1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,580 Well we’re looking today at a marvelous story from John’s gospel in chapter 4. I do hope 2 00:00:05,580 –> 00:00:11,000 you’ll have the Bible open in front of you. We’re simply going to walk through this story 3 00:00:11,000 –> 00:00:17,240 this morning. It’s the story of a man whose faith in Jesus Christ grew. It had a very 4 00:00:17,240 –> 00:00:25,280 fragile beginning. It was strengthened and then it was marvelously and wonderfully vindicated. 5 00:00:25,700 –> 00:00:30,580 We’re going to begin at verse 43 and as I say simply walk through the story so please 6 00:00:30,580 –> 00:00:37,680 have that open in front of you. And verse 43 tells us that after two days he that is 7 00:00:37,680 –> 00:00:45,180 Jesus departed for Galilee. Now the two days of course are a reference to the wonderful 8 00:00:45,200 –> 00:00:52,200 two days that Jesus had spent in the Samaritan town of Sychar where there had been this remarkable 9 00:00:52,500 –> 00:00:59,500 spiritual movement in the least likely of all places. Verse 39 many Samaritans believed 10 00:01:00,400 –> 00:01:06,919 in him. And verse 40 they asked him to stay there for two days and as a result of Jesus 11 00:01:06,919 –> 00:01:13,300 staying there for two days there were many more Samaritans, verse 41, who believed his 12 00:01:13,300 –> 00:01:19,680 word. Notice that phrase many more Samaritans believed his word. That’s something we are 13 00:01:19,760 –> 00:01:26,760 to pick up on today that faith is about resting in and trusting God’s Word. And those who 14 00:01:29,019 –> 00:01:36,019 believed made a marvelously clear profession of faith that we have in verse 42. They said 15 00:01:36,220 –> 00:01:43,199 we know that this is indeed the saviour of the world. You can’t get a clearer profession 16 00:01:43,199 –> 00:01:48,959 of faith in Jesus Christ then that to declare him the saviour of the world. So these were 17 00:01:48,959 –> 00:01:54,860 two marvellous days in this little town of Sychar in the least likely place in terms 18 00:01:54,860 –> 00:02:00,180 of a spiritual movement. You wouldn’t expect it there. But there was a wonderful response 19 00:02:00,180 –> 00:02:07,180 and harvest to the ministry of Our Lord Jesus Christ there. And so now Jesus continues his 20 00:02:08,100 –> 00:02:13,479 journey north. Having gone through Samaria, he arrives in Galilee and so the point is 21 00:02:13,520 –> 00:02:20,520 that he’s now back among his own people in Galilee. And John tells us, verse 45, that 22 00:02:22,380 –> 00:02:29,380 the people of Galilee welcomed him. But then he tells us why. They welcomed him, having 23 00:02:30,880 –> 00:02:37,880 seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast for they too had gone to the feast. 24 00:02:38,720 –> 00:02:45,720 Now the point here is that when Jesus was in Samaria he did not perform any miracles 25 00:02:46,520 –> 00:02:53,520 there. As we saw in verse 41, people believed his Word. But when he came to Galilee there 26 00:02:55,500 –> 00:03:01,360 were people who had been down in Jerusalem and had seen miracles that Jesus had performed 27 00:03:01,360 –> 00:03:06,940 there and had brought the reports of these miracles back up to their home in Galilee. 28 00:03:07,039 –> 00:03:13,000 Having seen all that he had done, they welcomed him. And the point here of course is that 29 00:03:13,000 –> 00:03:18,479 unlike when he was in Samaria where there was no expectation of miracles and simply 30 00:03:18,479 –> 00:03:23,960 a response to his Word, when he gets to Galilee because of the reports that have come up from 31 00:03:23,960 –> 00:03:29,300 Jerusalem there is this hope, this expectation that he is going to do the same kind of thing 32 00:03:29,300 –> 00:03:35,880 in Galilee as he did in Jerusalem and that’s why they welcomed him. 33 00:03:36,820 –> 00:03:43,360 So verse 46, he came to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine. 34 00:03:43,360 –> 00:03:48,500 And so the subject of miracles clearly is before us here because there’s this reference 35 00:03:48,500 –> 00:03:53,979 to the first miracle that Jesus did recorded in John’s Gospel. 36 00:03:53,979 –> 00:04:00,119 John records just 7 miracles and he calls them signs. 37 00:04:00,119 –> 00:04:03,779 Which is very significant as we’ll see a little later. 38 00:04:03,779 –> 00:04:08,300 And the first of these signs performed in this little town of Cana, Galilee was that 39 00:04:08,300 –> 00:04:11,940 Jesus had turned water into wine. 40 00:04:11,940 –> 00:04:18,260 If you look at verse 54, you will see there that the story we’re looking at today is presented 41 00:04:18,260 –> 00:04:22,519 to us by John as the second sign. 42 00:04:22,519 –> 00:04:24,559 The second sign. 43 00:04:24,559 –> 00:04:32,679 And so here is Jesus in Cana and John tells us verse 46, that in Capernaum which was about 44 00:04:32,739 –> 00:04:40,279 20 miles away from Cana there was an officer whose son was ill. 45 00:04:40,279 –> 00:04:48,519 Now, this official, I should say, in verse 46, an official whose son was ill, that word 46 00:04:48,519 –> 00:04:52,160 official is actually very important here. 47 00:04:52,160 –> 00:05:00,920 The Greek word for a king was basilis, the man here, the word is translated official. 