11-09-08 Sermon Review

The Compassion of Jesus for the Faithless
John 4:43-54

The Bible is full of people who had great faith. In Hebrews chapter 11, we see a list of many men who are exalted by God because of their faith. With such great heroes of faith, it is easy to think that God only cares for people of extraordinary faith. We quickly foget that the bible is full of examples of men with little faith. Christ actually called the disciples "You of little faith" quite a number of times. The text we will look at today shows how Jesus related to those with little faith. Contrary to what some of us might believe, Jesus showed much compassion to those with small faith. While being stern, He was gracious. While pointing out there weak faith, He cared for them.

We see this first in John's transition into the story of the royal official. John writes that Jesus, after spending time in Samaria, headed back to Galilee. The reason John gives for Jesus' decision is interesting. Jesus went because, "Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country." Jesus returned to Galilee because He was rejected in Galilee! We know from Luke 4 that the men in Jesus' hometown even tried to kill Him. But Jesus returned. Jesus was returning because His ministry was for the sick and not the healthy. His love for souls required Him to return to a spiritually bankrupt people. How compassionate, how caring, how loving, how patient is Jesus Christ?

But when Jesus arrived, He did not receive the sinister reception He received earlier. This tiem around, the people were "receiving Him." This is not to say that they "believed" in Him. Apparently, these men were now welcoming Jesus because "they were also at the feast." They had seen the things Jesus had done. They welcomed Him not for who He was but for what He can do. This is no great faith. This is elevating the gifts above the Giver. Yet, Jesus still remained with them. Not only this, Jesus still did a great ministry among them. After this general observation, John relates to us a more specific encounter that Jesus had.

John tells us of a royal official whose sons was in critical condition. The Greek emphasizes that the child's death was imminent (a literal translation might read "he was going to die"). The specific term to describe this royal official indicated that he probably was a part of Herod's court. Though certain specific personalities have been suggested, it is not enough to draw a definitive conclusion. It is safe to assume though that this man was fairly wealthy. This lead's me to believe that this man's son's disease was incurable and death was unavoidable. The royal official probably had the wealth to provide the finest medical treatment. It's most likely that he was turning to Jesus after these medical professionals were unable to help his son.

He was also most likely related to King Herod who attempted to kill the baby Jesus. In any case, this royal official coming to Jesus to ask for His help was a great sign of humility. Here was a wealthy, royal personality asking for mercy from a lowly carpenter. But what I want you to see is that this man had very little faith. Jesus points out his lack of faith as well as those who were nearby when He says, "Unless you people see signs, you simply will not believe." Jesus could definitely heal the official's son, and the man believed this. But why did Jesus say what He said? There was something more important than his son dying that the royal official missed - Jesus Christ. You see, faith in what Jesus Christ can do is not the kind of faith we need. We need faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. If this man truly had faith in Jesus Christ, he would be behaving differently. I believe this is why Jesus assumes the royal official's disbelief, even though he humbled himself and believed Jesus could heal.

After Jesus points this out, the royal official's mind is still on the urgency of his situation and shouts, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" At this point, if it were me, I would be shouting, "Don't you get it! Christ is the resurrection and the life! Believe in Him and death loses its sting!" If I were Jesus, I would probably deem this person unworthy of the blessing of healing. But we see the complete opposite. Jesus says, "Go; your son lives." Wow. Immediate confirmation that his son will not die. What more could the official have asked for? But still, this required that he trust in Jesus the person and in the power of His Word. This is the start of faith for this man. John writes that the official "believed the word." For the first time, the word "believe is employed to describe this man's faith.

When the royal official returns home, he is greeted with great news - his son is alive! The news gets even more startling when he hears that his child was getting better at the exact moment Jesus spoke the words, "Your son lives." This amazing fact made this man realize the authority of Christ's words. Once he realized that Jesus' words had the authority to heal his son, he realized that everything that Jesus claimed to be must also be true. At this amazing realization, true belief stirs up within Him and saving faith comes to his whole household.

Jesus was very gracious to the faithless. He was very patient, loving, and tender with them. But He always did point to Himself as the object of faith. His compassion for the faithless was revealed by His continual giving of Himself to them and His continual pressing of their need to put faith in Him. The answer for the faithless is Jesus. The faithless do not need more faith; they need more of Jesus. They need to take a close look at Jesus. They need to hear His word. When faithless souls draw near to Christ and behold His nail-pierced hands and the glory of His risen state, faith springs and trust in Christ for who He is swells up. If ou have little faith, come to Jesus who concerns Himself for the faithless, who gives Himself to those who have little faith that they may come to have great faith in Him and in Him alone. Stay strong and God bless!