Joh 4:44
(For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own
hometown.)
Joh 4:45
So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all
that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
Joh 4:46
So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.
And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.
Joh 4:47
When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to
him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of
death.
Joh 4:48
So Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs
and wonders you will not believe."
Joh 4:49
The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child
dies."
Joh 4:50
Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will
live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on
his way.
Joh 4:51
As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was
recovering.
Joh 4:52
So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to
him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."
Joh 4:53
The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your
son will live." And he himself believed, and all his household.
Joh 4:54
This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea
to Galilee.
Our text tells us that after two days, Jesus and His disciples left Sychar, this little country town in Samaria and set out once again for Galilee. Verse 3 of this chapter tells us they were originally headed for Galilee and were delayed by their two-day visit with the people of Sychar. Great things happen while they were there because many came to faith in Christ, some from the testimony of the woman, who Jesus met at the well and others from the Words of Christ as He spent time with and spoke to these simple country folks.
In verse 44
Jesus says that a prophet has no honor in his own country, meaning that even
though Jesus had said this He went to Galilee, because He foreknew that many
Galileans would believe on Him, but not to Nazareth, where He was raised as a
child.
Once Jesus
arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him with open arms because they had
seen the great miracles He had done while in Jerusalem during the Passover
feast. Many of them had been there
and many of them were among those that believed Christ to be the Messiah because
of the miracles He did there, but some were also those whom Christ did not
commit Himself to for He knew their hearts.
Jesus and His
disciples continue into Galilee until they arrive back at Cana where He had
performed His first miracle of turning water into wine.
Here Christ, meets with a certain nobleman, a royal official, whose son
was sick at Capernaum, which is were Jesus had made His ministry headquarters.
When the nobleman had head that Jesus had returned from Judea back to
Galilee, he went to Christ and begged Him to come down and heal his son who was
at the point of death. Jesus said, “unless
you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
Jesus said this not just to the nobleman, but to the Galileans as a whole
who overheard the conversation Jesus was having with the nobleman.
Jesus had just spent two days with the Samaritans, they had believed His
Words, and as far as I can tell from the text, He did not perform even one
miracle. The nobleman seems
impatience, so he says: “Sir,”
come down before my child dies.” Jesus
then told him, “Go
home, your son will live.” The man
believed what Jesus had said to him, and headed back home.
While he was
on his way, his slaves met him and told him the good news that his son was going
to live. He then asks them when he
began to improve and they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the
afternoon his fever broke.” The
father of this sick son realized that it was at the very moment Jesus had told
him that his son would live and as a result he himself believed and because of
his testimony his entire household come to faith in Christ.
This was the second miracle that Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee.
1.
There are four
great lessons for us here in these verses:
2.
The rich have afflictions as
well as the poor.
3.
Sickness and death come to
the young as well as the old.
4.
What benefits afflictions
bring to the soul.
5.
Christ Word is as good as
Christ presence.
The first thing we see in these verses is that money is not a guarantee of good health. This rich man was sick with anxiety because his son was so sick with the fever. I feel reasonably sure that before He came to Christ he had spent a bundle of money on doctors trying to find a cure, but money cannot buy some things and it did not buy this young man’s health. In fact, his son’s sickness just got worse and worse until he was at the very brink of death. The sicker our children become the more anxious we become.
This lesson
must be constantly impressed upon our minds. Do not ever believe that because you might be rich In the
things of this world that you will have no cares in this life.
The rich are as likely to get sick as the poor; and have hundreds more
anxieties the poor know nothing of. Silk
sheets often cover heavy hearts as they lie tossing and turning trying to sleep
at night because their minds cannot find rest from worrying about a multitude of
things. Those that live in what looks like palaces often do not sleep
as well as the those that dwell in a humble cottage. Money cannot lift a man high enough to keep him out of the
reach of troubles and heartaches. Money
might keep a man out debt and allow him to wear $2,000.00 dollar suits to work,
but they cannot shut out worry, sickness or death.
The higher the tree the more it is shaken by the storm.
The wider it’s branches; greater is the mark that is exposed to the
tempest. David was far happier and
slept better when he was the keeper of His father’s sheep at Bethlehem, than
when he reigned as king at Jerusalem, and ruled over the twelve tribes if
Israel.
There is
nothing wrong with being rich, but we must beware of desiring riches.
It is not having money that is the root of all evil.
It is the LOVE of money. We
should never envy the rich, but we should pray for them because it is difficult
for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.