48 00:05:01,059 –> 00:05:05,980 The Greek word here is basilikos, basilos, basilikos. 49 00:05:05,980 –> 00:05:09,940 In other words, literally translated a little king. 50 00:05:09,940 –> 00:05:15,600 What we’re talking about here is a royal official, someone who served the king. 51 00:05:15,600 –> 00:05:21,200 We might say today a member of the royal household. 52 00:05:21,200 –> 00:05:24,940 And so this is a man, try to get the picture in your mind of who he is and what his life 53 00:05:24,940 –> 00:05:25,940 is. 54 00:05:25,940 –> 00:05:30,119 This is a man who walks the corridors of power. 55 00:05:30,119 –> 00:05:36,339 Some people think that this may actually have been Herod’s household manager. 56 00:05:36,339 –> 00:05:41,459 There’s an interesting reference in Luke’s Gospel, chapter eight, in verse three, to 57 00:05:41,459 –> 00:05:45,600 this man by the name of Chusa and his wife Joanna. 58 00:05:45,600 –> 00:05:52,179 The wife of Chusa who we’re told was Herod’s household manager and how this couple, right 59 00:05:52,179 –> 00:05:58,320 at the centre of Herod’s palace, with all that was going on there, were believers and 60 00:05:58,320 –> 00:06:02,799 actually supported Jesus and the disciples out of their means. 61 00:06:02,799 –> 00:06:06,239 They were people of considerable wealth. 62 00:06:06,239 –> 00:06:14,420 You may recall that this same Joanna was actually one of the women who on the resurrection day 63 00:06:14,420 –> 00:06:20,920 went to the tomb of Jesus, intending to anoint his body with spices, and then of course found 64 00:06:20,920 –> 00:06:22,519 that the tomb was empty. 65 00:06:22,519 –> 00:06:28,079 So this woman Joanna was actually one of the first witnesses to the resurrection of our 66 00:06:28,200 –> 00:06:29,920 Lord Jesus Christ. 67 00:06:29,920 –> 00:06:37,579 Now I don’t know if the story that we’re looking at today is indeed the story of how Chusa 68 00:06:37,579 –> 00:06:40,959 and Joanna came to faith in Christ. 69 00:06:40,959 –> 00:06:43,000 I suspect that it might be. 70 00:06:43,000 –> 00:06:50,839 But what we know for sure is that this is the story of a royal person, a member of the 71 00:06:50,839 –> 00:06:57,440 king’s household who we’re told, along with his entire family, his wife and servants 72 00:06:57,440 –> 00:07:03,119 and all the rest came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 73 00:07:03,119 –> 00:07:08,239 So get the picture of this man and therefore of this family. 74 00:07:08,239 –> 00:07:12,359 He could be described as a little king. 75 00:07:12,359 –> 00:07:14,239 He lives a life of privilege. 76 00:07:14,239 –> 00:07:18,119 He walks in the corridors of power. 77 00:07:18,119 –> 00:07:26,119 According to verse 51, do you notice there there’s a reference to his servants, plural. 78 00:07:26,119 –> 00:07:31,519 So that gives some sense of his status in society, and no doubt he was very handsomely 79 00:07:31,519 –> 00:07:37,779 rewarded with an appropriate salary in regards to his responsibilities. 80 00:07:37,779 –> 00:07:45,720 So here is a man who’s doing very, very well in life indeed, but he carries a great burden. 81 00:07:45,720 –> 00:07:53,179 The great burden, verse 46, is that his son was ill. 82 00:07:53,220 –> 00:07:57,040 Then comes to the rich as well as the poor. 83 00:07:57,040 –> 00:08:03,619 And for all his power, and for all his wealth, there had been nothing that he could do to 84 00:08:03,619 –> 00:08:07,040 help his own son. 85 00:08:07,040 –> 00:08:15,779 And worse than that, verse 47 tells us that the official’s son was at the point of death. 86 00:08:15,779 –> 00:08:26,339 So take this in, this is a story of a desperate father, and it’s the story of a dying son. 87 00:08:26,339 –> 00:08:32,159 Everyone who has ever lost a son or a daughter will resonate with this story. 88 00:08:32,159 –> 00:08:37,299 You will know something of what this father felt. 89 00:08:37,299 –> 00:08:45,260 The fear, the pain, the sense of helplessness. 90 00:08:45,260 –> 00:08:51,099 In verse 47, we’re told that when this man, the royal official, heard that Jesus had come 91 00:08:51,099 –> 00:09:01,179 from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and to heal his son. 92 00:09:01,179 –> 00:09:05,340 Now at this point, of course, the royal official would have known very little about the Lord 93 00:09:05,340 –> 00:09:07,580 Jesus Christ. 94 00:09:07,580 –> 00:09:13,280 But as we’ve seen, word had got around in Galilee from folks who had been down in Jerusalem 95 00:09:13,559 –> 00:09:20,359 that there was a person called Jesus and that he had performed in Jerusalem some miracles. 