LOC 028: Life of Christ: The
Second Sign
Jesus is back in Galilee, his homeland, the region of his birth
and upbringing. The area of his first miracle, this is the place where he began
his public ministry.
In the South he met with the ministry of John the Baptist,
attended the feast in Jerusalem. But here he is among his own countrymen with
great respect received from them in that they glorified him. He was with honor among his own. What did not usually happen naturally, had
come to pass supernaturally.
In the section of the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ we will look
at this morning, Jesus does the second sign or miracle to which John, the
gospel writer, draws the readers attention.
In John’s gospel there are seven major signs. The first was as the
wedding in Cana when he turned the water into wine showing the dawn of the
messianic age and to reveal his glory.
When we looked at that sign I did not define this important term. Before we go into the text from John 4:46ff,
where we meet with the term again, I would like to define and explain what a
sign or a miracle is.
What is a sign, or a miracle?
The typical Greek word translated miracle is dunameis. It means mighty work, power. It occurs over
115 times with many different used to express its meaning in English. Special or miraculous power (usually by impl. a miracle
itself):-unusual ability, an abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed),
(worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, might (wonderful) work.
The other two words occur less frequently. The second is semaino, say-mah'-ee-no; meaning to indicate:or to signify in the sense that the work done points to
something else. And, the final of the three is teras, ter'-as; an indicator or omen, a wonder in the sense that
the thing done causes awe.
Blending these three ideas together we see that a miracle is
basically a use of extraordinary power that points to something else that
causes awe in those who hears or see the work done.
Both of these words occur in John 4:48 Then said Jesus unto him,
Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
John likes the idea of signs and wonders. He uses the plural of signs 15 times in a
number of narratives to teach many things about the Lord Jesus Christ and those
whom he taught. Some of the occurences
will surprise you.
From verse 48 we see that the Jews were looking for a sign. They looked for powerful works that would
point to one as being sent from God with the power of God to deliver them. They expected the Messiah, the Christ, to be
a man whose life would be full of signs and wonders. The Christ will make men stand up and take
notice. He will vindicate Israel and all
of her suffering.
What was it Nicodemus said to the Lord Jesus when he came to
him? JOH 3:2 This man came to Jesus
by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from
God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
Nicodemus reflected the common idea of the time that the Christ
would manifest great works that pointed to who he was and the ministry he was
to do. The Jews looked for signs.
We might be tempted to think it a good thing to look for a
miraculous sign to vindicate that person and work of the Christ sent from God,
but this is the perspective from God’s side:
in another narrative, we read, LUK 11:29 And while the crowds were
thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.
It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign
of Jonah the prophet.
The Jews were called an evil generation by the Lord Jesus
Christ. They wanted signs time and time
again. They were obsessed with
verification of the miraculous and making sure that they had it right. They wanted external evidences to point to
heavenly realities. No sign would be
given to them but one, the sign of Jonah.
And Jesus did not go on to explain what that meant. All Jesus said was this, LUK 11:30 "For as Jonah became
a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this
generation.
Despite the Jews and what they sought of signs in a misguided
manner, Jesus did work miracles. And,m
the miracles pointed to the power that was his in order to do the works of
God. Works apparently very different
than those expected by the masses of his day.
He did not bring political deliverance, he brought salvation from sin
and its tryanny.
The Jews were perplexed by the signs Jesus did and by those he did
not do. They missed the reality to which
the signs pointed. His first sign at the
wedding in Cana by inference pointed to the dawn of the messianic age and by
explicit revelation JOH 2:11 This
beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his
glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Many theologians and scientists in our day want to discard the
supernatural and the miraculous from any and all religion. It does not fit within their world view to
allow for special powers from God to accomplish those things that point us to
God and make us stand in awe.
There is a difference between something being supernatural and
miraculous. The supernatural is that
which occurs all of the time because God is intimately involved in history and
life. Miraculous is a special intrusion
of the power of God directly.
The reaction of many Christians to the materialism of our age has
usually been to call everything a miracle.
We must learn to distinquish between God’s supernatural providences
found in this world and the miraculous in a technical sense.
