Do You Believe?

grace and peace to all of you who are watching or listening today.

After another long week of social distancing,

I hope and I pray that God has been working in your heart

and reminding you of just how he has made you for relationship,

not only with other people, but with him.

Today, we continue on through the story of Jesus

as told by the Apostle John.

If you have your Bible with you,

would you open it up to John chapter 4?

John 4 · chapter mention

Last Sunday, we saw how Jesus was on his way from Judea to Galilee,

and he made a bit of a pit stop in Samaria.

It was there near the town of Sychar that he met the woman at the well

and had that conversation with her,

and the Samaritans invited Jesus to stay with them for two days.

And Jesus agreed.

He stayed with them for two days.

Well, now Jesus is on the move again,

and he's headed back, according to his original course, into Galilee.

So we pick up the story in John chapter 4, verse 43.

John 4:43

After the two days, Jesus left for Galilee.

Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him.

They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover festival,

for they also had been there.

So the first thing that we notice from John is that Jesus is now going back into his own country.

There's a signaled shift here.

He's been with the Samaritans in Samaria,

and now he's going back into his own country,

back into the territory of the Jews.

But even more than that, he's going back into his own kind of home region,

his own neck of the woods.

It's Galilee is where he has lived.

That's where the town of Nazareth, his hometown, is.

And what John says here, right at the beginning in verse 44,

kind of casts a bit of a shadow over the rest of what we're about to read.

He says,

Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country or his own region.

What does he mean by that?

Well, I think the best place to go to understand that is to some of the other gospel records,

which record Jesus saying a very similar thing.

My mind goes to Mark chapter 6,

Mark 6 · chapter mention

where we read about Jesus visiting his hometown of Nazareth,

and it probably happened around the time that we're reading of here in John.

Now, when Jesus went to Nazareth, the initial response was a good one.

The people welcomed him.

They were kind of excited.

They kind of wondered,

what are all these miracles that you've been doing?

But it wasn't long before that initial excitement wore off,

and they began to say some things to Jesus,

which were rather dishonoring.

Isn't this the carpenter?

Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James,

Joseph, Judas, and Simon?

Aren't his sisters here with us?

And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them,

A prophet is not without honor except in his own town,

among his relatives, and in his own home.

So what's going on there?

Well, it seems that the people in Jesus' hometown,

they have kind of come to this attitude of,

well, what makes you think that you're special?

Aren't you, after all, just the village carpenter?

And we know you.

I mean, look at your families right here with us.

If you were someone special, I think we'd have known about it.

You're just one of us.

What makes you think that you're so good?

They took offense at him.

So the initial welcome turned into dishonor.

And I think that's kind of what Jesus is referring to here back in John,

when he says,

Now, he says,

A prophet has no honor in his own country,

or in his own neck of the woods.

Just like with the prophets long ago,

there was this sense in which pride kind of mixes together with familiarity,

and we just,

we can't really accept that you,

I mean, you're one of us.

We know you,

that you have been chosen by God for a special purpose,

to be a prophet,

God's spokesperson.

I don't think so.

The pattern is repeating itself,

or John is hinting that it's about to repeat itself again.

Verse 45,

When Jesus arrived in Galilee,

the Galileans welcomed him.

So initially,

the response is much like it was in Nazareth.

The response is good.

Jesus is back in his neck of the woods,

and the people there are kind of,

they're eager to have him.

They're excited.

But John tells us why.

They're excited.

Why they welcome him.

He adds a little clause onto that.

The Galileans welcomed him,

having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover festival,

for they also had been there.

Literally,

having seen all things,

as many as he did in Jerusalem.

Okay,

so this is part of the reason for the excitement,

and for the big welcome,

because not too long ago,

we read in a previous message,

that back in chapter 2,

Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover festival.

You'll remember there.

He flipped the tables in the temple courts.

He drove out the animals and the cellars.

And John tells us back there in chapter 2,

while he was in Jerusalem at the festival,

many people saw the signs he was performing,

and believed in his name.

But Jesus would not entrust himself to them,

for he knew all people.

He did not need any testimony about men,

for he knew what was in each person.

So,

some of these Galileans had been there.

They were among those who had seen the many signs,

which Jesus had performed.

Back in chapter 2,

John tells us that they believed in his name.

And yet,

when we looked at this in a previous message,

we kind of wondered,

did they really believe?

Jesus,

it says,

would not entrust himself to them,

because he knew them.

He knew what was going on in their thoughts,

and in their hearts.

And so,

we kind of wondered,

is their faith superficial?

