Hearing Is Believing

This opening introduction, this illustration, is a bit aimed.

! And so if you don't have children or grandchildren, just pretend.

! Two young men have asked your daughter to marry them at the same time.

! Your daughter asks you,

which one should I marry?

You give it some thought.

Your two options are fine young men.

Johnny, he's got great hair.

Sharp dresser.

Well composed, socially engaging.

And it looks like his future is financially set.

The problem, though, with Johnny is that he's a flatterer.

He's a sweet talker.

And you've witnessed yourself.

You've seen him flatter your daughter.

Sweet talker.

In order to get what he wants.

In fact, he's even sweet talk to you before.

So it's left you kind of like, hmm.

Not sure about Johnny.

I love his hair.

And then there's Demetrius.

Demetrius is a little rough around the edges.

But man, does he love the Lord.

In fact, here's how he's rough around the edges.

I mean, he's humble.

He's honest.

But whenever you're talking to him,

on the side, you're kind of counting the number of swear words he uses.

But boy, does he love the Lord.

Whenever you see your daughter with Demetrius,

you see something happening to her.

He's in it for her.

She comes out of spending time with him,

having this sense that there are no ulterior motives in this young man.

But he's got her best interest in mind.

Who should I marry?

A couple weeks ago, we learned from Jesus

that Jesus was sent on a search and rescue mission of sorts

to search and find true worshipers of the living God.

Those who would worship God in spirit and in truth.

And the way that Jesus brings about true worshipers

is he gives them new life.

He gives them the Holy Spirit

who is like this spring within them

that wells up into eternal life

and they become worshipers of the living God.

And for the last few weeks,

we've been seeing all sorts of very interesting,

different people become worshipers of the living God.

I mean, first we saw this guy named Nicodemus.

He's this religious professional.

And then we saw this Samaritan adulteress.

She believed.

Her whole kind of town believed.

And this morning we're going to see

a really powerful and influential person

see and believe.

In fact, this passage that we're looking at this morning,

this is John chapter four,

verses 43 through 54.

It's on page 1057 of your Pew Bible.

This passage, we're going to see two groups,

two different groups of people

who are pursuing Jesus.

They're seeking him.

But they're seeking him with different motives.

And so the question that we're going to ask and answer is,

who will Jesus choose to give eternal life?

Between those who are seeing and believing

and those who are hearing and believing,

which ones will Jesus say,

you're mine?

Now, so here,

H-E-A-R,

John 4,

43 through 54.

After the two days,

he, Jesus,

departed for Galilee,

for Jesus himself had testified

that a prophet has no honor in his 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.

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.

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.

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,

which is 1 p.m.,

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 now the second sign

that Jesus did

when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

So I'm going to make two points in the sermon.

If you want to follow in the notes,

point number one is

seeing is believing.

And point number two is

hearing is believing.

So let's look at this first group

who are pursuing Jesus,

who have adopted this kind of mindset

of seeing is believing.

And we see it in verses 43 and 45.

In 43, we learn that after two days,

Jesus departed for Galilee.

And just to remind you,

he has spent the last two days

in Samaria of all places

in a town called Sychar.

And just to remind you,

back in 4-1,

Jesus was down

in southern Israel

and Judea.

And he got word

that he was starting

to get a certain kind of attention

that he didn't want to get.

And so he's like,

I got to go north.

And at that point,

in order to get to northern Israel,

he had to make a decision.

Am I going to go around Samaria

or am I going to go through Samaria

to get to Galilee?

And he decides,

I'm going through

because we learned after the fact

that he had an evangelistic appointment

with this certain Samaritan woman

at Jacob's well.

And lo and behold,

the whole town comes out eventually.

And they,

with kind of one voice,

declare,

you can see it in verse 42,

they said to the woman,

it's no longer because of what you said

that we believe,

for we have heard for ourselves.

And we know this,

this is indeed the Savior of the world.

Eternal life had come to Sychar.

Salvation had arrived.

This might even be the planting

of the first church of Sychar.

It's extraordinary.

A bunch of Samaritans

believing in a Jewish Messiah.

And then if you look at verse 45,

we read this.

So when he came to Galilee,

so he's moved out of Samaria,

come to Galilee,

the Galileans welcomed him.

Welcome, Jesus.

Come stay with us.

You need a car, Jesus?

Use my car.

You want to go to Chick-fil-A, Jesus?

Come, come, come.

Hang out with us.

