Daily Devotions
John
Nothing but a word from Jesus
Text: John 4:43-54
NOTHING BUT A WORD FROM JESUS
Jesus could of course go down to Capernaum with him and heal his son. However, that might not have helped him very much to develop his faith! What was needed was not more “signs and wonders”. What was needed was faith! Thus Jesus gave him a word. He said very simply,
“Your son lives.”
John 4:50
That was all Jesus offered the distraught nobleman. He did not offer to go to Capernaum with him. All He did was to make a proclamation! Who was this Jesus that He could make such statements?
The words of Jesus however were not uttered carelessly or casually. His words somehow kindled a spark of faith in the nobleman. John noted his response to the words spoken to him.
“So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke
to him, and he went his way.”
John 4:50
The poor nobleman had no choice actually. He couldn’t force Jesus to go down with him to Capernaum. His standing as a “nobleman” obviously did not impress Jesus at all. He certainly did not feel compelled to please him because he was an official of the King’s court.
Nevertheless, the word of Jesus brought a new ray of hope in the heart of the nobleman. He must dwell on the word that Jesus spoke. He said that his son would live. How could He say that? Surely, what He said was not just a platitude? Surely what He said must mean that He had power and authority over the illness that threatened to take away the life of his son! Was Jesus really that powerful? Could He be the Messiah then? He must cling on to his faith in Jesus and His word of promise!
GOOD NEWS
Fighting whatever fears he had with his new-found faith in Jesus, the nobleman was most pleasantly surprised when some of his servants met him on the road, as he drew nearer to his home in Capernaum.
“And as he was now going down,
his servants met him and told him, saying,
‘Your son lives!'”
John 4:51
What did his servants say? Did those words not sound all too familiar? Didn’t Jesus Himself say similar words? Was his son really out of danger and no longer at the point of death? He must find out more! Delirious with hope and joy he interrogated his servants.
“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.'”
John 4:52
Cana of Galilee was quite a distance away from Capernaum. The nobleman had gone to see Jesus the day before. It was about the seventh hour (1.00pm) when Jesus declined his request to go down to Capernaum. However, He did promise that his son would live!
The servants of the nobleman had just confirmed his faith in Jesus and the word that He spoke! His trip to Cana of Galilee had not been in vain! The word that Jesus had spoken was good and powerful! The very hour He uttered those words, his son was healed! How powerful were the words of Jesus! How wonderful it was to have faith in Him!
FAITH CONFIRMED
The nobleman had come to Jesus with a sense of desperation. Jesus was his last hope! If Jesus failed, then his son was dead!
Jesus had not returned with him to Capernaum as he had hoped. However, His word of promise gave him a new sense of faith. He clung to this faith as he made his way home. Would his son really live, as Jesus had said?
Then came the good news from his servants! He still had not seen his son. But surely his servants would not dare to make light of the illness that his son was suffering. If he weren’t healed, would they have dared to jest with him? Surely not! He must be healed – and by Jesus even though He had remained behind in Cana of Galilee! The hour of his son’s healing was proof positive of the powerful word of Jesus! His faith was confirmed.
“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.”
John 4:53
The faith of the nobleman was not only confirmed, it soared. He must have taken the next few moments to share with his family his new-found faith in Jesus. He must have recalled for them what Jesus had promised. He was now sure that he must believe in Jesus. Would members of his household also now share that same spirit of faith? But of course! That would be the most logical response!
John quietly ended his observation of the brief ministry of Jesus in Galilee with this brief note. This special miracle of healing from a long distance was a sign indeed!
“This again is the second sign Jesus did when He
had come out of Judea into Galilee.”
John 4:54