An Unusual Challenge to a Desperate Man...

This week, we are looking at an event from the history of Jesus life that is recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the bible called the gospel of John. Yesterday, we looked on as Jesus, upon returning to Cana of Galilee, was approached by a royal official who was a Jewish government official who worked for King Herod Antipas who had a son who was sick in a town called Capernaum. This royal official heard that Jesus was in Galilee, he decided to travel from Capernaum to Galilee in order to implore Jesus to come back with him to Capernaum in order to heal his son, who was suffering from a severe fever that had brought him to the point of death.

This royal official had probably exhausted all of the options that were available in Capernaum. And this royal official had heard about Jesus. This royal official heard that Jesus had performed the miraculous in the past. And in his desperation, this royal official made the decision the leave his son, who was on his deathbed, to travel the 20-25 mountainous miles in order to ask Jesus to do the miraculous for him. Today, we see John record for us how Jesus responded to this man’s desperation in John 4:48:

 So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe."

Really? That’s how Jesus responds to this desperate man? I mean where’s the grace? Where’s the love? So, why did Jesus respond this way? What is happening here? When Jesus says "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”, the you here is plural. In other words, Jesus response was addressed not only to the man but to the Jewish crowds that had gathered around Him from the moment that He had arrived in Cana.

You see, the crowds that had surrounded and had been following Jesus simply wanted to see the spectacular; they were not following Jesus because they recognized who He was as the Messiah. When Jesus speaks about signs and wonders, he is referring to miraculous actions that are amazing and that point to something significant about the person who performs the miraculous.

Jesus statement here, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: Unless you all see something that is unexplainable apart from God’s miraculous and supernatural activity, you simply will not place your confident trust in Me as your rescuer, your deliverer, your Messiah”. You see, the royal official came to Jesus in desperation because he was looking for physical healing for his son. The royal official did not come to Jesus in desperation because he was not looking for the spiritual healing from Jesus from the selfishness, sin, and rebellion that separated him from God.

Jesus here is challenging the royal official, and the crowds that were following Him to place their confident trust in Him for their deepest needs, not to simply come to Him in order to meet a temporary need or be entertained. We see how the royal official responded to Jesus challenge in verse 49:

 The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

Instead of being defensive; instead of being offended, this royal official simply responds by repeating his request. This official is focused solely on his dying son and his belief that if Jesus would only come with him to Capernaum, the Jesus could heal his son. This royal official is basically saying “Jesus I do trust in your ability to heal my son. That is why I want you to come with me to Capernaum because I trust that you can do the unexplainable and miraculously heal my son”. However, what the royal official was probably not expecting to hear from Jesus was the exact response that he received from Jesus in verse 50. Let’s look at it together:

Jesus said to him, "Go; your son lives."

Now imagine yourself as this royal official. Place yourself in his shoes. You have traveled 20-25 miles of changing elevation in total desperation that Jesus would return with you in order to heal your dying son. You have persistently pleaded and begged Jesus to return with you. You have repeated your request even after Jesus had challenged what you believed and trusted in Him for. And now Jesus simply turns to you and says “Go, your son lives”.

You see, unlike the Roman Centurion in Matthew 5:8, this Jewish royal official came to Jesus and asked him to go return with him to Capernaum because he believed that Jesus needed to be present in order to heal his son.

Jesus, however, responded by posing an even stiffer test to this Jewish official. Jesus is basically saying to this royal official “Do you trust in Me enough to return home without Me. Do you trust Me enough to believe that I do not need to be present to heal your son?” Now you are the royal official. What would you be thinking at this point? What would you be feeling? How would you respond?

Friday, we will see the royal official’s response...