The Official’s Son Pt. 1
At His Word!
I’m starting a study on the healings that Jesus performed in the Gospels and I’m doing them in chronological order. The reason for this is to just build faith. I’m personally not facing any health dilemma. I’m really doing quite well. . .well I could stand to lose 10lbs but I’m way better off than I was 6yrs ago. I just think we all could use a better understanding of healing and who better to learn it from than the great healer Himself, Christ Jesus.
The first recorded healing that Jesus did was the healing of the Official’s son. Even though it is found in John chapter 4, it is the first chronological healing recorded (and the second miraculous sign with the first being the water/wine sign). I don’t believe, however, that it is the first healing that Jesus did because of what John 3:23 says: “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.” What better “miraculous signs” are there then healing people? I guess that is open for interpretation. Also, remember what John said at the end of his book: John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The “Official’s son” is the first recorded healing in the gospels for good reason. There are a few things we can learn about faith in this story. For this blog entry I am only going to bring out one of the points and I think it’s a pretty important one—the one that sticks out to me the most. Here’s the story straight from John himself.
John 4:43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once 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. 47When 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 miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
I used the NIV here because of how it translated verse 50. The Message puts verse 50 this way: “The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home.” That’s alright. Look at the Amplified: “And the man put his trust in what Jesus said and started home.” I like that. The trusty KJV states: “And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.” There are many more translations but those are the main ones I bounce around in. I still like the way the NIV put it. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because it sounds like something I would say. Above you can read the results of the man taking Jesus at his word. There are several more points to healing faith here and I’ll cover them in following entries. I see persistence here, also walking by faith and not by sight, but what is so striking are the 7 words found in verse 50: “The man took Jesus at his word”. Taking Jesus at His word is so KEY to our victory in faith. With all the health scares going around today from the lack of insurance, to swine flu, to flu season, blah, blah, and more blah, it’s time for us who call on Christ’s name to start taking Jesus at his word. Maybe you don’t have a sick son at home but why wait for that to start taking Jesus at his word? My wife, who is running spiritual laps around me right now, started doing something so simple but so huge. She is refusing headaches. You read that right, refusing them. If she feels one coming on she just denies it in the name of Jesus and goes on her way. Later she will remember that she refused the pain and rejoice, she never got the full blown headache. Give it a shot, start simple and work up from there. If we all do this then pretty soon we’ll stop giving hospitals so much business, well except for having babies. Maybe at that time America would really have a health insurance problem because there would no longer be a need for it. If there is no supply of sickness then there is no demand for health insurance. We can knock out the “supply” by “His Word” and in turn bring down the “demand.” Sounds impossible? John G. Lakes wouldn’t think so. Because of his “healing rooms” Spokane, Washington was labeled “the healthiest city in the world”. That was in only a short 5 year span of 1915-20. Imagine what we can do if we all walk in that kind of faith! So today start with little things like headaches and colds and take Jesus at his word. Before you know it your house will be labeled “the healthiest house in the world”.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
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