Healing, Faith, and Miracles

[Read John 4:43-54]

One of the questions we’re going to find ourselves talking about a lot as we go through the book of John is, “What is true faith?” or to use John’s language, “What does it mean to believe in Jesus?” We’re going to talk about it a lot because it’s the point of John’s Gospel. As we come to the end of the Gospel, John writes, “These are 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.” (John 20:31, ESV). That’s why he’s written this entire gospel so that we would believe. That’s why he tells every one of these stories…so that we would believe. 

Yet, the question keeps coming up: What does it mean to believe? We see people believing in Jesus in various ways throughout the Gospel, but they aren’t truly believing. We see this all the time today too, don’t we? I talk to people all the time who say things like, “Of course I believe in Jesus” but when you talk to them more about their belief, you start to get the idea that their belief isn’t true belief—kinda like we see throughout this gospel. And what’s sad and difficult about all of this is that they THINK they believe, but they don’t actually believe. And to add to this difficulty, it’s only through true believing that we receive the gift of eternal life. If we don’t have a true belief, we don’t receive the gift. So, it’s really significant—really important—for us to understand what true belief looks like. 

So, what does it mean to have true belief? I’ll give you a hint at the beginning and then we’ll talk about it more later on in the sermon. The hint is in the passage we’ve already read. What is the goal of John’s gospel? Does he say that his goal is simply to create belief in people—a general belief? Does he say that he wants people to believe that Jesus exists? Does he say that he wants people to believe that Jesus was powerful and could do miracles? Does he say that he wants people to believe that Jesus was loving and kind and caring? No. He says that he has written this entire book so that people would believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that by believing these things about Jesus and believing IN Him, they would receive life—both in this life and in eternity. That’s the foundation of true belief. If you don’t believe those things—and believe them rightly—it’s not true belief. 

That’s what we see happening in this story. After Jesus’ positive interactions with the Samaritans, he continues on his journey to Galilee—remember that had always been the intended destination. Yet, there’s a lot going on in this intro that seems contradictory. We read, “After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.” (John 4:43–45, ESV). 

Now, I have to admit, this passage has bothered me for quite some time because there seems to be a ton of contradictions in it, doesn’t there? On the one hand we read that Jesus is going to Galilee, but then it says the reason he is going to Galilee is because a prophet is not honored in his hometown—the word “for” is giving the reason for something. So, he goes to Galilee because he knows he won’t be honored there. That seems odd. Then, when he gets to Galilee it says that they welcomed him—not the reception you’d expect for someone who wasn’t honored in their hometown. So, what’s going on here?

I think it’s helpful to include these verses with the first few verses of this chapter and remember why Jesus began this journey in the first place. At the beginning of chapter four, we read, “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.” (John 4:1–3, ESV). So, the reason Jesus began this journey to Galilee was because people were flocking to him in Judea and it was causing problems with the Pharisees. Then, we read, “After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)” (John 4:43–44, ESV). He continued on his journey to Galilee because he wouldn’t be honored there. That’s the reason he headed to Galilee in the first place. There were too many crowds and too many people in Judea, so he went to Galilee. He went to Galilee because the people wouldn’t honor him there, and wouldn’t flock to them there, and wouldn’t cause the same problems as in Judea. That’s why he went to Galilee. It’s kinda like a respite from the craziness.

Yet, what’s with the welcome party when he gets there? Was Jesus wrong that they would not honor him in Galilee? No. There’s a big difference between welcoming someone and honoring them. You can welcome them, be polite to them, invite them in, but not honor them. It happens all the time.

Notice why they welcomed him. It says, “So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.” (John 4:45, ESV). They welcomed Jesus because of what he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. They saw all of the signs he had done there. So, they welcomed him. Besides, the last time he was in the area, he had turned 180 gallons of water into wine. So, of course they were going to welcome him. What’s he doing to do for them now?

