The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

Jesse Jacobsen

Time-stamp: <Sat Oct 15 18:04:26 2005>

John 4:46–54

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”

The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”

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.

And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

We have what we need with a word from Jesus.

If you look at an American paper bill, a note of money, you might see that they look a little different than they did a few years ago. They're harder to duplicate, so it's less likely that some criminal can actually print his own money. One thing that hasn't changed is a sentence printed on every paper note: “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” That means you can always use that cash money to pay someone what you owe them. The government promises that the money will always be worth what it says.

That's not true of checks. When someone writes a check, they are making their own money in a way, because a check is a kind of promise that it will be worth so much money. But some stores or restaurants don't accept checks, because they can't tell if the promise is any good. They can't tell if the check will really be worth what it says. People usually trust the government's kind of promise, but sometimes don't trust the promise of a personal check.

What about the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life? There are people in the world who are taught that if they take their own life in the act of hurting other people, then they will automatically go to heaven. Is that a promise they should trust? Others are told that if they have the best intentions, work hard at being good people without backsliding, then Jesus will be merciful to them. Is that a promise they should trust? Jesus says that everyone who believes in Him already has eternal life. Is that a promise we should trust? These promises are like paper money or checks. We should consider carefully who is making the promise, and whether that person can keep it.

Our theme today is this: We have what we need with a word from Jesus; because we cannot always see His benefits, and because having His Word, we have Him.

Because we cannot always see His benefits.

It was not easy for the nobleman in our text. He was desperate for the sake of his son. You can tell, because he came to Jesus himself — a nobleman — to Jesus, an itinerant preacher rumored as a miracle worker. A nobleman could easily have sent someone else, and would have tried every other cure first. But he was desperate, so he made this big trip himself from his comfortable noble's house in the lakeside town of Capernaum far up into the dusty hills to the village of Cana. But the hardest thing for this nobleman was yet to come.

“When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, `Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.' ” Jesus didn't respond the way he had hoped. It was clear that Jesus was looking for faith, not more requests for miracles.

The fact is, we, like this nobleman, are visual creatures. We prefer to see and touch something before we will trust it. It is widely accepted that when you meet someone new, their first impression of you is the most important. Whatever they think they see will tend to stick in their minds for a long time, no matter what else you may say. That's how we all are: we tend to trust our eyes but not our ears.

This nobleman may have seen Jesus perform a miracle before, but I tend to think he didn't. This was only the second sign that Jesus did this time around in Galilee, early in his ministry. So most likely, the nobleman was grasping a last straw based upon hearsay. Most likely he hadn't seen Jesus do anything like he was asking. But Jesus was looking for faith.

It's prudent to trust only what you see, because we know that there are many cheats and liars in the world. But when Jesus speaks, it's sinful not to trust Him — even when we don't see anything to back it up.

Jesus tells you that you are sinful at heart, and that your sin demands punishment. But we live in a land of abundance. We are free to speak our minds, and we enjoy many things in life: food, drink, entertainment, sports, friends. With blessings like these, who wants to believe that we are all sinful at heart? The media of all kinds tells us that there is good in us, that we're not all so bad. Isn't it more pleasant to enjoy life than think about sin? Isn't it better to believe that God is your buddy than to believe that He is your judge? But we read “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

Jesus tells you that He lived a righteous life in your place, and then died for your sins. After that, He rose again to prove that death is vanquished and you will live forever. But again, it's just God's Word. God says we are sinners deserving of hell, but we don't feel so bad. God says that full atonement has been made by Jesus and we have eternal life, but we don't see it yet. It comes to this: Jesus wants faith, but we prefer signs and wonders.

So we can sympathize with this poor father, this nobleman whose son was dying. He turned to Jesus because there was nowhere else to turn. Jesus gently rebuked his unbelief, and then the man screwed up his courage to plead from the bottom if his anguished heart. “The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”

That was as much faith as this nobleman had, and Jesus honored it. But instead of giving him any visual sign, Jesus did it all with His Word alone. It was a lesson to strengthen the nobleman's faith, and also to teach us that we have what we need with a word from Jesus, because we cannot always see His benefits.

Because having His word, we have Him.

We have what we need with a word from Jesus, because having His Word, we have Him. You can't even say that about paper money. When inflation happens, our dollars don't go as far as they used to go. That never happens with Jesus' Word. When He speaks, He is permanently bound to what He says. Having His Word, we truly have Him.

Jesus said to the nobleman, “ `Go your way; your son lives.' So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.” Did this man receive what he came for? Did he? Yes, he did. But he couldn't carry it in his hands or pockets. He didn't see it with his eyes or touch it. It wasn't even written down. Jesus spoke the words, and the words produced faith in the man's heart that what Jesus said was true.

That's exactly what Jesus does for us, only in a slightly different way. He speaks the words through my mouth, and you find them written in the pages of Holy Scripture. Those words of God produce faith in our hearts that what they say is true, and then we confess that faith by repeating what they say in our creeds and confessions.

So the commandments of God have the power to convict us at heart, showing us beyond doubt that we cannot save ourselves from the punishment of hell. Nothing else on earth, be it ever so terrible, will make us so sure that we need a savior.

But now, Jesus speaks words of comfort. He says, “Your sins are forgiven.” He says, “This is My body, given for you; this is My blood of the new testament, shed for you.” He says, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved.” These words of His have the power to save us by giving us faith that they are true — the very faith that Jesus came looking for. With such faith in Jesus Christ, you have the forgiveness of our sins, salvation from death, and even eternal life. Faith receives those things as gifts, so that nothing else is needed. Nothing.

The next day, the nobleman wasn't home yet when he saw his servants coming to meet him. No doubt they were smiling. They had good news for him, just as I have good news for you. When they told him, he rejoiced that he had not only found someone to save his son, but even himself and his whole family. “So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, `Your son lives.' And he himself believed, and his whole household.”

The blessings that Jesus gives belong to those who trust His promise. Nothing is needed from us. Even faith itself is a gift that He gives through His Word. His word is this: “Your sins are forgiven you. Go in peace.” We have what we need with a word from Jesus, because having His Word, we have Him. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.