LIFE OF CHRIST
John 4:46-54
A FAITH STORY
Life of Christ #13
Each of us must realize that one quality that God
requires of us is faith. Romans 5:1, Hebrews 11:6
We must also realize that there are going to be times
when our faith is going to be put to the test.
James 1:2-4
One of our church members, Alan Cornman, recently came
up with the following definition of faith.
“FAITH:
the underlying confidence in God that He has done all He said He has, is all
He said He is, and will do all He said He will.”
John 4:46-53 is the story of a nobleman with a sick
son. Like so many Bible Stories, it is a story of faith. And like so many Bible stories, this story
challenges you and me to greater faith.
FAITH TESTED – Vss. 46-49
Vs. 46 – Jesus returns to Cana in
Jesus is about to have an encounter with a
“nobleman”. He was probably a member of
the court of King Herod. It appears that
the man was probably a man of means. He
had servants, and working for Herod was probably a profitable venture.
This nobleman had a problem. He had a very sick
son.
Have you noticed that the rich and famous are not
exempt from having problems? They get
problems just as much as we do!
Job 5:7 - Yet
man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
The Son of this nobleman was in
Vs. 47 – When the nobleman heard that Jesus
was only 20-25 miles away, he came to Jesus.
When the nobleman came to Jesus he begged Him, or
actually continually begged him for help.
He was in earnest. He cared. He
wanted Jesus to come right away because the boy was at the point of death.
God wants us to pray in a similar way. Matthew 7:7-8
The words in Matthew 7:7 actually mean “Keep on
asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.”
We should be persistent in our prayers to the Lord!
Sometimes God allows our faith to be tested even more!
Such was the case with the nobleman. Things immediately
got worse.
Vs. 48 – This statement was somewhat of a blow
to the nobleman. What Jesus says even
seems cruel.
And notice that Jesus made his response not just to
the nobleman but to all that were gathered around.
The Jews were constantly looking for “signs” or proofs
from Jesus before they would believe on Him.
They wanted to see Him physically perform a miracle.
The nobleman wanted Jesus to go physically with him to
Jesus was saying to the crowd and to the nobleman, “I
want you to believe on me, even if I don’t give you a sign.”
Vs. 49 – The nobleman didn’t seem to
care. No matter what Jesus said, he
realized that Jesus was his hope. He
still thought Jesus needed to come, and he was still in earnest.
“Sir, Come ere my child die.”
Oh, may we have the same earnestness as this nobleman
when we pray!
The man’s faith was severely tested, and yours will be
too from time to time.
Psalm 66:10 - For
thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
When silver is tried or refined heat is applied!
When you are tested, the heat of affliction will be
applied.
FAITH TESTED – Vss. 46-49
FAITH TRUSTING – Vs. 50
Jesus now shows what he means about believing without
a sign.
Jesus simply gave His word.
Jesus said, “You can go now. You’re son lives!” Jesus
had healed the boy without going to
For all of the nobleman’s begging about Jesus going to
Why, he didn’t even rush home to make sure that what
Jesus said was true. He didn’t go until
the next day!
This man simply trusted the Word of Jesus.
This is what faith is. It’s trust that what God says
he will do!
Trusting faith is often what is missing in our prayers.
We leave out the believing that God will answer.
God does not answer faithless prayers. Mark 11:24
FAITH TRIUMPHANT – Vss. 52-53
When we trust God there will always be victory.
Sometimes the victory will be a positive answer to our
prayers. A person will be healed, or a
problem will be solved.
Other times we will not see the answer we want, but
God will give us the grace to triumph through the difficult times. Romans 5:3-5
In our story the Nobleman experiences triumphant
faith.
Vs. 51 – The Nobleman’s servants actually
started out to find their master with the good news! The son had been healed! The fever was
gone!
I’m sure the Nobleman was overjoyed, but I don’t think
that he was surprised! After all, he was
trusting Jesus at His word!
Vs. 52 – The Nobleman was curious. When did the boy start to heal? The time was
stated.
Vs. 53 – The boy was healed at the same hour
as Jesus had said “Thy son liveth”.
This is absolutely remarkable.
Jesus healed a boy 25 miles away without seeing him.
He simply spoke the Word, and the boy was healed.
The result was that the Nobleman and his household
believed. They believed in Jesus as the
Messiah. The man’s faith led to more
faith.
FAITH TESTED
FAITH TRUSTING
FAITH TRIUMPHANT
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