Providence is the doctrine that teaches us that God is intimately
involved in the details of history and life.
All that happens infallibly comes to pass as his decree, yet he uses the
will and acts of seemingly free moral agents to accomplish his purposes. This is not special, it is ordinary. Now, don't run me out of the pulpit. It is ordinary because ot is the way God
always works. He brings all things to
pass. In a basic sense it is all
miraculous; it is a sign to the sovereignty of God. However, in a technical
sense, a miracle is when the direct intervention of God’s power is manifest
upon the earth to point us to him and leave men in awe.
The water into wine was outside of God’s ordinary sustaining work
as regards his creation. There is nothing in the way things work in God’s
creation that could account for the change in the nature of water to the
essence of wine. They are two very
different liquids. The materialists say,
It was just a perceived change in a liquid.
We say, no it was an actual change making one thing another.
From our perspective, at least. Yet in a very real sense, is not
God the one alone who has the right to do what he wills with HIS creation. Supernatural occuences are a part of his
outlook on the world. To him is is quite
ordinary to do whatever he pleases to give men signs of his care and
grace--including the provision of our daily bread. To those who will believe,
signs and miracles point them to Christ.
To those who will not, they bring confusion and alternative explanations.
During the Life of Christ, if we understand who Jesus is, we
should expect the glory of God to break through his human appearance in the way
of miraclulous signs that serve to validate his claims to be the Messiah, while
pointing us to the realities of who he is and from whence he has come, and we
should remain in awe at what he has done.
I think too many of us have bought into a scientific mindset that
belittles miracles for natualistic explanations. We rob the Lord Jesus Christ of his glory and
work for us when we do not see his works for what they are. Done that men might believe. They are a powerful proclamation of the
Gospel as well as pointing to the presence of God’s kindgom among men. But remember, for men to see where God’s
reign is known rightly, they must be born again.
A word of caution is in order, In the Life of our Lord Jesus
Christ, miracles validated the one nringing the message. However, as the great counterfeit and liar,
another has adopted the method for his own wicked ends.
Satan is the great counterfeit in this age. One of his devices is to draw men away with
couterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. They are so good they look like the
real thing.
ILL English £5 note and US $5 at WalMart.
Couterfeit miracles do not point people to Christ, ultimately, nor
are they done with the power of God, but in the limited and derived powers of
the wicked one. How can I assert this word of caution? In 2 Thessalonians 2:9 we have a peculiar
verse that has the three main words for miracles, signs and wonders all inone
context.
2 Thess 2:9 The coming of the lawless
one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying
wonders,
There will be a counterfeit work done to draw men away. I believe God is alowing this to some extent
in our day and age as men and women seek after signs, and power encounters, and
perceived miracles, without a whole-souled seeking after the Lord Jesus
Christ. Another example of Good used for
eveil purposes. A sign, a perceived
miracle, or apparent power, is nothing if it does not bring the souls to follow
after Christ. Men may do miracles and
still be damned.
This is a serious manner.
Because a man does a perceived miracle is no reason to believe him to be
a messenger of God. He may be a lying
wonder in it for some other purpose.
Consider these sobering words:
MAT 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?'
23 "And then I
will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!'
24 "Therefore
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise
man who built his house on the rock:
Miralces have the function
of pointing men to God, to stand in awe of him, and therefore hear his voice
and to do what he says. Miracles can be
good, or they can be dangerous. They are
nothing in themselves. They point us to
other things. They are signs to go the
right way following God in faith. Lying signs point men in the wrong
direction. But, because of the perceived
miraculous they are blinded to the error before them. Be careful seeking miracles--they may take
your love away from Christ. Seek God’s
Word and do what he says. The ordinary
work of the Spirit working in a life to conform it to Christ’s image is a
greater ongoing miracle than anything else in the Christian life. The salvation of sinners is a greater work,
than even thse done by Christ when he was on the earth. JOH 14:12 "Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he
will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
It is better to seek after the Lord Jesus Christ, than after signs
and wonders.
With all of that said, turn to John 4:46 where we read of Jesus’s
second sign.