Is it flawed in some way?

Nicodemus kind of became an example of that.

He believed that Jesus was a teacher,

who had come from God.

And yet,

he did not receive,

the testimony of Jesus.

He did not believe the earthly things,

that Jesus was telling him.

And so,

Jesus said,

how can you believe the heavenly things,

if I was to tell you about them?

There was a superficiality to his faith.

There was a flawedness to it.

It was incomplete.

It only came part way.

And so,

when we come back to the Galileans,

we're kind of expecting to see

something of attention unfold here.

There's welcome,

there's excitement,

but Jesus has also said,

the reception here,

in Galilee,

in home territory,

it's not going to be,

the same as it was,

among the Samaritans,

where they just kind of said,

we believe that you're the savior of the world.

It's not going to go like that.

So,

once more,

in verse 46,

John tells us,

once more,

Jesus 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.

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.

Unless you people see signs and wonders,

Jesus told him,

you will never believe.

So,

Jesus is in Cana,

the place where he had already done,

a great sign,

turning the water into wine.

We're not sure,

just how many people,

ended up knowing about that,

because he kind of did it on the down low.

But as he's there in Cana,

there's a certain unnamed,

royal official,

presumably from Capernaum,

who gets word that he's arrived.

And so he comes,

to pay Jesus a visit in Cana.

And the reason why,

is because his son,

is lying sick,

in Capernaum.

John tells us,

that his son,

was close to death,

verse 47.

We find out a little bit further down,

in verse 52,

that he has a fever,

and we presume,

it's a severe one,

if he's close to death.

And so,

this man comes,

to Jesus,

and it says,

he begged him,

to come and heal his son.

Let's get into the,

the headspace,

of this official,

for a moment.

Can you imagine,

what he must be feeling?

He's a royal official,

and so we imagine,

he's probably a person,

with some wealth,

with some means.

He's probably,

already,

tried,

all the doctors.

He's probably,

already tried,

a bunch of different,

medications,

and treatments.

And yet,

his son,

he refers to him,

in verse 49,

as my child.

His,

his son,

lies sick,

in bed,

and he continues,

to get worse,

and worse,

and worse,

as the days go by.

He doesn't look so good.

We imagine,

you know,

perhaps his,

skin color's not looking,

so good anymore.

And his,

fever is high,

he's just burning up,

and things are getting,

worse and worse,

and they've tried,

everything.

And he's desperate.

So desperate,

that he,

makes the 17 mile trek,

as soon as he hears,

that Jesus,

has come to Cana,

to come to Jesus,

this guy who he's heard,

has done miracles,

or signs,

maybe he can help.

Those of you who are parents,

you can imagine,

just maybe what this man,

might be feeling,

just thinking of your own child,

in this kind of situation,

lying sick,

in the bed at home,

for weeks,

and still not improving,

but getting worse.

This man,

is desperate.

He comes,

to Jesus,

and begs him,

come,

heal my son,

come with me,

back to Capernaum.

And Jesus responds,

in verse 48,

with this,

unless you people,

see signs and wonders,

Jesus told him,

you will never believe.

What kind of a response,

is that?

I mean,

it's not the one,

that we're expecting here.

It kind of seems insensitive,

perhaps a little cold,

don't you think?

This man has just come,

and begged Jesus,

to help heal his son,

and Jesus,

seems to be,

rebuking him,

about his,

lack of faith.

Unless,

unless,

you people,

see,

signs and wonders,

you will never believe.

So what's going on here?

Is Jesus insensitive?

Well,

I think the first thing,

to,

take into consideration,

is,

is the context here.

Notice that Jesus,

says these words,

both to,

to the man,

and,

to a larger group.

He says,

unless you people,

unless you plural,

see,

signs and wonders,

you,

plural,

will never believe.

So he's,

he's having a bigger group conversation here.

But he also does speak to the man.

It says,

unless you people,

see signs and wonders,

Jesus told him,

you will never believe.

And so what's going on here?

Well,

I think that,

if we just,

go off of,

what's there in Jesus' words,

words,

we can,

we can get a bit of a picture.

He's,

he's having a conversation with the larger group here.

And why would Jesus be saying this?

Probably,

and it's kind of implied from his words,

they're,

they're pressing him

to show them a sign,

to do a miracle for them.

And the sense of it,

you almost get is,

you know,

give us some proof

that what you're saying is right.

And give us a sign that we should listen to you.

And this coming from many people

who had already seen the signs that he had done

back in Jerusalem.

And so that's the first thing to keep in mind.

