City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

⁴⁶ So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” ⁴⁹ The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. ⁵¹ As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. ⁵² So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³ The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. ⁵⁴ This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

John 4:46-54 ESV

¹³ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

Luke 10:13 ESV

⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:44

Reflection

As with all the miracles of Jesus, I am left struggling with understanding what it all means.  A man, of some importance, comes to Jesus with a need.  He doesn’t seem to be one given to chasing the latest fashion, but he is seeking help for a very personal need.  Surely this is the exact type of person that Jesus would expect to help.  But Jesus greets him as if he was just looking for a magic trick.  When Jesus says “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe” is he talking to the man or those around Him looking on?  I don’t know, but it clearly does not prevent Jesus from helping him.

The man is not dissuaded.  He presses Jesus to come, still looking for the type of answer he came for.  But Jesus tells him that what he is looking for is done, and he believes right away.  This is amazing.  This man goes from hoping for a certain thing, to simply believing what Jesus said.  I don’t understand why he doesn’t get more credit for this amazing leap of faith.  Why would he just believe?  This may be the burden of the lesson.  When Jesus speaks, something happens within this man such that Jesus’ word is enough. We all have a journey of faith, but the circumstances of this man’s life drive him to push on from faith to faith.  There is a faith journey to Jesus, a faith journey with Jesus, and a faith journey from Jesus.

When this man departs Jesus, having believed, he receives confirmation of what he was looking for.  His servants confirm that what Jesus said was true; his son was getting better.  It is interesting that this miracle is performed over distance and confirmed by time.  Jesus simply says it is done and then it is confirmed the next day, based on the timekeeping technology of the day.  By this time, the reliability of timekeeping was well established in society and the claim of “the seventh hour” in one place was well coordinated with “the seventh hour” in another.  The seventh hour being about seven hours after the sun had risen.

 As a side note, it is interesting that it was not performed at the 6^th hour, which would have been noon, the easiest time to identify in the day.  To know that it was the 7^th hour, one would have to look at a timekeeping device around that time.  So, yes, as this man was talking to Jesus, he was checking his watch, probably worried that time was running out for his son.  All that anxiety resulted in him knowing exactly when he was talking to Jesus, so that when he got the confirmation that the miracle had been performed, he had scientific knowledge of the event, and as a result he knew who to attribute it too.  I imagine that those moments of anxiety turned into the most wonderful peace when he discovered the time.

Application

Are you looking for a miracle?  Are you looking for help? Are you looking for God to meet your needs?  Is it a mistake to answer yes to any of these questions?

I can not penetrate the reason that Jesus gives a rebuke to the man for asking for help with his son. I don’t understand it.  Perhaps there is a scholarly answer, but it is a valid warning.  We are not to be ones who are always looking for magic tricks, divine or otherwise. Miracles point to a greater thing than what we see in this natural world. But we should bring our needs to Christ regardless.  If we come with wrong motives, God is more than capable of instructing us in the right way.  Just come expecting to say yes to what ever Jesus tells you, and he will do more than what you could imagine.

I do believe that this man was drawn to Jesus, and it is to this man’s credit that he comes. I have heard many testimonies of strong Christian men who were initially drawn to the church because they were interested in a girl.  Why wouldn’t God use the desperate situation like the sickness of a child to draw a man? The real question is, does an interaction with Christ change you? After experiencing Him, does the journey away from Him draw you closer to Him or take you further away?

Prayer

Dear Lord, You are the holy one, and there are none like You.  You are perfect.  I submit to You that I have come seeking answers to my problems insisting on my own way, but today I ask You to intervene in my life as You see fit.  I seek Your answers, Your methods, and Your presence.  Draw me to You, that I might live out my life in Your courts always. In Jesus name, Amen.