When the McGugarts of New York
won the Irish Sweepstakes, they were happy. Pop was a steamfitter. Johnny,
twenty-six, loaded crates on docks. Tim was going to night school. Pop split the
million with his sons. They all said the money wouldn't change their plans. A
year later, the million wasn't gone; it was bent. The boys weren't speaking to
Pop, or each other. Johnny was chasing expensive race horses; Tim was catching
up with expensive girls. Mom accused Pop of hiding his poke from her. Within two
years, all of them were in court for nonpayment of income taxes. "It's the
Devil's own money," Mom said. Both boys were studying hard to become
alcoholics. All these people hoped and prayed for sudden wealth. All had their
prayers answered. All were wrecked on a dollar sign.
We are to be
content with what God has given us. The
truly rich man is the one that has treasures in heaven.
Proverbs
30:7-9 says: Two
things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor
riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny
you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the
name of my God.
These few
verses in Proverbs have taken on new meaning for me since we arrived back home
from our mission trip to Guatemala.
Guatemala has no middle class, the people or either extremely rich, or
extremely poor and from what I observed most of them were poor.
The government is trying to raise taxes and the people are so poor they
hold demonstrations in protest. The
rich don’t pay taxes and the government is to weak to make them or do anything
about it, so the rich get richer and the poor just get poorer.
Those of us that are neither rich or poor in the things of this world are
the most blessed by far.
The
second thing we see in this passage is that sickness and death come to the
young as well as to the old. Here
in this text we read of a son so sick he is about to die, and a deeply troubled
father. Here we see the natural
order of things turned around. The
elder ministering to the younger and not the younger to the elder.
The child draws near to the grave before the parent, and not the parent
before the child. In our minds eye
it was never meant for us to outlive our children.
None of us wants to outlive our children.
It is not the way it’s supposed to be.
Here is a lesson we all find hard to learn and often times will not let ourselves think about because it’s so hard to accept. For the most part we act as if young people will not die when they are young and the young do not consider it either. They live and act as if they are indestructible. Yet, every cemetery I have ever walked through tells me different. The gravestones in cemeteries all across America are filled with young people. If you do not believe me take a stroll through any cemetery and you will be amazed at the number of babies and teens that have preceded their parents in death. I have children that have preceded me in death and some of you do as well. The first grave ever dug on this earth, was that of a young man. The first person that ever died was not a father but a son. Aaron lost two sons in a single stroke. King David lived long enough to see three of his children buried. Job lost every one of His in one day. All these things are recorded for our learning. I speak from my own experience. It is easier to lose your wife or husband than it is to lose a child. You expect that may happen, you do not ever expect to lose a child. I couldn’t begin to put into words the dept of hurt that comes with such a loss. Wise is the man that understands the brevity of life. We are not guaranteed tomorrow and we never know what a day may bring. The strong and the beautiful or often cut down in the prime of life and hurried away in just a few hours, while the old and feeble linger on for many years. I remember speaking with a bed-ridden woman who was 103 years old who was begging God to take her home. She was ready, but God was not ready for her just yet. The truly wise man or woman is the one that’s prepared to meet God, to put off nothing were eternity is concerned, and to live as though you are ready to depart at any moment. For the person that is prepared and living as if there may be no tomorrow it matters little weather we die young or we die old. To be joined to Christ is all that will matter in the end.
The third
lesson we see in our text is the benefits pain and sorrow can bring to our
souls. We read that anxiety about his son led the nobleman to
seek out and find Christ in order to obtain help in his time of need.
After being with Christ for a short time, he learned a lesson of
priceless value. In the end, “he
believed, and his whole house. Remember,
all this hinged upon his son’s sickness.
Had this young man never been ill, his father, could have very well lived
and died in his sins without ever knowing the power of Christ, not only to heal,
but to save the soul. Often you
have heard us pray right here in this church that God would use whatever
circumstance people are in and use it to draw them to Christ.
What I am
about to tell you right now is diametrically opposed to and flies in the face of
the overwhelming majority of what is being taught to the church by the word of
faith teachers on TBN, and millions and millions of people are buying into this
false gospel. Now I know that
God can use a crooked stick to accomplish all His good pleasure.
He is not limited in what He can use.
He even uses the devil, but here is a biblical true that goes against the
heretical teachings of these wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Afflictions,
trials and tribulations are God’s medicines.
Where else could we have learned such valuable lessons?
God teaches us lessons in our afflictions that we could have learned no
other way. God often draws
perishing souls away from sin and the world, who would have otherwise been lost
forever. Being healthy is a great
blessing, but a sanctified disease is far greater.
All of us naturally want to be prosperous and comfortable, but losses and
crosses are far better for us, if they lead the lost to Christ or conforms the
saved to His image. David says in Ps 119:17 that it is good for me that I have
been afflicted.” Beware of
murmuring in times of trouble. Let
this settle firmly in your mind; there is great meaning and a great need to be
as well as a message from God, in every sorrow that God allows to fall upon you.
