Living Stones – Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Take Jesus at His word
John 4:50
Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
The high ranking royal official to whom Jesus is speaking is a great example of one who humbled himself to come to Jesus; needs always bring us all to our knees.
Given the man’s obvious rank in the Herod’s service he would have had access to the best medical services available at that time. It is clear that all else had failed when he turned to Jesus. Not unlike many of us. Those of us who are parents whose children have been sick know that feeling that comes over you when it seems like there is little that could be done to ease the child’s suffering.
This man had made a 20-mile journey to come to Jesus and, even as a royal official who may have had a horse or even a chariot, it was slow going over those dusty roads of the time. Having arrived he implored and prevailed upon Jesus to make the journey back with him since the boy’s life was at stake.
Jesus, as often happens, does not immediately address the issue at hand. Instead, He make a statement about signs, wonders and faith, saying “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
Bible scholars argue over this statement, some say that Jesus was talking to those Galileans gathered around him and some, that he was talking directly to the man.
I believe that he was talking to both. His comments were addressed to the man who came with a specific request, but the comments were also intended for the Galileans who were about to witness a second sign, the first being the turning of water into wine. But It would seem that Jesus knew the man’s heart and recognised that the man may have come to Him not in faith, but as a last resort since all else had failed. The man could well have said to himself, that maybe, if my son is healed, I would believe in this man’s powers.
Jesus always tests the faith of those who come to Him with questions or challenges before He works on the issue they came with. Jesus is confident that He could fix the problem so he never exercises the rush that people want to see. A good example is Lazarus, the man’s sisters wanted Jesus there in a hurry, the disciples thought that He should leave in a hurry, but Jesus was about to teach a larger lesson than healing sickness so He addressed other matters while Lazarus died. That gave Him an opportunity to demonstrate that He is the resurrection and the life.
So, Jesus wanted this royal official to understand that you must come to Him in faith and be able to take Him at His word. The matter of the boy’s sickness was secondary to this lesson. Jesus could heal the boy without some long dusty trek to Capernaum.
Challenged on the issue of faith the man persists. He didn’t turn away in disgust, discouragement, or doubt, he heard the call to faith and pressed in. Now with faith pressing in he gets relief. Jesus says “Go your way; your son lives.”
A desperate father who came to Jesus, probably as a last resort, is now leaving in faith on a spoken word from Him. He didn’t get what he came for. He came to take Jesus to Capernaum, what he got was a word from Jesus. But having been challenged, he put his faith and trust in Jesus. He took Him at His word.
He believed when Jesus spoke and he believed when he heard from his servants. His faith was rewarded and he responded with faith.
It would help sometimes if we would take Jesus at His word and rest. Cast all of our cares on Him and rest. Chill. Instead many of us today are carrying around baggage, hurts, pains, disappointments, burdens, and the list goes on and on. Others of us have hopes, dreams, ambitions and goals but the circumstances or resource shortages are troubling
Here is what Jesus said “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30.
Let’s take Him at His word.
Think on these things:
- Do you only go to Jesus in fervent prayer as a last resort in difficult circumstances?
- How often do you seek to identify and trust the promises of God in your situation?
- Can you think of any situation in your life when you were convinced that you trusted the word of God and He came through for you?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would cultivate our faith in Jesus.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex