Sermon Notes - John 4:43-54 - A Long Distance Sign - Littleby Baptist Church - December 4, 2022

1.     Over the last couple of weeks John has been letting us know that Jesus did things differently.

a.      He did not let societal norms influence His actions.

b.     What people thought, did not stop Him from talking to an outcast.

c.      It boils down to Jesus showing love and speaking truth and the ladies life was changed.

d.     Then this woman shared what Jesus said to her.

e.      People listened and lives were changed.

f.      Jesus used an outcast to touch others.

g.     He can and does use each of us to touch people’s lives.

h.     We are not going to get it right all the time.

i.       We are going to say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, but our God will still use us.

j.       We need to pray that He helps us to be His witnesses so that others will hear about the gift of Grace we are given.

2.     John 4:43

a.      After the stop in Samaria that Jesus had to make.

b.     After staying in Samaria to reap the harvest.

c.      Jesus and the guys continue the path they had started on.

d.     They head to Galilee, which is a province or state which includes towns such as Cana, Nazareth, Jezreel, Megiddo, and others.

3.     John 4:44

a.      This statement is also found in Matthew 13 and Mark 6.

b.     There is some debate on what is meant by ‘in his own country.’

c.      Traditionally this has been stated to refer to the specific town of Nazareth where Jesus was raised.

d.     Other thoughts include the entire area of Galilee as part of ‘in his own country.’

e.      Another is that it could be all of Israel as they may not receive Jesus as openly as the Samaritans did.

f.      At times Scripture makes it seem that Jesus was accepted by His people from what we can read.

g.     The thing is Jesus is God and knows the hearts of the people in His own country.

h.     Wherever ‘in his own country’ means, Jesus was saying that those who know a person for most of their life, who is a prophet, a spiritual leader, even Christ Himself, tend to not accept Him as well as those who do not.

i.       Joseph was hated by his brothers, people sought to kill Jeremiah, the Jews attempted to kill Paul, and we can find more examples throughout Scripture.

j.       When you know a person’s sinful past, it can be hard to accept that they have changed.

k.     It can be hard to see how God is using them.

l.       It was hard for people to accept that Jesus was something other than a carpenter’s son.

4.     John 4:45

a.      In some ways this verse may seem to counter verse 44, but let’s look deeper into it.

b.     Some of the Galileans had gone to the festival.

c.      Some of them had see what Jesus had done.

d.     They would have witnessed the cleansing of the temple.

e.      John 2:23

f.      They had witnessed the signs He performed.

g.     The things pointing out that He is God.

h.     But there is a difference between the Samaritans believing in Him because of what was ‘said’.

i.       And the Galileans ‘welcoming’ Him because they had seen what He did.

j.       John is stating that the Samaritans believed, and the Galileans welcomed.

k.     One group finding salvation through their belief and the other welcoming Jesus hoping to see more signs.

l.       Jesus knew what was in their hearts.

m.   As God, He would have known that people were hopeful to see some sign, some miracle, but that excitement, the welcoming, did not mean they had faith in Him.

5.     John 4:46-47

a.      Jesus returned to the city of His first sign.

b.     A royal official, a rich man, was likely in Cana looking for help.

c.      He was 20-25 miles away from home, 5-6 hours by horse and longer if in a wagon or walking.

d.     The man was desperate looking for help for his sick son when Jesus arrives.

e.      The man had likely heard the anticipation of the arrival of someone with Jesus’ reputation.

f.      The reputation of a miracle worker.

g.     This wealthy man who was desperate for someone to help his son, pleaded with Jesus to heal him.

6.     John 4:48

a.      Almost seems like a harsh response to a desperate man.

b.     But it was a needed response.

c.      Jesus knew that people who believed because of a miracle, may only have surface deep belief.

d.     Mark 4:14-19

e.      Those who believe because of a sign may be like the Word being sown on the path, rocky ground, or among the thorns.

f.      The Word is heard, the sign is seen, but the devil swoops in or they fall away because they have no roots or because other things choke it out.

g.     Jesus may have sounded harsh, but it was needed for the man to develop true faith.

7.     John 4:49

a.      The man was at a loss, and he simply pleaded for his son’s life.

b.     The man asked for Jesus’ help and in turn demonstrated that his faith was strong enough to believe that Jesus could heal the son.

8.     John 4:50

a.      This is where the rubber meats the road for the man.

b.     There is no rebuke for lack of faith, just Go, your son will live.

c.      He asked for Jesus to work in his son in a way that showed faith.

d.     Now he had a choice to make, to believe what Jesus just told him or not.

e.      Here is a man we know next to nothing about.

f.      He is not mentioned in the other Gospels.

g.     But John tells us that, ‘The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed.’

h.     The man had faith.

i.       He trusted in Jesus to honor His Word.

9.     John 4:51-53

a.      I wonder if the guy was at peace trusting in Jesus or if he was starting to second guess himself?

b.     When the servants confirmed when it happened, it was exactly when Jesus said it would!

c.      If he was second guessing himself, he stopped.

d.     Hearing the confirmation that his son was healed was enough to eliminate any doubt.

e.      Hearing the details of what had happened was enough for his entire household to believe.

f.      The royal official believed because he saw God at work around him.

g.     Those of his household believed because of what they witnessed and the testimony of the royal official.

10.  When we started this section, we talked about how the Samaritans believed and the Galileans welcomed Jesus.   

a.      One group believed and the other was excited about a supposed miracle worker returning to their area.

b.     Who knows what level of faith the royal official had before encountering Jesus.

c.      But scripture is clear, afterwards he and others believed.

d.     He believed because all doubts were removed that Jesus was able to do what us mere mortals cannot.

e.      His household believed, not simply because the royal official told them to.

                                                    i.     But by thinking about what they had heard and seen.

                                                  ii.     Taking into account the change that must have occurred in the royal official.

f.      That is why living life with people is so important.

                                                    i.     The words are part of it.

                                                  ii.     But, the actions, the way we live, the choices we make… that is what really gets peoples attention.

                                                iii.     Do we trust in what God’s Word teaches us?

                                                iv.     People want to see if our faith changes us.

11.  John 4:54

a.      The second sign that Jesus was more than a man.

b.     The second sign to drive home John’s point that Jesus is God incarnate.

c.      The first sign was turning water into wine.

d.     A hidden miracle witnessed by his disciples and some servants.

e.      This sign, Jesus was 20-25 miles away.

f.      It is not possible for someone to have heard the words ‘your son will live’ and be there when the fever broke.

g.     A person cannot be in two places at once.  

h.     The miracle itself points to Jesus being God.

i.       The long-distance healing lets us know that Jesus is not limited like we are.

j.       We can normally impact things within our reach, Jesus healed the son miles away.

12.  Jeremiah 23:23-24

a.      God is everywhere.

b.     He is omnipresent.

c.      There is no limit to His reach.

d.     No limit to those He can touch.

13.  The royal official believed when Jesus told him that his son would live.

a.      I wonder if all of those traveling with the royal official believed.

b.     Likely some did not.

c.      They may have questioned how Jesus can do such a thing for someone so far away.

d.     They may have questioned how He could do it at all.

e.      Yet, in the end according to scripture they believed.

14.  There are times we may wonder if Jesus can really change someone’s life.

15.  We may question if He can really save someone so far gone.

16.  For us, it is impossible.

17.  But for Jesus Christ, there is no limit to what He is capable of.

18.  There is no one outside of His reach.

19.  He can do more than we could ever imagine.

20.  He is the creator of the heavens and the earth.

21.  We are to trust in Jesus to touch our lives and the lives of those we are praying for.