John 4:46-54
Or would the nobleman believe the miracle over the Word? Jesus had to call him, the crowd, and us to the carpet for trusting in “signs and wonders.” “Unless you see signs and wonders,” He told the nobleman, the crowd, and us, “you will not believe.” You can almost see Jesus shaking His head. You see, “signs and wonders” are for the weak in faith, for those who can only handle milk but not meat. Yet Jesus still wants to help the nobleman, and us, grow in believing Him, the Word of God in the flesh.
It’s amazing how a personal tragedy or hardship in life turns you to the Word who is Jesus. But do you really believe God’s Word in the flesh? Perhaps you are like the nobleman, who needed proof before he could believe.
Perhaps you are like Thomas. He needed to see Jesus and put His fingers into Jesus’ wounds before he would believe. Jesus first appeared to ten of His disciples, but Thomas was absent. And Thomas would not believe the Word that the others later proclaimed to him until he himself saw and touched Jesus in the flesh. The next Sunday, Jesus did appear to Thomas of the weak faith, and He did grant Thomas his request. Then Jesus also said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn. 20:29).
Or perhaps you are like Elijah. He expected to see and hear God in the loud wind, or in the earthquake, or in the raging fire. But God was not in those things. No, Elijah heard God in the “sound of a low whisper” (1 Kgs. 19:12). God certainly allows and sends natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, so that we might turn from our self-centered thoughts and ways, so that we might repent and trust Him for every need. But He speaks to us in the still small voice of His Word, especially the Word made flesh, Jesus the Son of God.
Do you really believe God’s Word? Or would you rather look for things that are much more monumental? Would you rather seek God’s love for you in what looks good and successful? Perhaps the preaching of the holy Gospel and the giving out of the holy Sacraments don’t seem to do the job. Perhaps you’d rather see the capacity crowds, even standing room only, in the church. Perhaps you’d like to add something—anything—to draw the crowds. Perhaps you’d rather see the “faith healer” do his or her work to the applause and cheers of adoring crowds.
But if you want these things, you must be ready for the consequences. When you need the healing and don’t get it, you’ll be told, “Well, you don’t have enough faith. You need to read your Bible more. You must pray harder. Come back when you have enough faith, and then we’ll see what we can do for you.”
Notice that the nobleman’s faith grows beyond wanting mere signs and wonders. He persists. He says, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” He wanted more than a miracle; he wanted the Lord Jesus to help him. He knew and trusted that only the Word of God in human flesh could give life. But would he really believe this Word? It seems that he would not be satisfied until Jesus dropped what He was doing, changed His schedule, and made a personal visit to Capernaum.
Again, you and I are like this nobleman. We may get past the immature need for “signs and wonders,” but we still want to tell God how to do His job of being God. Perhaps we think that God must immediately heal us of the disease or injury we have. Doesn’t He know how it will get in the way of your daily life? Perhaps we try to convince God to remove the family trial we’re going through. Doesn’t He know it’s torture? Perhaps we actually come out and ask God to make those other people see our point of view. Doesn’t He know you are always right?
But Jesus will not be dethroned from His place as God’s eternal Word of love and life for us. The nobleman begs Jesus to come to his home, but Jesus says, “I’ll do something even better. I will not come to your home, but I will heal and give life back to your son.” “Go; your son lives.” That’s it! Just a word. That’s all the nobleman had to go on. As one preacher once said, “The nobleman went home with only a word in his pocket.” Would he really believe that Word?
As the nobleman returned home, his servants met him on the way. They told him that his son had recovered. He asked, “At what time?” They said, “Yesterday at about 1 PM.” The nobleman knew that was the time that Jesus had said, “Your son lives.” So, really, two people were cured—the young lad who was sick and on death’s doorstep, and his father who fought the disease of unbelief. “He himself believed, and all his household.”
Do you really believe God’s Word? Do you really trust this Man who brings life into this world of death? You see, Jesus comes to heal you here today. If you’re honest with yourself, sometimes it’s hard trust that He sends the Holy Spirit to call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify the whole Christian Church on earth and keep her with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. Truth be told, you want to add various “signs and wonders”—whether they’re outward signs of success or inward signs of wonderful feelings. Somehow, we think, that will give the Spirit a nudge.
But Jesus knows how to heal and give life. You see, God does not hate you or His creation. No, He longs to heal and restore. Even though you are feverish in your sin, sick to the point of death, your God still loves you and works to heal you. That’s why He sends His only-begotten Son into the flesh. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 Jn. 4:9). Jesus took your sickness of sin and death upon Himself. He took the punishment and wrath that you deserved upon Himself. And when He died on the cross, He sent your sins packing and trampled death to death. When He came forth from the grave victorious, He burst a big, gaping hole in death’s belly. Now sickness and death have no more dominion over you. Sure, we’re all bound to catch a virus now and then; maybe even contract a deadly disease. But those things cannot separate you from God’s love in Christ Jesus. Now you get to live!
That’s the Word that you get to hear over and over again. Just as Jesus told the nobleman, “Your son lives,” He also tells you: “You now live.” And notice how Jesus tells you this—through His Word. So, do you really believe His Word? In the face of your daily struggles, you may certainly believe the Word that comes to you here in the Divine Service. You may certainly believe what Jesus says to you through Holy Scripture, through the Word read from the lectern and proclaimed from the pulpit. As Jesus said, “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5:24).
And this same Jesus, this same Word in the flesh, also said: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6:53-54). Let that be the Word in your pocket, the Word that you really believe, the Word that says, “You live, because you eat and drink Me!”
No, you don’t need to look for signs and wonders. You have the divine wonder of Jesus the Word. You have His signs called Sacraments. Let these gifts from God sustain and strengthen you when times get rough, when illness and death strike. After all, Jesus comes to tell you, “You now live.” And, yes, you may really believe it. Amen.
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