TEXT: John 4:43-54

SUBJECT: Exposition of John #11: Second Sign

With God's blessing, we will continue our study of the Fourth Gospel. Its author is John, maybe the most ambitious author who ever lived. He wrote to give us eternal life; He tells us how it is gotten: By "believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". The Gospel is not written to inform, to inspire, or to entertain; it is written to bring you to faith in Christ. Will it fulfill its mission? I hope so. God make it so, for Christ's sake. Amen.

For the last ten days or so, our Lord has been away. Eight days were spent in Jerusalem for Passover. Two more in Samaria. But now He's home. Galilee is the place He grew up; it's where His family was known; it's where He plied His trade; it's where He began His public ministry.

"Be it ever so humble,

There's no place like home".

Or so we like to believe. Why did He go home? V.44 explains: "For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in His own country". This is a saying, of course, a proverb. But what does it mean? In context, it means this: The Samaritans had honored the Lord Jesus. Within two days--and without a miracle--they acclaimed Him: "Savior of the world". But He isn't seeking the praise of men; He doesn't want it. Therefore, He goes to where He's sure to have none: He goes home. He prefers the obscurity and opposition of Galilee to the fame and support of Samaria.

The choice is no aberration. He makes it over and over again. A leper is cleansed and sent away with this warning: "See that you say nothing to anyone!" A deaf mute is healed and "commanded to tell no one". A man's sight is restored, and he is charged: "Neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town". After seeing the transfiguration, Peter, James, and John are told to hold their tongues "till the Son of man is risen from the dead".

This is a far cry from the shameless promoting of modern preachers. You've heard it: "From the international headquarters of..." "The worldwide ministry of..." And so on. In this day of advertising hype, perhaps we could learn from the Man who "did not cause His voice to be heard in the street". Maybe the Word of God is not to be found in "the wind, the earthquake, and the fire". Maybe it remains in "the still small voice".

In sum: Our Lord has gone home to avoid the glare of public attention.

How is He greeted upon His return? "The Galilaeans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they had also gone to the feast".

The word "receive" means to welcome. But John uses it ironically. They are not welcoming our Lord as the Messiah, but as a magician. They saw His miracles in Jerusalem and hoped to see more. Who wouldn't? They were mind-boggling! But the Galilaeans were fixed on the signs--and not on what they signified. They preferred miracles to Messiah.

Our Lord is in no mood to satisfy their carnal curiosity. He's not about to put on a show. He hasn't come to entertain men, but to save sinners.

The people are overjoyed at our Lord's return to Galilee. But one man doesn't look happy at all; he wears the look of desperation. He is a "nobleman"--maybe a member of Herod's family. He lives in Capernaum, some twenty miles away. He has come to beg for the life of his son. "Lord, come heal my son who's at the point of death!"

Knowing what the crowd is thinking, He turns to scorn them for their pitilessness and unbelief: "Unless you people see signs and wonders you will by no means believe". In other words, "You want Me to heal that boy for your amusement, don't you?"

The father interrupts: It's not amusement he wants, but his son's life. "Sir, come down before my child dies!"

"Jesus said to him, `Go your way, your son lives'". The nobleman believes the Word. And sees it fulfilled. On his way home, he meets his servants, who tell him the good news: "Your son lives!" The boy has recovered.

"At what time?"

"At one in the afternoon".

That was the hour our Lord had said, "Your son lives". The nobleman made the connection and, along with his family, "believed" in Christ. Not in Jesus the magician, but in "Jesus the Christ, the Son of God".

John adds an epilogue: "This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee".

John doesn't say "miracle"--though he might have. He says "sign". And a "sign" by definition must "signify" something. It must point to something other than itself. What is signified by the healing of the nobleman's son?

In brief: "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God".

This is true directly. The prophets foresaw a healing Savior. Isaiah has it: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses". "The Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings" says Malachi. Other examples could be cited. Messiah would come with a healing ministry. When men saw the miraculous cures Jesus performed they should have identified Him with the Christ. The connection was unmistakable. When John asked if He was the Christ, our Lord sent this answer: "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them". This dispelled his every doubt; no one but Christ could perform such signs.

The healings also throw an indirect light on our Lord's Divinity. Who can heal but God? This is His word at Marah: "I am the LORD who heals you". This is the testimony of His people: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is in me, bless His holy name...Who heals all your diseases and redeems your life from destruction". How would He heal? The Psalmist knew: "He sent His word and healed them..." Connect the dots: If only God heals, and if He heals with His word, and if Christ heals with His word, then, "Jesus is the Christ the Son of God".

The healing work of Christ insinuates another cure only He can perform. If a boy's body can be healed--snatched from death--by the word of Christ, then a sinner's soul can be cured by the same word. Sin is often described as a sickness. Incurable to us, the disease is easily cured by Christ. With a Word He can make us well. Make you well. May God speak that word to a sin-plagued soul. For Christ's sake. Amen.