“SIGN, SIGN, EVERYWHERE A SIGN”
Jesus Heals the Son of a “Petty King”
“God give me a sign that you are really here.” Have you ever asked God for a sign? Sometimes we need a sign to encourage our faith in what God is doing in our lives. Signs are helpful if we recognize them and interpret them properly.
These are a few from the Bathroom Reader collection:
In a public restroom: “Caution: Don’t eat gum from the urinal.”
Outside a diner: “This is the back door; the front door is around back.”
On a bottle of dog medicine: “May cause drowsiness; use care when operating a car.”
At the beach: “Please no smoking alcohol on the beach.”
Then there are times we are repulsed by the signs we see; we want a different sign, a sign more in our favor. In 1970, Five Man Electric Band reflected the feeling of the times when they produced a song called “Sign.” The song responded to the perceived injustice of what signs were demanding of society.
Sign – Five Man Electric Band (1970)
Sign
We need signs to direct us in our journey. We want signs to affirm us in our choices. We don’t want signs that tell us to do something we don’t want to do. But signs are not the reality; they merely reveal it. A sign on a highway may read, “Winnipeg, 45 km.” If I change the sign with spray paint to read “Winnipeg, 145 km,” it doesn’t change the reality that Winnipeg is 45 km away.
In the gospel according to John, Jesus performed 7 signs that pointed to a reality about Jesus. They demonstrated Jesus’ divine identity and power. Signs were a visual proof of his messianic claims, each one progressively revealing a deeper aspect of his nature. While the signs Jesus performed were authenticating of his person, they also left people clinging to the miraculous instead of hearing his words. The truth we are unpacking today is simply this: As I begin to grow in true faith by taking Jesus at his word, my life will change accordingly. We are going to look at John 4:43-54 in five parts to understand this story about signs.
1. The Sign says “Welcome,” BUT… (4:43-45)
We are not very far into the book of John, and we already read about controversy. Jesus has caused a stir. In chapter 2, he kicked the merchants out of the temple and raised the ire of the Jewish leaders. They asked him for a miraculous sign to prove his authority to cleanse the temple (2:18). This is followed by John’s comment that while in Jerusalem, Jesus did many miraculous signs, and the people believed in his name. But Jesus didn’t entrust himself to them because he knew the minds of men (2:23-25).
Jesus leaves Jerusalem and goes north to Galilee. On the way, he goes through Samaria and meets a woman at a well. Through a meaningful conversation, Jesus reveals and convinces her that he is the Messiah. She returns to her village and tells everyone about him; then they meet Jesus, and they believe his words. Note this: Jesus does not perform any signs.
Then Jesus comes home to Galilee and John adds a double-edged footnote. He repeats Jesus’ own words “a prophet has no honor in his own country.” But then he says, “When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him…” (45). What’s going on here?
Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us the impression that Jesus could not work in Nazareth because he grew up there and people didn’t respect him as Messiah. Does John disagree? It seems that John’s account makes Jerusalem the ones who resist Jesus. But John makes it clear that no one really accepted Jesus. He wrote, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him,” (1:11). Even with the signs and wonders Jesus performs, folks are still doubtful.
2. A Sign of Reasonable Faith (4:46-47)
Jesus is in Cana; a man in Capernaum, 22 miles away, hears that Jesus is home. This is where Jesus turned water into wine and the story is still buzzing in the community. This man’s son is dying, and he reasons that a man who can turn water into wine may be able to help his son.
The Greek term for this man is translated “official” or “nobleman” but it is literally “petty king.” This man is a person of some importance. He is connected to the court of Herod Antipas, yet he comes to Jesus, a poor carpenter with no credentials, and no temple authority. But we note two things about this man: a) he knew of Jesus and what others claimed he could do; b) he was faced with a heart-rending problem beyond his ability as “a very important man.” He seeks Jesus, which again in the Greek, implies a persistent, unrelenting search to find Jesus and ask him this request: heal my son.
The problem the man bears leads him to seek Jesus, and meeting Jesus, he gets more than he anticipated. This is often how it works. Ask anyone. They will testify that their life was in shambles and their needs led them to Jesus. Problems break down our sufficiency. People who have no problems do not have a felt need for a Savior. Desperation opens our hearts to seeking Jesus and abandoning self-reliance.
This a reasonable faith: I have a problem – I can’t solve it – Jesus has the power – I will seek Jesus to help me.
3. The Problem with Signs (4:48)
The man begs Jesus to come and heal his son, who is close to death. Jesus responds rather harshly, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe,” (48 ESV).
The “you” is plural. The NIV interprets this correctly having Jesus say, “you people.” He is not speaking only of this father with the dying son. Jesus seems to be reflecting on his experience in Jerusalem where a demand for signs originated in unbelief and downright cynicism.
Matthew tells of how some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” But Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of Jonah,” (Matt. 12:38-39). What did Jesus mean by this?
First, Jesus told them that they could only believe what they could see. And then it was suspect what their faith involved. This included the Galileans in our story.