96 00:09:20,359 –> 00:09:24,799 And evidently, these stories that the travelers had brought back with them had even reached 97 00:09:24,799 –> 00:09:28,919 the palace and had reached the ears of the royal official. 98 00:09:28,919 –> 00:09:34,400 And on that basis, having heard these stories, the royal official hearing that Jesus was 99 00:09:34,400 –> 00:09:42,320 in Cana, traveled the 20 miles from Capernaum to Cana in order to meet with Jesus and to 100 00:09:42,599 –> 00:09:45,539 ask him to come and to heal his son. 101 00:09:45,539 –> 00:09:50,419 Now, I think that it says a lot for this man. 102 00:09:50,419 –> 00:09:57,419 That with his son on the point of death, he leaves his home and he leaves his wife and 103 00:09:57,940 –> 00:10:04,940 he leaves the boy, in order to come and to ask Jesus Christ for help. 104 00:10:07,159 –> 00:10:12,260 And when he arrives, the first thing that Jesus says to him, is not encouraging. 105 00:10:12,419 –> 00:10:17,419 Verse 48, Jesus said to him, unless you see signs 106 00:10:17,539 –> 00:10:21,159 and wonders, you will not believe. 107 00:10:21,159 –> 00:10:26,900 Now, this seems to be a word of rebuke, and it is. 108 00:10:26,900 –> 00:10:33,580 What Jesus is saying is something like this, if you could have found any other cure for 109 00:10:33,580 –> 00:10:38,619 your son, you wouldn’t be coming and speaking to me today. 110 00:10:38,619 –> 00:10:41,200 And of course, that was true. 111 00:10:41,320 –> 00:10:45,780 This royal official had no special interest in Jesus. 112 00:10:45,780 –> 00:10:49,940 He only came to Jesus for one reason, and that was that he was desperate. 113 00:10:49,940 –> 00:10:57,880 He was absolutely desperate, which reminds us that God can use all kinds of circumstances 114 00:10:57,880 –> 00:11:02,099 to begin his work in a person’s life. 115 00:11:02,099 –> 00:11:08,619 Many of you know this from your own experience that your first connection with Christian 116 00:11:08,880 –> 00:11:13,419 faith, your first connection with Jesus Christ, your first connection with God’s people 117 00:11:13,419 –> 00:11:15,419 didn’t come from the highest of motives. 118 00:11:15,419 –> 00:11:18,299 It wasn’t that you were some great seeker after truth. 119 00:11:18,299 –> 00:11:24,099 It was simply that something happened in your life and you felt quite desperate. 120 00:11:24,099 –> 00:11:27,659 You became aware of your need, and God used that. 121 00:11:27,659 –> 00:11:34,000 Not the highest of motives, but he used that to be the very beginning of his great work, 122 00:11:34,000 –> 00:11:37,559 and it led to you seeking and finding him. 123 00:11:37,580 –> 00:11:44,520 That’s exactly what we have here, and to the royal official’s great credit, these words 124 00:11:44,520 –> 00:11:48,440 of Jesus do not put him off. 125 00:11:48,440 –> 00:11:55,479 He simply repeats his request, verse 49, sir, come down before my child dies. 126 00:11:55,479 –> 00:12:00,520 It’s an impassioned plea to the Lord Jesus Christ. 127 00:12:00,520 –> 00:12:06,580 Now, you see from what he says that the royal official thought that if there was to be any 128 00:12:06,619 –> 00:12:12,099 hope of Jesus healing his son, he would have to persuade Jesus to come with him on the 129 00:12:12,099 –> 00:12:18,340 20-mile journey from Cana back to his home in Capernaum, come into his house and in that 130 00:12:18,340 –> 00:12:21,400 way heal the boy. 131 00:12:21,400 –> 00:12:27,000 But Jesus does not need to travel 20 miles in order to heal the boy. 132 00:12:27,000 –> 00:12:34,080 Verse 50, Jesus said to him, go, your son will live. 133 00:12:34,739 –> 00:12:40,380 Now, doesn’t that tell us something very, very wonderful about the authority of our 134 00:12:40,380 –> 00:12:43,059 Lord Jesus Christ. 135 00:12:43,059 –> 00:12:48,880 What he says happens. 136 00:12:48,880 –> 00:12:53,200 If Jesus Christ says you are forgiven, guess what? 137 00:12:53,200 –> 00:12:55,419 You are forgiven. 138 00:12:55,419 –> 00:13:00,679 If Jesus Christ says your son will live, your son will live. 139 00:13:00,679 –> 00:13:06,320 Jesus Christ comes to the front of the tomb of Lazarus where the corpse has been lying 140 00:13:06,320 –> 00:13:07,320 there for four days. 141 00:13:07,320 –> 00:13:10,539 If Jesus Christ says Lazarus come forth, guess what? 142 00:13:10,539 –> 00:13:13,000 Lazarus comes forth. 143 00:13:13,000 –> 00:13:20,159 When on the last day the Lord Jesus Christ calls on all the dead and raises them to life, 144 00:13:20,159 –> 00:13:22,119 the dead will all be raised to life. 145 00:13:22,119 –> 00:13:24,200 What he says happens. 146 00:13:24,200 –> 00:13:26,659 He is God in the flesh. 147 00:13:26,659 –> 00:13:31,760 He is the living Word who when he says let there be light, there is light. 148 00:13:31,760 –> 00:13:37,260 This is the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. 