Tonight’s passage is a fairly short passage and is really a very simply passage, but it pictures one of the great lessons of the gospel and that is the evidence of faith. We are still in chapter 4 of John verses 43-45. Jesus has just challenged us to open our eyes and look because the fields are white for harvest. Of course, He was talking about witnessing, about sharing the gospel message.
READ v. 43. You might remember that the people of Samaria had asked Jesus to stay so their family and friends might see Him. We are told in verse 40 that He did stay there for two days. So now Jesus left there and entered Galilee. He had great success in Samaria. V. 41 says because of his words many more became believers.
But Galilee was the area especially prepared by God for the Lord’s ministry, so Jesus returned to the area where most of His ministry was to be conducted. Galilee was the northernmost part of Palestine. It was divided into three districts: Judaea in the far south, Samaria in the middle, and Galilee in the north. God had prepared Galilee down through history for the coming of His Son’s ministry. There are several facts that show this.
1. Throughout history Galilee had been invaded and repopulated again and again with different people and cultures from all over the world. Over the years such an influx of differing people had created an atmosphere with new personalities and ideas.
2. Galilee was strategically located. The world’s leading roads passed right through its borders. Merchants from all over the world passed through and boarded in the inns of the cities.
3. Galilee was heavily populated. It was also surrounded by Samaritans, Phoenicians, and Syrians, making it an open door for world evangelization. It was one of the most fertile lands in that part of the world. This fact, plus the travelling trade, led numbers of people to settle within its borders. There were over 200 cities within the district of 15,000 people or more. There were multitudes for Jesus to reach.
4. Galilee was open to new and fresh ideas. Its people, having come from all over the world, were liberal minded, always looking for new and fresh ideas to stimulate and challenge their thinking.
It was for all of these reasons that Jesus chose Galilee to begin His ministry. It was an open door for people to spread the news that the Messiah had come and that the Kingdom of Heaven was being ushered in.
READ v. 44. Let’s spend a little time on this verse. Our first evidence of faith is honoring Jesus. When we begin to honor Jesus as our Lord, and respect Him as God’s Son, we are showing evidence that our faith is growing.
When Jesus went into Galilee, He stayed away from His hometown of Nazareth. His neighbors and fellow citizens had rejected Him. That's when Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.”
Now as Jesus returned to Galilee, bypassing the city of Nazareth, He again referred to the fact that a prophet has no honor in His own country. I read v. 44 and wondered why Jesus would make a declaration about dishonor here. It seems out of place.
1. It might have been because Jesus’ heart was broken over His hometown. They were a special people to him He had played with some of them as a child, grown up with them, lived as a friend with them; and had fellowshipped, worked, eaten, and moved among them day in and day out. I’m sure the thought of their rejection and hostility toward Him often preyed upon His mind.
2. Maybe Jesus brought dishonor up at this point to prepare the disciples for persecution. They were severely persecuted by their fellow countrymen. He repeated that fact and tried to drive it into their minds. He wanted them prepared and not caught off guard when persecution came.
Now, back to the point: the first evidence that a person has faith is that he honors Jesus. You might notice between verses 44 and 45 there is a sharp contrast that Jesus makes between the refusal of Nazareth to honor Jesus and the receiving of Him by other Galileans.
Let’s note a few things. Is Jesus due the honor? Yes, He is due all the honor and glory in the universe.
- He is the Son of God who brought God’s presence among men.
- He is the Savior of the world who came to save men from perishing and made it possible for them to live forever.
- He is the Son of Man who came to earth to experience all the trials of life that He might feel and be touched by man’s infirmities and his weaknesses, and thereby become qualified to help man in all his suffering.
People who believe in Jesus honor Him. Honoring Jesus is a clear evidence of faith. The word “honor” created the idea of superior standing, exaltation, distinction, and, of course, worship when referring to the Son of God.
Phil. 2:9-11, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The word “honor” gives us the idea of a price paid or received, of credit due, of counting something of extreme value. Because Jesus paid the price for man’s life, the man who honors the Lord gives his life to the Lord.
It’s pretty simple and pretty clear. People who don’t believe in Jesus don’t honor Him. We see this in particular in the dishonor of Jesus by His fellow citizens and the religionists.
Think about it, an unbeliever doesn’t give Christ worship, or the reverence due His name. An unbeliever doesn’t pay the price of surrendering his life to Christ as Lord. An unbeliever doesn’t count Christ as precious. Jesus’ fellow citizens demonstrated that fact. Jesus had no honor in His own country.
Why do you suppose that was?
READ v. 45. We said the first evidence of faith is honoring Jesus. The second evidence of faith is welcoming and receiving him. Let’s face it, the only way to be saved and to receive the benefits of Jesus’ presence is to welcome and receive Him.
Common sense will tell us that the person who doesn’t have the presence of Jesus in their life doesn’t have the blessings of Jesus’ presence—pure and simple. Jesus really didn’t appear to go to Galilee to bless and care for the people. However, the Galileans were receiving the benefits of Jesus’ life and ministry, and they were receiving His blessings for 3 specific reasons. And this is what we will close tonight’s study with.
Have you ever wondered why it seems some people are just continually receiving blessings and you’re not? Let’s look at three of the reasons the Galileans were receiving blessings from Jesus.
1. They had heard Jesus preach and they had seen firsthand the works of Jesus in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. They hadn’t been the target of Jesus’ ministry there; the citizens of Jerusalem had been Jesus’ focus. But the Galileans did not feel slighted—not to the point that they had shut Him out and refused to listen. They were attracted to Jesus. Their souls seemed to be reaching out to God and they felt God’s presence when they were near Jesus. So, they attended His preaching and observed His ministry. They opened their hearts to what He was saying about repentance and receiving the Kingdom of God.
And that tells us that a person can never be led to believe in Christ until he is receptive to Christ. A person HAS to be willing to listen to the message of Christ. Can a Christian turn people away in the way that they witness? How so? We HAVE to make the message of Christ appealing, not burdensome.
2. The second reason the Galileans were receiving blessings is that they were a people seeking and worshipping God. We need to note why the Galileans had been to Jerusalem. They had gone to seek and worship God at the Passover, and it had cost them. The journey was long and difficult, because they were in the northernmost part of Palestine, whereas the temple was in Jerusalem which was in the south. Also, remember that they took a circular route because Samaria lay between Galilee and Jerusalem, and the Samaritans considered them enemies, posing a threat to their safety.
The point is this: these Galileans had a hunger for God; so their hearts were better prepared and willing to receive Christ. That tells us that a person who sincerely seeks God is better prepared to receive Christ. For this reason, people should be constantly seeking after God. Why? Because seeking God and receiving Christ are evidences of true faith.
Heb. 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
3. The third and last reason the Galileans were receiving a blessing is this. The idea being conveyed is that the Galileans welcomed and received Christ. They wanted to experience Christ for themselves. They had seen him preach and minister in Jerusalem, and they wanted the same experience for themselves and for the rest of their people.
Of course, some Galileans didn’t receive Him into their lives and hearts. They deserted Him. But to all that received Him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” JN 1: 12.
So what is the evidence of faith? Welcoming, receiving, and experiencing Christ for oneself is the greatest evidence of genuine faith.
Luke 8:15 – “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”
