Bible Talks - Family Church (9:45am)

People Jesus MetNew TestamentJohnSeries: People Jesus MetNew TestamentJohn · Talk No. 3

Royal Official

Sunday, 13 January 2008

Donny Kwan

John 4:43-54

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Bible Talk Text

Introduction

In desperate need…

A father was awakened by a phone call at 1:30am one freezing cold winter morning. The nurse on the line explained that his eighteen-year-old boy had been hit by a car and was bleeding profusely. The attending doctor had determined that unless the boy was operated on immediately, he would not survive.

The Father thought he desperately needed to get to his son. He mustn’t stop for anyone. The father threw on his clothes and rushed out into the subzero weather. He scraped his car’s windshield just enough to be able to see where he was going and started the icy five kilometre trip to the hospital. Each time he stopped at a red light he opened his car door and leaned out just enough to scrape a little more ice from the windshield.

At one intersection, about a kilometre and a half from the hospital, the father noticed a man wearing a brown coat and an old green hat impatiently trying to cross the street. As the father leaned out of his car, the man rushed over, telling him that he desperately needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

The father looked at him suspiciously as he was unshaven and looked homeless. He had to get to the hospital he couldn’t risk the time and take this man too. Besides the man looked like he was going to mug the father.

Despite his appearances the father told the man to hop in. Several minutes later they finally made it to the hospital. “Where’s the boy who was hit by a car?” the father asked one of the nurses as he hurried through the emergency room. The nurse pointed to the operating room but said the surgeon’s not here. We’re waiting for him to arrive. Just as she finished that sentence the man the father picked up came through the doors taking off his brown coat and old green hat.

The man he had picked up was the surgeon who was going to operate on his dying son. The Father did not realise the man he picked up was the surgeon. If he hadn’t the doctor would not have got to the hospital in time to save his 18 year old son. Both were desperate to get to the hospital. One who could save and the other who wanted to be with the one who needed saving.

Today we are going to hear of Jesus meeting a royal official whose son needed saving.

After meeting the Samaritan woman from last week Jesus now moves back to Galilee. The first thing we notice here is there is

1. They trusted in signs not word

43 ¶ After the two days he left for Galilee.  44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honour in his own country.)  45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

  • Now Jesus travels back to Galilee from Jerusalem. He went via Samaria. We know this because of the preceding passage about the Samaritan woman that Gary preached to us last week MAP This passage ended with the Samaritans believing Jesus’ words and placing their trust in him. Verse 42, “They (The Samaritans) said to the woman “we no longer believe just because of what you said now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”
  • So after spending 2 days in Samaria Jesus heads back to Galilee.
  • We should be slightly surprised at first that the Galileans welcome Jesus.
  • John has just put a warning sign up for us. He reminds us in verse 44 that Jesus says that a prophet has no honour in his own country. This had been true for Jesus already in Jerusalem in John chapter 1 with his own Jewish people rejecting him and his words. Now that he is returning to the place he was raised, Galilee, we expect the same sort of rejection. A prophet who brings God’s word is not honoured in his home town with the right response.
  • It is unlike the Samaritan’s response who heard his word and honoured him by listening to him
  • Yet as he arrived in Galilee the Galileans welcomed him. But what kind of welcome is it?
  • Look with me to the second half of verse 45. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there. They give him the welcome of a miracle worker because they had witnessed his miracles in Jerusalem. Back in John 2:23 it says “Many people saw the miraculous signs he (Jesus) was doing.” These Galileans had seen the miraculous signs that Jesus had done in Jerusalem and were now welcoming him, not as the Saviour of the world, like the Samarians had concluded, but as a miracle worker.
  • They welcome one who will amaze them, not one who will speak the word of God to them. They look forward to his miraculous performance, not to the saving words he would speak to them. 

Illustration:

The story is told that a national magazine assigned a photographer to take pictures of a forest fire. They told him a small plane would be waiting at the airport to fly him over the fire.

