Turning Up True Faith

John 4:43-54

 

Illus. Trust me.

 

This morning we turn to the end of John 4, and there we study a story about a father who comes to Jesus in desperation. His son was sick and at the point of death, and he turned to Jesus and asked Him to come and heal his son. He sought Jesus at a time of desperation, but what we will see is that Jesus uses it as an opportunity to not only show that He was the One who could heal his son, but to deepen true faith in Him. The man would need to trust that Jesus was the one holding the rope, and faith, deeper faith, would be developed and then displayed from the man. Jesus would do just that, but He would first take the opportunity to turn up true faith in the man. Through the course of their conversation, Jesus would bolster the man’s belief, take him from desperation to faith in Him

 

 

Read: John 4:43-54

 

Chapter 4 ends with the statement, “This is a second sign that Jesus had performed when he had come from Judea into Galilee.” And there were other signs, other miracles, but this one, the second when He had come into Galilee. There were many signs throughout the book of John, but those signs are recorded for a specific purpose…That we may believe. 

 

John 20:30-31, Many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name.

 

The verb “to believe”  is found 98 times in the book of John. This is compared to 11 times in Matthew, 12 times in Mark, and 11 times in Luke. John uses that verb 3 times as many times as all of them combined. It is a central theme to the book and one that we have seen as a central theme to Jesus’ ministry in the book of John so far!

Since Jesus left Galilee at the end of chapter two, there has been much focus on the importance of belief. At the end of chapter 2, we learned that people were believing in Jesus’ name after observing the signs he performed, but they were not believing in Him with faith for Salvation.

In chapter 3 the word “believe” is found 8 times. Jesus met a man named Nicodemus in Jerusalem and spoke to him about his need to be born again, to have new life in Him, to put his faith and trust in Him…

 

John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

 

The central theme was further developed there, “everyone must believe.” From there Jesus went to Samaria and after His conversation with the woman at the well, we see her go into town and tell many in the city about Jesus, and in John 4:39 we ready that “many believed in Him because of the word the woman testified” and then John 4:41, many more believed because of His word, they had heard for themselves and knew, He is the Savior of the world.

So, both conversations and conversions had taken place in Jerusalem, then in Samaria, but now, Jesus is back up north, in Galilee. None of these conversations on belief or conversions that came from those conversations had taken place in that region. There was a wedding day miracle there, and people were beginning to hear about Jesus and his ministry, but now Jesus is back in town and when this father seeks Him in hopes that his son will be healed, Jesus takes the opportunity to be sure this man truly believes and Jesus takes the opportunity to turn up true faith in him and his family.

Like this man, Jesus wants to develop our faith from simply believing in His name to putting our faith and trust in Him, believing He is the only One who can save. Just as we will see in this story, there are circumstances God uses to develop faith in us, and I want to point out three ways Jesus turns up faith for this father in need that will give us insights into how He turns up faith in you and me.

 

1. Turn To Jesus in Trouble

 

John 4:46-47, Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

 

• From these two verses, we know a few things about the man who approached Jesus. First, he was a “royal official,” secondly, we know that he was a dad, third; he was a dad whose son was sick (at the point of death), and fourth; he met Jesus in Cana of Galilee, but his son was in Capernaum.

 

• The journey from Capernaum to Cana was just over 20 miles. His son was left in Capernaum and it is likely that his father traveled to Jesus without him because he was physically unable to make that journey.

 

• It is likely that he was a royal official in the service of Herod Antipas since he had charge over Galilee. Antipas was the son of Herod the Great.

 

• Nothing is mentioned about his religious background or backstory. All we know is that he worked for royalty, served the king, and he had likely heard some things about Jesus because when we are introduced to him, he is asking Jesus to heal his son.

 

• He had some hope in what Jesus might be able to do from what he had heard, so headed to him with his son at the point of death.

 

• What is clear is that the occasion that brought him to Jesus was his sons’ physical situation..

 

• We don’t know what he has done to try to help his son so far, we don’t know where else he has gone, or who else he has turned to, what we do know, however, is that at this point, in desperation, he is pursuing Jesus.

 

• This is the starting point. His belief in Christ is perhaps at the base level at this point, but in his circumstances, he is compelled to call on Jesus.

 

Illus. Percentage.

 

Matthew 9:20-21, And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will get well.”

 

 Mark 5:26, [This woman] had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse.

 

• Every monetary resource she had was expended on her search for a medical solution to her affliction.

 

• Traditional medicine had failed her. She was now without monetary resources, without the support of friends due to her title as “unclean,” and without hope.

 

• Her constant hemorrhaging for 12 years would place her in a constant condition of ceremonial uncleanness.

 

• She had heard about a man named Jesus, who was going throughout the region teaching, preaching and healing every kind of sickness among the people (Matthew 4:23).

 

• She had been deemed incurable, unclean, and had to fight her way through the crowd to get to Jesus, but she knew that He was the One who could help her.

 

• Verse 21, for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” The way this reads in the original language: “she kept saying to herself,” which gives the idea of repetition in pursuit of Jesus.

 

• As she made her way through the crowd and touched the fringe of His outer garment, she was healed of her affliction (Mark 5:29).

 

• In Mark 5:30-34, Jesus asked a question, “who touched Me?”

 

• The answer seemed obvious to His disciples…Jesus, there is a crowd surrounding and pressing in on you and you are asking who touched You?

 

• Many were pressing in and touching Jesus, He was surrounded, but there was a major difference between the crowd pressing in and the woman who reached out to Him…She reached out to Him with faith, believing that He was the One who could bring about her healing and restoration.

 

Mark 5:34, And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.

