Help My Unbelief

Good morning. We are continuing our study in the Gospel of John. If you don't have a Bible with you, we invite you to please take the Bible in front of you in the pew. We'll be turning to John chapter four, which should be found in the pew Bible. I can't make any other promises if you brought your own. We want to do a bit of a recap here as to what John has presented us. John chapters 2, 3, and 4 really connect together as a unit, and we're ending that unit now. Jesus performed his first sign in Galilee. He turned water into wine, demonstrating that he was the true bridegroom of the church, coming to redeem and claim for himself as bride. He then goes into Jerusalem. He declares that he's a true temple. He is the one who will die for the sake of the people so that he will be the place where we worship. He then goes and he teaches Nicodemus, a Pharisee, that you must be born again. Then he goes into Samaria. He crosses the cultural barriers. He declares to a Samaritan woman that she is truly thirsty only for God and that he alone can satisfy her thirst. In the midst of this, he tells the disciples, essentially, man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the Lord. And we now see him going back to Galilee, the wedding at Cana, the turning water into wine. That was the first sign in Galilee. We now see him changing back and going back into Galilee. And we're going to see the second sign this morning. We're looking at the story that focuses on an official and his son. We're going to be looking at the main theme here is faith. We're going to see faith throughout. First, it sets it up because Jesus says a prophet has no honor in his hometown. There's a lack of faith in Jesus in his own hometown. He's rejected. He's not accepted. Verse 48, he states that one of the problems with his own people, the Jews, is that they demand signs in order to believe. Verse 50, the official believes in Jesus' promise, and then verse 53, the official and his whole household believe. We're going to be looking at faith, and one of the key issues is faith in whom? We've been speaking of the solid rock and Jesus Christ, our one true wise God. We're looking at how we are to have faith in him. Turn with me as I read John chapter 4, verses 43 through 54. After the two days that is in Samaria after the two days he departed for Galilee for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown. So 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. So he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine and a Capernaum where he where 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. And 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 in all his household This was not the second. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he came from Judea to Galilee. We pray with me. Father, as we consider your word, as we think about it together now, I pray that you would guide our thoughts, that you would protect us, that you would change our hearts as we look to this official, as we look to Jesus Christ, the one who is able to declare your son will be well, your son will live. Help us, Lord, to see the power and authority of Jesus Christ, who declares to us we're forgiven. We're no longer far off, but we're brought near. We're no longer against you and your enemy, but we are your beloved children. Help us, Lord, build up our faith in the one who is faithful and trustworthy. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. Our message this morning is that Christ has authority to make us whole. We must believe in him. Our message this morning really has three parts. There's the setting, which is set forth for us in verses 43 through 45. We have a setting and then we have the official's request. Heal my son, come and heal my son. We have Jesus' promise. He will live. And then we will see the man's response. Most of our time is going to be spent on the words of Jesus, who is the promise. First, the setting. Jesus is leaving Samaria. He has broken through to new ground with the gospel. And now he's going back into Galilee. And there's really two important points we need to see here. First, after two days, he deported for Galilee. It says they welcomed him. The Galileans, they had been with him in Jerusalem. They saw the signs that he had done. They welcomed him. Now, this isn't the same thing as believing in him. These folks are going to turn on him soon. He came from Samaria. He goes back to Galilee and they welcome him. The Israelites are going to be slow to trust God. They're going to ask for signs, as we'll see. He goes back to his people. We see that God's gospel is going to stay focused on the Jew first. Second, and this is the odd phrase here, verse 44, this nice parenthetical phrase or sentence given to us by John, for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his hometown. Why is this included here? This really stands out, especially because it says later they welcomed him. So Jesus says it's John isn't quoting him. He's simply saying Jesus had said a prophet has no honors hometown. He's going back to kind of his own hometown. And he says he has no honor there. Why is this? Why this here is actually contradictory is one question because he's welcomed. Yet he has no honor. What what is John getting at? Well, we have to recognize John always writes with deep irony. Yes, they welcome him because they've seen signs, because he healed, because he did miracles. They welcome him back. But it's a very fickle friendship. They like what he does for them. But when it really comes down to it, they reject him for who he truly is, which is the Savior. Look over to John 5 18. As soon as it is revealed