There's a larger group conversation going here,

but Jesus also speaks to the man as well.

So,

so what's going on here?

I think it's good for us to remember those words

that we heard back in John chapter two,

which I read earlier.

Those words were,

Jesus would not entrust himself

to the people up in Jerusalem.

Why?

Because he knew all people.

He was not needing any testimony about men,

for he was knowing

what was in each person.

So Jesus knows what they're thinking.

He knows what's going on in their hearts.

And I think if we,

if we remember that,

then suddenly we start to see this phrase,

this,

this reply a little bit differently.

Is Jesus being insensitive and cold?

Or,

is he perhaps

telling them

what he really knows

about what's going on in their hearts?

I don't think that Jesus is just kind of

writing them off

with a,

with kind of a,

you know,

passing judgment kind of comment.

I think what he's doing

is holding the mirror up to these people

and saying,

do you see just how,

how,

how hard your hearts are?

How stubborn and skeptical

and unbelieving they are?

You've already seen signs.

Believe me now,

listen to the words that I'm saying.

As it pertains to this particular man

who now enters into this,

to the midst of this

and begs for Jesus to come heal his son.

And I think Jesus knows

what's going on

in this particular man's heart as well.

And maybe it's a little bit different

than the larger group.

We don't know for sure

what Jesus knew about him.

But perhaps it was,

perhaps Jesus knew

that this man

was,

was not really thinking

about who Jesus was.

He just saw him as,

as a healer,

as a miracle worker.

I'm here to get my healing,

my miracle worker,

almost treating him like a doctor.

I've come for my,

for the,

the service of healing.

And so come with me

and,

and,

and do it.

Please.

But I think Jesus knows

that even though this man

believes he's able to heal,

it would seem so,

that his faith is still

not at the place

that it needs to be,

that it should be.

That,

that real kind of deep

trust

and recognition

of just who it is

that he is asking

is not there.

It's almost as if he's maybe

just looking for the,

for,

for his miracle

and,

and then he can go his way.

But,

Jesus longs for this man

and all of these people

to,

to truly,

sincerely,

from the heart,

believe him,

believe his words,

trust,

trust the truth

of,

of who he is.

That's what I think

is going on here

in this situation.

The conversation goes on.

Jesus drops this bomb

on them.

I think he really

holds the mirror up to them.

Do you see how

you guys

do not believe?

You guys are

stubborn hearted.

Imagine that

there was some silence

there,

maybe,

perhaps,

a pause.

And the royal official

says to Jesus

in verse 49,

Sir,

come down

before my child dies.

So he,

he asks again.

It doesn't mean

that he,

he hasn't heard Jesus

or taken

Jesus' words seriously,

but,

but he asks again.

And the real test

as to whether

he is listening,

whether he

will believe,

comes in what

Jesus says to him

next.

Jesus,

I imagine,

looks him straight

in the eyes

and says,

go.

Your son lives

or your son

will live.

The original,

it's present tense.

Your son lives.

And it's not

in the sense of

he's,

his life is hanging

on by a thread

right now

and one day

he'll recover.

It's not just a prophecy.

The sense of it is,

go,

your son lives.

He's recovering.

As we speak,

he is right now

starting to,

beginning to,

and will continue

to get better.

This is the moment

of testing

for this man.

It's here that,

that what Jesus

has said earlier,

you don't believe

as you ought,

as you should.

It's here that

Jesus will,

in a sense,

give this man

the personal invitation

to believe

as he ought.

To accept

the words of Jesus

as the truth,

even without

being able

to see

whether,

and confirm

whether,

what Jesus

has said

is happened

in reality.

it's quite a moment.

And I would have loved

to have been there

to just see

how

this man

was processing

all of this.

The question

that probably

everybody in the crowd

is wondering

is,

so,

is he going

to go?

Does he believe

Jesus?

Does he believe

this?

or is he going

to continue

asking Jesus

to come with him?

Notice that

Jesus both

grants and denies

at the same time.

He grants

his request

to heal,

but he denies

his request

to come with him.

No,

go.

You go your way.

Your son

lives.

And so,

this is the moment

of testing

for this man,

faith

looks like

not asking

Jesus again

and leaving

Jesus.

Will he?

John tells us

in verse 50,

the man

took Jesus

at his word

and departed.

Literally,

the man believed

the word

that Jesus said

to him

and left.

So,

yes,

he did.

he came

all this way,

about 17

or so miles

and he left

empty-handed,

trusting

that Jesus'

words

were true

and that his son

was recovering.