The photographer arrived at the airstrip just an hour before sundown. Sure enough, a small Cessna airplane stood waiting. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, "Let's go!" The pilot, a tense-looking man, turned the plane into the wind, and soon they were in the air, though flying erratically.

"Fly over the north side of the fire," said the photographer, "and make several low-level passes."

"Why?" asked the nervous pilot.

"Because I'm going to take pictures!" yelled the photographer. "I'm a photographer, and photographers take pictures."

The pilot replied, "You mean you're not the flight instructor?"

Just as the photographer misplaced his trust in the pilot so to the people of Galilee had misplaced their trust in something Jesus was not. Jesus was not just a miracle worker. He is more than that.

But as the news spread of the arrival of this miracle worker, Jesus encounters the Royal Official.

2. Jesus encounters the Royal Official

46 ¶ 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."

  • After going into the town of Cana of Galilee there Jesus encounters a certain royal official.
  • This royal official is most likely in the service Herod Antipas who was tetrarch and ruled over the region of Galilee. He was a prominent man just like Nicodemus.
  • As we see Jesus visit the town of Cana we are told what Jesus had done earlier as he visited that area. He had turned water in to wine in Cana at the wedding feast (John 1). It was his first sign that he performed in Galilee so people would believe in him as the Christ.
  • The royal official hears that Jesus has come to Galilee and travels from Judea from the town of Capernaum. At first it seems like he is asking Jesus, the miracle worker to do something for him.
  • But we find out that he is in desperate need of help. His son was close to death. There is an emergency here.
  • In reality the royal official is not there to see a performer but looking for a saviour.
  • The words of verse 48 seem harsh as Jesus responds to the official. But his rebuke is not just directed to the royal official but it is addressed to the Galileans as a whole.
  • Jesus rebuked the people for the their desire to seek the spectacular and wonder of something great while the royal official came to Jesus seeking what people should have been seeking, a saviour.

Illustration:

It’s like meeting someone famous. I remember meeting the actor Hugh Jackman. I heard one Sunday morning that a famous movie actor was coming to church to have his child baptised. I was leading the singing and it had not occurred to me during the whole service that I was standing 1 metre away from Hugh Jackman. After the service I asked the youth group kids who the famous person was and they said Hugh Jackman. I said who’s that? They pointed him out and I said him? Who’s he? They proceeded to point out the movies he had been in and I felt totally embarrassed. I so wanted to meet the famous person but missed him completely. I even missed having my picture taken with him. I was looking for some mega star with security guards and crowds of people but instead met a very down to earth guy who was very friendly.

Unlike me the royal official was not looking for some mega star miracle worker but was looking for a saviour.

As he finds Jesus the saviour we see

3. A desperate man trusts Jesus’ word

  • Here the truth of what the royal official wants comes out.
  • The royal official is not so much interested seeing the signs Jesus would perform. He is far more concerned with the well being of his child. He needs a saviour!
  • It is seen in his words, 49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 
  • He is a desperate man who is concerned for the life of his son. He’s not just coming to see the performance. He’s not just coming to see the circus that has just rolled into town. He is seeking a doctor who would bring back life.
  • 50 Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
  • Jesus gives the words of healing and assurance and so the royal official takes Jesus at his word and goes.
  • The royal official unlike the Galileans, and unlike the Jews, listened to Jesus’ word and acted on it.
  • The official showed faith in the words of Jesus when he departed. He trusted Jesus’ word.

Illustration: A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn’t hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff.

So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something. “Help! Help! Is anyone up there? Help!” He yelled for hours, but no one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice.

“Jack. Jack. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, yes! I can hear you. I’m down here!”

“I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?”

“Yes, but...who are you, and where are you?”

“I am the Lord, Jack. I’m everywhere.”

“The Lord? You mean, GOD?”

“That’s me.”