There are no lessons so valuable and useful as those learned in the
school of affliction. God is never
closer to us than when we are in the hot flames of the refiners fire.
There is no commentary that opens up the Bible so much as sickness and
sorrow. It is great to be on the
mountaintop with God, but we learn far more in the valley of affliction.
“No chastening for the present seems to be joyous,
but grievous—nevertheless afterward it yields peaceable fruit.” (Heb
12:11). On resurrection morn, when
standing in God’s presence He will show us that many of our losses were really
our eternal gain. In adversity, we
usually want God to do a removing job when He wants to do an improving job.
Someone said that to realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the
storm.
As you all
know 2003 was a year of great loss for Cindy, I, and our family.
Our lives were forever changed that year.
My daughter died; my baby brother died; Cindy’s daddy died and some of
you were with us right across the street when we got the news that Morgan had
died. I will be eternally grateful
that we were with our Christian brothers and sisters when we got the news.
There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about him.
There is not a day that hasn’t been changed for us.
Life without Him just seems so empty at times but I know this:
Whatever happens in the life of one of God’s own, it must first come by
God and then by Christ, right on down to us and if it comes that far it has come
with great purpose. I don’t think
that this life will reveal all the lessons we have learned consciously or
subconsciously from those events.
What
afflictions can do for us:
1. Afflictions often provide us
with greater opportunities
2. Afflictions can promote our spiritual maturity (Ps 105:16ff)
3. Afflictions prove our integrity (1 Pt 3:15)
4. Afflictions produce a sense of dependence
5. Afflictions prepare our hearts for ministry (more empathetic)
1. Produces character and hope
2. Shows the power of Christ
3. Shows the glory of God
4. Shows what faith can do
5. Teaches dependence on God
6. Enables us to comfort those in trouble
7. Shows the proof of faith
8. Allows us to suffer for the cause of Christ
9. Keeps down pride
10. Suffering can come because of another's sin
11. Suffering can come because we are part of a fallen race
12. Because we reap what we sow
13. For discipline
14. Because of the sovereignty of God
15. Because our enemy wants us to suffer
16. For reasons known only to God
The last thing we see in our
text is that Christ’s Word is as good as Christ’s presence.
Jesus didn’t travel down to Capernaum to see the sick young man, but
only spoke the Words, “Your son lives.”
Omnipotent power, almighty power went forth with that little statement “Your Son lives.” The
moment Christ spoke those words the young man began to get well.
Christ but spoke and it was a done deal.
At Christ command the deadly disease stood fast.
Amazing! When word came to
Christ about Lazarus being sick unto death, He could have just said the word and
Lazarus would have been made whole as well, but He didn’t.
Why not? Because God has
purpose in all that He allows to happen. In
Lazarus case, it was to show the Jews that He, the Messiah had power over life
and death. In this case it is to show that Christ has power over time
and space. Omniscience; Omnipotent;
Omnipresent power belong to Him.
The truth we
see here in this text should fill us with comfort.
It gives enormous value to every promise of mercy, grace, and peace that
ever fell from the lips of Jesus. Anyone
that lays hold of the word of Christ by faith has placed his feet upon a solid
ROCK. Anything Christ ever said, He was able to do, and whatever He
undertakes, He does. He never fails
to make good on His promises. The
one who spoke and the boy was healed is the same One that spoke creation into
existence as well as the same one that holds it together. Any sinner that has ever rested his soul on the Word of the
Lord Jesus is eternally safe and secure. He
could not be safer, if he saw the book of life, and his own name written there.
If Christ has said, “He that comes to me, I will in no wise cast
out,” and our hearts can testify, “I have come,” never has to doubt that
he is saved and sure. In the things of this world, we often say that seeing is
believing, but in the things of the Gospel, believing is as good as seeing.
Christ’s word is as good as man’s deed.
Spiritually speaking we were far worse off that this sick young man was. In fact Eph 2:1 tells us we were dead in trespasses and sin.
A spiritual corpse and Christ spoke the words of life and we became
spiritually alive. He of whom Jesus
says in the Gospel, “He lives,” is
alive for evermore, and shall never die.
Afflictions, like the ones the nobleman in our text went through are common to life. Young people, if you live long enough you too will have them knock at your door. Many of you here this morning have spent sleepless nights watching over your sick child and cried out to God to let your child be well. If you haven’t yet, you will. Afflictions always come knocking at our door in due season. Christ is the one to turn to for help and comfort when the time comes. Afflictions should cause us to flee to Christ not away from Him. The true mark of a child of God is that the trials and tribulations of life make us want to cry out to God to come to our rescue.