"you May Go -- Your Son Will Live" (Message 10 In Gospel Of John 2021) Series

THE HEALING OF THE OFFICIAL’S SON

John 4:43-54

Greenmount and O’Leary Churches of Christ

March 21, 2021

Maplewood Manor March 25, 2021

Sermon 10 In 2021 Series on Gospel of John

Video Link: https://youtu.be/aCT27izOElU

INTRODUCTION:

1.) After Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman and spending two days with the people of that town, Jesus continued his journey on to Galilee.

I. THE ARRIVAL IN GALILEE. (4:43-45)

1.) Earlier in Galilee, Jesus had said “A prophet is without honour in his home country.” (4:44)

A.) We find of this in Mark 6:1-6, and Matthew 13:54-58.

aa.) In those accounts, Jesus had gone back to his hometown and was preaching, great truths of God, and even performing miraculous signs and the people took offence at him and would not put their faith in him.

ab.) They could not accept the teachings and miracles of Jesus because he was a hometown boy. He was the son of a carpenter, and as such should not have been able to do what he was doing, or to teach what he was teaching.

aba.) Rather than to accept his teaching and miracles as from God they rejected Jesus.

ac.) This verse is kind of a prelude to us of verse 48 that we will look at in a few minutes.

2.) The Galileans had welcomed him. (4:45a.)

A.) “They had seen all that He had done in Jerusalem at the Passover feast.” (4:45b.)

aa.) At Jerusalem Jesus had become kind of a celebrity.

ab.) He had performed many miracles at the feast and now his home people were excited to see him not because they were ready to put faith in him, but because they wanted to see more of these miracles.

B.) “For they had been there.” (4:45c.)

ba.) This was not just based on hear say.

baa.) Some of this group had witnessed his miracles in Jerusalem.

3.) “Once more he visited Cana in Galilee” (4:46a.)

A.) “where he turned water into wine.” (4:46b.)

aa.) John is reminding us of this event because it was such a powerful miracle and should have brought everyone to faith in him.

ab.) Instead these people wanted to see more miracles but still had no desire to put their faith in him.

II. THE HEALING OF A ROYAL OFFICIAL’S SON.

1.) “And there was a certain royal official’s son who lay sick at Capernaum. (4:46c.)

A.) Royal official?

aa.) The Word used here is an adjective form of the word that is usually translated as king.

aaa.) Many feel he was an official to King Herod Antipas.

aab.) Certainly, this man was a man of prominence, power, and even a man of great wealth.

.01) He would have been one of the most influential and powerful men of the area.

ab.) Even with all these things going for the man he had no power over his boy’s health.

aba.) There are some things over which earthly power and prominence mean nothing.

B.) His son was sick.

2.) What would you do if you had a child who was sick?

A.) Certainly as a parent, the short answer to that question is that we would do whatever is in our power to do to help our sick child.

B.) “(47) When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him...” (4:47a.)

C.) Today we would go our local doctors and from there we would probably go to the I.W.K. in Halifax.

D.) When there are serious health issues with children today, we generally recognize that hospital as the best, or at least the most specialized hospital in our area for dealing with serious health issues in children.

E.) In the first century there were no specialized care centres such as that but in their midst was one who was far better than any hospital or medical staff.

3.) Here was Jesus.

A.) Jesus was and is the creator and sustainer of all life.

B.) I expect most of us have had times when our children were growing up that we may have had to face some serious situations in the lives of our children.

C.) Now today, many doctors are too professional or scientific to acknowledge the presence and power of God in the medical room, but there are still some who not only acknowledge him but seek him in their medical practice.

D.) There are still some Godly surgeons and medical personal who will pray before surgery.

E.) There are times when the medical field is at a loss when a healing has occurred if it was not expected.

ea.) Some of the medical field will humbly acknowledge the higher power of God in those situations.

4.) This man did the most he could do for his son: he went to Jesus.