You are welcome here.

Come.

Come.

Come.

But we're told

why

they welcome him.

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.

They had seen

all that he had done

while he was in Jerusalem.

That's referring to

back in John chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

That's where

Jesus is down

at the feast of Passover.

And that's, remember,

where he cleared out

the temple

because people were making it

essentially

a marketplace

and they were trying

to make money

at the selling of goods

to offer.

And so it ceased

becoming

a house

of worship

and it had become

a place

of buying and selling

for people

to make money.

apparently

he must have done

some other miraculous things

because

these Galileans

are referred to

as having seen

all that he had done

in Jerusalem.

You might be asking

the question,

well, what's wrong

with that?

What's wrong

with welcoming

the healer?

The miracle worker?

What's wrong

with that?

Well, in verse 44,

there's this little

parenthetical statement

John puts in.

He says,

for Jesus himself

had testified

that a prophet

has no honor

in his hometown.

And what that is doing

is helping you

understand

what's going on

in verse 45,

the nature

of this welcome.

There's this proverb

that's attributed

to Jesus here.

A prophet

has no honor

in his hometown.

How does that work?

A prophet

doesn't have any

honor

in his hometown.

What kind of works

like this?

Jesus was from Galilee.

He grew up in Nazareth.

It's just down

the street

from Cana.

He grew up

in Nazareth.

People were familiar

with him.

They knew

he was a carpenter

and his human father

was a carpenter.

And here's what happens.

Because people

are familiar

with you

in that way,

they feel like

they know you,

they've seen you

grow up,

they have a harder

time believing

that you are actually

been appointed

by God

to speak God's

very words.

They become skeptical

that you are

a speaker of God

thus saith the Lord

and with that

comes some serious

weight.

You don't mess

with a prophet.

So what this means

is that Jesus

is aware

when he leaves

Samaria

that as he moves

into Galilee,

he is not

going to be

honored

by everybody.

He's moving

into dishonor.

Do you know why?

Because he knows

that there are

some who will

honor him.

Jesus does call

himself a prophet

here,

but he's not

just any prophet.

He is the

ultimate prophet

because he himself

is God

in the flesh.

He is

God revealed

just by walking

around.

He makes

God

known

and whatever

he say

is

God's

word.

He's the

ultimate

full and final

revelation

of God

and some

of you

right now

have Hebrews

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

ringing in your

head.

So let me just

read it.

Long ago

at many times

and in many ways

God spoke

to our fathers

by the prophets

but in these

last days

he has spoken

to us

by his

son

whom he

appointed

the heir

of all

things.

Through him

also he

created the

world.

He is the

radiance

of the

glory of

God

and the

exact

imprint

of his

nature.

This is

just no

prophet

showing up.

This is

the prophet

God

in the

flesh.

And so

Jesus

knows

that he

goes into

Galilee

that what

awaits him

is not

honor

but mostly

dishonor.

And he's

going in

like I

said

because

there are

some in

Galilee

who are

going to

believe in

him.

When he's

being welcomed

by these

Galileans

he's being

welcomed by

people

that want

to see

some signs

and wonders.

They have

apparently

forgotten

about his

whole cleansing

of the

temple

piece

and they

want

Jesus

to do

some song

and dance

for them.

When Jesus

cleansed the

temple he

was rebuking

people for

making

God's

place

a place

of buying

and selling.

Here

what

we're becoming

aware of

and what

we'll see

in a rebuke

in verse

48 is

he's

rebuking

these

Galileans

for

making

him

into

some

kind

of

entertainer

for

them.

Welcome

Jesus.

Can we

have some

goosebumps?

Welcome

Jesus.

Would you

mind

wowing us

with your

wonders?

We've

got an

empty

tank

and we

need to

be

wandered

up.

These

Galileans

welcomed

Jesus

not because

of who

Jesus

is

and what

he has

to say

but they

welcomed

him

to be

entertained

to be

wowed

to be

impressed

and if

you want

to think

about

those two

young men

we started

the sermon

with

these

Galileans

were more

like

Johnnies.

this

welcome

was

flattery.

It's

just

sweet

talk

to get

to

what

they

want

and what

they

want

is not

what

Jesus

is there

to give.

Jesus

will you

do a

little

song

and

dance

number

for us

today?

They

have no

idea

he's

God's

ultimate

prophet.

