A Father’s Faith
Fortifying the Foundations #11
John 4:43-54
6-29-03
Our text this morning is from John 4:43-5:1
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When 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. 46Once 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. 47When 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. 48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." 49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." 53Then 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. 54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee. NIV
I love stories with a happy ending and this is certainly one—a dying boy is healed,
a father commits his life to Christ, and his whole household (servants as well as family) all become believers. That is what Christ can do in people’s lives. Jesus took this man from tragedy to triumph—from a crisis to a victory. Can you imagine the joy this father must have felt the moment he heard those servants tell him his son was well.
Many of us here are parents. And nothing touches us like pain in one of our children.
When Katie, our youngest daughter, was born we thought she was an extremely passive baby. Those of you who know her know that she is not by nature passive. But what we did not know was that she had a dangerous blood disorder that left her unable to fight off infection. As a baby she was sickly and often listless. Because of her frailty we nicknamed her “Delicatessen”[1].
When she was about eighteen months old we rushed her to the hospital because she had a high fever and was having trouble breathing. Her lungs were very infected and her tonsils were so swollen that she could barely breathe. The doctors could not get her lungs cleared up but decided to operate on her tonsils to open up the air passage.
Some of you parents know what its like to watch the nurses try over and over again to get an I.V. in your baby’s tiny vein. As I watched the process I so wished that needle was going into me instead of her. I think that must have been something like what this father in our story was feeling.
When the doctors began to operate on Katie she died on the operating table. They revived her but abandoned the operation. That was the crisis point because the doctors told us she could not survive an operation. But they also said at any time her air passage could swell completely shut and if it wasn’t caught immediately she would die.[2]
It was a very hard experience –but shortly after that God completely healed Katie and for about four years she never even got a cold. I know by experience that God answers prayer—that He still does the kind of thing He did for the royal officer’s child. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In this father’s experience we see the development of his faith in Christ.[3]
I. He comes to the Lord with a Feeble faith. He has a problem only Jesus can solve. He is in a crisis. This man is a person of significant wealth and influence. He is a royal official, basilikos (bas-il-ee-kos)-which simply means “connected to royalty.”
We don’t know exactly what that relationship was. Some have speculated that this was Chuzas, Herod’s Administrator, mentioned in Luke 8:3. But we really don’t know. He probably was an official under Herod the tetrarch of Galilee.[4]
He was a man of means and has no doubt tried every other solution money can buy. But we all know there are some problems money can’t solve. Money can buy medicine. Money can hire doctors. But money cannot necessarily heal a dying child.
This man is desperate for an answer. Like most of us he cares more about his kid than himself. And because of his trouble he turns to Christ. Many of us here this morning initially came to the Lord the same way? We didn’t come to the Lord because it was a sunny day and seemed like a good idea. We came because we needed help with something we couldn’t handle ourselves.
His faith if feeble because it is based on very little personal commitment to the Lord.
He just wanted something from God that would make life better. At this point he’s just after a quick fix. But Jesus does not turn him away because of that. And if that’s where you are God will meet you there. Come to Jesus for the help you need and discover for yourself his willingness to help you—discover for yourself just how sufficient he is for your need.
This royal official comes because someone has told him about Jesus. Perhaps it was someone at the wedding when Jesus turned the water into wine. Perhaps he heard about the many healings that occurred when Jesus was recently in Jerusalem.
Verse 47 says, “When the man heard that Jesus had come...” “Faith comes by hearing.”[5]
He has a desperate need. He hears about this one named Jesus who may be able to meet that need. So he goes to Jesus for help. We saw a similar pattern in Samaria—people initially coming to Jesus because of the woman’s testimony—coming with a feeble faith, but at least coming—and in their own encounter moving to a higher level of faith.[6]
He comes with a preconceived idea of how Jesus should solve his problem—“come and heal my son...” In his limited knowledge of Jesus he can only see the miracle happening if Jesus physically comes to where his son is. That was probably the way the miracles happened in Jerusalem. And he just assumed that would be what Jesus would need to do in his case.
Perhaps like Naaman in the Old Testament he was used to mandating the order of things. Remember how Naaman almost missed his miracle because God didn’t do it the way he thought it should be done.[7] Of course, none of us ever have that kind of struggle with God.
But here this man is—coming to Jesus with a broken heart and a desperate need.
And what does Jesus do? Does he tenderly turn to him and put his arm around his shoulder and say, “I’m so glad you came. You have come a long ways (a 20 mile journey)[8] and you will not be disappointed.” Does Jesus seize the moment and lead him in the “sinner’s prayer.”
No, Jesus turns on his heel and says, “You people, unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Jesus’ comment was not just directed at this man. The Greek word translated “you” is in the plural and Jesus is addressing the whole crowd.[9] He is addressing their whole motive of being there. They are there for the show. They are looking for some good clean entertainment. They are there strictly for what they can get out of it. And Jesus is not content to leave them or this royal official at that level of faith.
