A Faith that Honors Christ - Jesus Heals a Royal Official's Son - John 4:43-54

2:57Well, John has already let us know that there are. Two kinds of faith. There are some varying kinds of faith out there. And it's in chapter 2 and verse 23. Some of them do not impress him. And if you remember the big picture here, John seeks to answer a very basic question to his culture, to the Jews of the dispersion, to the church. This day, he seeks to answer the question: if Jesus is Messiah, why did his people reject him? It's a very important question that John's answering. Why didn't his own people receive him? As John 1:11 says, he came to his own, but his own did not receive him. Why not? And John's filling in the details. Why didn't he? Well, there are two kinds of faith. And that's what John is setting before us. There are two kinds of faith. There's a kind of faith that honors Christ, and there's a kind of faith that dishonors Christ. And the question to us today is, what kind of faith do we have? Do you, today, right now, have a faith that honors Christ?

4:16Before we go a little further, I think it's very important that you understand the concept of honor. It seems to be a concept we've lost a lot in our world today. What does honor mean? What does the biblical concept of honor mean? Well, just building on an Old Testament understanding, honor carries the idea of weightiness, magnitude. To honor someone is to treat them as a person of importance. And it involves a lot, right? It involves being aware of that person, sensitive to that person's preferences and desires, a deference that to defer to their preferences or desires and to pay them tribute, right? All these ideas surround the whole idea of honor. It's to value something, it's to value, it's to let another hold sway over you. You know, one of the first times in Scripture that we see this is in Exodus 20:12. Children, right? Honor your father and mother that your days may be prolonged. Honor. Show them deference. Be aware. Be sensitive. Treat them as people of importance in your life because that's exactly what they are. Importance. Give them weight, magnitude. Let them be directional in your life.

6:00This is exactly what Pharaoh did not do in referring to God, in reference to God. Remember in Exodus 8, 15, when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, what would he do? What did he do? He hardened his heart and would not listen anymore to God. You see, the opposite of honoring God or honoring Christ is to be unconcerned or insensitive. Or to honor anybody is to be insensitive to who they are and unconcerned about deferring to any obligations you may have.

6:39But to dishonor God is to treat him lightly. That's the idea. Pharaoh made his heart insensitive and disregarded God. He treated God as someone who really didn't need to be taken seriously. Right? And other words you come across in the Old Testament that describe this hardened heart condition are the words dim and dull. Probably heard those, right? It's related to this whole concept of honor and dishonor. In Genesis 48, 10, it says, the eyes of Israel were dim from age that he could not see. This is when Joseph brought his sons before him. And the idea is that Jacob or Israel. Israel's eyes were old. They weren't working like they used to be. They were dim. They weren't sensitive to what's going on and able to perceive. Of course, Isaiah 6:10 speaks about spiritual eyes and spiritual hearts. And he says this: render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, their eyes dim. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed. Problem is, they don't have ears and eyes that work properly, spiritual ears and eyes that work properly. That is the condition of a heart that dishonors God. That's the condition of a heart that, of a faith that dishonors Christ. If you're going to have a faith that honors Christ, you're going to have to be aware of him. You're going to have to be sensitive to who he is, his preferences. You're going to have to defer to those preferences. And you're going to have to pay tribute, tribute to him.

8:32I have a really dull lawnmower right now. It doesn't cut grass properly. We need to sharpen the blades. You know, it doesn't work right because it isn't sharp. And the same is true about our hearts. There is a heart that is insensitive to God is dull. It does not function properly. It does not perceive the things of God properly. It does not. Know how to relate to Christ properly. You know, there's a supreme principle that drives us all. And that's what I want to talk to you about today. And I want to ask you to do some real soul searching.

9:14What is that supreme principle? What or who do you honor? What is the underlying principle of your life? What drives you? When all is said and done, what is it that holds sway? Listen, if a person can lead you into sin, that person you honor more than Christ. If a thing, an object, a passion, anything that can lead you into sin or cause you to sin, you honor more than Christ. So two topics, two topics. Faith and honor.