In

verse 48

Jesus

says

this

unless

you

all

that's

not a

singular

you

it's

a

plural

you

unless

you

all

see

signs

and

wonders

you

all

will

not

believe

that

is

a

rebuke

he's

like

he's

like

you're

not

going

to

believe

even

if

I

did

signs

and

wonders

!

If

I

don't

do

them

you're

not

going

to

believe

the

purpose

of

this

is

we're

seeing

a

people

who

are

building

their

faith

upon

one

religious

experience

after

another

they

are

building

their

faith

on

signs

and

wonders

now

is

it

wrong

to

experience

God

and

to

experience

a

movement

of

his

Holy

Spirit

no

but

when

you

build

your

faith

on

that

and

that

becomes

the

object

of

your

faith

it

will

not

deliver

imagine

a

chronically

sleep

deprived

man

who

keeps

guzzling

coffee

and

when

the

coffee

runs

out

he

grabs

a

Red

Bull

and

when

the

Red

Bull

runs

out

he

grabs

a

monster

and

when

the

monster

runs

out

he

grabs

a

five

hour

energy

drink

this

guy

is

going

to

be

flipping

out

what

he's

doing

he's

just

trying

to

stay

awake

he's

just

trying

to

keep

the

energy

going

and

what

many

Christians

can

do

today

is

move

from

one

religious

experience

like

one

caffeine

rush

after

another

that's

what

they

really

want

they

really

want

to

get

juiced

and

they

make

the

object

of

their

faith

something

other

than

Jesus

this

approach

to

Christianity

is not

walking

by the

spirit

walking

by the

spirit

is the

fulfillment

of the

promised

new

covenant

in which

God

would

dwell

in us

by his

spirit

and he

would

move

in us

internally

so that

we

would

obey

his

word

and live

for him

so that

the spirit

becomes

this spring

bubbling

up

of

eternal

life

enriches

our

delight

to

live

for

the

one

and

only

God

have

you

ever

heard

someone

say

in terms

of

believing

in the

existence

of

God

something

like

this

you

know

what

when I

see

the

facts

when

there's

kind

of

cold

hard

scientific

evidence

then I'll

believe

it's

kind

of

a

seeing

as

believing

approach

to

whether

God

exists

or

not

or

maybe

do

you

remember

Thomas

at

the

end

of

the

gospel

of

John

listen

listen

to

this

so

the

other

disciples

told him

we

have

seen

the

Lord

but

he

Thomas

said

to

them

unless

I

see

his

hands

in

his

hands

the

marks

of

the

nails

and

place

my

finger

into

the

mark

of

the

nails

and

place

my

hand

into

his

side

I

will

never

believe

this

this

mindset

of

seeing

is

believing

is

elevate

something

above

God's

very

words

it's

a

common

mindset

in our

culture

today

and

it

goes

something

like

this

in

order

to

be

convinced

that

something

is

actually

true

you

need

to

experience

it

with

your

senses

mindset

has

crept

into

the

church

today

because

the

goal

of

many

Christians

is to

have

an

experience

versus

faith

in the

sole

object

of

Jesus

experiences

will

come

but

they

are

no way

to

take

the

place

of

Jesus

the

kind

of

experiences

that

we're

talking

about

are

emotional

worship

how was

worship

today

it was

great

what

they're

talking

about

is

an

experience

that

people

want

to

have

a

sense

of

God

himself

speaking

to

them

people

want

to

have

a

sense

of

they

interpret

the

events

of

their

lives

as

signs

from

God

because

it's

experience

essential

we're

told

to

not

walk

by

sight

but

to

walk

by

faith

so

all

that

I

want

you

to

see

here

in

this

seeing

is

believing

is

that

there

was

a

group

of

people

who

were

welcoming

Jesus

and

they

were

like

show

us

something

really

good

sadly

they

were

in

it

for

themselves

and

that's

not

genuine

faith

so we

move

from

this

seeing

is

believing

crowd

to

now

hearing

is

believing

and we

see this

played out

in verses

46

through

54

and

there's

this

contrast

between

the

Galileans

who

welcomed

Jesus

and they

wanted

to

experience

something

from

Jesus

and

they're

contrasted

with

an

official

from

Capernaum

who

heard

of

Jesus

and who

believed

in the

word

of

Jesus

in

verse

46

we

read

that

Jesus

came

again

to

Cana

in

Galilee

where

he

had

made

the

water

