I Am Not Alone

Title: I am not alone

Theme: To show that God will never leave us. We are never alone.

Text: John 4:46 - 52

Note: Much of the thoughts and quotes came from Max Lucado’s book Never Alone

John 4:46 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.

Jesus is back at the same place where John recorded His first miracle. The miracle of turning the water into wine. Here he meets a nobleman.

This man was likely a gentile and of high standing in the court of Herod. “His modern-day counterpart might be a White House chief of staff or presidential cabinet member”.

He was held in high regard and was probably wealthy. But none of this mattered. This man’s son was sick, at the point of death. More than likely he had already summoned the best physicians to help the boy. To no avail, no one was able to help him.

“He lived in Capernaum, a fishing village that served as the base of operations for Jesus.” Jesus would often speak in the synagogue. It is not hard to imagine one of the locals telling him about the miracle that Jesus did. They could not help; the doctors could not help maybe Jesus could help.

He may have even been sent by one of the religious leaders. There were miracles in the Old Testament. God could still do this. But there was not power.

Illustration: Early on in my pastorate a local minster told me about a woman who showed up on his doorsteps. She was sick and the doctors could do nothing for her. She went to her local church. The pastor informed her that they do not believe in divine healing. But there was a minister right down the road there. He suggested she should go to him, “so he can pray for you and you can be healed.”

Here is this man with a dilemma. He needs a miracle. No one can help him, and people are suggesting him to go and find Jesus. Jesus is 18 miles away in Cana. Would his son survive?

This trip took a lot of planning. It was an all-day affair if you leave in the morning you may make it by late that evening. If you leave in the afternoon you would have to make plans to stay overnight. There was no sightseeing or catching up with old friends.

Finally, after the long trip the nobleman meets Jesus. He is tired, weary, worried and desperate.

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.

Could imagine the desperation. Imploring or begging gives us the impression of falling on one’s knees and pleading with Jesus. Notice that this man did not mention his position or power. He did not say, “I will make a financial contribution.” This man came as a desperate father needing help of the savior.

There was also an expectation. He envisioned that Jesus and he would walk back together and Jesus would heal the boy. This was his plan.

Look at Jesus response:

48 Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."

Were you expecting that? Jesus had only done one miracle, recorded by John. Now there is a warning of people following Jesus because of miracles. Why?

Just before this we read that people were following him because of what he had done. More than likely they were there also. Pressing in. Wanting to see another miracle. They were not following Jesus because of who He is but because of what He could do. This happened after the feeding of the 5,000 they wanted to “make Him king.”

Jesus was constantly warning the people not to follow Him because of miracles. Because of what He could “do” for them. Follow Him because of who He is. The savior of the world.

There was a second part here that we must not miss. Although the nobleman came so far and expressed his belief in asking, he did mess up on one point. He was telling Jesus how to perform. This is how it was going to happen; Jesus was going to go back with him and there was going to be a healing. This is part of Jesus rebuke.

But notice his persistence

49 The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"