I’m not so sure that kind of faith is saving faith.[10] It is a faith that will get people to a meeting. It is a faith that may even cause people to pray. But is it real Christianity?
The devil himself would cooperate if he could get enough out of it. Do we deceive people by leading them to believe that this is an OK place to be in their relationship to God?
I think those words of Jesus probably thinned out the crowd. If Jesus is not going to put on a show, I’m going home. If its not sensational I’m out of here. So they go.
But this royal official does not go!
Jesus has called him to higher ground and he rises to the occasion. Perhaps it’s his desperation that keeps him there. I don’t know. But Jesus saw something in this man that would go beyond the mentality of the crowd. Jesus saw the potential of deep faith in God. He came with a felt need. As I have said, that is usually the way we do come to God. But Jesus is wanting to not only meet that felt need but also meet a more significant need—not just a physical healing for his son but a spiritual transformation for the whole household.
There is something marvelous occurring in this man’s encounter with Jesus. I see his eyes water as he looks Jesus in the eye and says, “If you don’t come my little boy is going to die!” Three different Greek words are used in this passage in to refer to this son. The one this father uses at this time is the most tender of all.[11] Jesus will heal his son. But Jesus will also lead this man into a greater faith than he currently has. Jesus refuses his request to come with him to Capernium. Jesus challenges his current mentality. But Jesus leads him into something far better.
This man comes to Jesus with feeble faith, But he
II. Leaves with Firm Faith
Jesus gives him no sign at this time. But he gives him His word, which is far better.
In Verse 50 Jesus answers his plea. “You may go. Your son will live.” The words are filled with love. The words are filled with compassion. But in addition to that, the words are spoken with authority. A word of assurance from the Lord had come. Everything is going to be fine. Yet in the natural this man could see no change. What is he to do? He does the right thing.
He takes Jesus at His word. Verse 50 tells us that plainly. When Jesus speaks to our heart we must hear Him—we must take Him at His word—we must embrace that rhema[12] and rely upon it. We sometimes sing the song—“Just One Word”. That’s all you need.
God sent a word to Mary in Luke 1:37 through the angel, Gabriel. It was a promise of something no one before her had ever experienced and no one after her would ever experience—emaculate conception. She understandably asked how it could happen. Then the angel answered her “with God no word shall be impossible.”[13] Most translations simple say nothing shall be impossible. But that misses something very powerful. Rhema is a Greek word indicating in this case a specific “word”.[14] God gave Mary a word of assurance. And she took the Lord at His rhema saying, “Be it unto me according to your word—rhema.” No rhema shall be impossible.
The royal official in our text received a rehema from the Lord—a specific word of assurance and promise. And this man did a wise thing—he took the Lord at His word.
He had persisted in his request, he had persisted in prayer.[15] That was good. But now he stops his begging and begins believing. There is a time to pray—a time to petition. But once the Lord grants our petition it is time to believe—to rest upon His promise.
The old timers had a term for what this royal official experienced. They referred to it as “praying through”—praying until God gave assurance that the request had been granted.
I watched my great grandmother and others rest upon such promises even though nothing in the natural would indicate an answer. In fact, sometimes the situation seemed worse. But then there came a manifestation on earth of what had been authorized in heaven and we all rejoiced.
We live in such a quick society you hardly ever hear of “praying through” because most of us won’t stay with our request long enough to get such assurances. But the father in our text did.
Then having taken the Lord at his word he acted accordingly. Someone has defined belief as something that causes us to act the way we act.[16] “Faith without works is dead.”[17] This man took Jesus at His word and did exactly what Jesus told him to do. After our experience with Katie at the hospital the doctors gave us a breathing apparatus with some medication in it to try to hold down the infection and told us to rush her to the hospital if she started gasping for breath. The anesthesiologist told us to shut her up in a sealed room and not let her outside because of the dangers of pollen and allergic reactions. The Lord had spoken something else to us. The Lord told us she would recover. He told us to do two things. First, change the name we had called her. Instead of Delicatessen we were to call her “Healthy Bones”. Second, instead of isolating her in a room we were to take her out as if nothing was wrong with her. I do not as a rule recommend going against professional counsel. We have outstanding doctors in this congregation who are greatly used by God in caring for the sick. We do not counsel people to disobey the doctor’s orders. Normally I do what the doctor tells me to except eat right, exercise faithfully, and quite drinking coffee. But God had clearly spoken to us.[18] We saw physically no change in her condition and we used the breathing apparatus. But we took the Lord at His word and did what He told us to do. And she fully recovered. I am happy to report to you that God was faithful and the manifestation of that healing came.