9:55My question is, what is the condition of your faith? And I believe that is one of the biggest problems in Christendom today, is that there are a lot of dull hearts. There's a lot of dull faith and relatively little faith that actually honors Christ, honors Christ. So I want to call you this morning to a standard of having a faith that honors Christ. Well, there are four characteristics of a faith that honor Christ. And I want you to see these so that you will have such a faith. A faith that honors Christ. First of all, a faith that honors Christ turns to Christ for help in time of need. We're going to see this Christ-honoring faith in this royal official this morning. But notice as we begin this narrative, that John gives us a preview of how Jesus is going to be received in Galilee. And this is going to be the kind of reception that's going to characterize his ministry in Galilee. Look, notice at verse 43, notice, I want you to see this honorless reception of Jesus in Galilee. 43. After two days, he went forth from there into Galilee, for Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

11:22Speaking of Galilee, and perhaps in a greater extent, Judea, there is no honor. There's no awareness of the Son, no deference, no sensitivity to who he was, and certainly no tribute. And this is very different than what happened in Samaria, right? They welcome him. They honor him. So, verse 45, when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the Things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast, for they themselves also went to the feast. Now, what has he done? He has just made a link back to the Passover, right? He was down at the Passover, and he did all these wonderful signs, right? In fact, John tells us in chapter 2 and verse 23, speaking of that feast. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing the signs which he was doing. But Jesus, on his part, was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men, and because he did not need anyone to testify concerning men, for he knew what was in them. So they had gone to the feast. He comes back into Galilee. They saw all the miracles that he was doing down there, and it excited them. And now he comes back. So they receive him. They receive him. But John has already placed this whole reception in a negative light. Their reception is one of the reception of a miracle worker. Miracle worker, you come over to my house. Yes, that was exciting. You know what this guy can do?

13:11And so there was this reception. But John has already prepared us that this prophet has no honor. So it's a kind of honorless reception. It is a reception. They loved watching the signs, but they were not. Wanting to read the signs and go where they were pointing. Who is this among them that can do such signs? And what does he expect? That they couldn't go with. You know, I think to some degree we're the same, right? We're all fine with receiving God as long as he does our bidding, right?

13:53But we'll quickly dismiss him when he lays claim to our life. Such faith does not honor him. But I want you to look back and notice this urgent request by a royal official in verse 46. Therefore, he came again to Canaan of Galilee, where he had made water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. The royal official. Now, this word is really, you translate it, royalty. This one was of royalty. Royalty came. And certainly there's only one king in the area. He's really a K with a little king. It's not a true king in a sense, but more of a vassal ruler. The only one there is Herod Antipas. That's the only one that's there. Down there at Tiberias, right down there close to Capernaum. This royal official is most likely and almost surely a Herodian official. He is a member of the cabinet, a very important person in Herod Antipas' political system. That's pretty significant, right? Herod Antipas is going to do away with John. It's also going to be part of the crucifixion, right? And here is a royal official whose son was sick, one of Herod's own cabinet personnel.

15:36When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea, verse 47, into Galilee, he went to him and was imploring him to come down and heal his son, for his son was at the point of death. Imploring. There was a continual, he was imploring him, come, come. Now, if we stop for a minute, we have to ask ourselves, what did this Herodian official believe about Jesus? What did he believe about him at this point? Well, a couple things for sure.

16:06He believed that if he could convince Jesus to come down to Capernaum, he could restore his son. So he certainly believed that Jesus had the power and the compassion to come and heal. If he could convince him to come, he believed his son would be healed. So he turns to the right person, right? Turns to Christ. Very interesting. You know, the first person or thing you turn to in a time to need says a lot about you, says a lot about who you honor in your life, tells you a lot about who you, what's your value, your priority. Listen, it's a good thing to turn to Jesus in every situation of life, and especially the difficult ones. It is good. A faith that honors Christ turns to him in difficult times, right? And let me tell you something. If you're a believer here today, one day we're going to meet this Herodian official, and he's going to look back and he's going to say, the most blessed thing that happened to me in the history of my life on earth was that moment when my son nearly died because that's what drove me to meet the Savior of the world.

17:36So a faith that honors Christ turns to him in a time of need. It's a good thing to turn to him. Believe it or not, it honors Jesus when we come to him with our difficulties and our perplexities. And life has bunches of them, right? You figured out that by now, right? Even if you're only, I think, immensely. Probably even figured that out, right? But listen, the difficulties can prove to be the greatest blessings. Because there God will show Himself that He can meet our needs. It's a doctor's glory to heal, it's a friend's glory to be able to comfort, it's a Savior's glory to be able to save.

18:29You see, a faith that honors Christ turns to Christ for help in times of need. But it doesn't stop there. It doesn't stop there. Let's keep going. Second, a faith that honors Christ knows that Christ's word is as good as His presence. Let this set in for a little bit here. Look back at the text, and I want you to see a stinging rebuke by Jesus. This is a stinging rebuke by the Lord of heaven and earth, a stinging rebuke by your Creator. Verse 48. So Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe. You're almost like, okay, this almost doesn't fit in the text.