1. The Setting and Characters
JOH 4:46 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.
2. The Courtier’s Faith
JOH 4:47 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.
3. The General Concern of Christ
JOH 4:48 Then Jesus said
to him, 'Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means
believe."
4. The Faith of the Nobleman.
JOH 4:49 The nobleman
said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"
5. The Pronouncement of Jesus
JOH 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.
6. The Miracle Manifest
JOH 4:51 And as he was
now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son
lives!"
52 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."
53 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.
7. The Explanation
JOH 4:54 This again is
the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
Let’s look with a little more detail and comment:
1. The Setting and Characters
JOH 4:46 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.
Jesus is back to where he did his first sign or miracle. Doubtless many knew much of him from the
first sign and from all he did in Jerusalem--as we saw last week. John reminds us the events in chapter
two. This was the place where he turned
the water into wine.
There was a specific unnamed nobleman or courtier that was
present. A nobleman or courtier was one who would attend the presence of the
king or ruler. He would have had a place
of ploitical influence and prominence.
He was likely a Jew with political connections. He would not have been a
favorite of the religious establishment.
He would have been despised.
Perhaps in Galilee, he would have been treated with a distant
respect. But Jesus knew him and his
needs. This is another example of a man whose heart was know by the Lord
Jesus.
John tells us that he had a son who was sick in Capernaum. He was
literally diseased, or feeble. All
strength had left. This Nobleman went
to Jesus....
2. The Courtier’s Question
JOH 4:47 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.
He heard of the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ and sought him
out like Nicodemus had in Jerusalem. The
nobleman went to Jesus and implored him. He made a strong request, an
interogative, a plee, for Jesus to go down to Capernaum in order to heal his
son. The Nobleman believed that Jesus
could do this. If only you would come to
Capernaum where my son lies dying of disease, you could make him complete.
Either it is an editorial comment by John or a further description
of the son by the father, but the scriptures add, he was at the point of
death. Hope was going out the
window. The father sought help from one
whose signs and character was known, one in whom all galilee was glorying, one
who appeared to have the power of God attending him, one who pointed to
heavenly realities and preached about the presence of the Kindgom of God. Here is one of whom we are in awe for what he
has already done. Sir, please come to
heal my dying son.
The nobleman is praying in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ
for him to come be present at the point of need. Jesus speaks directly to the man in order to
address the Jews who heard this exchange.
3. The General Concern of Christ
JOH 4:48 Then Jesus said to him, 'Unless you
people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."
Notice the plural, you people, unless each of you sees signs and
wonders, you think that you have no basis upon which to believe I am who I
claim to be. They gave him accolades and accepted him as Messiah who dod great
works in other places. Perhaps here they
wanted to see some for themselves. But,
Jesus ministry wasnot about signs for the sake of signs, it was to point to
men’s need to repent and believe the gospel.
It was about following the Lord Jesus Christ, the one to whom the signs
pointed. A sign by iteslf without
pointing to heavenly ralities as God defines them, is not worth a whole
lot. The Noble man speaks up...
4. The Concern of the Nobleman.
JOH 4:49 The nobleman
said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"
Indignantly, the man gives the Lord Jesus what amounts to
something a little less than a command.
He says, “Come, before it is too late.
Sir, my child is dying.
The benefit desired was for another. But his motivation was not for the glory of
God, but for the well-being of his own son. He believed that Jesus could do
what no other could. In this, Jesus was
his only hope, the one in whom he alone could trust. And this line of strong assertion got Jesus
to act....
5. The Pronouncement of Jesus
JOH 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.
Literally translated, Jesus said, get travelling, get going home,
your son lives. This would be good news
to a father about his beloved son. But
it teches us an important truth. Jesus
does not have to be physically present to make people whole. Jesus can act from one place with great
impact in another.
We must remember, since the wrk of the Lord Jesus Christ is not
tied to a location, Jesus can give what man needs from another place. He can continue to give us what we need from
his place of authority in Heaven. His
power is as much available to us through prayer as it was to that nobleman in
Galilee. Actually, by virtue of our
privileged position in him, he hears and answers our prayers with greater
delight.
