Scripture: John 4:46-54 (ESV)
“So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.”
I love the balance that the Bible gives to faith and works. On the one hand you have Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”. Faith is clearly a gift given to us by God. It is not something we can manufacture or create out of thin air. It is something God does. And yet, on the other hand you have James in James 2:17 “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” We might not do anything to get faith, but once we have been given faith, faith does stuff to us. God uses faith to stir us to action. Martin Luther King Jr once said “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase”. That is the kind of faith the Official in our text showed.
So in our text Jesus returns to Cana in Galilee. If you remember, this is where Jesus had turned water into wine. So Cana was already a place where Jesus had performed signs. People had come to believe in him because of his miracle. So naturally when the wonder-worker returned other people who needed miracles came to Jesus. The royal official was one of them, and he was driven to Jesus out of desperation for his sick child. When he finds Jesus he begs him to come and heal the child before he dies and this creates an opportunity for Jesus to challenge the man on the nature of his faith. He tells him outright - unless you see signs and wonders you won’t believe. But the man is adamant: “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus simply responds “Go, your son will live”.
Now when did this man show his faith? Or rather when did this man’s faith show itself? I wonder if it wasn’t with that first step home after Jesus sent him on his way. Notice that he had pleaded with Jesus to come to his house to heal the child, but Jesus simply spoke. The man had to trust in Jesus word in order to turn around and walk away from heaven’s healer. As the book of Hebrews reminds us: True faith trusts in the promise before it sees the fulfillment. In fact, Hebrews goes so far as to say, it trusts in the promise even when it never sees the fulfilment of the promises.
So this leaves us with a question: Will we take Jesus at his word? Will we trust him enough to walk home trusting that he will do what he said he would, even when we don’t see the results in front of us?
The one who promised is faithful and he will do it.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to trust you wholeheartedly. Teach me to take you at your word, even when I can't see the full picture. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge
Today, think about one area of your life where you have been hesitant to trust God completely. Take one practical step to exercise your faith in this area today.
Will you take Jesus at his word?