The story

goes on

in verse 51.

While Jesus

was still,

or sorry,

while the servant

was still

on the way,

while the official

was still

on the way,

his servants

met him

with the news

that his boy

was living.

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.

Then,

the father realized

that this was

the exact time

at which Jesus

had said to him,

your son

lives.

So,

he and his

whole household

believed.

Can you imagine

that moment

as the official

is on his way

back to Capernaum

and he sees

his servants

coming in the distance?

What's going on

in his mind?

They're either

coming to bring

news

of

death

or life.

Can you imagine

how he must have felt

as they got near

and he saw

the expressions

on their faces

and then as he

finally heard

the news

from their own

lips?

He's getting

better.

He's better.

Oh,

how that must have

just made this

father rejoice

in his heart.

He does

what probably

many of us

would do

and inquires

about the time.

I don't think

we should read

into that

that he was

doubting

that Jesus'

word had

anything to do

with it.

But he inquires

as to the time.

They tell him

and the father,

it says,

realized that

this was

the exact

time

at which

Jesus had

said,

your son

lives.

The end

result,

so he

and his

whole household

believed.

And I think

by now

in this account

as we come

to this moment,

we realize

that believed

here does

not mean

in just

the superficial

sense

or in the

flawed sense.

It means

in the full

sense

that he

is

the Messiah.

I mean,

ironically,

Jesus said,

unless you see

a sign,

you will never

believe.

And yet,

Jesus gave

him a sign

and he did

believe.

he did

come to

believe

in the

true

deep

sense,

to trust

this one

and his

words.

So what's

here in

this account

for us

today?

Well,

I think the

first thing

that we

don't want

to miss

is how

we see

the glory

of Jesus

in this

account.

We've been

talking about

that through

this whole

series,

looking for

those moments

which reveal

the glory

of Jesus.

That's what

John said

that he

saw of

Jesus,

his glory,

how he

was full

of grace

and truth.

Well,

how do we

see that

in this

account?

I think

first of

all,

we have

an easy

time seeing

how Jesus

is full

of truth.

At the

critical

moment in

the conversation

as this

man is

begging

Jesus to

come and

heal his

son,

Jesus,

in one

sense,

it doesn't

seem

speak

speaks out

of grace,

but he

speaks the

truth.

He holds

up the

mirror of

truth of

what he

knows to

be true

in their

hearts and

minds.

You people

are stubborn

hearted and

you don't

believe,

even though

you've seen

signs,

many of

you.

so the

truth,

we see

that all

through

this.

But what

about the

grace of

Jesus?

How do

we see

that Jesus

is full

of grace

in this

account?

Especially

when it

comes to

that moment

where Jesus

kind of

rebukes

the man

while he's

begging for

him to

come and

heal his

son.

Well, I

think as we

reflect on

that moment,

one of the

lessons that

we see

there is

that God's

grace doesn't

always come

to us in

the way

that we

expect,

especially

as it

pertains to

Jesus and

his words.

Jesus knows

what's going

on, not

just in their

hearts and

in this man's

heart, but

in my

heart, in

your heart,

in our

thoughts.

love.

And

sometimes

it's a

gift of

grace, it's

a thing of

love for

him to

tell us not

just what we

want to

hear, but

what he

knows we

need to

hear.

I often

think of

as an

example, you

know those

moments when

you were

eating

something and

maybe you

got a little

bit of

sauce on

your face

and you

missed

cleaning it

off and

you end

up going

for two

hours and

bumping into

all kinds

of people and

you've got

the sauce on

your face and

you don't

even know it

and none of

them even

says anything

to you.

Finally,

someone has

the guts and

isn't worried

about offending

you or the

awkwardness of

it and they

care enough

about you to

point out the

truth of how

you got sauce

on your face.

And even

though you

don't want to

hear that because

of all that that

represents over the

past two

hours,

you're thankful

for it because

they're telling

you that truth

holding up the

mirror to you

means that you

don't have to

go the next

two hours with

all these people

that you're going

to bump into

embarrassing

yourself.

And so,

yes,

sometimes it's

a gift of

grace to

hear not

just what we

want to hear,

but to hear

what we need

to hear.

Sometimes those

hard truths,

those words of

correction,

of feedback,

those things that

expose what's

not good in

us.

And I believe

that it is a

gift of grace

and Jesus was

full of grace

even as he

said these words

to the man.

Maybe he was

thinking the

moment was

something like

you're here

for a miracle,

but as a

gift of grace,

I want to

help you to

see the

bigger picture

of what's

really going

on here.

