Jesus Lord of Time and Space.
John 4:46-54
There was, some time ago, a certain church group who had informed a certain bar owner that they had been praying for his bar to burn down. A little while later a terrible thunder and lightning storm had appeared. The lightning struck the bar and caused a fire, which burned the bar to the ground. The bar owner got a lawyer and sued the Christians. The Christians in turned got a lawyer who said that they were not responsible for the bar burning down. The judge thought this was a most unusual case. In the end he said, the bar owner believed in prayer, but the Christians didn’t.
Here we see a simple prayer, a simple request like the one at the wedding feast. My son is sick. Do we make such requests before the LORD? There are reasons for what we call “unanswered Prayer” one is unbelief. (James 1) the other is as follows.
John 4:46 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.
His plea received and instant challenge. Jesus looked at the man and ignored his request, and challenged the ground of his faith. Jesus’ response is for the onlookers as well as the royal official. Although this is similar to the healing of the Centurion’s servant, this is a different miracle. One of the similarities is that the official, like the Centurion, is a Gentile.
The official was seen by Jesus as a representative of the kind of people whose faith has to be constantly bolstered by miracles; this, in contrast with the Samaritans, seen earlier in this chapter, who believed without having a miracle take place.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
When we need signs/miracles to bolster our faith, our prayers may go unanswered.
This father is obviously upset. He may not have needed a sign to bolster his faith, all he knew is his son is dying and this man, Jesus has the power to do something about it.
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
The Word is superior to signs!
The term the Third Wave of the Holy Spirit also called the Signs and Wonders movement was coined by C. Peter Wagner, professor of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission. Third Wavers are persuaded that miracles, visions, tongues, prophecies, and healings are essential supplements to the gospel. They view Christianity without those things as impotent, adulterated by the Western, materialistic mind set. Some Third Wavers even say that unbelievers must experience the miraculous to be brought to full faith. Merely preaching the gospel message, they believe without seeing miracles, they say, and those who do will be inadequately converted and therefore stunted in their spiritual growth. Wimber believes that those who simply preach the gospel message fall short of true evangelism. He dubs their approach “programmatic evangelism.” What is needed instead, he says, is “power evangelism.”
Wimber cites Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel as a classic example of a “power encounter,” where the power of God vanquishes the power of evil. But in the end times many will be decieved by signs and wonders.
Modern miracle workers have yet to call down fire from heaven, like Elijah did, but Third Wave followers do tell of some fantastic signs and wonders that are happening within the movement. Wimber, for example, reported and incident where a woman’s toe, which had been cut off, supposedly grew back. He described another woman in Australia whose cleft palate closed up miraculously three days after God gave him a “word of knowledge” that she would be healed. Yet where is the proof? In this story there is the proof, the child is well and it is authenticated by witnesses.
The underlying assumption that drives the whole Third Wave movement is wrong. Miracles, signs, and wonders are impotent to produce either faith or genuine revival. Furthermore, power-encounter ministry misses the whole point of our witness. We are not commissioned to confront satanic power with miracle power. We are commissioned to confront satanic lies with divine truth.
RO 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
In the Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus we see how faith comes. The rich man wants a sign, the resurrected Lazarus to warn his family about this awful place. Abraham’s response is simple. “they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (16:29). In the 20th Century we would say, “They have the Bible; let them listen to it.” But people are always looking for a sign, yet Abraham’s response is true today. Even if one should rise from the dead they would not believe. One has risen from the dead, do they believe? Even in the time of Jesus, a man named Lazarus is raised from the dead, but the Pharisees and the High Priest plot to put him to death instead of believing.
Even after this, Jesus is crucified. The one who raised Lazarus from the dead is still put to death. And they guard his tomb as though they could prevent his resurrection. Even after Jesus’ resurrection, they did not believe. They got the ultimate sign. And they still did not believe.
The superiority of the Word over signs.
A Christian’s faith does not rest on clever stories as did the doctrines of the false teachers Peter attacked (2 Peter 2). Instead true faith is founded on historical facts, which eyewitnesses corroborated.
Our faith is not founded on hearsay and rumor, but established concrete evidence.
Peter’s defense of the doctrine of the Second Coming therefore is based on his eyewitness experience on the Mount of Transfiguration at which time he truly saw Christ’s majesty.
Obviously Peter considered this doctrine of great importance, one his readers should always keep in mind.
But how does the transfiguration argue that the Lord will come again with power? The transfiguration was designed to show the three apostles what Christ would be like in His glory, to give them a foretaste of His kingdom. It was a glorious demonstration they would never forget.
16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
2PE 1:19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Peter tells us simply to pay attention to God’s Word. That is how we will get understanding. Through reading and prayer we will get the wisdom we need. There are false prophets and false teachers running around today, leading many astray.
Nothing is open to private interpretation, not the words of the prophets nor the words written by the Apostles. Scripture should be interpreted only in context.
The Golden Rule of Interpretation designed by the late Bible scholar, Dr. David L. Cooper:
“When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense, but take every word at its primary literal meaning unless the facts of he immediate context clearly indicate otherwise.”
∙ Scripture should not be interpreted according to one’s own liking.
∙ You can not interpret scripture any way you like!!!
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, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
The father now believed and was not anxious.
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 all his household believed.
Before the father checks on the son, he believes the testimony of his servant. He tells his whole household of the miracle. John tells us again and again why he writes what he wrote, so that we may believe.
When are we saved? It is when we believe and we obey. The father obeyed Jesus and went his way, then the son was healed. We can go through story after story of healing and miracles, and we will see a common thread through most of them. It is when the believed and obeyed.
For feelings come and feelings go
And feelings are deceiving
My warrant is the Word of God
Not else is worth believing
Though all my soul should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token,
There is one greater in my heart,
Whose word cannot be broken.
I’ll stand on His unchanging Word,
Till soul and body sever.
For though all things shall pass away,
His Word shall stand forever,
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word,
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord.” —Stead
54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