149 00:13:37,260 –> 00:13:43,900 By the same token of course it also must follow that if on the last day Christ should say 150 00:13:43,900 –> 00:13:50,659 to any of us you are condemned, then we would de facto be condemned. 151 00:13:50,659 –> 00:13:53,260 What he says happens. 152 00:13:53,260 –> 00:13:56,219 No one resist his will. 153 00:13:56,219 –> 00:13:59,500 He is the supreme and the sovereign Lord of all of the universe. 154 00:13:59,500 –> 00:14:04,020 He says all authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. 155 00:14:04,020 –> 00:14:09,940 He’s been raised from the dead and given the name that is above every name that at 156 00:14:09,940 –> 00:14:13,020 the name of Jesus every knee should bow. 157 00:14:13,020 –> 00:14:21,440 And here this Jesus speaks these words, your Son shall live. 158 00:14:21,440 –> 00:14:27,919 We’re told that the man believed verse 50. 159 00:14:27,919 –> 00:14:32,700 Notice he believed the word. 160 00:14:32,700 –> 00:14:34,140 He didn’t see the miracle. 161 00:14:34,140 –> 00:14:44,719 He believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and he went on his way. 162 00:14:45,700 –> 00:14:50,000 Now, skipping ahead just a little bit, we learn later as the story has been read to 163 00:14:50,020 –> 00:14:59,539 us, verse 53, that when Jesus said your son shall live, a remarkable and instantaneous 164 00:14:59,539 –> 00:15:04,419 healing took place in the boy’s body, 20 miles away in Capernaum. 165 00:15:04,419 –> 00:15:08,280 Can you imagine what that must have been like for the family there, for the mother and for 166 00:15:08,280 –> 00:15:09,280 the servants? 167 00:15:09,280 –> 00:15:14,200 I mean, here is this boy and he has this fever. 168 00:15:15,179 –> 00:15:19,020 And he has been languishing in his bed. 169 00:15:20,679 –> 00:15:25,640 His temperature keeps rising and nothing that they do is bringing it down and back under 170 00:15:25,640 –> 00:15:27,500 control. 171 00:15:29,140 –> 00:15:40,599 Then at one o’clock, on this particular day, suddenly with nothing to lead anyone to expect 172 00:15:40,700 –> 00:15:45,359 this to happen, suddenly at one o’clock the boy feels better. 173 00:15:46,840 –> 00:15:48,039 He shouts to his mother. 174 00:15:48,039 –> 00:15:49,659 His mother comes and feels his forehead. 175 00:15:49,659 –> 00:15:52,400 His temperature is normal. 176 00:15:52,900 –> 00:15:55,039 The boy says, Let me get up. 177 00:15:56,020 –> 00:15:57,299 Puts his clothes on. 178 00:15:57,299 –> 00:15:59,820 The servants do not know what to say. 179 00:15:59,820 –> 00:16:06,479 There is rejoicing all over the house and nobody has the faintest idea how or why this 180 00:16:06,479 –> 00:16:08,460 miracle has happened. 181 00:16:09,200 –> 00:16:16,739 The boy’s father is 20 miles away in Cana of Galilee. 182 00:16:16,739 –> 00:16:17,739 And guess what? 183 00:16:17,739 –> 00:16:21,140 He does not have a cell phone. 184 00:16:21,140 –> 00:16:27,780 His wife cannot text him the good news and say you won’t believe what has happened. 185 00:16:27,780 –> 00:16:34,039 All the father has, 20 miles away, the mother sees the miracle but all the father has is 186 00:16:34,159 –> 00:16:41,799 the bare word of Jesus which he believes, your son will live. 187 00:16:41,799 –> 00:16:46,320 Now, here’s the principle that we derive from this, here’s what faith is. 188 00:16:46,320 –> 00:16:50,719 Faith trusts Christ by resting on His word, that’s faith. 189 00:16:50,719 –> 00:16:57,039 Faith trusts Jesus Christ by resting on His word, that’s what happened with the Samaritans 190 00:16:57,039 –> 00:17:02,739 and though the Galileans were all looking for miracles, for this particular man he models 191 00:17:02,739 –> 00:17:09,260 to us what faith is, he had to rest on the word of Jesus Christ. 192 00:17:09,260 –> 00:17:14,599 Actually, the official gives us, at this point in the story, the most marvelous picture of 193 00:17:14,599 –> 00:17:17,239 what the Christian life is actually like. 194 00:17:17,239 –> 00:17:21,920 We walk by faith and not by sight. 195 00:17:21,920 –> 00:17:29,540 We rest in this life on the word and on the promise of Jesus Christ. 196 00:17:29,540 –> 00:17:37,099 He says that he is with us, he says that his grace is sufficient for us, he says that in 197 00:17:37,099 –> 00:17:40,160 him there is no condemnation for us. 198 00:17:40,160 –> 00:17:48,079 He says that he has gone to prepare a place for us and faith trusts Christ by resting 199 00:17:48,079 –> 00:17:52,680 on his word. 200 00:17:52,680 –> 00:17:57,680 And it’s interesting to me, just looking at it closely here, it seems that the royal official 201 00:17:58,040 –> 00:18:01,319 had to do this for quite a bit of time. 202 00:18:01,319 –> 00:18:07,339 Because if you look at verse 52, when the servants finally reach him and tell him the 203 00:18:07,339 –> 00:18:15,180 good news that confirms and validate and vindicates his faith, he asks them at what time this 204 00:18:15,180 –> 00:18:22,719 miraculous healing happened, and the servants say, yesterday. 