. Jesus spoke the word, and he had to obey.
Remember when Jairus came to Jesus, the ruler of the synagogue, and says, “Come, my daughter’s sick,” and on the way the woman with the issue of blood delayed Jesus? Someone came and said to the man who was the synagogue leader, “Your daughter’s dead. Trouble not the Master.” You talk about hopelessness. In process, Jesus was coming with him to heal his daughter. He stops to heal a woman and deal with her, and a messenger comes and says, “Don’t bother the Master anymore, she’s dead.” His heart is broken, and Jesus turns to that father and says, “Don’t worry, just believe.” All that man had to go on was, again, the words of Jesus. He knew that all hope was gone, but Jesus gave him hope in His word.
Sometimes everything will be dark, everything will be difficult, and all we have to stand on is God’s Word. Someone said, “Christ’s Word is as good as His presence.” How marvelous that is! His faith was tested at this point, and I love in verse 50, it says he actually believed, “And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.” That’s what we need to do. We need to believe what God has spoken in His Word. Now, notice the results of his faith. It says that his son lived, “Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth,” that his son was healed.
Notice it says there, “Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.” I want you to note that in verse 50. He heard the word of Jesus and believed, and then he comes home and finds his son was healed and “…himself believed, and his whole house,” believed. His son was healed, he came to faith in Jesus Christ, and his family came to faith in Jesus Christ. See how marvelous his faith in Christ is? All that God produced? Faith in Jesus Christ brought healing to his son, brought salvation to himself, and brought salvation to his whole household. What a marvelous truth that is!
Verse 54, “This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee,” the second miracle in the life and ministry of Jesus. The overarching lesson is that we must trust God’s Word, not our feelings, not our emotions, not our circumstances; but we must trust in God’s Word. Amen?
Pastor John Miller continues our study through the gospel of John with a message through John 4:27-54 titled, “Believing Is Seeing.”
Pastor John Miller is the Senior Pastor of Revival Christian Fellowship in Menifee, California. He began his pastoral ministry in 1973 by leading a Bible study of six people. God eventually grew that study into Calvary Chapel of San Bernardino, and after pastoring there for 39 years, Pastor John became the Senior Pastor of Revival in June of 2012. Learn more about Pastor John
Pastor John Miller continues our study through the gospel of John with a message through John 4:27-54 titled, “Believing Is Seeing.”
Pastor John Miller
October 9, 2019
An expository sermon series through the book of John entitled "Behold Your God" taught by Pastor John Miller at Revival Christian Fellowship in July 2019.
John 1:1–18
John 1:14
John 1:19–42
John 1:43–51
John 2:1–11