After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 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. 46 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. 47 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. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.52 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.” 53 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. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
It is right to say that self-inflicted trials are to be repented of, that is the behavior that caused the trial, while the grace and mercy of God and what He does in and with us, is to be marveled in.
Paul says: “Our light and momentary trials are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all…”
Paul says that God is doing this…God is preparing us for life with Him, and the deep cuts He gives are for that purpose. I admit that the mystery in all of this…and I admit it is often the Lord’s way of speaking to us as individuals.
I am sure that you remember in CS Lewis’, The Horse and His Boy, we find two children running away riding two talking horses. It is dark and they are being pursued, but they are not sure what or who pursues them. They realize that a deadly lion is seeking them, so they race as fast as they can…The Lion closes in and rakes his claws against Aravis’ back, cutting her deeply, wounding her painfully.
After their escape they are again overcome by the Lion, and it is Aslan and Aslan tells them it was HE who cut Aravis so deeply. Shasta does not understand why and he questions Aslan as to why he would do this.
Aslan tells him, “It is not for you to know why…this is Aravis’ story that I am writing, as I will write yours.”
We often find ourselves complaining, even rejecting the blows, arguing and fighting. But the Lord says He will use them…He will pull us to see Him…He will write the story of our faith in and through these his dark messengers. Look at what the Lord worked in this man’s life through the near death of his son. The context of the Lord’s feeding and nourishing his weak faith, in growing him up, is found in this context, trial…distress…pain.
Some time ago someone asked me if the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God was really that important, whether it should be stressed or not…what do you think? If it were not true…to whom would we go…where would we find hope, peace, or any kind of comfort…what else is there, if there is not the full control of all things by our Father in heaven?
The man in this text has some faith, he heard about Jesus from others and came to him, but there are deficiencies that the Lord is addressing. He limits the power of Jesus. This man wanted Jesus to come to his house, he wanted an outward sign, a physical presence. He craved the assurance which the outward and physical, the sensuous and emotional cry out for. His faith did not even consider that Jesus could easily work at a distance of 25 miles.
The Lord gently chides him saying, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe.” Compare this to the man who said to Jesus “I am not worthy that you come under my roof, simply speak the words and I know it shall be done…”
Faith that is wavering or immature is oftentimes directed to the earth, it wants to see and the Lord gently meets that faith and gives it wings.
The trial and Jesus’ mercy in its midst is what brings this man to true and abiding faith. This man came to the Lord in his need and found a true friend and realized that the one who raised up his son from a deathbed simply by uttering a word – and that at a distance – could obviously do much, much more for him and his family than that.
As C.S. Lewis put it in A Grief Observed [25]:
“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?… Only a real risk tests the reality of belief.”
And this would be the story all through the Lord’s ministry. Those who came to realize their great need suddenly saw in Jesus the one who could help them when no one else could. Those who refused to admit their need found Jesus first interesting, then entertaining, then irritating, and, finally, infuriating. For his message required them to admit dark things about themselves and they resented the very suggestion that there were any such things to admit.
The man in our text began by looking to Christ for the earthly life of his son. He concluded by looking to Christ for his own eternal life and that of his family. It is frightfully easy to have a faith of sorts…to be religious or spiritual as it is said today and yet for one’s heart not to be engaged in who Jesus is and what He has demanded and promised.
John writes in such a way as to describe both of these states, as having faith. It is clear that one type of faith is authentic and one type is not and he illustrates it over and over again. This is purposed that we might slow down and ask ourselves about the faith that we profess…is it authentic, do we follow Jesus at whatever cost?
Are we seeking to be conformed to his way of life? Is our hope in the world that He has promised is coming? Is there fruit, evidence that what we say we believe is seen in the way we live?
So, we conclude with a word of warning and a word of hope. The warning is to beware of the many voices peddling a belief in Jesus that doesn’t have the glory of Christ in mind, or the Kingdom of God, but some self-aggrandizement. It might go by the name of faith, but it is not real. The only faith that is real is that which does great damage to you, that it might heal you in Jesus.
The hope for us is in seeing that the heart of Christ will find even the smallest amount of faith…even faith that is cluttered by wrong thoughts and expectations, and if our hearts are humble, if we will take Him at His word, will give that faith wings.
Jesus is the Master who, even when given little to work with, does great things!
Prayer: Father, it is breathtaking to see in Scripture how men wrangled and plotted for their own purposes of power and standing without ever knowing that You were behind all things accomplishing Your holy and perfect will. Help me to see beyond my circumstances to Your kind hand that places my minutes, hours and days into mine that I might trust You, praise You and walk faithfully through the time you have given me, in Jesus name, Amen.
Hymn: O Father You are Sovereign