205 00:18:23,520 –> 00:18:26,479 He met them yesterday at the seventh hour. 206 00:18:26,479 –> 00:18:32,660 Which presumably means that having made the journey to Cana and having interacted with 207 00:18:32,660 –> 00:18:38,380 the Lord Jesus and received this marvellous promise, the royal official must have spent 208 00:18:38,380 –> 00:18:44,439 the night in Cana and then taken his journey back the following day and then the servants 209 00:18:44,439 –> 00:18:48,699 come out and he meets them somewhere in the road between these two towns. 210 00:18:49,459 –> 00:18:52,780 I wonder how he slept that night. 211 00:18:52,800 –> 00:18:57,540 He’s got to sleep simply trusting the word of Jesus. 212 00:18:57,540 –> 00:19:02,099 When he left home the boy was at the point of death Jesus says, 213 00:19:02,099 –> 00:19:12,900 your boy will live and all he has to rest on is the word of Jesus. 214 00:19:12,900 –> 00:19:16,119 Isn’t that a great picture of faith? 215 00:19:16,619 –> 00:19:22,719 Faith trusts Christ by resting on His word. 216 00:19:22,719 –> 00:19:26,140 You see that this man has come with a very fragile faith and knows very little about 217 00:19:26,140 –> 00:19:36,040 Jesus, and he comes to exercise genuine faith and model it for us resting on the very word 218 00:19:36,040 –> 00:19:37,959 of Jesus Christ. 219 00:19:39,239 –> 00:19:44,739 Then of course, there comes the moment where his faith, his trust in Jesus Christ is actually 220 00:19:44,819 –> 00:19:52,060 vindicated and his faith is turned to site the next day. 221 00:19:52,060 –> 00:19:57,300 And what a moment that must have been for the royal official when his servants meet 222 00:19:57,300 –> 00:20:03,500 him on the road and they give to him this marvellous, marvellous news that they’ve 223 00:20:03,500 –> 00:20:05,180 seen with their own eyes. 224 00:20:05,180 –> 00:20:11,280 As he was going down, his servants, verse 51, met him and told him that his son was 225 00:20:11,280 –> 00:20:16,579 recovering literally, translated what they said was, your son lives. 226 00:20:16,579 –> 00:20:21,459 In other words it was an exact echo of what Jesus had said, your son will live and the 227 00:20:21,459 –> 00:20:24,520 servants come and they say, your son lives. 228 00:20:24,520 –> 00:20:27,280 What a moment that must have been. 229 00:20:27,280 –> 00:20:35,599 And notice that the father then asks them the hour when he began to get better. 230 00:20:35,599 –> 00:20:38,180 He assumes that this was a process. 231 00:20:38,180 –> 00:20:40,359 When did it begin? 232 00:20:40,420 –> 00:20:48,640 He says, but notice the answer, verse 52, yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left 233 00:20:48,640 –> 00:20:49,640 him. 234 00:20:49,640 –> 00:20:52,219 Oh, says the servants, it wasn’t a process. 235 00:20:52,219 –> 00:20:53,280 It was instantaneous. 236 00:20:53,280 –> 00:20:54,660 The fever was gone. 237 00:20:54,660 –> 00:20:56,160 It just left him. 238 00:20:56,160 –> 00:20:59,060 Couldn’t believe it. 239 00:20:59,060 –> 00:21:08,000 When Jesus spoke, the fever left 20 miles away. 240 00:21:08,040 –> 00:21:13,660 So, verse 53, we read that the Father knew that this was the hour when Jesus had said 241 00:21:13,660 –> 00:21:17,359 to him, your son will live and he himself believed. 242 00:21:17,359 –> 00:21:19,380 You say, well didn’t he believe already? 243 00:21:19,380 –> 00:21:21,680 Yes, he did, but you see what’s happening here? 244 00:21:21,680 –> 00:21:24,439 His faith is now turned to sight. 245 00:21:24,439 –> 00:21:29,780 His faith is now vindicated and what a marvelous day that is going to be. 246 00:21:30,619 –> 00:21:38,099 Here’s the whole journey of faith in a small compass, its fragile beginnings, its substantial 247 00:21:38,099 –> 00:21:43,839 nature resting in the word of Christ, its ultimate vindication when faith is turned 248 00:21:43,839 –> 00:21:45,959 to sight. 249 00:21:45,959 –> 00:21:51,560 Faith often begins with us knowing very, very little but being deeply aware of our own need 250 00:21:51,560 –> 00:21:55,040 as we come to the Lord Jesus Christ. 251 00:21:55,640 –> 00:22:02,579 But faith grows as we learn to trust Him by resting on His Word. 252 00:22:02,579 –> 00:22:10,099 And one day your faith in Jesus Christ will be turned to sight and your faith will be 253 00:22:10,099 –> 00:22:18,819 vindicated and all that you have taken from Him on trust will be yours to enjoy forever 254 00:22:18,819 –> 00:22:21,180 and forever. 255 00:22:21,180 –> 00:22:27,439 And then notice that it was not only the royal official who believed, but we’re told here 256 00:22:27,439 –> 00:22:34,020 that he himself believed and all his household. 257 00:22:34,020 –> 00:22:35,020 Think about this. 258 00:22:35,020 –> 00:22:37,140 All his household. 259 00:22:37,140 –> 00:22:42,500 That means that all of these servants believed. 