Grace bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
111320
What's The Significance Of The Second Miracle Of Jesus And The Healing The Royal Official's Son?
We begin with our Second Miracle of the Lord which is known as The Miracle of The Nobleman’s Son, which is found in Joh 4:43-54.
We begin today by reminding ourselves about the freedom we have been graciously given which is given to us to us so that we can graciously give it to others.
First of all, we noted that our Lord could not do many miracles among His family and friends because they were too familiar with Him and they could not accept the fact that God was alive in Christ right before their eyes and living right before them.
Most believers experience this in some way and they think that the best thing for them to do is to change friends or change geographical locations.
All this man could do was to request that the Lord would be gracious and have grace and mercy on him and heal his son.
Little did this man know that the King of kings and the Lord of lords was about to come to his home and perform a miracle of healing the man’s son.
So, Jesus said to him, unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.
Notice that the word for “you” here is in the plural, our Lord is talking to the crowd that is following Him instead of to the nobleman.
The nobleman is not looking for a sign, he just wants his son healed.
However, we can assume that the nobleman may have been a Jew because of what the apostle said in 1CO 1:22 For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom;
However, the nobleman was not seeking for a miracle but he was seeking for the Lord to heal his son.
And this is why we cannot call the nobleman a Jew because Jews seek for signs and wonders and miracles, this noble man just wanted the Lord to heal his son.
Notice a few principles here emerge such as the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and he started off back home.
And, as he was going back home, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
So, he inquired of them the hour when his son began to get better.
And He was amazed when he found out that his son was healed at the same time that he requested the Lord, which was the seventh hour.
Remember, under the doctrine of numerology, the number seven stands for the “Finished Work” or completeness and perfection (both physical and spiritual).
So, the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.”
And this miracle was so powerful because it had such an effect that the nobleman’s son and all the servants in his home believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
Our Lord has been in Jerusalem, He had a conversation with Nicodemus, He spoke to John the Baptist, through John’s disciples who were told by John the Baptist that “He (the Lord) must increase and we need to decrease.” (Joh 3:30).
Our Lord also talked to the Samarian woman who was told that salvation is for all, including the Samarians who were half Jew and half gentile.
The nobleman has heard of Jesus and believes He has the power to heal his son and he is willing to travels 20 miles to seek the healing.
Here is what our Lord said about that; MAT 12:39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
Remember ROM 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
The proper belief though is not in the miracle, it is in the person and the power of Jesus Christ.
So, the condemnation here is against people who think they or others need to see a miracle to believe in Jesus as Lord.
Even after Jesus gives the nobleman man a subtle rebuke by not saying a thing about whether his son was dead or alive, the man still persists and makes his request.
In fact, our Lord even taught this principle of persisting with God for something and not quitting, our Lord taught that we have the mind of Christ and we should seek for answers from Him.
Since the man persists, which was a demonstration of his faith, Jesus says, “Go, your son lives.”
He is NOT one of those who needs to see a miracle to believe.
Just like doubting Thomas, he had to see before he would believe.
He believes in the power of our Lords’ word as the proof that the man was not like doubting Thomas.
JOH 20:29 Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed {are} they who did not see, and {yet} believed."
Notice that in both of these first two miracles there is no “how toFormula,” a miracle , there is no lightning and thunder when the miracle occurs.
And, please notice also that the telling of the actual miracle takes only a fraction of the time devoted to the events that are surrounding it.
The point is that a miracle is not nearly as important as the situation, and not nearly as important as the response of the people surrounding it.
Perhaps when he heard that the son got well at the same time that Jesus had said, “Your son lives, and, there was the final realization of who Jesus was.”
It was a sign of His Messiahship, and demonstrates His deity.
The purpose of the miracle in its context was to bring faith.
Faith is the result of trusting the words of God.
We see the obvious here, that distance is no barrier to the power of God.
We also see that Jesus is not just the creator of life - first miracle - He is the restorer of life – that is the second miracle.
Faith in God’s word is preferred over faith in God’s wonders.
God may not always do wonders.
But His word is always around and it does wonders, especially when the believer learns how to perceive and metabolize the Word.
The difference between a courageous man and a coward is thinking.
The difference between a confident and insecure man is thinking.
The most valuable thing you have is not land, houses, money, but the thought content into the games, the older your soul, usually .
Blepo means to glance with your eyes or to look without thinking properly, whereas the other verb is horao which means to look and evaluate with thought, Jesus knows why this crowd is following Him.
Horao is where we get the English weird horizon from which means to look over in more detail as an horizon.
Our Lord is going to give a command but before He does, He makes an estimate of the situation by looking over the horizon of what they are looking for in a detailed way.
Jesus saw "great multitudes" or “great crowds” following Him for different reasons and different motivations.
Some are following Him for deliverance from the Romans.
Some are following Him to see miracles and healings.
Some are following Him for entertainment, and others for convenience.
What is your motivation for following the Lord?
What do you expect?
Our Lord is going to do something to call out those who really want Him to be Lord of their lives.
Jesus has to separate the disciples from the crowd so that they can concentrate on what He is teaching and being taught.
That's exactly what a church or a local assembly is for.
It is to give the observers more insight into the message that the Lord is saying.
"Crowds" or "herds" of people can have evil influences upon believers who are positive and want to learn doctrine.
If you are ever going to advance to spiritual maturity you must learn to separate from the majority and their evil influences.
The principle is that it is not being around Jesus that matters. It is following His commands that He gives them that matters.
Some are going to obey that command; others are going to come up with excuses and others won't even hear it as they should because they don't concentrate.
If you don't concentrate in learning you can never apply what you have learned when needed.
While the crowd or mob is "anti-Christ", the group of believers called "congregation" are pro-Christ.
Crowds never accomplish anything! Congregations do.
Now, how do you separate those who are positive toward Christ in the crowd from those who are negative?
How do you separate the men from the boys?
Answer: You give a command that will separate the men from the boys.
How do you discover and maintain the truth?
When truth sets us free, then we can accept the information that is given as the authority that comes from maintaining the one who answers you also and gives you an order that requires truth and virtue.