TOO FAR AWAY
John 4:43-54
S: Faith
Th: My Life as God’s Light
Pr: TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD.
KW: Stages
TS: We will find in John 4:43-54 four stages that lead us in how we take Jesus at His word.
Inductive
The _____ stage is…
I. THE RETURN (43-46)
II. THE REQUEST (46-48)
III. THE REVELATION (49-50)
IV. THE RELIANCE (50-54)
RMBC 07/08/01 AM
INTRODUCTION:
1. Do you ever worry about your health?
ILL Notebook: Health (correct diagnosis)
A hypo-chondriac told his doctor in great alarm that he was certain he had a fatal liver disease. "Nonsense!" protested the doctor. "You wouldn’t know whether you had that or not. With that particular disease there’s no discomfort of any kind." "Good heavens!" the patient gasped. "My symptoms exactly!"
Well, I think it is safe to say that we all worry about our health from time to time, especially when it is a pain that is different from something we have had before.
And until we know what it is, there can be some pretty anxious times.
But…
2. Perhaps there is no greater difficulty than watching a loved one in a deteriorating condition.
When we watch someone we really care for go through a difficult time, the pain is excruciating.
Whether it be for a parent, spouse or child, it is a time of great anxiety.
We even wish that we could take the pain for them, especially for a son or daughter.
We have such a passion for them that we are willing to take their pain.
Stop for a moment now…
3. Do you think that Jesus cares about your health?
We must think so, because when we are unhealthy, we sure pray a lot.
I don’t mean to be sarcastic about that, just observant.
When we are not feeling well, we pray for God’s help and healing.
When someone we care about is in trouble health-wise, we pray a lot.
So we must believe Jesus cares about our health issues.
After all, the gospels are full of stories about healings.
There is the healing of…
…the leper
…the servant of the centurion
…two demon-possessed men
…the paralytic
…the epileptic boy
…the bleeding woman
…the invalid at the pool
…the daughter of Jarius
…Mary Magdalene
…Bartimaeus, the man born blind, and of course…
…Lazarus, who died.
It seems Jesus did a lot of healing, so he must have been concerned about people that were not physically well.
We come today to the end of chapter four and in this narrative, we find Jesus is concerned about the health of a dying boy.
But interestingly, Jesus’ interest goes beyond that.
For…
4. Our narrative is about a sign that demonstrates a power over people and distance (54).
This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
ILL Notebook: Communication
Once there was a sign posted in a yard. It said:
Dogs for sale:
eats anything and is fond of children
Now think about that for a moment and realize all that sign is potentially saying. Is it saying that the dog eats anything and is especially fond of eating children? Or is it saying that the dogs are good with children?
In a similar way (but less humorous way), John wants us to examine this miracle and see what it is really saying.
The first sign was the changing of water into wine that we studied earlier this year.
There Jesus showed His power over things.
Here, Jesus shows that His power goes beyond that.
So, let’s study this narrative and see what is being taught us.
For convenience sake, we see this narrative broken down into four stages.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first stage is THE RETURN (43-46).
After the two days he left for Galilee. (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there. Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.
1. Jesus knew that the locals did not respect Him
He is returning to Galilee after he had been in Judea and then, Samaria.
Jesus is from Galilee.
He grew up in Nazareth, the next town over from Cana.
So He is coming home.
And the text tells us that He knows there is no real honor for Him in His hometown.
But…
2. Jesus was making a name for Himself.
Frankly, his time in Judea has been a hit.
So the Galileans welcomed him this time.
Now that he had made a difference elsewhere, people see him in an entirely different light.
It is an honor of a sort, but not the honor that is truly due Him.
3. Jesus, though, was not interested in popularity.
We may be interested in it, but Jesus was not.
This is why He left Judea.
He was becoming too popular.
This is why He goes to Samaria.
It was not a popular thing to do.
It was a place to be avoided.
Now, Jesus goes back to Cana.
Why?
This leads us to…
II. The second stage is THE REQUEST (46-48).
And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 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. “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
1. Jesus has an appointment.
I believe Jesus returns to Cana because He has unfinished business.
Just like He had to go through Samaria, He needs to return to Cana.
For there…
2. Jesus meets a man who has a passion for a dying son.
This was not an ordinary man, but an official attached to Herod’s court.
He was the king’s man, so was a man of great influence and power.
He would have been a man of great wealth.
He was someone that probably had everything someone could possibly want.
You know, there are many things money cannot buy.
Money can buy a king-sized bed, but it cannot buy sleep!
Money can buy a great house, but it cannot buy a home!
Money can buy a companion, but it cannot buy a close friend!
Money can buy books, but it cannot buy brains!
Money can buy a church building, but it cannot buy entrance into heaven!
And as our text suggests, money cannot buy life and health.
Wealth cannot buy the life of a loved one.
The death of his son was imminent.
He has come 20 miles from Capernaum to see Jesus.
His young son was tossing with a fever.
And the father has this helpless feeling, the cold clutch of fear that grips the heart.
So here we have the anguish of a father’s heart and so, before Jesus, he presses his plea.
And despite his importance in the world’s eyes, he keeps begging for Jesus’ help.
But…
3. Jesus, surprisingly, rebukes unbelief.
Jesus’ response seems rather harsh.
