The Doctor or the Candyman
I was listening to someone talk about elections and democracy, and he dug up a great quote from the past. And by the past, I mean like 2500 years ago. Ancient Athens was the first democracy we know of, and Socrates, the smartest man of his time, hated the idea. This was his quote:
Imagine a debate between two candidates, one a doctor, and the other who owned a sweets shop. The Candyman would say: Look, my opponent has brought you so much pain. He hurts you, gives you bitter potions and tells you that you can’t eat and drink whatever you like. He’ll never serve you wonderful tasting treats. What would the audience say?
What could the doctor say? The true answer, “I cause you trouble, and go against you desires to help you” while true, would only turn the voters even more against him.
I begin with the picture of choosing a Candyman or a Doctor not to comment on elections, because it fits the theme of reading through John 4 in context. Our lesson has Jesus returning home to Galilee from preaching in Samaria and the contrast between how he is received in each place is the contrast between wanting a Candyman in Cana in Galilee, or wanting the Doctor of their Souls to heal what really needed fixing eternally in Samaria.
As John 4 begins, Jesus leaves Jerusalem (Nicodemus), and is returning to Galilee, but goes through Samaria and there is the wonderful story of the Samaritan Woman at the Well, which ended with a whole town believing that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior of the world.
But, aside from Jesus telling the woman about her past, Jesus did NO miracles among the Samaritans. John emphasizes that it was the Good News that moved their hearts. They saw their sins, and their Redeemer.
“We have heard him for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” (Jn 4:42).
This is contrasted with Galilee. The two verses before our lesson, vs. 44 and 45, shed some light on the situation.
44 For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.” 45 Therefore when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast.”
He goes to Galilee, his own people, and expects no honor there. Yet vs. 45 says they welcome him. Is John confused? Why is John saying, “A prophet has no honor in his own hometown, Therefore they welcomed him”? The answer is the point of the message this morning.
The people are excited to see Jesus’ signs and wonders. Saying they want candy may be too harsh. We all have pains and suffering in this world, and we can never do any better than to call on God in our time of need. The problem was, they only wanted him for their worldly needs, needs which faded away. They didn’t want him as Savior/Redeemer. John is writing these stories TOGETHER to give us, his readers time to ask ourselves, why do we want God? Why Seek God? Why are we Christians?
There is nothing wrong with miracles. We all pray for miracles every day. We pray for cancer to be removed. We pray for a quick end to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. All that requires God’s hand!
But the point is, Do I go to God first because His Word moves me to repentance and a love of Him, or do I love and seek after God because I desire blessings in this world? The second is more common than you think, and the attitude of those in Galilee, who Jesus describes as believe without believing. That’s basically the phrase he used for them in John 2:23-25:
Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to believe in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t believe them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart. (NLT)
They “believed,” John says, but this was not a true faith. The Galileans welcomed him, because they sought hope in THIS world. The Samaritans welcomed him because they saw hope in the next! When the official in our lesson came for the healing of his son, Jesus addresses not just him, but the whole sign-seeking attitude of the Galileans “Unless you [plural!] see signs and wonders you [plural] will not believe.”
Jesus addresses the whole region. You are sign-seekers. You are “wonder-worshipers.” You say you believe, but your belief—like those in Jerusalem, is not real belief that honors me.
What about this official? Was he in that crowd who believed but didn’t believe? Believed as a sign-seeker, but not as a Savior-seeker? A lover of Jesus’ power, but not his person? It’s clear that Jesus is testing him. And the man seems to be asking for the same reason anyone might want a miracle “I have an emergency here God, fix it!” Not: “I have sin, forgive it, and give me power to live for your glory, no matter what this world brings.”
Here’s the good part. When Jesus bluntly says to the man that he and the other Galileans are sign-seekers, the man doesn’t get defensive, but simply repeats his request, because he knows Jesus has the answer, and no one else can give it. It’s a lot like the story of the Syrophoenician woman pleading for help for her daughter from a few weeks ago. Then, Jesus simply gives him a gift. Go; your son will live. And he does this knowing it will only make teaching about the Kingdom of God in Galilee harder.
That’s the problem with the miracles. They fed the people temporary things and took their focus off the eternal. The man’s son eventually died, though probably years later. Same with Lazarus who Jesus raised. And the same with all the blind and deaf and paralyzed who Jesus healed.
So why did Jesus do these miracles, knowing they would distract from His message? Here’s the amazing part, and the part you can take to heart. Jesus did them then, and God even does miracles today, because He loves us. God loves us despite the fact that we often seek the gifts the Giver offers even more that the Giver of the Gifts.
But here is the Gospel. The God who made heavens and earth, the sea and everything in it, cares about you as an individual. He knows the pains we feel, because he felt them Himself, especially when he died for us on the cross. And he is merciful, knowing how easy it is for us to be distracted by the things and comforts of this world.
But he offers to you, as a Doctor, not just things that will make you happy for a short time, but Eternal Salvation, by believing in Jesus and His redemption for us by the cross.
