May 24, 2015 – John 4:39 – 54

Download discussion questions:  John 4_39-54 Official’s son

Jesus had two very fruitful days in Samaria – “Many more believed,” (John 4:41).  Then he went on into Galilee.  One thing that puzzled me in the passage was the logic of verse 44.  Jesus knew that “a prophet has not honor in his own country.”  How did that result in His departure for Galilee?  That seeming non-sequiter disappeared in our group discussion (oh, the value of group Bible study!).  Someone suggested that the comment about “no honor” was not pointing forward to the fact that He left for Galilee, but rather was the explanation for why He spent two extra days in Samaria.  The response of the Samaritans was so positive, even enthusiastic, that He delayed entering into the home country where He know the response would be very different in a short time.

Initially things seem to be going very well in Galilee, specifically in the town of Cana, where, as John reminds us, Jesus had performed a miracle.  While the initial sign of water into wine had been very private (John 2:1-12), the story may have spread.  In addition, crowds who had seen “all the things He did in Jerusalem” gathered and even “received” Him.  The events at the feast had been quite exciting and perhaps even entertaining:  driving merchants out of the temple, confronting religious leaders, talk about destroying the temple itself!  The signs He was doing (John 2:23) included His authoritative actions and controversial behavior, not necessarily just the overtly miraculous.  So when He returned to Galilee, crowds gathered.

John’s narrative focuses on a particular member of the assembled crowd, an out-of-towner who came the twenty or so miles from Capernaum.  This person probably stood out from the crowd in his clothing and his bearing.  He was a royal official, probably an affluent aristocrat.  He comes to Jesus with a desperate need beyond his wealth and position and influence, a dying son twenty miles away.  A member of our group commented on the despair and internal conflict that would drive a parent to leave a dying child, one “at the point of death” who might not survive until his return.  Hopelessness, being at the end of our own resources, can often turn us to God.

Again, a verse troubled me – Jesus’ initial response to a despairing parent with a dying child:  “Unless you people see signs and wonders you simply will not believe.”  Said by anyone but Jesus that would be an offensive response – rude, unfeeling, even caustic.  But it was said by Jesus, so what do we make of it?  And again, a comment from our discussion was clarifying.  I was reading the passage in “sound bytes” – Jesus returned, there was a crowd, an official approached Him.  Instead of seeing these as isolated, discrete facts (observations) about the passage, think of them together, setting a scene.  We talked about what this passage would look like if performed on a stage.  Jesus response to the royal official was not only for him, but for the crowd.  They were probably pressing in to see the sign worker from Jerusalem and the royal official and what would happen next.  Jesus knew the crowd’s interest was in seeing signs.  Even back in Jerusalem He “was not entrusting Himself to them, for He know all men…for He knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25).  The harsh tone of His response was toward the crowd seeking entertainment in a tragic situation.  Jesus responded to the official, perhaps (we can speculate) in a lower voice, intended just for the frantic father, “Go; your son lives.”

And the man went.  He had come twenty miles (no small journey, even if he had royal transportation in a carriage or on a horse).  He has a momentary encounter with the One who seems to be at the center of the excitement in the crowd, and now he starts back on the twenty-mile trek.  No argument, no questions, no request for further assurance.  John tells us simply that “he believed the word that Jesus spoke to him.”  Later, after profound confirmation of the healing of his son and confirmation of the cause of that healing, John tells us again that the official himself “believed and his whole household.”  His belief seems to have come in stages.  First, he believed enough (“the word that Jesus spoke”) to follow through and return to his son.  He believed enough to obey the concise command from Jesus: “Go.”  Later he believed.  Period.  We can assume that this second stage of belief was much deeper, not simply that Jesus was a healer, but that He was, as the Samaritans had concluded, “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).  Like the official, the Samaritans apparently also went through phases or stages of belief.  First they responded to the excited testimony of the woman Jesus had met at the well.  Later, after hearing Jesus firsthand they seem to have come to a deeper understanding of who He was and believed in Him.  Seeing those two examples can be an encouragement as we live our faith and find opportunities to share that faith with others.  Not every encounter immediately results in complete belief in the Gospel.  We did not take time in our group to discuss how some of us have gone (are going?) through phases of belief, but that would have been a fruitful conversation.

We did discuss the royal official’s inquiry after he was told of his son’s recovery.  Surely he was overjoyed with the result and eager to get back home to his son to see for himself.  Even those soaring emotions did not suppress his curiosity about exactly what happened.  Was this really a miracle?  Was this truly God at work?  Had Jesus actually performed the long-distance healing?  The official asked the right questions about the timing of events and the servants confirmed that this was no coincidence.  Then the father “knew and believed.”  Belief often grows out of knowledge.  The more we know of what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of those around us, the more our belief is strengthen.  Following the royal official’s example, we can look for questions to ask to better understand what God is doing.  If we believe that God is always at work, what question can we ask (about timing, about events, about relationships) that might help us see more clearly what He is doing?  How many of our seemingly random thoughts that we ignore or dismiss might be the prompting of the Holy Spirit?  How many unexpected circumstances might be opportunities to see God at work?  Some may be dramatic, like a person already prepared for a conversation you were fearing to initiate.  Others may seem minor, like a troublesome home-repair that suddenly goes right.  These were just two of the stories shared as we followed the official’s example, looking for ways to see more of what God is doing.  Keep thinking:  What questions can I ask to see more clearly what God is doing?