Signs, John 4:43-54, 1 July 2012

Big Idea: Do you want Jesus or just miraculous signs?

John 4:43-54

  After the two days he left for Galilee. (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there. (John 4:43-45)

If we think of Israel as Jesus’ country, the contrast is not between Judea and Galilee, but Samaria (where He was) and the Jewish regions of the country.

The people had seen what Jesus had done.


  Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 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.
(John 4:46-47)

He’s back in Cana, but this time He’s not there to make wine.

This man was important. He likely worked for Herod Antipas in Galilee. He has a little boy who is likely his firstborn son who carried the heritage of the family.

Why didn’t he bring his son to Jesus? We don’t know!

Like the Samaritan woman at the well, he was desperate. He was broken. He had no where else to go. He is begging!

Desperation is what usually drives people to Jesus. I believe the primary reason why Christianity is dying in the western world is because we aren’t desperate for God. We have air-conditioned homes, cars with satellite radio, world-class hospitals, and iPhones. What else do we need?

Until that moment comes. The Visa bill. The report card! That word from the doctor. The late-night phone call.

There are people all around you and me that are in or about to experience a crisis. That’s the time they will be most receptive to the Gospel, the good news of Jesus.


 
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
 
The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
 
“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” (John 4:48-49)

The Galileans wanted Jesus to prove Himself with miracles but don’t care about what God is really doing among them.

“Come down” is an imperative. The official gives Jesus an order.

“Go” is also an imperative. Jesus follows suit and gives the man an order.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t go. He is actually absent in the miracle. He is not confined to one place. His power and influence is beyond human imagination and ability.

The world can see God’s power at face value, but there is a relationship between miracles and life-changing faith.

Some say that if they could see Jesus, they would believe in Him. This is simply not true. Thousands saw Jesus and saw Him perform miracles. They were impressed, but not impacted by God in their presence. The human heart is prone to selfish action rather than humble obedience.

Miracles were an important part of Jesus’ ministry and they led many to faith, but He wants more. Anyone can be grateful for a free lunch, but true belief takes things to another level. Jesus wants people to not only believe in His miracles, but in Him.


The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
(John 4:50-52)

The man had to exercise his faith. He did so by leaving Jesus.

Jesus’ word is all that the man needed. After all, it was Jesus’ word that created the universe. Jesus’ word is power. It can be trusted.

God loves to bless us and intervene in our lives, but He doesn’t want that to be the focus.

Luke 16:19-31, the rich man and Lazarus; even if a person has every sign, they may not believe.

The people wanted signs. They wanted to see tricks.

They did not care about Jesus.
They did not care about being with Jesus
They just wanted what they could get from Him.

They wanted a genie that they could use and put back in the bottle when they were done.

  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 whole household believed.
  This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
(John 4:53-54)

Just like last week’s story of the Samaritan woman at the well, the result was this character and others believed.

All this man had was Jesus’ word. He had to act on faith. He had to take a step of faith...not a leap of faith, but a step of obedience.

What about you? Are you waiting for Jesus to perform a miracle and prove Himself to you? Today as we celebrate communion together, we remember that He did prove Himself. He proved His love. He backed up HIs words with action.

He also proved Himself by conquering the grave. He performed the greatest miracle ever...the one that not even Harry Houdini has been able to do—resurrect.

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