The Miracles Of Jesus 2-A Nobleman’s Son Healed.

Miracle # 2- A Nobleman’s Son Healed.

Summary: Second in series on Miracles of Jesus. The healing of the Nobleman’s son.

scripture Reading: Jn 4.46-54

series:The Miracles Of Jesus

Date: 2, September 2018

Introduction

A lot has happened in John’s gospel between last week’s sermon and our text today. Jesus has cleansed the temple, running out the money changers (John 2:13-22). Jesus has preformed miracles in Jerusalem during Passover Week (John 2:23) which have convinced the religious leadership that God must be with him (John 3:2) He has met with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who felt his first birth was sufficient to get him into heaven. Jesus told him he had to be born again to even see the Kingdom (John 3:1-15).

John the Baptist declares that he must decrease and Jesus must increase (John 3:22-36). Traveling through Samaria, Jesus encounters an immoral woman and offers her eternal life. She accepts his offer and goes back to the city and tells everyone what happened (John 4:1-42).

Now He’s back in Galilee talking to a nobleman who’s son is ill.

Scripture Reading

Let’s rise to our feet and pick up with the story in John 4 and verse forty six, 

 John 4:46-54

“So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. (47) When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. (48)Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." (49) The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" (50) Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. (51) And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" (52) Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." (53) So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household. (54) This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. May the sweet Holy Spirit add His manifold blessings to our text in our hearing this morning.... Amen! You may be seated in God's Presence.

Sermon

Before we deal with this miracle this is one area that I would like to clear up. Some people say this story is just another version of the healing of the Centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:2-10). Although there are some similarities there are more differences. I just want to point our a few of these differences:

• The Centurion was a Gentile; the Nobleman appears to be Jewish.• The Centurion’s slave suffered from a paralysis; the Nobleman’s son was ill with a fever.• The Centurion is in Capernaum; the Nobleman is in Cana.• The Centurion’s faith wins Jesus’ praise; the Nobleman and others are rebuked for a deficient faith.• The Centurion urges Jesus not to come, but only to speak the word; the Nobleman urges Jesus to come.• The Centurion has Jewish elders to plead his case; the Nobleman pleads with Jesus personally.

When John says that this is the “second miracle (sign)” (v. 54) he means that it was the second miracle that Jesus did in the Galilee area.

The first miracle was associated with a wedding and is a time of festivity and joy, the second miracle is associated with sickness and is a time of anxiety and sorrow. In comparing the two occasions we have to see that life has as much of one as it does the other and that Jesus is needed in both circumstances.

When Jesus turned the water into wine it was a miracle of time, he simply did in a moment what He usually does in a growing season. The healing of the nobleman’s son was a miracle of space; Jesus healed the boy from twenty miles away.

1. The Nobleman’s Plea (v. 47)

“When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.”

In the story we are introduced to a man that John calls a nobleman (basilikos) which is derived from (basileus) which means king. Although it can mean a member of the royal family (Herod’s) it probably indicates someone in the service of the king. The fact that he lived in Capernaum indicates that he was an official in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea.

The twenty miles from Capernaum to Cana was not the only distance the nobleman had too cross, he had to cross an even greater distance socially. He a nobleman had to lower himself to seek help from a humble villager carpenter and itinerant preacher.

It is important to note that even his rank and his wealth do not exempt him from common sorrows of all mankind. There is no home into which sickness and sorrow can not enter.  It was a crisis in this man’s life (the sickness of his son) that lead him into direct contact with Jesus. When the nobleman finds Jesus, he pleads with him to return immediately with him to Capernaum and to heal his son who is about to die.

2. The Lord’s Response (v. 48)

On the surface the response of Jesus is surprising. “Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." But we need to realize that the “you” in verse forty-eight is plural (in fact the word ‘people’ is added by the translators to convey this idea) Therefore, Jesus is speaking to more than just the nobleman. Jesus is rebuking the attitude of the crowd who had followed along with the nobleman with the expectation that they would able to see a miracle. They are interested only in the spectacular and not at all interested in what the miracles were a sign of. John again tells the reader that this miracle was a sign. Each of Jesus’ miracle was significant that is each of the miracles had a purpose.