Second, Jesus understood how manipulative people could be. We want what we want and will do what we have to in order to get it. This man is desperate for his son to be healed. Does he care if its Jesus who does the healing? When the boy is healed, will the man believe in Jesus?
We want to see God prove himself, take away the evil in life, then we will believe in him. But the problem remains: when God removes the problems, it doesn’t always result in following Jesus. It is a false premise that people would believe if God took away their troubles. Jesus knew that people came to him looking for the spectacular. For these people, signs and wonders were a necessity, but such faith is superficial.
Faith is not built on signs. Our relationship with God is shallow if we only base our faith in him on his ability to heal us or perform miracles. Our faith must leave the world’s way of thinking and take on a biblical worldview – that what Jesus says in his Word is true, no matter what we face in life.
But the “sign of Jonah”? Jesus has given the world a sign. You want a sign? I’ll give you a sign, he says. It is the cross of Christ and the resurrection. That’s the sign…!
4. A Sign of Trust (4:49-50)
This father was in no mood to discuss matters of faith. His son was dying. He doesn’t defend himself. He doesn’t argue with Jesus. He simply urges Jesus to do something before his child dies. His words are a command: “Come down before my child dies.”
Jesus doesn’t go but responds with his own command, “Go, your son will live,” (50a). That’s it. No sign. Just a word of command. John emphasizes that word “live” three times in this narrative (as seen in NIV). The man’s assumption was that Jesus had to be present with the boy to heal him. This is the opposite of the faith of the centurion who said to Jesus not to come but just say the word and his servant would be healed.
Here’s the strange part: “The man took Jesus at his word and departed,” (50b NIV). The ESV says, “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke…” The “believing” isn’t strange, it’s what he did afterward. He didn’t immediately go home. Capernaum was only 22 miles away – he could have walked it. We know that the 7th hour is 1:00 PM and he had time to rush home to see his son recovering.
I recall a story of my great-grandfather Peter B. Klassen who wanted to transfer a land title to his new homestead in Neuanlange and was told he needed the old land title – so he walked back to Rosenort from Winnipeg, 40 miles. And then walked back to Winnipeg with the title. The manager was so impressed he invited him to dinner. Apparently, Grandpa Peter had also walked 40 miles to ask his girlfriend to marry him. (I would walk 500 miles…song).
So, it’s possible. Why did the man wait? We don’t know. But what we do know is that Jesus said it, so he believed it. This is so simple, but I have to say it: When you truly believe God’s Word and accept it as stated it will change your life, and you will want to change your life in response to it. The man’s not running home was a sign of trust.
5. The Sign that Transforms (51-54)
You will note that when you read John’s gospel account that the dominant word is “believe.”
Jesus spoke to the man at one o’clock and the man did not return home till 1:00 the next day. His servants told him the time his son recovered was at 1:00 24 hours prior. So, we read, “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,” (53). Remember the progression of this man’s faith journey: He REASONED that this man Jesus could heal his son, so he pursued him and begged him to do what others convinced him Jesus could do. Then when Jesus said “Go, your son will live,” he TRUSTED that what Jesus said was true and his son would recover. When all the pieces came together and his faith was confirmed, he BELIEVED in Jesus.
We can see the change in the man’s faith as this story progresses. The critical juncture comes when Jesus speaks, and the man must decide to believe or not believe. Because he believes, that seed of faith becomes an influence on the whole family, the whole household!
C.S. Lewis wrote: “I have to believe that Jesus was (and is) God. And it seems plain as a matter of history that He taught His followers that the new life was communicated in this way. In other words, I believe it on His authority. Ninety-nine percent of the things you believe are believed on authority… The ordinary person believes in the solar system, atoms, and the circulation of the blood on authority–because the scientists say so. Every historical statement is believed on authority. None of us has seen the Norman Conquest or the defeat of the Spanish Armada. But we believe them simply because people who did see them have left writings that tell us about them.” (C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed).
If you look at this story, you pick up a few themes. You may perceive that it is possible to welcome Jesus and get excited about Jesus, but not really understand who Jesus is and what he came to do in your life. We want signs and wonders and miracles and think that they will bolster our faith. We want to see the big and unmistakable signs, but we may not be aware of what God is doing right in our midst in the small things, the seemingly insignificant things.
With John’s portrayal of Jesus and the Seven Signs, we are really getting at the motive behind our asking. Why do you follow Jesus? Why do we want him to do certain things? As one preacher put it, why are you giving Jesus commands when we should be taking commands from him?
Last weekend when I was teaching this course on Practical Deacons’ Ministry, I was feeling powerless and pointless. It was my own perception of how things were going. So, I took a moment away from everyone and got down on my knees and said, “Lord, I am weak. I don’t know what I am doing here. I don’t know if the words are landing where they should. Do what you want to do and help me just to be faithful.”
The next session broke open and the Lord shone through. He was in charge, and I could see that something was happening. When we were done, it was beautiful to see what God had done.
What is faith, my friends? Faith is the ability to see the truth of Jesus and live according to that truth. The sign that confirms the truth that Jesus is the Christ is the cross and the resurrection.
AMEN
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