The Gospel of John | The Long Walk of Faith – John 4:46-54
Jesus works regardless of our status and faith requires we lay down who we are to trust in Him.
After Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, John depicts Jesus continuing on His travels and stopping in Cana once again. Previously, this place held the honor of Jesus’ first miracle with the turning of water into wine at the wedding in John 2:1-11. It was here that Jesus’ mother asked Him to do the miracle, placing expectations on Him. Furthermore, the impression is given that the request came more from wanting things from Jesus rather that wanting Jesus Himself. Now would be no different.
Word had spread about this man who could perform miracles. People came from all around to seek miracles, healings, and various other needs. The came a royal official, someone probably associated with Herod in some context and a man of influence and wealth. Simply put, not the average person who would even associate with Jesus let alone come himself. Yet, his son lay in bed at home dying and the man knew he did not have much more time. All the previous remedies and attempts at healing were unsuccessful and Jesus was the last hope for this dad concerned about the life of his son. He would plead for Jesus to accompany him to his home and heal his son. Surely if the stories were true, Jesus would be more than willing to accommodate the request.
Jesus understood the purpose for people coming to Him. All to often, the people wanted miracles and for Jesus to provide them with what they wanted. This, however, would be a misunderstanding of the purpose of Christ’s coming. At the request of the man, Jesus exhorted the crowd, not just the man, that they would only believe if they saw miracles performed. In truth, they wanted the Christ to do what they wanted Him to and not anything else. This is the attitude that Christ challenged. He looked at the man and proclaimed that the son would be fine. There would be no spectacle, no fancy service, laying on of hands, just the word of the man who claimed to be God and healed people. Now, titles and status did not matter except for the status that Jesus held and for one ruler, there would be a long walk of faith home.
Earthly Titles and Submission to The One True King
The royal official likely had never been told no. Coming from a background from being highly influential there likely had not been circumstances where the man found himself wanting. Now, standing before Jesus, the royal official demanding that Jesus drop everything He was doing and return to the royal official’s home to heal the boy. The pretense of His title had fallen. The man had not sent someone to retrieve Jesus but rather come himself. This was not a royal official demanding the obedience from those he considered under him, but instead was a father at his last hope for life for his son. Everything rested on this moment where the royal official would submit and bow before Jesus Christ, in acknowledgement of who stood before him. John writes that the royal official used the term Lord in verse 49 to refer to Jesus in a display of submission to who stood before him. In coming to Jesus, the man acknowledged the person of Jesus Christ for who he was.
At first, Jesus rebuked the crowd for their refusal to believe in the message of Jesus without first proof of miracles and signs. He encountered this problem throughout the course of His ministry, but specifically in Galilee. The people sought what they could receive from Jesus rather than to make Him the Lord of their life. Furthermore, Jesus’ rebuke is not solely aimed at the royal official but the surrounding crowd as well. Having been raised in this area, everyone held a preconceived notion of Jesus’ identity and what He could do for them. This poor area could become a seat of influence and power if Jesus remained with them performing the miracles on demand. Yet, to do so, would greatly miss the point of Christ’s coming. Jesus did not come to do what we ask but to pry a rebellious people from the hands of sin and death for His glory. He would be Lord or nothing and certainly not a magician at the beck and call of those around Him.
Putting our faith in Jesus means that we crucify any preconceived notions and preferences we might have and bow before the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Just like the royal official, faith begins at the declaration that Jesus is Lord. In Him we can find life but it will often look much different than anything we expect. Furthermore, we must understand our role in this process. Our personal gained titles and status mean or money amassed mean nothing compared to the King of Glory who sits on the throne above all. Nor do our preferences of how we think God ought to operate. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. They are better. His sovereign reign and omniscient knowledge of all creation allows us to have faith in God even when we don’t understand. As we lay aside our preferences and status we will posture ourselves to receive the gift of faith to follow God into a better life, one marked by knowing and being known by the God who will one day testify on our behalf in the throne room of heaven, sealing our identity with His.
- What do you see is the difference between needing to see signs and wonders and true submission?
The Long Walk of Faith
Consider for a moment the timeline of the ruler. We know that he approached Jesus at roughly the seventh hour of the day (or about 1:00pm). This would have entailed leaving his child early that morning and making the journey by foot to the place where Jesus would be staying. Furthermore, he would have had to hear that Jesus had been present and left immediately in hope that Jesus would still be there. Then, rather than Jesus returning with him, Jesus spoke words of promise that the boy would be healed. And there the man stood unsure of what to do and where to go. He spent the night in Cana and left for home the next morning. We do not get an insight into the internal monologue of the man as he walks home. Yet, more than likely, for those of us who have ever doubted, questioned, and prayed fervently for something need to understand. The man had a full days journey home with just the words of Jesus Christ ringing in his ears. John paints this picture with the tension lingering over the reader both knowing in our head that the boy will be saved, but wanting desperately to see the healing before the eyes of the man.
Faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior regularly requires us to continue to walk along the path God has set before us without seeing the end, mechanism, or any of the details. The idea of faith and trust are highly linked throughout the Bible and in the Greek and Hebrew. They both bear the idea that you are believing the word or testimony of another based on nothing more than their merit as a person. For us to have faith in Jesus, it involves us being entirely willing to put the totality of our lives in the hands of God as our Lord and Savior in faith that our lives are in better hands than our own. The royal official could have easily stayed with Jesus and badgered him to come to his home but he would have missed the entire point of Jesus’ ability. Jesus existed before the creation of time and, in conjunction with the Father and Holy Spirit, spoke all of creation into existence. As the Messiah and His claim to be God, Jesus’ word would not fall short of His ability as God is more than able to do everything promised.
We all will have a long walk of faith throughout the course of our lives. Some will be needing to trust God for supernatural healing for a family member or ourselves. Some will be more innocuous of trusting that everything will turn out okay in the end. Whatever the long walk may be, we all will face the need to rest in the faith God grants us rather than dictating the conditions and timing of the blessing. God’s ways our not our own and God’s time is not our own either. To dictate either of these and only believe when we have been satisfied would elevate us to the god of our lives rather than submitting to the One, True King who sits on the throne and rules with sovereign grace and love. Wherever God calls us, we can faithfully rest in the strength of God as beyond our own and know that He is greater.
- What impacted the people of the Samaritan Woman’s village the most about her testimony? Why was it so impactful?
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think Jesus rebuked the people for requiring signs in order to believe in Him?
- Where do you see the idea that “God owes me something” evident in your life?
- Do we ever put conditions on believing in God or requiring God to do specific things for us?
- What can we do to trust God despite our personal preferences?
- How do the actions of the royal official demonstrate the faith building within Him? Why is it significant that the royal official referred to Jesus as Lord?
- Do you ever find it difficult to have faith? What aspects of having faith scare you?
- Where does our faith come from? How does understanding the source of our faith help us in times of need?