260 00:22:42,500 –> 00:22:47,540 It means the boy who had been at the point of death believed. 261 00:22:47,540 –> 00:22:51,319 It means that the boy’s mother believed. 262 00:22:51,319 –> 00:22:55,560 It means if there were other siblings, they also believed. 263 00:22:55,560 –> 00:23:02,380 And of course the only way in which they could come to believe in Jesus was through 264 00:23:02,380 –> 00:23:07,699 the testimony that the royal official himself shared with his own family. 265 00:23:07,699 –> 00:23:16,020 And I try and picture the scene when the royal official finally gets back to his home, and 266 00:23:16,199 –> 00:23:21,780 His wife comes rushing out to meet him and flings her arms around him. 267 00:23:21,780 –> 00:23:25,920 And she says, the most wonderful thing has happened, the fever has gone. 268 00:23:25,920 –> 00:23:32,160 It left him in an instant and I don’t know how in the world this happened. 269 00:23:32,160 –> 00:23:36,319 The royal official says to his wife, I do know how it happened. 270 00:23:36,319 –> 00:23:37,560 I’ll tell you how it happened. 271 00:23:37,560 –> 00:23:45,660 Jesus said to me, your son will live and at the very hour that he said that, that was 272 00:23:46,140 –> 00:23:51,660 when you saw the fever had left him. 273 00:23:51,660 –> 00:23:58,660 So a story that begins with a boy at the point of death ends up with an entire household 274 00:24:01,660 –> 00:24:05,180 entering through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ into everlasting life. 275 00:24:05,180 –> 00:24:07,119 Isn’t this a most marvelous story? 276 00:24:07,119 –> 00:24:09,619 Wonderful story. 277 00:24:09,619 –> 00:24:11,760 Now here’s the question. 278 00:24:12,119 –> 00:24:16,800 What is the significance of this story for us? 279 00:24:16,800 –> 00:24:22,839 I want to give you two applications, but before I do that, I want to say as clearly as I can 280 00:24:22,839 –> 00:24:27,119 what the application is not. 281 00:24:27,119 –> 00:24:34,119 The application is not that if we all had enough faith we would all see our loved ones 282 00:24:34,520 –> 00:24:36,400 healed. 283 00:24:36,400 –> 00:24:40,000 Now let me speak as clearly as I can. 284 00:24:40,000 –> 00:24:47,000 I have no doubt whatsoever that God can and does do miracles today, no doubt about that. 285 00:24:50,800 –> 00:24:57,800 But miracles are miracles and by definition that means they are not what normally happens. 286 00:24:57,800 –> 00:25:04,800 By definition that means they are not what normally happens. They are not the normal 287 00:25:06,260 –> 00:25:13,260 Christian experience. Miracles are miracles by definition, and they are not what normally 288 00:25:13,959 –> 00:25:20,959 happens. These miracles that are recorded for us in John’s Gospel, miracles of Jesus, 289 00:25:20,959 –> 00:25:27,959 in John’s Gospel, the miracles of Jesus, John designates as signs. Verse 54, do you see 290 00:25:31,160 –> 00:25:38,160 that there? This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee, 291 00:25:40,439 –> 00:25:46,020 which raises the question, a sign of what? The answer to that question is surely this, 292 00:25:46,420 –> 00:25:53,020 a sign of who he is. So when you look at the end of John’s Gospel, John gives us, in the 293 00:25:53,020 –> 00:26:00,020 clearest words, the explanation of the significance of these signs for us. And, indeed, the significance 294 00:26:01,819 –> 00:26:08,199 of the whole of the Gospel of John for us. What does he say? Chapter 20 and verse31, 295 00:26:08,199 –> 00:26:15,079 these are written, that is the Gospel is written and the signs are given so that you may believe 296 00:26:15,079 –> 00:26:20,699 that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in 297 00:26:20,699 –> 00:26:27,699 his name. That’s the significance of the signs for us. The whole of John’s Gospel, every 298 00:26:28,380 –> 00:26:34,579 verse and all of the seven signs, were all written so that you should know that Jesus 299 00:26:34,579 –> 00:26:41,099 Christ is the supreme Lord of the universe. That he is indeed God with us, that whatever 300 00:26:41,239 –> 00:26:48,020 he says happens and that by believing in him you may have everlasting life. That’s why 301 00:26:48,020 –> 00:26:51,800 these signs are given, that’s their significance for us. 302 00:26:51,800 –> 00:26:58,800 But there’s something else here that I think is very wonderful. I want you to know what 303 00:26:58,800 –> 00:27:05,800 I learned it. In the summer of last year, I spoke at a conference in Iowa and during 304 00:27:06,339 –> 00:27:13,079 that time I had breakfast with a pastor by the name of Brian Jansen. Brian is a graduate 305 00:27:13,079 –> 00:27:20,079 of Wheaton College and also a Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. For more than 30 years, he 306 00:27:20,780 –> 00:27:27,280 has served very faithfully as pastor of a church in rural Iowa. 307 00:27:27,280 –> 00:27:34,280 And Brian, some years ago, made a study of the seven signs in John’s Gospel, which 308 00:27:35,060 –> 00:27:38,859 he shared with me over breakfast, and then some writing that he’d done that had never 309 00:27:38,859 –> 00:27:45,079 been published. And I draw from that with his permission. 