FAITH MEETS SOCIAL DISTANCE (JOHN 4:45-54)
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Here is purportedly Jesus' Report card from grade school...
GRADE TEACHERS COMMENT:
Religion: D To the question “Who made the world?” persisted in answering 'My dad'. Claims Bible originated from the same source.
English: D+ Tends to speak and write in archaic forms and uses outmoded figures of speech.
History: A Excellent pupil of ancient and Religious History.
Geography: C- Assignment on 'Hot, dry lands' was excellent, but shows little interest in the rest. In geology, keeps talking about the Rock of Ages
instead of the ages of Rock.
Social B+ Shows keen interest in social issues.
Mathematics: E Lacks basics. Keeps muttering about 'Three in one' and 'I and the father are one'.
CLASS TEACHERS COMMENT: This boy has a very unhealthy tendency to form gangs. He has organized twelve of his friends into a gang and is seen constantly in the company of the children of publicans and sinners. He needs to be more selective in his choice of friends. Also, he should learn to keep his hair at a tidy length and not wear sandals with the school uniform.
When Jesus began his ministry his town folks rejected him, so Jesus was more effective in nearby towns than his hometown. One of the clearest beneficiaries was Cana, where he previously turned water into wine (John 2). Depending on who you ask, Cana is 9 t0 15 miles from Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. Jesus visited Cana the second time around because this nearby town could be important to spreading the gospel to his hometown folks.
What can you do for the salvation of family and friends who reject you? Why is preaching the gospel more than an action? How does the gospel transcend racial, cultural and social boundaries?
Resist Pride and Remain Humble
43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 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. 46 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. 47 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.
A man gave out tracts for years on a certain corner. Because there were no results, he gave it up. Five months later he saw a man giving out tracts on the same corner. Striking up a conversation, he learned that the man had been led to Christ through a tract given out there six months before.
The man explained, “Many a time I've come back to thank the man, but I never could find him. I concluded he must have died and gone to his reward, so I decided to take his place on the corner.”
While there are others who have found their calling, there are others who have lost their calling.
Jesus lived a lonely existence – lonelier than foxes and birds (Luke 9:57), but he never felt so lonesome as he was at home. The worst reception and rejection Jesus received was from his family and hometown folks. His brothers (four of them) ridiculed him in the imperative, “LEAVE Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, SHOW yourself to the world.” They simply did not believe in him. (John 7:3-5) When Jesus preached in his hometown synagogue, the local residents were amazed initially but they took offense later: “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” In the end Jesus did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Matt 13:54-58)
Jesus’ treatment by Galileans, however, were different because of his first sign in Cana (John 2). The main reason the Galileans “welcomed/received” Him was that they were present at the wedding two chapters ago. One person, however, was not there – the royal official. The man who was from Capernaum missed Jesus two chapters ago (John 2:12). His son could be ill, he could be busy or he was not invited because he was not one of their kind. No matter the situation, the man traveled 20-25 miles from Capernaum to Cana.
The royal officer (basilikos) was unlike other people whom Jesus met. He was not the centurion (hekatontarches) of Capernaum (Luke 7:3, 6) whose servant as sick, since the “royal officer” title (vv 46, 49) makes its only entry in the gospels in this passage. The noun “basilikos” is from the word “king” (basileus), so he was probably the king’s relative, a ruler of some sort and more likely a Gentile rather than a Jew. His appearance and approach as a Gentile, following the Samaritan woman in the same chapter, therefore makes sense. Unlike the centurion (Luke 7:3, 6), the royal officer did not send for elders of the Jews and friends to petition and plead for him. Thankfully, like the centurion he did not send his servants to do the bidding. That was a no-no. The verb “beg” (v 47) earlier made its debut in the New Testament to describe the disciple who “besought” Jesus to send away the Canaanite woman who cried to Him to heal her daughter (Matt 15:23), so it is a passionate, persuasive and prayerful (John 17:9) word. It was quite a spectacle for the locals to see foreign dignitary, foremost royalty and famous nobility pleading to Jesus for help. No matter the crowd, the circumstances and the consequences, the man was not too proud, powerful or polished to ask Jesus, even at the risk of losing his child while he was away to Cana.
Require Help and Receive Christ
48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” 49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton, the American Red Cross president, was overseeing the work of the Red Cross in Cuba. One day Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her, wanted to buy food for his sick and wounded Rough Riders. But she refused to sell him any. Roosevelt was perplexed. His men needed the help and he was prepared to pay out of his own funds. When he asked someone why he could not buy the supplies, he was told, "Colonel, just ask for it!" A smile broke over Roosevelt's face. Now he understood--the provisions were not for sale. All he had to do was simply ask and they would be given freely. Barton would later say, “Nothing is for sale, but he might have all he wanted.” (Our Daily Bread, October 11, 1992)
The royal officer was thick-skin, tough-minded and turbo-charged who saw through act, acceptance and attitude towards him. Jesus used a professional, technical and personal approach in this account that might be veiled from readers’ eyes. Who was he rebuking and reprimanding in verse 48? The obvious answer is the royal official. Jesus, however, used “him” to address the man, but “you people” plural to assail the crowd. It is more tricky in Greek because “Jesus told him” begins the sentence.