"It is very true that signs and wonders are given for the sake of the unbelievers. Basically, Christians do not need signs and wonders to convince them that Jesus is Lord, but the unsaved do. Jesus said to Thomas in John 20:29, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” "

[Bailey Brian. J. “The Gospel of John”. Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 2006. Page 85]

3. The Persistence of the Nobleman (v. 49)

“The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"

This nobleman treated Jesus with respect and dignified Him by calling Him “Sir,” which was a title for a man of rank in those days. The nobleman is expressing a limited faith. It is limited to the belief “that while there is life, there is hope.” He thinks that Jesus can only help as long as the boy is alive. It was also limited in that the nobleman thought that Jesus had to be present with the boy to heal him. He had the faith to believe that Jesus could heal him if he were at his side but not from 20 miles away.

4. The Healing of the Young Boy (v. 50)

The words of Jesus are not intended to turn him away but to turn him to Jesus in faith. Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."

The words of this verse use the imperfect tense to help us see that the nobleman believed Jesus so implicitly that he simply picked up his work where he had left it and went on about his business. “.. . So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.”

This is a very beautiful truth, for it is a fulfilment of Scripture. Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent his word and he healed them …” Jesus sent His word and healed this nobleman’s son. However, there is something more in this than meets the eye. The Word of God must be mixed with faith in those that hear it, in order for it to be creative and effective (Heb. 4:2). This nobleman had that faith and a believing heart. For this reason, the word that Jesus spoke impacted his son.

[Bailey Brian. J. “The Gospel of John”. Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 2006. Page 85]

We don’t want to fail to notice the difference in the nobleman’s rush to get to Jesus and his leisurely pace in returning home. Since the miracle took place at the seventh hour (v.52) (one o’clock in the afternoon) he could have made it home the same day but he arrived the next day, spending the night somewhere along the route. The seventh hour speaks of the end times. we believe that miracles will flow in the last days. When the power of God comes to His Church, we will only have to speak the word and people will be healed.

5. A Miracle and It’s effects (vv. 51-54)

There are two things I want us to notice about this miracle and its effects.

First, He got even more than he had asked for. (vv. 51-53a) “And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" (52) Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." (53) So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives…"

Apparently the father had expected a gradual recovery, for the exact wording of verse 51 is, “He asked them the hour that he began to get better.” The servant’s answer revealed that at very moment Jesus had spoken “Your son lives” the boy had recovered instantly and completely. He is wrong in his first supposing that God can only accomplish what we ask by doing it in the way we prescribe.

We need to keep in mind that there are three different kinds of promises in the Bible.

• There are general promises. (John 3:16) These are promises that invite all to believe and they apply to all without distinction.

• There are promises that apply only to believers.

This includes such promises as Hebrews 13:5-6 “Let your conduct be without covetousness be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

And of course perhaps the most misquoted of all, Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

• There are specific promises that apply only to the individuals to whom they were given.

Abraham (Genesis 12:2)

David (2 Samuel 12:11-12)

In today’s story (John 4) the father is promised that his son would be healed. 

Oh the joy there must have been in the heart of this loving father when his servants told him that his son was alive. To assure himself that the health of his son was indeed the result of the word that Jesus spoke, he inquired what time his son was healed. Amazingly, his son was healed at the very same time that Jesus promised that he would be healed. The seventh hour speaks of the end times. I believe that miracles will flow in the last days. When the power of God comes to His Church, we will only have to speak the word and people will be healed.

[Bailey Brian . J. “The Gospel of John”. Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 2006. Page 86]
Secondly, notice that Faith is Contagious. (vv. 53b-54) “… And he himself believed, and his whole household. (54) This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”

Application for Today

The nobleman came seeking a physical healing yet God gave him a spiritual healing as well. Today, looking into the Scriptures, we also place our trust and faith in Jesus. As we do, we are given eternal life in his name. Even today He is doing miracles...

The result of this one miracle was the salvation of this nobleman’s whole household. We need to believe for notable miracles that will bring salvation to households such as this one, and indeed to whole cities, as it occurred in the time of Peter in Acts 9:32-35: “And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.”

The seventh hour speaks of the end times. I believe that miracles will flow in the last days. When the power of God comes to His Church, we will only have to speak the word and people will be healed. 

This second miracle is clearly set apart from the miracles that Jesus did in Jerusalem, which are not mentioned in John’s Gospel. There is a great truth in this miracle for us today, beloved. Those of you who have children with a physical or spiritual need can believe God for a word of healing. Moreover, if your child is backslidden and spiritually lame, you can touch the Lord by faith and believe that he will be restored. Have faith in God, beloved, for He can do wonderful things in your life and your family!

[Bailey Brian. J. “The Gospel of John”. Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 2006. Page 85, 86 -87]