It was a

gift of grace

that Jesus

did the

miracle for

him and

granted his

request.

But I think

in some

ways,

an even

bigger gift

of grace

came in

the fact

or in

the way

that Jesus

did it.

With that

initial word

of rebuke

or correction

followed by

granting this

miracle in

a way that

would force

this man to

make that

decision,

am I going

to really

trust you

and really

believe

or not?

as a

result,

a bigger

gift of

God came

to this

man and

his son

got not

just life

for a few

more years,

but life

forever,

eternal life.

That's what

Jesus has been

promising to

those who

believe.

Another way

that we see

the glory of

Christ is

in the

authority

and the

power that

Jesus wields

in this

situation.

Think of

this from

the perspective

of the

official.

This man

in front

of him

speaks

and 17

miles or

so down

the road

his son

begins

to heal

and get

better and

recover and

the fever

leaves him.

This is

amazing.

I mean,

who can

do

something

like that?

This

Jesus

speaks

and

the

power

of

God

to

heal

and

give

life

is

unleashed

17

miles

down

the

road.

This is

something

that no

mere man

can do.

It's

evidence

that Jesus

really is

the son

of God,

the Messiah,

that he

has

the

authority

of his

father

and the

power

of God

himself.

Finally,

this

story

leaves us

with a

big question.

and I

think the

question

comes from

Jesus'

words in

verse 48.

Unless you

people see

signs and

wonders,

you will

never

believe.

That last

word,

believe,

is

critical.

What does

Jesus want

from these

people,

from this

man?

He wants

them to

trust him,

to listen

to his

words and

believe

them,

to come

to see

the truth

of what's

really going

on,

of who

he is

and what

he has

come to

do for

them.

Do you

believe?

Put yourself

in the crowd

there that

day.

Do you

believe that

Jesus is

the Messiah?

Do you

believe that

he's the

son of

God?

Do you

believe that

the words

he speaks

are the

very words

of God

and are

true?

And do

you believe

them not

just superficially

up here,

agree with

them,

recognize that

they're from

God,

but do you

believe them

in here?

Do you

embrace them

as reality?

Do you

embrace him

as that

one whom

God has

sent into

the world?

This is the

big question

and the

response of

the people

that day

is

unbelief.

It's

stubbornness.

It's

skepticism.

They want

Jesus to

do another

sign,

another

miracle,

and they've

already seen

some signs

and some

miracles.

Jesus is

saying,

I've given

you enough.

Now,

listen to

my words.

Accept

them.

Believe.

Believe.

see that

this

stubbornness

and skepticism

is there

in your

own heart.

I think

Jesus

wants the

same of

us.

Do you

believe?

Do you

believe my

words?

Do you

believe the

words of

Jesus?

Do you

believe that

he is the

son of

God?

were you

waiting for

a sign?

Perhaps a

personal

miracle of

some sort?

Jesus is

not just

an

entertainer

or a

performer.

He's not

just come

into this

world to

give us

whatever we

want.

The reality

is Jesus

has come

to give

us something

even better.

He has

come to

give

true

life,

eternal

life.

He has

come to

give

forgiveness

from God.

He has

come to

give

salvation,

deliverance

from the

justice of

God that

is coming

upon our

world because

of our

sins against

God.

He has

come to

offer you

peace

between you

and God

restored

relationship

with him.

The key

to receiving

all of

this is

faith,

it's

belief.

And it

very much

oftentimes

looks like

the kind

of faith

that he

was calling

the official

to have,

the kind

that is

going to

trust

his words

and believe

even though

we may not

be able to

see with

our eyes

just what

he has

promised

yet.

Jesus

is not

a miracle

dispensing

machine.

Jesus

has come

to call

you,

to call

me,

to put

our

trust

in him,

to put

our trust

in God,

to a

trust

kind of

relationship

with God.

So the

question his

words leave

us with is,

do you

believe?

do you

believe?

Let's

pray.

Father in

heaven,

we thank

you for

these words

which you

have given

us.

We thank

you that

we get

to see

what

happened

a little

bit and

what was

said that

day.

Oh God,

I pray and

ask that you

would give

all of us

who are

listening and

watching ears

to hear,

ears to hear

what you

said to

the people

that day

and what

you are

saying to

us.

We ask

that you

would help

us to

trust you

more and

to believe

you for

the things

which you

have said

as great

or as

impossible

as they

may seem

or feel

to us.

We thank

you that

you are

a gracious

and

honest

savior.

We love

you.

We pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.