wine

that

was

the

first

sign

of

the

gospel

of

John

there

are

seven

signs

in

the

gospel

of

John

and

the

result

of

that

earlier

sign

and

John

was

that

his

disciples

believed

and

while

we're

on

the

topic

of

signs

let

me

just

help

you

think

about

how

signs

are

to

function

signs

and

wonders

are

not

to

be

the

object

of

our

faith

signs

and

wonders

are

to

direct

our

faith

onto

the

sole

object

of

our

faith

God

himself

if

you

want

to

please

turn

with

me

to

the

end

of

the

gospel

of

John

John

John 20:30

chapter

20

verse

30

and

31

this

is

the

purpose

statement

of

the

gospel

of

John

and

here's

how

it

reads

now

Jesus

did

many

other

signs

in

the

presence

of

the

disciples

which

are

not

written

in

this

book

but

these

are

written

these

signs

are

written

so

that

you

may

believe

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

the

son

of

God

and

by

believing

you

may

have

eternal

life

the

purpose

of

signs

is

to

direct

our

gaze

to

Jesus

to

behold

him

to

believe

him

to

find

life

in

him

so

we

don't

pursue

signs

and

wonders

to

pursue

signs

and

wonders

we

pursue

Jesus

verses

46

and 47

this

official

is in

Capernaum

and he

hears that

Jesus

has come

to

Galilee

and so

he

goes

and it's

a 22

mile

uphill

climb

from

Capernaum

to

Cana

and he

goes

because

we

learn

at the

end

of

47

that

not

only

is

his

son

sick

his

son

is

sick

to

the

point

of

death

he's

on

the

verge

of

death

now

this

official

is

having

to do

with

the

government

but

when

you

hear

official

don't

think

about

the

pleasant

people

who

work

at

the

DMV

I

know

they're

wonderful

folks

don't

think

of

that

wonderful

person

who

is

supervising

your

polling

place

when

you

go

and

vote

it's

not

that

kind

of

official

the

word

official

that

we

see

here

used

throughout

this

passage

it

means

someone

on

the

king's

court

it's

referring

to

someone

who

has

incredible

influence

they

have

the

king's

ear

this

is

someone

who

who

has

a lot

of

political

juice

and

not

only

is

this

guy

kind

of

kind

of

in

close

to

Herod

Antipas

who

was

the

tetrarch

king

of

Galilee

at

this

time

by

the

way

he's

the

guy

that

that

beheaded

John

the

Baptist

so

not

only

does

he

have

his

ear

this

official

from

Capernaum

he's

got

some

money

he's

got

some

jingle

because

when

he goes

back

to

Capernaum

he is

met

by

a

number

of

his

servants

multiple

servants

which

means

he has

some

kind

of

financial

reserves

and

resources

but

here's

the

thing

this

man's

political

connections

and

whatever

amount

of

money

he

had

they

were

not

doing

him

any

good

in

light

of

his

dying

son

they

couldn't

help

him

none

of

his

connections

none

of

his

money

everything

he

was

so

desperate

so

when

he

hears

about

Jesus

and

he

must

have

heard

that

he

had

healing

powers

he's

like

I

gotta

go

we

many

of us

have

had

children

or

we

know

of

people

with

children

who

have

been

sick

to the

point

of

death

and

it

just

pulls

on

you

how

desperate

you

can

get

so

in

verse

47

he

hears

that

Jesus

he

hears

that

Jesus

was

close

by

and

so

he

he

goes

to

him

and

he

asks

Jesus

he

asks

him

to

come

down

to

Capernaum

with

him

and

to

heal

his

son

so

the

question

is

is

this

guy

pursuing

miraculous

signs

or

is

he

is

this

genuine

faith

look

what

Jesus

says

verse

48

and

it's

kind

of

surprising

you're

like

whoa

that's

kind

of

harsh

that's

a little

cold

Jesus

he

says

in

verse

48

Jesus

said

to

him

unless

you

see

signs

and

wonders

you

will

not

believe

here's

this

desperate

official

this

dad

with

a

dying

son

and

Jesus

is

like

unless

you

see

signs

and

wonders

will

not

believe

of this

man's

heart

why

is

he

there

is

he

there

for

wow

or

is

he

there

for

genuine

belief

in

Jesus

no matter

how

small

is

he

believing

in

Jesus

this

should

ring

the

bell

Mark

Mark 7 · chapter mention

chapter

7

Jesus

is

a

very

similar

interaction

with

the

Syrophoenician

woman

in

which

he

tests

her

to