“God, please help me! I promise—if you’ll get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning. I’ll be a really good person. I’ll serve you for the rest of my life.”

“Easy on the promises, Jack. Let’s just get you down from there; then we can talk. Now, here’s what I want you to do. Listen carefully.”

“I’ll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do.”

“Okay. Let go of the branch.”

“What?”

“I said, let go of the branch. Just trust me. Let go.”

There was a long silence. Finally Jack yelled, “Help! Help! Is anyone else up there?”

Application: Unlike the royal official Jack didn’t trust the Lord. He didn’t act on the word of the Lord and yet the power is in Jesus’ word. If only Jack had trusted the word of the Lord as the Royal official did.

In trusting Jesus’ word and seeing the promise fulfilled and the royal official put his

4. Belief in Jesus

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.

  • On his way home servants meet him half way with news about his son.
  • The boy was healed! When the official asked when did this occur the timing was at the exact same time that Jesus spoke the words, "Your son will live." It happened as Jesus said it would.
  • When he heard this, the royal official believed and so did his family.
  • The royal official did not place his trust in the sign but rather the sign confirmed his belief in Jesus’ word.
  • This man like the Samaritan woman showed faithful response to Jesus and his words.
  • In the end the sign led to a deeper faith as the man understood and realised the timing of the event.

Application:

While miracles are great they are not in themselves the things we put our trust in. They confirm our belief and point us towards Jesus. It is the person and words of Jesus that we should put our trust in.

The royal official is a man who trusted Jesus’ word. He didn’t need to see Jesus perform the miracle before his very eyes. He is a man who believed without visual evidence. This royal official stands in contrast to the people of Jerusalem who saw the miraculous signs but did not have true faith in Jesus.

John is saying that the people in Jerusalem saw miracles but did not believe, whereas the royal official did not actually see miracles and yet obeyed Jesus’ words.

We are not to be like the Galileans. We are not to treat Jesus like a genie. Jesus does not perform miraculous signs to amaze us and make us go ohhh ahhh. But rather let us be like the royal official, believing and trusting in Jesus’ word. Believing what Jesus says and acting on it. Growth in relationship with Christ comes as a result of that.

So what about us here at Toongabbie? Have we been regularly immersing ourselves in the word of God this week? Have we been reading our Bibles and hearing what Jesus has to say to us personally and then putting it into practise? For example this week I was studying 1 Peter 3 where is says, ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ After reading this I should have been ready to do just this, give the reason for the hope I have. Be ready to share the gospel. Yet this week when I had an opportunity to chat to a stranger in Woolworths! I did not put what I had learnt into practice, I missed the opportunity. I was tired and focused on my task of shopping. Getting the goods and getting out of there. I wasn’t alert to a conversation in a grocery line. This sermon is a challenge to me to not only read God’s word during the week but also to act on it. To be ready to share the word.

What is God saying to you in his word at the moment? For each of us it will be different. Maybe you are in desperate times at the moment like the man whose son was dying in hospital at the beginning of this sermon or maybe you are in a time of stress, or maybe it’s a time of joy? Maybe it’s a time of waiting? What ever time or season you are in, the challenge for us today is are we in our individual situation, actually reading the bible regularly during the week and listening to God’s word? And are we acting on it in our lives? Take a moment now to think about what God has been saying to you in his word lately. If you’re not sure, then you may want to renew again your resolve to spend time with our Lord this week. Let’s make sure we like the royal official, that we are people of belief, trust and action. A people who are looking for a saviour rather than a miracle wonder. That we listen to Jesus’ word and act on it in our lives.

Conclusion

Would we believe the word of Jesus who can save us? Or are we just looking for some miracle wonder worker who will entertain us? We have seen What Jesus can do for a royal official who is in desperate need. In his desperate need, he trusts Jesus’ word to save and as a result we see him believing Jesus as well as his household. I pray that we too will trust the words of the one who can save us.