that he is the son of God, who has authority over the Sabbath, we'll look at next week. They want to stone him. These Jews who welcome him and befriend him as he comes back into the land, they so quickly reject him. He has no honor because They will ultimately reject who he is. And this has been the theme throughout John. This is not new. The light comes in the darkness and the darkness rejects him. They hate him. They do not recognize him. Yes, they love the healing. They love the signs and the wonders and the miracles. When it comes down to Jesus being a savior of sinners, they reject him. This is a beautiful picture already. God seeks out those who are opposed to him. Jesus Christ came to seek and to find those who are lost. He comes to love those who hate him. He comes to claim those who reject him. This is the amazing, powerful love of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's going to go where he knows he will have no honor. He's going to go where he knows they're going to kill him. But he goes because they are his own. and he's seeking to redeem them. Our setting becomes more precise. He goes through Cana, where the first sign happened. He turned water into wine. He goes into Capernaum next. And here we have an official and we see the officials request versus 46 to 47. Read with that. Look at look again to your copy of Scripture. So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water to wine and a Capernaum. There was an official whose son was ill. And 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. Jesus comes to Capernaum. There's an official and his son is sick. We don't know much about the son. We don't know how old he is. We know he has a fever and his life is in danger. And as any father will do, whatever it takes, He's going to try to heal his son. He's going to try to provide the care and the nurture and the medical attention. And he's heard of Jesus. The fame of the water turned to wine and the fame of what he's done in Jerusalem, the recognition that he can do wonderful things, miraculous things, makes his officials say, I'm going to go up. Now, before we get too far into this, I need to give some commentary and also Make a confession. Many folks have said that this official is a Gentile, and that really presents a beautiful picture of how the gospel spreads, if that's true, because you have Jesus going to Nicodemus, a Jew, the woman is a Sumerian, and then this official who's a Gentile. And I have presented that to you, but now upon closer examination, that's a possible interpretation. I actually don't think it's probable. I think this man is a Jewish official. The reason one would think it's a Gentile is because there's actually a parallel story in Matthew, but they're two different stories. They're clearly two different stories. If it were a Gentile, it would be significant because John would already be setting up the model of how the gospel spreads, which John does in his gospel. I just don't think he's doing it here. Why do I think this is a Jewish official? The whole point of this is that Jesus is going back to his people. He's going back to proclaim the gospel to the Jews. And this is the man who's representing the Jewish people. We see this also when Jesus says, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. We really need to assert the great Southern y'all in here. The you is plural. He's speaking to this Jewish official, but he's actually doing it in a way that confronts all the Jewish people together. He's just the representative of the Jewish people. The rebuke is for the Jewish people who need signs, and Jesus is already confronting that in this Jewish official. Now, why is it significant that he's a Jewish official? Jesus is staying committed to his people. And it shows that this Jewish official, he really stands out as an exception because Jesus already put his finger on a sin. Now, I already told the social class. I don't like saying I don't know something. I really hate telling you I was wrong, but it's the power of God's word. And I want to make sure it's clear. And what it says, I believe this is a Jewish official. So an official, he's a servant of the king. And when he leaves the king's presence, he's the most powerful man in the town. He is used to getting his way. He's used to telling people what to do. Here you see him personally walking to Jesus. This is a man of great power, of great privilege and position. He could have sent a servant to go fetch Jesus. If Jesus were just some doctor, some wonder worker, he could have just sent an official. Go get this man who's doing miracles and signs and bring him back. But I think this official, he understands there's something different about him. He himself goes, he himself goes in many ways, because I think he is the great concern for his son. But you see, this official, he would be used to telling people what to do. Most people, he would say, you go do this, you go do that, and they obey because he has the power and the authority of the king behind them. But look how he approaches Jesus. He asks him. He asked him, will you come down and heal my son? The context always defines how words are used. I don't think this is a simple request. He's imploring. He's begging. His son's life is on the line. Here you see a man who has all the authority anyone in the world could ever want. And he's coming to Jesus, begging and asking, desperate for help. My son is dying. I think we already see some glimpse of faith here in this man. He's made the walk, he's made the trek himself, he's asking Jesus, will you come? And Jesus responds. Jesus's promise is our next key stage in our story. Jesus promises verses 48 through half of verse 50. So Jesus said to him, and this is a weird first sentence of response. It catches us off guard. So Jesus said to him after he's poured out his heart, come, my son is dying. He says, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Here's this man as he's broken, he's humble, he's come himself and Jesus gives him this general teaching for all people. Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Why does Jesus say this? Well, at one level, it's true. He's speaking to the Jewish people, and as we will see throughout scripture, they demanded signs. They are slow to believe. Turn over chapter two. Look at verse 23 through verses 25. This is after he's made water into wine. This is after his teaching that he is the temple. This is after he's done many signs. Verse 23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, Many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man for he himself knew what was in man. He didn't entrust them. Now, it says they believe in him because of the signs, but Jesus knows this isn't a saving faith. This is a very fickle faith. This is not a true, saving, genuine trust. They're just impressed by the signs. You see, signs do not lead to salvation. Only God grants the faith that truly leads to salvation. The problem with the Jewish people is they wanted a wonder worker. They wanted someone who was going to mesmerize them by healing them and doing great signs and miracles. They didn't want a savior. They didn't want someone who's going to come and constantly put his finger on their self-righteousness and on their sin and help them see how needy they are of God and show them that he alone can satisfy what God truly desires. They wanted to be entertained by Jesus because of the signs. How corrupt is this? Here he is, the Savior, coming to die for sinners, and they like his signs. They do not like his true mission. Think about our culture for a moment. Everybody likes Jesus. Everybody likes Jesus, it's just the Jesus they create, the Jesus they control, the Jesus that helps them score touchdowns. Not that Jesus says, I am the Lord of your life. You are a sinner, and the only way you can be forgiven is if you believe in what I have done. You can do nothing. We all like Jesus when we make him in our own image and when he does what we want is the true Jesus who came to seek sinners and to die for them and confront us in our sin. That Jesus was a stumbling block. He's offensive, but he's the only one who is the true Jesus and saves us. As we continue to think about why does Jesus confront this man in his request concerning a desire for signs, we can remember Exodus 4. Exodus 4, if you weren't with us, God tells Moses, hey, my people have cried out, I'm sending you back. And the funny thing about this, Moses isn't scared of the Pharaoh. When God says I'm going to send you back, his primary concern was not what the Pharaoh would do to him. It's what his own people would do to him. So God gave Moses signs so that people would believe him. They gave him a staff that would turn into a snake. He gave him a hand that would become leprous so that he could convince the people of Israel that God had heard them and that God was sending Moses to redeem them. Now the people, they were grumbling doubters and they failed miserably. We can think about the signs more in Matthew 11. If you want to turn there from page 817 in the Pew Bible, Matthew 11. Beginning of verse 20, this is a very heavy passage where Jesus is confronting sin again. Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done. Because they did not repent, including the cities would have been Cana. Capernaum, Nazareth. Woe to you, charisma. Woe to you, Poseidon, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, Gentile cities, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it'd be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you and you, Capernaum. Will you be exalted to heaven? We brought down the Hades for the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom. Would have remained until this day, but I tell you that we more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you know Sodom and Gomorrah are the classic cities we use to refer to those cities under judgment. Fire and Brimstone came and devoured them. And Jesus is saying you live in Capernaum. You have seen God work. And you reject him. The level of accountability and the level of responsibility is greater, and therefore the judgment that you will face if you continue to persist in your sin, if you continue to reject the Messiah, if you continue to not repent, the judgment is going to be greater. The people are put in contrast to the Gentiles and the pagans, because the Gentiles and the pagans, they would believe if they had seen Jesus, as he says. This is scary. This is a scary passage for those of us who have been sitting in the church, hearing God's gospel week after week after week. Have you heard it and have you believed it? Because according to this passage, the judgment is a scary place for you. If you continue to hear it and you continue to reject it, you continue to have dull ears and dull minds and dull hearts, and you're not seeking to hear from God, the judgment is greater. Finally, listen to 1 Corinthians 1 regarding the Jews' demand for sons. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. A stumbling block to the Jews and follies to Gentiles. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, for the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. We see here they love the signs, but they do not love the Savior. The Jews, they want the signs, but they're the ones who nailed him to the cross. So why do Israelites reject God? They want signs, but these signs don't really produce saving faith. I believe because they have hard hearts. They become so accustomed to rejecting God that it's normal for them. The signs of believing God, it's not an intellectual problem. There isn't enough evidence to demand the verdict to finally convince everyone in the world that Jesus is the Savior. There isn't the evidence that's a problem. There's plenty of evidence. The problem isn't intellectual. The problem for us is the same problem for Israel. So we have hearts that hate God. Our desires are so opposed to them. When we're presented with a clear truth, we reject Him because we love sin more than we love God. See, it's a problem of the heart. Our nature, by our own simple nature, we reject God and everything of God. We don't like the gospel because when we hear the gospel, the light penetrates our darkness and it shows it for what it is. See, we like to live as if our sins are good and right because we enjoy it at some level. We at least want to pretend that our sins are acceptable. But when the gospel shines light on our hearts and our lives, It shows our sin for what it is. It's gross. It's offensive. It's worthy of judgment. And Christ had to die for it. That's why we reject the gospel, because it shows us how wicked we are. And the only response is either to reject it because it shows us who we are or to believe in Jesus Christ, who finally and ultimately cleanses us of that sin. It makes us, again, right with God. Now that is a background of Jesus' teaching for all Jews. They demand signs because they really want to be entertained by Jesus. They like the healing. They like the fact that he makes life more comfortable. The lepers, they're cleansed. The lame, they're walking. The blind, they see. But then he starts getting into their self-righteousness. And that's when it becomes a problem. Now, why does Jesus say this in response to this particular situation? Let's take all that and let's boil it down. Why is he confronting this man? Because just like the Samaritan woman, as he's talking to her and she continues to not get what the water is and how thirsty she is, Jesus has to put his finger right on her sin. Before she can believe, Jesus has to put his finger right on her sin. And then she can see who he really is. I believe here Jesus is already preparing this man to have a genuine faith. He's lifting him up out of his already Jewish problem of demanding a sign. He's already confronting it so that he can have a genuine faith. It's actually gracious that Jesus does this to him. It seems weird at first. Why does he answer a request to go heal a son with this declaration? You have to see signs. He's lifting the level of the official's faith. Lifting it up out of the mire of wanting a sign and saying, believe in me who I am and what I say. The reply is gracious and we see this in the man, Jesus says to the official. It's quite interesting. He's very persistent, sir. Come down before my child dies. Jesus said to him, go. Your son will live. Now you hear this with the official son in Jesus Christ. The man is requesting come so my son will live. Jesus tells him you go. Your son will live. There's a great difference here. There's a great change in who's the ultimate authority. And we see the man. He believes Jesus because he spoke. Again, the point here is that Jesus has to put his finger on the sin. in order for him to truly believe him. I had a friend, when I was in college, I was sharing the gospel with this friend and I remember, I appreciate how honest she was with me. I was sharing the gospel with her and she told me, yeah, I believe in Jesus and one day I'll become a Christian. But not right now. She was in college, she had a lot of life to live, she said. And so I tried to press in, why are you putting it off? If you know it's true, why wouldn't you believe it? And she said, well, I've got too much life to live. And don't worry, right now I'm reading some Christian novels. There were popular Christian novels at the time. Many of you could guess what they are. And she literally called them this. They're my Jesus candy. It helps me not really have the real full thing, just the taste that that almost quenches that desire that I have. I thought, how how honest is that? I mean, it was a fantastic revealing moment and as I reflected upon it and what this man is asking and what we typically expect, aren't we guilty of all this at the same time? We want some kind of Jesus candy. If you're a Christian, Are we really pursuing the heart of Christ? Are we really pursuing Christ as he revealed himself in his entirety? As disciples, are we seeking to observe everything Christ has taught? Are we just trying to fill ourselves with things that feel good, sentimentality, activity, or the growth of knowledge? We have to repent of this desire for just Jesus candy. We need to have Jesus, who he is in his entirety. If you're not a Christian, why are you rejecting Christ? Are you putting off Christ? Are you seeking to find something that satisfies other than Christ? Friend, repent and believe in the God who came down to die in your place to take away your sin. The official says, Sir, come, my son is dying. Jesus says, go, your son will live. The amazing thing about this passage, as we'll see later, is the power of Jesus' word. He simply says, your son will live. He doesn't have to go. He doesn't have to touch him. He doesn't have to anoint him. There's no medicine other than the very word of God. It's amazing. The power and authority. Much of this passage is about power and authority because a Jewish official who has all authority, he's coming