That’s where the distinction between welcoming and honoring comes into play. It’s easy to welcome someone if you think you’re going to get something from them, but that’s not the same as honoring them. To keep kicking car salesmen (like I did last week), we feel this way when we walk into a car dealership. They are extremely welcoming because they want you to buy a car. They even try to make you feel honored and special—so that you’ll buy a car. Yet, you know the difference. You can feel it. You feel welcomed, but you don’t feel honored. That’s what Jesus is experiencing in Galilee. 

And then we read this story that is a perfect example of this scenario. We read, “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.” (John 4:46–47, ESV). So, not only does Jesus come to Galilee—which is a region, kinda like a county—he comes to Cana in Galilee. That’s where he turned the water into wine. That’s where he had done a powerful miracle. So, when an official from Capernaum—a town about fifteen miles away—has a child who is very sick, hears that Jesus is in the area, he hopes Jesus might do a miracle for him too. So, he comes and asks for a miracle—for a sign—from Jesus. 

Jesus responds with, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” (John 4:48, ESV). Now, this is more of a rebuke than a statement of fact. He’s not simply telling the man that he needs to see miracles in order to believe. He rebukes the man for seeking him only for the miracles. Herman Ridderbos has a great summary of this interaction: “His complaint is, rather, that all that moved the man to come to Jesus was Jesus’ miracles: “If I did not perform miracles, you would have no interest in me,” you would not “believe” in me.” (Ridderbos, 175). That’s what Jesus is saying. All they want from Jesus are the miracles. That’s their only focus. They want to treat him like a vending machine they can go to whenever they want something, hoping he will just pop something out for them. 

Yet, there’s something else about Jesus’ response that we need to recognize. We miss it because it doesn’t translate into English well. The “you” in this statement is plural. To translate it into midwestern English it should say, “Unless you guys see signs and wonders you guys will not believe.” Here’s why that’s so important. He’s not just responding to the man in front of him. If he was just responding to him, he wouldn’t be speaking in the plural. He’s responding to the people throughout Galilee and, most likely, he’s referring to the Jewish people as a whole. He’s rebuking them for being so focused on his miracles. He’s rebuking them for welcoming him into the area for his miracles but not truly honoring him for who he is. Is he just a miracle man? Is he just someone who can help them out whenever they have a need? OR is he someone more? Someone who is to be more than welcomed—someone to be honored. 

Some have shuddered a little at Jesus’ response to this man who is clearly in a tough place. He’s clearly at whits end, clearly worn out, clearly thinking that Jesus is his only hope in seeing his son live. So, what’s the deal with Jesus’ response? Couldn’t Jesus have responded differently? Softer? Gentler? More compassionately? Did he really have to rebuke this man—and the Jewish people along with him—in his time of need?

The answer to all these questions is, Yes. Yes, Jesus had to respond that way because he truly loved this man. That’s why he had to respond that way. Jesus didn’t want this man to continue living with a fake belief that wouldn’t result in true life. That wouldn’t be loving. Jesus wanted this man to move into a true belief. Jesus’ goal in this story is not just to heal the man’s son. Jesus’ goal is to see the man come to a true and living faith—to true belief. If Jesus doesn’t rebuke the man—and call out his false belief—and the man only believes in Jesus’ signs, it’s not a true belief, which means the man will receive his son back for a time, but lose him for eternity. So, Jesus rebukes him—corrects him—in order to bring the man beyond his false belief into a true belief. 

The man doesn’t get it at first, but desperately pleads with Jesus: “Sir, come down before my child dies.” (John 4:49, ESV). Basically saying, “Please. I don’t have time to hear your frustrations about me or the Jewish people. My son is about to die. I think you can help him. Please just come to my place and heal my son. You’re my only hope.” To which Jesus responds, “Go; your son will live.” (John 4:50, ESV). Which is pretty amazing, isn’t it? Jesus just rebukes the man for placing his belief in the wrong place—placing his belief in miracles—but then goes ahead and does the miracle anyway. 

