Bible Study series No.7 from The Gospel of John: "The Faith of the Official (The second sign)""
Worship Program: 10/24,2021

Prelude:

Prayer:                                               Pastor Megumi

Praise:

Bible Verses:Gospel of John 4:40-54                                                  Missionary Michio

Message: 「役人の信仰」                                                     Pastor Megumi

Special Praise:Ocarina「O Jesus, I Have Promised」

                                                                       Missionary Michio

Prayer:                           Missionary Michio

Benediction:                Pastor Megumi

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the close fellowship of the Holy Spirit be equally with the people of the world.

Postlude:

Message: The Gospel of John (7)  Title: The Faith of the Officials (The Second Sign) 

Bible: The Gospel of John 4:40-54(NIV)
40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” 43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.54 This was the second sign coming from Judea to Galilee.

The encounter with the Samaritan woman sparked Jesus' group to stay there for two days, where many people heard His words and believed in Him as their Savior, according to verse 40.

 

Later, when Jesus and His disciples entered Galilee, the people unexpectedly welcomed Jesus with enthusiasm. To begin with, there was a time when the teachings of Jesus did not penetrate Galilee. So, why did their attitude change so much this time?

 

It was because the people of Galilee had been staying in Jerusalem for the Passover, and they had seen and heard about Jesus' works firsthand, and Jesus had become the center of people's attention.

 

I think it's wonderful that so many people believed in Jesus while there were people who didn't believe in Him even though they saw His works and even people who were hostile to Him.

 

But, How did Jesus himself think of this phenomenon?

Later, when Jesus entered the village of Cana, where Jesus had turned water into wine, a man came to see Jesus. He was a royal official living in Capernaum.

 

Capernaum is about 35 kilometers east of Cana, located at the northern end of Lake Galilee.

Capernaum

It was the center of Jesus' mission to Galilee, but even though Jesus did many miracles in this town, people did not accept Him as their Savior.

 

This man must have been of high social standing, but what was his reason for asking Jesus?

His son was sick, and he had probably tried everything he could, but he was dying.

 

From the very beginning, he called Jesus "Lord" instead of "Rabbi" or "Prophet." He must have believed in Jesus as the Son of God and that Jesus has the authority to heal any illness. He asked Jesus to come to his house and heal him, and Jesus' first response was like this.

 

48 [“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”]

 

The conversation of Jesus seems not empathetic.

However, we notice that the statement is not only addressed to this man, but also to the people of Galilee. Because the pronoun is the plural of "you are".

 

We have seen unexpected words and stories before, but there was a deep intention of Jesus. Jesus knows the situation of the deepest part of our heart.

 

Then, in verse 50, he said, "Go home, and your son will live."

 

From his desire, he might have thought, "Unless Jesus touches my son directly, he can not be healed. I think Jesus' words were a great challenge to him. If it were me, I would have insisted, " Please come with me now, or my son will not be saved. Please…."  

How about you?

 

I think this man had a choice between obeying the Word of God or trying to move Jesus according to his wishes. 

 I guess that he must have been conflicted.

 

As it turned out, this man believed in the Lord's words and did what Jesus told him to do. He stopped clinging to his ideas and chose (abandoned) the word of the Lord.

I can imagine him praying and believing as he went back to his house.

 

The result is there in 4:51-53. The man's request came true.

He and all his household believed in Jesus.

 

His decision led him from "faith that believes after seeing the signs" to "faith that believes the word without seeing.

Isn't this what it means to have a mature faith?

 

In Cana, two miracles happened. The author, John, refers to the sign at the wedding as the "first sign" and the miracle of healing this time as the "second sign".

 

I don't think this refers to the number or order of the signs.

The miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding may have been the first sign literally before Jesus began their public life.

 

 However, after that, Jesus performed many miracles among the people, but I think this was still the first step in their faith, as they were surprised by the signs and expected them in themselves.

 

In the case of this man, he believed Jesus' words and then saw the miracle.

 

I think the reason why this is called the second sign is not that it was the second miracle performed in Cana, but because this man's faith was the true faith that Jesus wants us all to have.

 

We would like to aim for the heights of faith that firmly believes in the Words of God, rather than faith that focuses only seeking "signs".

 

 

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