“Not easily put off”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, March 7, 2023
John 4:43-54 (Forward, p. 37) CEV p. 1105
I sort of wonder about Jesus at times. I wonder whether He sometimes said deliberately provoking things simply to provoke faith or arouse a pushback of sorts. Take, for instance, His words to the Syro Phoenician woman about going only to the house of Israel or not giving the children’s bread to dogs (see Matthew 15:21-28). It is of note, and of incredible interest, that these words from Jesus, rather than turn the woman away, actually produced an incredible bit of insight and wit and even more faith.
Here, in today’s passage, we see the same sort of thing. When the official from Capernaum—described as a ‘royal’ official in some translations—comes to Jesus, begging Jesus to keep his son from dying, Jesus responds with these very off-putting words: “You won’t have faith unless you see miracles and wonders!” (verse 48). But the man is not to be put off. He replies with even greater intensity and passion, and even goes one step further, this time asking Jesus to even come to his home in Capernaum to heal his son.
Jesus then replies positively, gives him the assurance that his son will indeed live, and tells him to go on home to him. Now, for me, what is merely a verbal assurance would probably not enough. I would have probably wanted to see it, right then and there. But, that delay in knowing and seeing it for himself, was not enough to put off the man from believing what Jesus had said, from trusting in him. Rather, he immediately headed out on what was a multi-day almost 40 km. trek to see his son. Indeed, it was just the opposite of what Jesus had said with those off-putting words. He had faith, he had believed, even though he had not seen.
And so, to me, this is a strong cattle-prod to personally having more faith, more trust in Jesus, in my own life, in the life of the church, and in the world today. So often, I, for one, do not even bother to go to Jesus with my concerns and problems, much less trust Him to take care of them. I suspect that others are like me. So, we need to be like this official who will not be put off but trusts Jesus no matter what. Amen.
Forward notes: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies’” (verses 48-49).
“Jesus speaks broadly to the nation of Israel, to the angels of heaven that might listen and to the creatures of the earth that might notice. Unless you see something extraordinary, I will not have your attention. Unless you see a sign, you will not believe.
“Jesus wants the people—as a whole, a nation—to believe in him as the way, the truth, the life, to recognize the fullness of life in him as that person of God. He also knows that they will not, and cannot, do so unless they witness a sign.
“The poor father in this story just wants his son to live. He is not concerned about (what we call) the Christ Event, the fullness of deity contained in human form given for all of humanity. He wants his son to live. Perhaps Jesus picked this man (and his son) for a sign because of the palpable passion emanating from him, rather than the petty proof others required. The father lived from his heart, not his head. And the heart is a beat closer to God.”
Moving Forward: “How often do you demand a sign from God?