John 4:46-54 (NIV) Once more he 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. 47 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.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and
wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child
dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was
still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.
52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him,
"The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at
which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his
household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed,
having come from Judea to Galilee.
- So Jesus is back at where he had turned the water into wine. Obviously, having heard of a miracle, what might the talk in the town resemble?
- "I didn't see it, so I don't believe it"
- "I want to see a miracle …"
- Those in desperation, clinging to any hope at all, seek out Jesus
- Why does the man come to Jesus?
- He is desperate
- Is he looking for a miracle to believe?
- No, probably he only cares about his son. His response in verse 4:49 makes it clear that his only interest is in his son and his situation
- He might not even think of Jesus, except he has a need for relief from the great pain he is in. (And don't think the Father is not in as much pain as the child)
- Why does Jesus seem to rebuke the man since he doesn't seem to be the type person who is looking for signs?
- He is a result of the talk about signs
- He may have gotten many requests for signs, but he doesn't answer any of them until this one comes along
- The man's response is in contrast to another man, who will also request healing for his child. What is the other case and the difference?
- This man is Jewish and a royal official. The other man is Roman and a pagan
- The Jewish man requires Jesus presence, and does not suggest any belief, only hope ("if we make it in time"). The Roman soldier believes him at his word
- I wonder how the man felt when Jesus told him to go, that his child would live?
- Worried. Wondering about Jesus -- was he a charlatan? Why wouldn't he come?
- The passage says that he took Jesus at his word
- He questions his servant as to the exact time of the healing
- When he finds it was the exact hour of Jesus' word, then he believes
- APPLICATION: The father assumed that if Jesus went to his home, his son might be healed. The father had his own plan. He was looking for God to answer in a specific way. He was not expecting the answer he got. He might have even been surprised by the turn of events. When he finds out the details of the healing, it says he believed. What does it take for us to believe God at his word and to stop demanding he answer our prayers in our manner?
John 5:1-12 (NIV) Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem
for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a
pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five
covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie — the
blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One
who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him
lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he
asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to
help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in,
someone else goes down ahead of me."
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and
walk." 9 At once the man was cured;
he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the
Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law
forbids you to carry your mat."
11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me,
'Pick up your mat and walk.'"
12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to
pick it up and walk?"
- Why does Jesus ask the man if he wants to get well?
- Jesus knows the answer
- (duh) the crippled man is sitting at the Sheep gate where some fable has it of magical healing
- What does the man assume Jesus is asking?
- The man assumes Jesus might help him get into the pool
- The man doesn't know Jesus or probably know about the previous two miracles
- The man has in his mind a course of action and is not thinking that there might be another way to get what he so desperately desires?
- What was Jesus thinking when he asked the question? What was he not thinking?
- He was not thinking about getting the man into the pool
- He healed the man in a way the man never suspected
- Jesus tells the man to pick up his mat and carry it on the Sabbath. This disagrees with the oral tradition of the elders and causes the man to be questioned by others. At this point, the man still does not know the person who healed him
- APPLICATION: Sometimes we get so focused on the one way God can answer our prayer, we never notice when he really does answer
John 5:13-18 (NIV) The man who was healed had no idea who it
was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him,
"See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to
you." 15 The man went away and told
the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the
Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his
work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the
harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even
calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
- The man didn't know who Jesus was
- The man was apparently not looking for Jesus
- But the man might have done one thing right before Jesus found him, what was it?
- He was in the temple worshipping
- He was thanking God for his healing
- The passage says that Jesus found him in the temple. Possibly Jesus was looking for him because he was not finished with him. Jesus says some things which add a lot of detail to the story. What does Jesus reveal?
- This man, who had been an invalid for 38 years, apparently was an invalid because of his sin
- This would make him at least 50 years old or more
- Jesus warns him about the sin, but doesn't reveal it. Jesus knows his sin because he is God
- One conclusion is that some suffering is the result of sin. Not all suffering is the result of sin, but sin very clearly can lead to suffering in a person's life
- This is one of a few passages that shows Jesus very clearly violating the tradition of the elders in regard to the Sabbath
- The commandment regarding the Sabbath is the only one of the ten not repeated in the NT. Additionally, there are many other rituals and requirements of the law that are not repeated
- Most moral laws are repeated, but the OT does not make a distinction on moral, ceremonial, and dietary
- The NT clearly says that we are not under the OT law
- Jesus obeyed the OT law, but he taught a totally different law. He had to obey the law in order to fulfill it and to ultimately terminate it on the cross. His teaching and that of the apostles clearly understood that we are no longer under the burden of the law
- APPLICATION: This was not what the Jews expected of the Messiah. They eagerly awaited the Messiah, but they had their own idea of what the Messiah would be and do. Consequently, they missed what God was doing, as the Father and the invalid almost do as well. We need to be careful in prescribing the answers to prayers. We need to be watchful to see how God answers our prayers
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