and begging the one who has real authority. And we see the power of God. We see the power of Jesus and that what he declares to be true is true. What he says will happen, it will happen. This is true, absolute power. He does what he wants to do. Now, it's by God's grace we do not have that power. What we want is sinful, so he's given us limited power. He's given us limited ability. Our desires are corrupt. If we did what we wanted to do, this world wouldn't exist. We'd have blown it up by now because we're so full of anger and lust. However, Jesus being perfectly good, he is able to do what he wants, and that is the good news of the gospel. See, Jesus doesn't just declare this boy that he's still Jesus made greater declarations that we must cling to as Christians, just as he declares to the father, the boy will be healed, he will live. Think of the things Jesus declares about us. You are Forgiven. Meditate on that the rest of the day. The fact that when Jesus says that about you, it's true. No matter how guilty you are, no matter what you've done, no matter what you were thinking, no matter what you said, if Jesus says you're forgiven. It's true. He has the power to declare that. And the amazing thing is, no matter how faithless we are, if we've truly believed in him, if he's truly called us, if he has said that about us, he keeps us forgiven. It's not even our power to to keep ourselves in Christ. His word makes us different. His word declares us forgiven. His word keeps us. Because we keep trying to run away. Our sinful hearts are still there. They're still seeking other idols. And Christ continues to declare, you're forgiven. This is important for Christians, because as we continue to be overwhelmed with guilt, we must hear the word of Christ louder than the tempter. As we prayed, deliver us from the evil one. The way we're delivered from the evil one and his accusations is to always remember No, I am not guilty because Jesus said, I am innocent. It is the power of his word that changes us. Let's look at the last section of the story, the official's response. Look at verse 50. The second half of verse 50. I'll read the whole thing. Jesus said to him, go, your son will live. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. He responds with faith. He believes he doesn't ask Jesus to come again. What Jesus has said is true and right. And he believes him and he goes. Verse 51, as he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked him the hour when he began to get better. And they said to him yesterday, 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 in all household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee. He believes the word of Christ and he goes and then he's met by some servants and they tell him, yeah, that very same hour your boy was healed. And that's confirming, and it says he believed again. Now, was his first belief a genuine belief? Yes, I think so. He left, it appears, at peace. He had come to have the miracle done to save his son's life. He believed Jesus was able to accomplish that because of his authority, and he left. But here it says he believed again. What are we to make of this? Very important to see faith is not stagnant. You are saved by faith, your simple first faith is what once for all declares that Jesus Christ is your savior when he declares you are forgiven in his child, that that one time faith. Yes, but it's not meant to be the only installment of faith. Faith needs constant upgrades. Because we're constantly failing. That first faith is simple because you you see your sin and you only see that first layer of sin, really. And you see that Jesus Christ died to forgive you of it, but as we continue to see more sin, our faith grows in his power to forgive because we see how great his forgiveness is over against how great our sin is. As we continue to grow, we look to his word, we see how faithfully is brought all ages and we we spend time with the saints that can tell us how faithful he's been to them. Our faith grows. We're not meant to live in just a single pattern, I once prayed a prayer and so I'm good to go. That is a true saving faith. Faith doesn't have just a holding pattern where we're circling around. That isn't real real faith. Faith is ascending. As we see more of our sin and repent, as we see more of God's light and his glory, faith is supposed to grow because we see God more and more faithful. In order for us to truly believe. We must see Christ as he has revealed himself. He is God who became man, who lived the perfect life, who died for our sins in our place, even though he was perfectly innocent and righteous, so that when we believe in him, our sins are counted to his account. He dies to remove our guilt. His righteousness is counted to us. And now we are children of God by faith. And we continue to walk by faith and live by faith and have community by faith. We must believe in the who Jesus is as a savior for sinners. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank you that you have come and you've spoken your word to us so that we can know who you are. We thank you that you sent your Son to save us, even while we were still sinners. We thank you that you loved us while we were hating you. We thank you that you sought us while we were running away. Most of all, we thank you for that death and the resurrection. That declares a word to us that we are forgiven if we believe in Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, increase our faith, help our unbelief. So that we can know you better, so that we can proclaim you more faithfully, so that we can worship you more purely. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.