310 00:27:45,079 –> 00:27:50,819 At the beginning of John’s Gospel, John makes this remarkable statement. Chapter 311 00:27:50,819 –> 00:27:57,819 1, in verse 17. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 312 00:27:57,819 –> 00:28:04,819 Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Now that’s put right up, as it were, in 313 00:28:05,619 –> 00:28:14,520 the header of the Gospel. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus 314 00:28:14,520 –> 00:28:20,300 Christ. That would lead us to expect that as we move through the Gospel of John, we 315 00:28:20,300 –> 00:28:27,300 are going to find drawn out some of the contrast between what came through Moses and what came 316 00:28:28,199 –> 00:28:34,619 through Jesus Christ. Now here we are, a couple of chapters on and 317 00:28:34,619 –> 00:28:44,300 John is now telling us about signs that Jesus did, which reminds us of course that Moses 318 00:28:44,579 –> 00:28:52,180 also performed signs. You remember these stories from the Old Testament, how God had said to 319 00:28:52,199 –> 00:28:59,719 Pharaoh, let my people go. And Pharaoh hardened his heart and he said I will not let 320 00:28:59,920 –> 00:29:11,439 them go. So God said I will multiply my signs, my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt, 321 00:29:11,579 –> 00:29:18,459 that’s Exodus chapter 7 and verse 3. Now these signs that were performed through 322 00:29:18,739 –> 00:29:25,739 Moses were of course signs of judgment and we know them as the plagues. What was the 323 00:29:26,180 –> 00:29:33,180 first of these signs of Moses? The first sign of Moses was that the River Nile was turned 324 00:29:34,459 –> 00:29:45,140 to blood. Moses turned water into blood. What was the first sign of Jesus at Cana of Galilee? 325 00:29:45,239 –> 00:29:52,260 Jesus turned water into wine. You see the contrast? When Moses turned water into blood, 326 00:29:54,140 –> 00:30:01,140 everything died. When Jesus turned water into wine, everyone was filled with joy. 327 00:30:03,180 –> 00:30:10,180 It was an occasion of life at the celebration of the wedding. Jesus brought a better sign 328 00:30:11,119 –> 00:30:18,119 than Moses. Moses brought signs of judgment. Jesus brought signs of grace. 329 00:30:21,459 –> 00:30:28,459 What was Moses’ last sign? The tenth plague, the last of the signs that was performed through 330 00:30:31,959 –> 00:30:38,959 Moses in Egypt was of course the death of the firstborn son. God had commanded that 331 00:30:40,780 –> 00:30:47,780 Pharaoh, let my people go. Pharaoh had refused, nine plagues had come and had gone and Pharaoh 332 00:30:49,619 –> 00:30:56,619 had not moved a single inch. And every day the cruelty of his regime persisted, the oppression, 333 00:31:00,099 –> 00:31:07,099 the slave drivers, the labor camps continuing, and God’s people crying out to him every 334 00:31:07,540 –> 00:31:14,719 day that he would have mercy and that he would deliver them from their suffering. 335 00:31:14,719 –> 00:31:21,719 Scripture tells us about the first born of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne. So this indicates 336 00:31:26,219 –> 00:31:33,219 that Pharaoh’s oldest son was a kind of vice regent, a participating member of this awful 337 00:31:33,819 –> 00:31:40,819 and cruel regime. He was a little king in his own right. He would have been an enforcer 338 00:31:44,380 –> 00:31:51,380 of the terrible cruelty and oppression that his father Pharaoh’s royal house carried out 339 00:31:51,540 –> 00:31:58,540 on God’s people. And you know this story of how God told his people to sacrifice a lamb 340 00:31:59,339 –> 00:32:05,280 and to paint the blood of the lamb over the doorposts of their houses, and God said, 341 00:32:05,280 –> 00:32:12,280 when I see the blood I will pass over you. Most remarkable statement in the Old Testament 342 00:32:12,660 –> 00:32:19,199 that, of course, points us forward to the power of the blood of Jesus over us to protect 343 00:32:19,199 –> 00:32:24,040 all his people from ever facing the condemnation of God. 344 00:32:24,760 –> 00:32:27,400 Do you remember how on that night of 345 00:32:27,400 –> 00:32:34,400 the passover, God brought judgment on his enemies? And think about what that was like 346 00:32:38,739 –> 00:32:45,739 for the royal son? For the firstborn of pharaoh, who sat on his throne, the little king. He 347 00:32:46,719 –> 00:32:53,719 knew the commandment of God, let my people go. He knew that the judgment of God had been 348 00:32:55,060 –> 00:33:02,060 announced from Heaven, but like his father, he had taken no notice whatsoever. No doubt 349 00:33:04,660 –> 00:33:11,660 he would have thought, as many people think today, well, this isn’t