Do you really want this?!?!
The more I meditate on this passage the more I am getting out of it. I’ve really yet to dig deep into the Greek for stuff, this is all surface substance. I love the word of God. It truly is “. . .living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” ~ Hebrew 4:12.
Here is our text again:
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When 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.
46 Once 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. 47 When 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."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then 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.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Was Jesus stretching this guy? Was Jesus really asking, “Do you really want this?” I know that sounds crazy but many times we go into prayer with a wish instead of with faith. Our prayers sound more like “God, I wish you would take this from me” instead of “I know this is possible”. James 5:16b says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” That’s the King James Version. The NIV left out the “Effectual fervent” part of that script. Here’s the Amplified “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Let’s see how this “Official’s” prayer for his son was “earnest (heartfelt, continued)”. Going back to John 4:46, The “Royal Official” (remember that title) heard that Jesus was in Galilee so he took off to meet Jesus. In verse 45 we see a bit of a crowd forming around Him for good reason; Jesus put on a awesome show. Set yourself on fire and people will watch you burn. They’d seen what He did in Jerusalem at Passover. Furthermore, Jesus is returning to the water/wine miraculous sign location. Now in the mix of all of this the “Royal Official” came walking up begging for his son’s deliverance. Jesus said something that blows me away. John 4:48 records "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." This was loud enough for the crowd to hear, but Jesus said it right to the “Royal Official’s” face! “Royal Official” = Title. This guy was important. This guy had clout. This guy didn’t have to take this from some revolutionary—especially in front of the crowd. I’m sure the crowd was well aware of this guy’s title. Instead of being offended the “Royal Official” put down his “title” and simply said (vs. 49) “Sir, come down before my child dies”. He stayed in there fighting for his son. This is vaguely similar to the Canaanite Woman story; both she and the “Royal Official” stayed in there fighting for their children. As I meditated on this passage I think I got what Jesus was really doing. He was stretching them from beyond wishful thinking into a mindset of determination; an unwavering belief that, not only could Jesus heal their children, but that Jesus would heal their children. We know that in both stories the children were healed, but do we believe the same in will happen in our own lives? Do we want to fight for our healing, our health, or do we just wish it would happen? Do we put our prayer request on our prayer chain lists more for coping reasons or because we actually believe in the power of prayer? Think on these things.
By doing this study I am not trying to get or present some new type of formula for receiving our healing. I believe we will see a similar trait in all the recorded healings of the Gospels—that trait being Just take Jesus at His Word (John 4:50). The whole point of this study is to just build faith. Romans 10:17 states “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
A Father’s fight!
As a man/dad I find this story refreshing. It’s cool to see that the first recorded healing was a father fighting for his kid’s life. Usually men get a bad rap when it comes to this part of parenting. Let’s face it women, you all usually get most of the glory in parental battles and with good reason. You’re natural fighters for your children. For 9 months you fight in pregnancy. We men are pretty cool with the whole conception and cheering you on until due day, but the birthing process is more of a battle than any man wants to take on. So you women start off parenting with a fight; it comes naturally to you. What I love in this story is that the Holy Spirit shows, through the example of the “Royal Official”, how we as men can and should battle for our families. In my next entry I’ll cover the end result of this awesome father’s battle!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
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