And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, “Sir come down ere my child die.” Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way, thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying
“Thy son liveth”. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth. And himself believed, and his whole house.This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
Something I find deeply disturbing in the materialistic and man centred developed Western world today is this. People will put their faith and trust in all sorts of ideas and belief systems, from off beat religion to various appealing political ideals. But those who profess Christ are denigrated or sidelined. Establishment media in the UK, for example, has for decades been censoring and suppressing believers personal experiences of Jesus Christ’s blessing and aid in their lives.
Yet Christ claims to have the words of eternal life.
This second miracle bears very similar characteristics to the first. That is not surprising. Both contain critical clues to receiving the blessing of God. Both bear testimony to God’s great love and mercy to those who put their entire trust in him. Both are very instructive.
The nobleman was undoubtedly rich, and certainly influential. He could have or do anything he wanted.
But he couldn’t buy or procure his son’s health.
It is clear that he had nowhere else to turn but Christ. And that is so often the way. It takes coming to the end of our natural gifts and possessions to see our need of the only one who can answer the ultimate questions of life and death. The one who has the power over life and death. The one who alone can give life; who alone has the right to call time on our life in this world.
But having come to Christ, recognising his need, recognising that Christ alone could help, he then had to do something critical but completely counter intuitive.
He had to go away without Jesus coming to his house to help the boy.
Laying on of hands for healing was known in those days, as was deliverance from demons. So he expected Jesus to come along, and do something physical and in person.
Jesus refused.
Jesus refused because he would not pander to the expectation of the spectacular. He says so explicitly in the text cited above.
But Jesus still cared.
He therefore required the man to give up even on that expectation.
Jesus required him to simply believe; nothing more.
To believe not in some special manifestation – and how often do we do that – expect something spectacular ?
But to believe in him as God; not believe in an act of spectacle.
And that is where the true miracle lies.
Not in the extraordinary, but in the apparently ordinary. And in our belief – our total trust in Jesus Christ.
If he acts, it is his will; if he does not, it is still his will. And is to be accepted.
The son recovered. The hour of recovery matched his moment of belief. A belief characterised by the totally unexpected and unwanted command to just go home. He had to believe in the face of all the circumstantial evidence that the miracle would happen.
The nobleman had to humbly take Christ at his word, and act on it.
Nothing has changed.
Today we must take Christ at his word, and obey it.
No other way.
Christianity 