But a closer look at the narrative reveals that the response is really addressed to a wider audience.
There were people about that were only in it for the miraculous.
And Jesus places the challenge before them…they only believe because of the miracle.
They come only for the signs and wonders.
They were coming as if Jesus was a religious sideshow.
They were not coming for truth’s sake.
And note the great contrast of the new believers in Samaria that Jesus has just left (John 4:39-42):
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."
The Samaritans, ironically, were leading the way to true belief.
This brings us to…
III. The third stage is THE REVELATION (49-50).
In spite of the rebuke, the father does not defend himself.
He does not argue.
He just urges Jesus to come to Capernaum.
And in the narrative, he uses a different word for his child.
He says, “My little boy.”
So deeply anxious, he has no other consideration.
He has only one thing in mind.
He must get Jesus to Capernaum, for Jesus is his last and only hope.
The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
But…
1. Jesus refuses to go with the man to heal his son.
This must have been totally unexpected, both by the man and by the gathering crowd.
Jesus refuses to go, but He does not refuse to help.
Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”
2. Jesus declares that the son lives.
It is a powerful statement.
He simply says, “Your son lives.”
He is determined to do a miracle that does not draw attention to Himself.
For the crowds, it’s a disappointment.
There is going to be no show.
But for this father, Jesus imposes words that are a stiff test.
He gives the man no sign.
It is just His word.
But the man offers no arguing or pleading.
There is no insistence for a sign.
Jesus’ word is enough.
Which leads us to the…
IV. The fourth stage is THE RELIANCE (50-53).
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.
1. Jesus discovers a man that believes.
The father rises to the implied demand for faith.
He believes what Jesus says and goes his way.
And he proves that faith is not what you feel, it is what you do.
He goes home, fully expecting good news.
It will be dark by the time he gets there, and thus, the next day.
But…
2. On the way home, the father finds his belief was well founded.
The servants tell him the good news.
His son lives!
The very thing that Jesus said and that he believed was true.
And he starts putting the pieces together.
The servants authenticate the miracle of Jesus with testimony about the precise moment.
The very time that his son began to recover was the very time Jesus said, “Your son lives.”
And here is the miracle…Jesus has given life.
It was brought about very simply…through the spoken word.
He pronounces, “He lives!” and he lives indeed.
The text tells us that as a result that the belief grew as a result of this man’s faithfulness.
As the father informed his family, they believed too.
It was an informed belief.
And his belief grew as well.
For he has gone past a belief based on experience.
He has even gone past a belief on the Lord’s promise.
Now he believes the Lord’s person.
APPLICATION:
I asked you a question earlier…
1. Do you think that Jesus cares about your health (Romans 11:33-36)?
You know, I believe in healing.
I believe in the calling of the elders and anointing with oil.
We do it here from time to time when it is requested.
But I also believe that there are a lot of crooks out there that pretend to be healers.
They have tremendous services that are really performances with the theatrics to match.
The focal point is on the healer.
And people hurry to the front to be touched by this man or woman so that they will be healed.
We just had such a person here in the area at the arena.
There were some that protested outside the arena.
They asked why this one particular healer did not go to the hospitals and perform the miracles there.
I wondered too.
Jesus did not do healing like this.
It was not a show.
In fact, over a space of 20 miles, He says the word, and the boy is healed.
It does not even require His presence, and in so doing, Jesus does not bring attention to Himself.
When it comes to healing, we need to learn this important lesson…
God is not going to jump through our hoops.
And He does not have to answer our prayers the way we expect.
Note what Paul says in Romans…
(33) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (34) Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (35) Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? (36) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Frankly, we need to remember Who we are dealing with here.
God has a power beyond the knowledge and reach of mankind.
So…
2. Are you too far away?
The answer in the narrative is “no way.”
The father thought Jesus had to be by the boy’s side to be healed, but it turned out that Jesus was bigger than that.
And the same is true for you today.
You are not out of God’s reach.
Jesus does not have limitations.
He is the God of space and distance.
There is nothing that is too hard for Him.
There is no distance that is too great for Him.
But in the midst of this discussion about physical healing, please remember this…
3. Jesus cares even more about your spiritual health.
Jesus is looking to restore spiritual wholeness, even more than physical wholeness.
God is not looking for people that hold to “seeing is believing.”
He is looking for those that hold to “believing is seeing.”
He knows that faith sees the unseen.
Is your faith growing into that kind of faith?
Are you moving from the experience to the promise to the person.
Our faith is not meant to be static.
It is not something we experience once and then remains constant.
Our faith is to grow as we come to know our Lord and His Word better.
So let us learn this simple lesson from this father that was in pain over a dying son…
4. TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD (Colossians 3:16a).
Take Jesus at His word and do as He says.
For when we do this, we demonstrate faith.
And His Word is readily available.
As the apostle Paul writes…
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…
Turn to the words of Jesus.
Believe them by acting on them.
Grow in faith and find that Jesus can be taken at His Word.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Take Jesus at His word…you are not too far away; for no distance makes you out of reach and He desires to do in you and for you, He can and He will.
Take Jesus at His word…for His is good, while others may fail you, Jesus will not; He will do as He says; so believe, for believing is seeing.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