Yet, nobody actually knows this is a miracle, do they? Jesus doesn’t actually say, “Fine. I will heal your son. Go back home.” He simply says, “Go home. Your son will live. He’s not going to die.” That’s very different from saying, “Go home. I just healed your son.” If you try to put yourself in the man’s shoes, this would be comforting but not what you were asking. On the one hand, he could have possibly taken this as a dismissive comment, as if Jesus said, “Stop worrying, buddy. Your sons fine. He’s not gonna die.” Or, he could have taken it better—which I think he did—as if Jesus was telling him that the sickness wouldn’t lead to death. That’s very different from an immediate healing. It’s just a comforting statement that the son may suffer for a while longer but it wouldn’t ultimately result in death.

I think Jesus responds this way for a few different reasons. The man expected Jesus to go to Capernaum to heal his son. Most likely he believed that Jesus needed to be physically present with his son in order to heal him. He didn’t really understand how Jesus was. He didn’t really believe in the true Jesus—just some idea he had created in his mind. So, Jesus tells the man, “Go home. Your son will live.” I think he does this for a couple reasons. First, I think Jesus does this to shatter the man’s false ideas of who he is. The man has a faulty understanding of Jesus, so Jesus helps him see him more clearly. Second, I think Jesus does it this way to force the man’s faith. The man must believe Jesus and trust him. The man doesn’t know what’s going to happen, he doesn’t know how long it’s going to go on. He doesn’t know much. He has to trust Jesus and believe. 

And that’s what he does—in a way. We read, “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” (John 4:50, ESV). This is a step in the right direction. He believes the words that Jesus spoke and he heads home. He believes that his son will not die from this sickness, but will live. Then, he heads back home. 

On his way home we read, “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.”” (John 4:51–53, ESV). I love this part of the story. Everything that happens here is earth-shattering to this man’s idea of who Jesus is. He comes to Jesus looking for a miracle and gets rebuked. He thinks Jesus needs to be present with his son to do the miracle, but finds out that Jesus is so much more. He leaves Jesus’ presence thinking that a miracle was not going to happen, but at least his son would not die, only to find out that Jesus had done something miraculous and healed his son from 15 miles away. Everything this man thought he knew about Jesus was thrown up in the air by this event. 

And then we read this beautiful statement at the end: “And he himself believed, and all his household.” (John 4:53, ESV). And this is to show us that it’s a true belief—a true faith—in Jesus Christ. Before he came to Jesus believing he could do miracles. He left Jesus believing the words Jesus had said—believing his son would not die. Now it just says he believed—plain and simply. The man believed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now that all of his false understandings of Jesus had been taken away that path was cleared for him to see Jesus for who he truly is and then believe in Jesus—not just his miracles, not just his words, but Jesus himself. 

And, what’s even more beautiful, we read that it wasn’t just the father that believed, it was the entire household that believed—truly believed. That’s a big deal because households were not just small families like we have today. Back then, households were like the family business. It was more like Downton Abbey. There were multiple families and servants in a household. And everyone knew what was going on, they saw it happen, their understanding of Jesus was cleared up, and they believed too. It didn’t just change one man’s life, it changed an entire household. 

This is the power of true faith—true belief. True belief is more than believing that Jesus existed. True belief is more than believing that Jesus is powerful. True belief is more than believing that Jesus was a good man who did good things. True belief is more than believing some of the things that Jesus said. True belief is more than believing in some picture of Jesus we’ve made up in our own heads. 

True belief must be in Jesus himself—not in some image of Jesus we’ve created, but the real, true Jesus. It’s a belief deep down in our heart that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And because we believe these things about Jesus, we don’t just welcome him because we want things from him. No way. That’s not how you treat the Son of God. No, since we believe he is the Messiah, the Son of God, we honor him and our belief causes us to give our lives to him because we trust him. Why wouldn’t we give our lives to follow the Son of God? Why wouldn’t we give our lives to follow the one who has cleansed us from sin and filled us with the Holy Spirit? Why wouldn’t we trust the Son of God with our entire life? That’s true belief—true faith. True belief is never about what we can get from him, or about what he can do for us. True belief is focused solely on him, trusting that he will do and give whatever is best.