Life of Christ 32
'This beginning of
miracles' Jesus did when He turned water into wine in Cana. It was the first
official act of His ministry. After moving His mother from Nazareth to
Capernaum He then traveled back to Judea for Passover. He does miracles there,
and preaches, but leaves after a short time so as not to mess up John the
Baptist's ministry. On the way back to Galilee He goes through Samaria and wins
the woman at the well. Upon arriving in Galilee He goes, for some reason, to
Cana again where He had done the first miracle.
Of course, He is well
known in Cana now, and when a nobleman heard the Jesus was in town he
immediately went to Him in order to ask Him if He could heal his son. The son
happened to be out of town in Capernaum, and he was too sick to move back to
Cana. The Bible says the son was 'at the point of death' (John 4.47) and it was
25 miles, all uphill, from Capernaum to Cana. So the nobleman in Cana finds
Jesus and asks Him, on His return to Capernaum, to heal his son.
Jesus' initial response
is to deny his request, or at least to test the nobleman. 'Except ye see signs
and wonders, ye will not believe' (John 4.48). Jesus would do this on many
occasions, in essence denying someone's request for a miracle. He didn't want
to become a genie, popping out of a lamp at the whim of the holder, in order to
grant three wishes. No, Jesus was looking for faith, for belief, not simply a
desire to see or experience something miraculous.
The nobleman's response
to this denial was heartfelt and desperate. 'Sir, come down ere my child die'
(John 4.49). Jesus, Who would often later make it a point of emphasis to encourage
perseverance in prayer, must have warmed to this immediately. Additionally, it
removed both of Jesus' objections to doing the miracle, namely someone without
any faith who simply desired to watch a performance. This was, rather, the
expression of a heartbroken father with nowhere else to turn.
Without
waiting another moment, Jesus says, 'Go thy way; thy son liveth' (John 4.50).
In this we see displayed both Jesus' compassion and His power. The nobleman's
reaction is also immediate: 'the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken
unto him, and he went his way'. Now bear in mind, although he had only heard of
Jesus doing one other miracle, a completely unrelated event turning water into
wine, and although Jesus was 25 miles away from his son, and although Jesus had
no idea what was wrong with his son, and although the nobleman had no way of
seeing if anything had actually changed in his son's condition – still, he
believed what Jesus had just said.
I find here the sweetest
kind of faith of the type that simply accepts whatever Jesus says. Such a
reaction is not, in my experience, normal. Usually, we have much more trouble
placing our complete faith in God's Word, especially if our reason,
observation, or emotions tell us differently. Faith, on the other hand, ignores
all of these things complete, essentially ignoring me completely and what I
think and feel, and simply looks to God. This doesn't mean that faith is
necessarily unreasonable. There are many reasons, for instance, to believe in
Creation over evolution, but in the final analysis it will always come back to
faith. In other words, God doesn't mind showing you and I why we should trust
Him, but what He wants, what He desires, what He longs for, what He is looking
for is someone who will just believe in Him. Jesus came looking for belief, and
He found it in this nobleman.
I'm not talking about
presumption. Presumption assumes that God will do whatever I expect Him to do
simply because I expect Him to do it. This charismatic approach in reality
places the power in me, and as long as I have enough faith I can speak a word
of blessing over anything and make it happen. Such an approach is completely
unscriptural. No, beloved, I'm talking about things in which we have God's
clear Word promising something, but there is no apparent evidence visible to
show that He is doing anything about it. It is in such a time as this that I am
called to honor God by placing my simple faith in Him, regardless of what I can
see or can't see happening at the moment.
For example, God
promises in the Scripture that He will provide for the physical needs of His
own (Psalm 37.25, Matthew 6.25-34, Philippians 4.19). In 17 years of pastoring
and 26 years of walking with Him I have seen this hold true countless times.
Regardless, then, of whether my church grows or shrinks, regardless of whether
the offerings go up or down, regardless of recessions, regardless of whether more
is needed as my children mature, I am absolutely confident God will provide for
the needs of my family. Why? Partially because I have seen Him do it for years,
but basically because He said He would. I may or may not see logically how that
is going to happen, but I believe it is going to happen, and it is that very
faith that pleases Him so much (Hebrews 11.6).
Recently, so many of the
precious people to whom I minister have been called by God to experience great
trials. I do not mean they have endured the pain of a hangnail, but rather that
the presence of tumors and cancer, or the sudden removal of a job, or the
threat of imminent deportation, et al. I certainly have not enjoyed watching
them struggle, but I have been greatly warmed by watching them respond in faith
to God.
Jesus came looking for
belief. He found it in the nobleman of Cana. Today He is looking for the exact
same thing. Is He finding it in you?
If you would like to hear the audio version of this blog you may find it here on our church website. Just press 'launch media player' and choose We Preach Christ 15, 'The Man Believed the Word'.
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