This man’s faith was no longer so feeble. He was no longer just relying upon what others told him about Jesus. He had personally encountered the Lord. He had personally received a word from the Lord and was acting upon it.[19] His faith was now firm and steadfast for this healing. However, his faith was still focused upon this one thing—his son’s healing. God was about to expand his horizons even more.
He not only comes to a full faith in Christ but he also in the process
III. Leads his family into Full faith.
On his way home in verse 51 his servants meet him and give him the good news—the boy is healed. I would have loved to see how high that man leaped when he heard that news. His first question, when did the boy start getting better? On no, he didn’t start getting better, he was instantly healed.[20] The fever left him at the seventh hour. Wow, that was the exact moment Jesus gave the word!
See the progress in this man’s faith. He is expecting to hear about a wonderful process of recovery. That is usually how healing works. God removes the cause of the illness and the body recovers. But this was an instantaneous miracle. The boy was instantly healed.
That’s when this man’s heart moved from a firm faith for his son’s recovery to a full faith in Jesus Christ. That’s when the kind of commitment happened in this man that Jesus was looking for. He became a disciple. He became an all-out follower of Jesus Christ. He was no longer part of the church crowd looking for sensation, looking for excitement, looking for a show. He was committed to the long haul—not just what’s in it for me but I’m in it come rain or shine.
His faith moved from a trust in a word of the Lord for a specific need to be met to a trust in the person of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. The temporal miracle was wonderful but now he had eternal life.
And his faith was contagious. Everyone around him got saved. They all put their trust in Jesus as Messiah and Lord. “So he and all his household believed.”
Think about the experience the servants had in all this. There is every indication they had a genuine love and respect for their master. There they stood over this boy’s bed expecting him to die at any moment—dreading the task of telling dad that the boy had passed away.
The royal officer has decided to go to Cana and see if Jesus can help. Perhaps one of them has recommended it. They know where he has gone and why he has gone. They are waiting for the father to bring Jesus back. But suddenly the boy’s fever breaks and he is completely well. A dreaded task has become a joyous task. They can’t wait to tell dad what happened. They don’t know why it has happened but they are elated that it has happened. There they meet the father on the road and tell him the good news. But he has even better news for them. The miracle was no coincidence. This boy’s fever broke at the exact time Jesus spoke his healing. They too have seen a miracle. Mom has seen a miracle in her son. The boy has experienced a miracle. Jesus is indeed the Son of God. The whole household commits their lives to Christ.[21] That day salvation came to their house. That day everything changed for those people.
Has salvation come to your house? Where are you in the development of your faith?
Are you desperate for God’s intervention in some matter? Let that draw you to Jesus.
Know from this story that Jesus has every desire to meet your need. But also realize He may have even more for you.
Has the word of the Lord come to your heart concerning some matter? Take Him at His word and rest upon His promise. With God no rhema shall be impossible.
Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good? Then let His goodness lead you into an all-out commitment to Him as Lord of your life. He stands ready to meet each one of us where we our in our journey of faith.
Pray
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
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[1] Because the word sounded like delicate.
[2] This experience occurred at Palo Duro Hospital in Canyon, Texas in 1984. Dudley Moore, MD was the lead physician.
[3] [3] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol. 1, Book III, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1984, p.429 Edersheim suggests a progression from belief in the power of Jesus to faith in His word, and thence to absolute faith in Him.
[4] John 4:46 (from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press). It has also been speculated that this officer is Manaen mentioned in Acts 13:1.
[5] Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” NKJV
[6] John 4:42 “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." NIV
[7] II Kings 5:11
[8] Edersheim, p.428
[9] Campbell Morgan, The Gospel of John, Revell Co., Los Angeles, p.82
[10] Edersheim, p. 424 Charles Spurgeon develops the theme of progressive faith unto salvation in his excellent sermon on this text entitled, “The Nobleman’s Faith.”
[11] paidion (NT:3813)
(from Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
huios, verses 46, 47, 50), child (paidion, verse 49), and boy (pais, verse 51).
(from the UBS Handbook Series. Copyright (c) 1961-1997, by United Bible Societies)
[12] A Greek word for “word”.
[13] Luke 1:37 “For no word from God shall be void of power.”(from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[14] The following comment by Vine makes a helpful distinction from logos: WORD
“The significance of rhema (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," Eph 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture.” (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
[15] John 4:47 began to beg and kept it up
(from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[16] Source unknown
[17] James 2:20
[18] A full explanation of a balanced scriptural understanding on the exercise of faith and on hearing the Lord is beyond the scope of one message. Those listening to this sermon know that this is an unusual case in which we had considerable confirmation that the Lord was speaking to us in this matter.
[19] For an excellent message on praying through as discussed in this sermon see: F.B. Meyer, Gospel of John,(Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, 1983) p. 82-86
[20] Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA 1988, p.160
[21] Charles Spurgeon, A Treasury of Spurgeon on the Life and Work of our Lord, Vol. IV, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, p.156