You might be surprised that the book of John is a book of signs (v 48), but not of miracle or healing, which occurs only three times in John (v 47, John 5:13, 12:40). John would never use “dunamis” - mighty works (Matt 11:20) or power (Matt 22:29) in his book, but “semeion” (sign) 16 times in John, a noun that occurs more times in John than any book in the Bible. Miracles are for the power but signs point to a purpose. Miracles are for the sight, but signs are for the insightful. It’s been said, “A faith built only on miraculous signs is not a complete faith” (Edwin Blum). A sign is indirect, intriguing and indicative. It takes eyes of faith to connect the dots, clear the confusion and come to conclusion.
The remarkable royal official did an unassuming thing. He used an imperative on Jesus: “come down” (v 49), which was not annoying because it will be repeated in verse 52 and 47 as “come.” It was not an insult to Jesus because He will use this imperative “come down” in the future on Zacchaeus (Luke 19:5). The man thought Jesus had to be at the location, in the neighborhood or at least on the way in order to heal.
Jesus returned the royal official’s “come down” imperative with his own command: “Go,” which was comforting and challenging at the same time, calm and cold altogether, confident and crass nevertheless. The Lord will used this command on another nobleman (Luke 7:8). It took simple faith, strong faith and saving faith to believe. The royal officer had to trust in Jesus’ authority, ability and availability. Jesus, on the other hand, did not require the man bow in respect, bend his knees, or break into tears. The man saw the Savior, talked to him and heard his assurance, so he was not empty, exasperated or embarrassed. The man believed and departed (v 50). The verb “believe” is so important to John’s gospel, more than any gospel or book in the Bible. The verb occurs 133 times in the gospels, out of which 98 times are in John.
Return Home and Reach Out
51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 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.” 53 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. 54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
A survey by Gary McIntosh more than twenty years later revealed that 43.2% were lead to Christ by a family member and 15.7% by a friend. Others accepted through the efforts of a staff member (17.3%), a lay teacher (8.3%), a neighbor (2.9%) and a colleague (1.8%). Among new converts to Christ, family was noted most often (31.8%), while friends and staff received equal mention (22. 7% each).
https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2014/what-person-led-you-to-faith-in-christ
A Barna study indicates that nearly half of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their savior do so before reaching the age of 13 (43%), and that two out of three born again Christians (64%) made that commitment to Christ before their 18th birthday. One out of eight born again people (13%) made their profession of faith while 18 to 21 years old. Less than one out of every four born again Christians (23%) embraced Christ after their twenty-first birthday.
https://www.barna.com/research/evangelism-is-most-effective-among-kids/
Nothing is more satisfying than to see a family member accept Christ. I know because my mother accepted Christ when she was over 80 - after many years of praying for her!
The royal officer had incredible faith, interceding faith and impassioned faith. For a whole day it was not exhausted or embarrassed, but encouraged and energized. His belief was positive, prayerful and persistent. He did not go home straightway, but stayed the night (v 52). It was a day later when he heard the great news from his servants. Seventh hour (KJV) is 1 p.m He could have rushed home the day before to reach home way past midnight. It was not impossible to do with his importance, influence and insistence. Nobody would have blamed him if his impulse, instincts, irritability, initiative and improvisation were working overtime.
To his credit, the royal officer was the first individual outside of the apostles to approach Christ, seek and petition Him in the gospels. Not only that, the first thing on the royal officer’s mind hearing the good news from his servants was to give credit to Christ. Why is this significant? This was in contrast to his hometown folks who did not give him much thought no matter what Jesus taught, claimed and did (v 44). The nobleman was a serious, sensitive and sober Christian. Unlike the crowd, he believed in the Messiah and not the miracle - which followed after, the Savior and not the sideshow, the Master rather than His methods and the Deliverer rather than the deliverance.
It was not difficult for the royal officer to convert his family, relatives and possibly servants to Christ because of his love for them, his labor for them and his life with them. It was a joyous occasion because his servants (plural, v 54) came in force to greet the man when only one was needed. They were too touched, moved and shocked for the man. Better, there is no indication the nobleman had brought the servants with him to do his job – to put pressure on Jesus, take the long walk and to make his journey comfortable. Despite the disparity in power, position and with his servants, the man had class, compassionate and character. What a testimony from a from a superior to a subordinate, from a leader to a learner and from a fellow human being to another.
Conclusion: God’s love for the world, whether they be Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles, is abundant, abiding and available to all. Divine love is transnational, tangible and transferable. Do you have Jesus’ love for family, friends and strangers? Is your love open-minded or close-ended, objective or subjective, outward-looking or in-grown?