Without faith, Jesus was not obligated to listen to and answer the
prayers of that man. But to his own
people, as we ask anything in his name, he has bound himself by his word to
hear and to act for us.
Even though Jesus is in another place, we still worls for us. He cares for us and uses the processes of
divine providence to contually give us those things we truly need. In a basic sense, all we have from God’s hand
is truly miraculous. It is God’s
reality. It is his ordinary way of acting.
Jesus is in Heaven, working for us and for our good.
The man heard the words of Jesus -- that his son was well and that
he should travel-- so he went on his ways.
When Jesus speaks, he should be heard and obeyed. We should listen to what he says and follow
his voice. We are but dumb sheep in need
of his tender guidance. He speaks through
his word, we need to follow.
It is sinful to seek signs to reveal God’s will for us when he has
already revealed it in his Word. A
question comes....do Should I do such
and such for so and so my Christian brother or sister because they are in
need? The answer is always YES. We are called to bear one another’s burdens
and so fulfill the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2ff). We need not seek a sign from God to go about
doing good. We should take these things
as an article of faith simply because Christ has said it. We need to get going based upon what God has
already said. This nobleman is to be
commended for hearing, believing and doing what Jesus said. He no longer argued with the Lord, but
listened and obeyed.
6. The Miracle Manifest
JOH 4:51 And as he was
now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son
lives!"
52 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."
53 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.
He didn’t arrive home until the next day. What must have been going through his mind as
he travelled home? We do not know. But,
as he arrived, his slaves met him to tell him the good news, “Your son
lives.” He asked “When?” When they told
the father, he knew not just intellectually that Jesus was a wonder-worker, but
the sign pointed to the need for him and others to have faith in this one who
performed miracles. As soon as Jesus
said “Your son lives.” The nobleman knew it was the work of God.
He did not go appoint a devil’s advocate to see if there were some
other expanation to explain away the special work. He accepted by faith the special supernatural
operation of God in his behalf, by faith. Joh reports emphatically, He himself
believed. He must have told his family
and his servants, because the report of the miracle, this work of the Kingdom
in their midst, this power of God sent from another place, pointed them to the
Lord Jesus Christ. His whole household believed.
They knew the dire situation.
They knew is was extraordinary.
They had attended the boy in his sickness. They knew something unusual had occurred. One minute he was on his death bed and the
next he was whole. It took a day for
them to hear an explanation--an explanation of the concern, grace and power of
the Messiah of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a wonderful ministry, what a marvellous Lord, who is worthy to be
believed by all.
7. The Final Explanation
JOH 4:54 This again is
the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
What effect will this sign have upon you? Are you numb to the miraculous because you
have heard these stories time and again?
Do you try to explain it away?
Well, they expected miracles, they were pre-scientific beings they
didn’t know any better. We have science to explain these natural phenomena, we
are more sophisticated. Science cannot
explain what is supernatural. Science
can only define what can be tested and repeated in the laboratory. Science can only deal with the stuff of our
experience. They have to dismiss God or
put him in a box in order to use him for their purposes. And the theologians of our day are also
putting God in a box where he is manipulated by and bound to natural laws that
he may or may have not created. They see
a GOD idea as dependant upon the actions and prayers of men, rather than one
who is to be worshipped and followed because he alone is glorious in his
perfections.
Man has remade God in his own image. Miracles are things that
confuse or frustrate. They believe some
day they will find a natural explaination for the perceived supernatural. They
will not allow God to be in their thinking. ROM 1:21 because, although they
knew God, they did not glorify Him as
God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts
were darkened.
God deals in the miraculous in an extraordinary and ordinary sense. The daily sustaining of the world is a
miracle in itself. Although, in a
technical sense, a miracle is when God comes to act outside of his ordinary
providences. All things we enjoy are
signs that point us to God’s care and grace.
Take a lesson from the Nobleman, he heard of Christ, he prayed to
Christ, he obeyed Christ, and he and his family followed him. What a wonderful savior. What a wonderful
Lord.
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