19:18Jesus stings them. Now, what's interesting is, and this is what you've got to love about Texan lingo. So Jesus. Said to him, unless y'all see signs and wonders, y'all simply will not believe. There's a plural there. The U switches to the plural. It's really a good device. I'm going to get off onto the glories of Texan lingo, but anyway, you can see it, right? He's talking. And this is an astounding statement. What Jesus is basically saying to as a symptomatic statement of the whole Galilean people, he's saying, the extent of your belief in me will extend to the degree that I keep doing signs and wonders that you desire.

20:14That's the kind of faith. That's, and it's a strong statement. There's a double negative there. And in Greek, it's very different than in English. It's an emphasis. He's saying, unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never in no way believe. That's how strong this language is. See, but Jesus was a righteous king. He was not just a political champion for Israel, but the Savior of the world. Listen, this kind of king or this kind of Messiah that will go and Do your political bidding is so worldly-minded that it's not even funny, right? We all can think up saviors like that, right? Go do my bidding, be my conqueror, be my messiah, but do what I exactly want you to do, right?

21:24But this statement, and by the way, when Jesus refused to be their Messiah according to their expectations, what did they do? They rejected him and they crucified him. And this is how John accounts for Jesus' great popularity and then subsequent crucifixion. They didn't have a faith that honored him. Their reception of him was not a reception of who he was, but what he could do for them. And when they realized he wasn't going to do the things he wanted them to do, or he wasn't going to do the things they wanted him to do, then they wanted someone else.

22:04Be careful of that in our own heart. Do you have a faith that honors Christ, or is it driven by what he can do for you? You see, such faith doesn't honor Christ. It ends up crucifying him, deserting him. Is your faith more like the Galileans here or the Samaritans that we just met? Welcomed him. Okay, so keep moving. Now I want you to see this desperate cry by a loving father. So we see this stinging rebuke, but then look at verse 49. The royal official said to him, Sir, come down before my child dies. Very emphatic. He puts an imperative, you must come down. So it's only, Jesus is saying, okay, unless I do signs, you're not. And here's the official, and he's like, sir, and this no longer, you can't really see him as an official. You can hear the desperate cry of a loving father, can't you? Sir, come down now before my little boy dies. It's the language here.

23:13You must come. You must come now. So in other words, whatever's going on in the conversation, I don't know. All I know is my say, if you don't come, my son dies. Come. And it's an imperative. I mean, he's demanding Jesus to come. Now I want you to look back and see this gracious gift by our Lord. Look in verse 50. Jesus said to him, Go. Your son lives. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. It's interesting. The man almost seems like he interrupts Jesus and says, You must come. And then Jesus almost immediately says, Go.

23:53Imperative. God's telling him, Jesus, you must come. And Jesus says, you must go. And he says, Your son is living. Your son lives. Now put yourself in the moment. Put yourself in the moment. Would you believe Jesus' word and go your way? Something significant is happening here. Or would you keep begging Jesus to come and heal your son? What do you think would honor Christ? Jesus is basically saying, I'm not going back with you to heal your son. Go.

24:32Your son lives. Well, obviously, what can you do but take Christ at his word, right? To do anything less would have been dishonoring. He did not argue anymore. He didn't, he left. He started out. So Jesus is taking this man and puts this man on a faith-stretching mission. To keep begging would have been dishonest. To believe was too good to be true. And that's the extremes that Christ's word gives us. Go. But if I believe that, it's too good to be true. But if I stay here and keep begging, it's to dishonor. Well, look back. Look back and notice what the man did. He believed the word that Jesus spoke and said. Started off. He had a faith that honored Christ. And listen, pay attention. No sign was given. Just a word was spoken. Jesus didn't go to the man's house. He didn't perform the sign. He just gave his word. The crowd wouldn't have been able to have seen what took place.

25:58But this was sufficient for the man. Obviously, to keep begging would not have honored Christ. Now we can ask ourselves: what did the official believe at this point? He already believed that Jesus could heal. He had the power to heal. He had the compassion to heal if he could just get them down there. But now at this point, Jesus's word was as good as his presence. The man, okay, you're not going down, but you spoke the word, and that's as good as if you went down to heal.