 

• There is a difference between being around Jesus and seeking after Him by faith that He is the very solution to your deepest need.

 

• Had the woman never gone through what she was going through, she may never have reached out to Jesus.

 

Psalm 46:1, God is our refuge and strength, a very ready help in trouble.

 

• When it comes to Scriptures like these, it is important to not only know them, but to apply them personally.

 

• God is MY refuge and strength; He is MY ready help in trouble!

 

• Versus, God is one my sources of refuge and strength, He is one of many who help me in trouble.

 

• In the book of Jonah, the Lord had given a call and commission to Jonah, but it wasn’t until the situation went from bad to worse that Jonah finally called out to the Lord.

 

Illus. Who did you turn to?

 

John 2:2-3, I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I called for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. For You threw me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current flowed around me. all Your breakers and waves passed over me.

 

Quote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, He speaks to us in our conscience, but He shouts in our pain. Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  – C.S. Lewis

Illus. Turning.

 

1. Trust In Him and His Answer

 

• What we know from this story is that Jesus is going to answer this father’s request, but first, Jesus makes a statement that turns the attention to the father’s faith, and the foundation of his faith.

 

John 4:48, Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”

 

• This response from Jesus, based upon the circumstances, is certainly surprising and at first glance in many way puzzling.

 

• Jesus’ response comes off first a harsh, but He wasn’t speaking only to this man, he was speaking to the crowd.

 

• Jesus was essentially said, “you all want signs and wonders, but you don’t want the Savior.”

 

• Throughout Jesus’ ministry, many people asked him for signs.

 

John 4:45, when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, only because they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

 

• From John two we read these words…

 

John 2:23-25, Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name as they observed His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, because He knew all people, and because He did not need anyone to testify about mankind, for He Himself knew what was in mankind.

 

• People would asked Jesus to display signs to prove who He was…
• From those who were opposed to Him, to those who promised that if He displayed a sign they would believe in Him, people were looking for signs from Jesus repeatedly throughout His ministry.
• And if it wasn’t the specific sign they wanted to see, they would not believe.
• This is early in Jesus’ ministry, but all the way to day he went to the cross, people were looking for a sign from him.

Matthew 27:41-42, The chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.

• Interestingly, Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection was the sign He had previously defined…But the people were unwilling to see and believe.

Matthew 12:38-40, Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

Illus., If this, then that…

• Jesus was going to give a sign, but it was the sign He had defined. His death, burial, and resurrection on the cross. That was the only sign they needed!

Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

• The Hebrew word for “trust in,” means to “have confidence in,” “find security in.”

 

• It is a word that depicts a person who is willing to throw their full weight onto another.

 

• In order to throw oneself onto another and at their mercy, there must be a complete confidence, a certainty, a belief that there is safety in being at that person’s mercy.

 

• In our English dictionaries, “trust” means similarly, “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, or a person or thing: to place your confidence there.

 

Illus. Trust run.

 

• Trust…In the Lord.

 

• Jesus said, unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.

 

• If this is true, what is their believe based on? The sign, miracle, whatever force they believe worked the wonder. It wasn’t Jesus personally, just whatever means got them to their desired end.

 

• But this is not the way Jesus wants us to approach Him.

 

Illus. Covering all bases.

 

Jeremiah 29:12-13, You will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

 

• The question is, are we looking for a temporary solution, or the eternal Savior?

 

• Jesus’ response would have caused the man to consider why he was there. Jesus wanted him to go deeper, to have faith in Him, but that would require the man to trust in Him, and trust in His answer.

 

• From verse 47, we know that the father was asking Jesus to heal his son repeatedly… “he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son.”

 

• The word “began asking” is one that indicates repeated asking and imploring.

 

Matthew 7:7, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

 

• After Jesus pointed to the importance of belief aside from signs. The father asks Jesus again.

 

John 4:49, The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

 

• The man kept seeking, kept knocking, kept asking…He trusted that Jesus was the only source for His Son.

 

• And as Jesus answered, it would require continued faith and trust for the outcome.

 

John 4:50, Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home.

 

• Jesus didn’t go to his son’s location; He simply said the word.

 

• Why didn’t He go? Because it was another opportunity to turn up true faith in the life of this father and his family.

 

• The man took Jesus at His word, and went on His way.

 

III.  Take His Word as You Go into Your World

 

Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.

 

• There are two aspects of faith that are essential and found in faith’s definition.

 

• Believing something to be true, and then trusting it is true.

 

Hebrews 11:6-7, And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

 

• Jesus gave the man His word that his son was healed, and then a command, head home. And the man went home.

 

John 4:51-53, And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household.

 

• I find the ending of this story to be quite interesting.

 

• It was a 20-mile journey. When the father reaches the location of his son, he doesn’t arrive there until the next day.

 

• His servants meet him while he is on his way and tell him that his son is healed. He asks them when it took place? And they say, “yesterday, at the seventh hour.”

 

• The seventh hour was 1pm in the afternoon. Had he left and headed home as soon as Jesus gave the word, he would have been back that very day. But it seems he decided to wait.

 

• We don’t know why. Perhaps he wanted to hear more from Jesus. Perhaps he had some business to take care of. It is not clear, or stated.

 

• But what stands out, is that he came to Jesus in panic, and left him in peace.

 

• He had faith that the word Jesus had given, verse 50 said, “the man believed.”

 

• Then he went home and reported what had happened, and the timing, and the words of Jesus that his son was alive…and at that point, not only he himself believe, but so did his entire household.

 

Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 

Illus. Promises.

 

2 Corinthians 5:7, We walk by faith, not by sight…

 

Psalm 34:3-4, Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.  I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.