a God that my culture 350 00:33:12,560 –> 00:33:19,239 believes in. I think that’s what he would have said, the little pharaoh in Egypt. This 351 00:33:19,239 –> 00:33:26,239 God isn’t a God that my culture believes in. And so he gets up, feels great, works 352 00:33:30,420 –> 00:33:37,420 out, goes through his day driving his slaves, cursing their God, bringing misery and pain 353 00:33:38,420 –> 00:33:43,060 to everyone around him. At the end of the day, comes back to the palace and talks with 354 00:33:43,060 –> 00:33:50,060 his father. Did you have a good day, son, the old pharaoh asks him. Yeah, I really stuck 355 00:33:50,680 –> 00:33:57,680 it to them today, Dad, says little king. How was your day, Dad? Oh, Moses was back here 356 00:34:00,239 –> 00:34:07,239 again, says old man. I’ve never seen him so angry. What was he saying this time, Dad? 357 00:34:08,260 –> 00:34:15,260 Oh, nothing that you need worry about, son. Sleep well. So the little king went to his 358 00:34:16,780 –> 00:34:23,780 bed, and at midnight he’s gone, gone. Now, what does that fearful story say to us? 359 00:34:24,060 –> 00:34:35,060 Now, what does that fearful story say to us? Surely this, that we live in a world that 360 00:34:35,080 –> 00:34:44,739 is in rebellion against God and is under the judgment of God, and that the wages of sin 361 00:34:44,760 –> 00:34:59,060 is death. The law came by Moses, and if God today were to judge any or all of us by His 362 00:34:59,060 –> 00:35:05,560 law, we would be gone completely and not one of us would live. That’s true of us at our 363 00:35:05,560 –> 00:35:14,479 Christian best by the way. The sign of Moses was that the royal son who was in 364 00:35:14,479 –> 00:35:26,600 the prime of life died. The sign of Jesus was that a royal son at the point of 365 00:35:26,600 –> 00:35:32,500 death lived. Don’t we have a great Saviour? The 366 00:35:32,500 –> 00:35:38,719 law came by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Don’t you love the 367 00:35:38,719 –> 00:35:45,600 signs that Jesus brought? Don’t you see how they speak to who he is and what he 368 00:35:45,600 –> 00:35:50,919 is able to do. You see when you speak to someone who is not a believer about your 369 00:35:50,919 –> 00:35:55,959 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ they will instinctively have the idea that what 370 00:35:55,959 –> 00:36:00,600 you really want to talk to them about is law. They will think to you that you’re 371 00:36:00,600 –> 00:36:04,899 coming in the name of Moses. They will think that you have come to tell them 372 00:36:04,899 –> 00:36:09,340 what they cannot do. They will think like this you’ve come to tell me that God 373 00:36:09,340 –> 00:36:14,360 hates me and he’s gonna get me in the end and that could not be further from 374 00:36:14,360 –> 00:36:23,540 the truth! Here is the message. The God whose laws we have broken and whose 375 00:36:23,760 –> 00:36:31,840 judgment we deserve sent His Son into the world not so that we who are in the 376 00:36:31,840 –> 00:36:35,780 prime of life should die but so that we who are at the point of death should 377 00:36:35,780 –> 00:36:42,919 live. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the 378 00:36:42,919 –> 00:36:49,899 world through him might be saved! Yes the wages of sin is death. The whole of the 379 00:36:50,379 –> 00:36:55,340 bears witness to that. But here is why Jesus Christ came into the world. The 380 00:36:55,340 –> 00:37:03,719 gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The law came by 381 00:37:03,719 –> 00:37:12,139 Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. We have the most marvelous Savior 382 00:37:12,139 –> 00:37:19,580 friends and there is grace and truth for every person in this congregation, in 383 00:37:20,139 –> 00:37:28,139 Jesus Christ today. Let’s pray together shall we? Father we are so thankful that 384 00:37:28,139 –> 00:37:32,939 as we open these scriptures we are confronted not by signs of judgment 385 00:37:34,139 –> 00:37:41,820 but by signs of the grace that is held out for all of us and for every person we will ever meet 386 00:37:42,699 –> 00:37:52,139 in Jesus Christ our savior and our Lord and therefore we rejoice in him and give you our 387 00:37:52,540 –> 00:38:03,419 thanks and recognizing our own desperate need in the light of your law and our sin and our 388 00:38:04,379 –> 00:38:10,699 participation in this rebellious world we embrace the grace that is in the Lrd 389 00:38:10,860 –> 00:38:19,179 Jesus Christ with gladness and with Thanksgiving and gladly call him ours and embrace him as our 390 00:38:19,179 –> 00:38:27,020 Lord and our savior. Thank you that when the law came through Moses you sent your son into the 391 00:38:27,020 –> 00:38:34,459 world and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We’re so grateful that it’s ours in him 392 00:38:34,459 –> 00:38:39,100 and so we give you our praise in Jesus name, Amen.