John 4:46-54
"Jesus replied, 'You may go. Your son will live.' The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living."
(John 4:50-51)
The unofficial slogan of the state of Missouri is, "I'm from Missouri. You have to show me." But you don't have to be a resident of Missouri to be a bit cynical. Having heard one too many false promises, more than a few of us can identify with the phrase, "I'll believe it when I see it."
So we wouldn't blame the nobleman in this passage for wanting Jesus to accompany him to his dying son. He believed that if Jesus came with him, his son would be healed. Shouldn't that have been enough?
Jesus made the point that it wasn't enough. He told them, "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe" (John 4:48). Then he tested the nobleman's faith even more. Without going to see the dying boy, Jesus pronounced him healed. Later the man's servants met him on the road home with the news of his son's miraculous healing - a healing that occurred at the precise time Jesus declared it to be true!
The nobleman chose to believe that Jesus' word was good enough ... and he was right.
INSIGHT
Are there promises in the Bible that you struggle to believe? Take God at His word and trust Him for the results.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Isaiah 47-48
Psalm 94
Acts 17
John 4:46-54
New International Version (NIV)
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.
48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 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, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
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 his whole household believed.
54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
BIG GOD ... LITTLE HEARTS [PART 3]
with Sally Lloyd-Jones
Parents protect their children as long as possible, but eventually we all must face the hurt and pain of a fallen world. One truth can make the difference if our hearts believe it: Jesus loves me!
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