26:27So the man believes that Jesus' word is as good as his presence. Second, Jesus' word was a promise to be believed. And third, he anticipated to go and find things exactly the way Jesus had said. Now, this is remarkable. No miracle. Just the word. Just the word. And this settled this man, and he went. Listen, and I. I just want to stop here and just take a moment here to just reflect on the place where God puts us sometimes, where God's word puts us. Sometimes we read in Scripture promises that are just too good to be true, but if you don't believe them, you dishonor Christ. Let me read you a couple of them. Now, if you're an unbeliever or a believer here, but if you're an unbeliever and you are burdened, you're lost, your life is heavy with sin, you regret the past or whatever's going on, regret your present, burdened about a lot, unsatisfied with a lot of things. Listen to what Jesus says, Matthew 11:28, Come to me, all you are weary, and I will give you rest. Take your yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Come, you'll find this. So, to not come is to dishonor him. But to come is almost too difficult to believe, right? I will totally give you satisfaction of soul and rest.

28:17Now, listen to the believer. Jesus says these words in John 6. I frequently come across believers who lack assurance that somehow they can slip out of Christ's fingers. Listen to. What John says, or Jesus says in John 6, 37, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. It has nothing to do with the degree of which you come, but the certainty in which he is going to receive you. Do you believe that?

28:53This is what he says in verse 40, For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day. If you don't have assurance, it's because you dishonor Christ by not having a faith that honors him. I mean, this is incredible. These are the extremes which the Bible leaves us. Now, let me talk to you about the maybe some of you feel lonely, right? To the follower who feels lonely. And John 14, 1 says this, Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. He speaks this to some people who are lonely, right?

29:52All this is going to be over. There is a heavenly habitation. Do you believe that? Is that sufficient? Or are you going to have a faith that dishonors him? And let me just, for a moment, this one kind of takes you, takes me into the Holy of Holies. And I mean the true Holy of Holies. To any follower who has ever felt forsaken by Christ, I want to talk to you. To any of you who, any follower who feels like God's frown is upon you, I want you to listen to what Jesus says. In John 15, 9, he says this: Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Stop for a second, okay? Let's talk about the copy of the Holy of Holies, right? The Lamb. You go and what is in there? There's blood on the mercy seat, excepting you go into the true Holy of Holies. What is Christ saying here? Just as the Father has loved me. Think about that. Think about this comparison.

31:06Just as the Father, infinite, holy God, perfectly loves me. Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. And the blood is there to testify of this. So, are you going to believe? That Christ loves you to the degree or in kind of the Father's love for the Son? It's pretty extreme, right? But we're given two choices: we can believe and honor Christ, or we can disbelieve. But this is the reality, Lord. But I back to this Herodian official. I love the fact that Jesus met him where he was at. Incredible condescension. It's the picture of the six-foot-eight muscular guy bending down and talking to a two-year-old, right? That's this incredible condescension, this incredible mercy, this incredible grace. And I loved how Jesus didn't leave him where he was at, but he challenged him to a greater faith.

32:23And that's what he does. He meets us where we're at, but he doesn't leave us here. And he gives us all these incredible promises, and he leaves us with two options. Are you going to believe and honor me, or are you going to disbelieve and dishonor me? Most of us don't want to disbelieve him, right? We don't want to dishonor him. But wow. To believe it is almost too good to be true. And that's the extremes where Scripture takes us. If you're going to have a faith that honors Christ, there is going to be a satisfaction. A peace, a strength, a joy in your heart that is hard to measure.

33:09I mean, do you really think that Jesus is going to go on record to say such things and then not make good on his promises? Do you think he's going to be known as one who cannot or will not keep what he promised? Of course not. To even think so is shameful. But look at what he's promised and be believing. Well, a faith that honors Christ turns to Christ for help in times of need. A faith that honors Christ knows that Christ's word is as good as his presence. And third, faith that honors Christ accepts the implications that Christ is God. Look back at verse 51. As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, Your Son lives. And he himself believed in his whole household, his whole household.

34:22So what happens? He goes down, he hears the report, he inquires, and And he is able to link up precisely when the miracle occurred and line it up exactly with Christ's word. And he immediately attributed the healing to Jesus' life-giving power. And even there, you have to think he has a crossroads, right? Here comes this report. Your son's better. Now, do you attribute, now, had Jesus gone down and put his hand on there and immediately, pow, he it was, then it'd be like, okay, that's definitely attributed to Jesus, right?

35:08Or could it have just been natural causes, right? Or maybe this coincidence. Wow, good report. But what does this man do? He goes on to believe. He associates the miracle with Christ's word. And that's all he has to go on. He doesn't see Christ do it. He doesn't see the sign. He hears the word. And then he hears another word, and he makes the connection and believes. That's a faith that honors him. But it doesn't stop there. And two things strike me about this verse that imply that Jesus is God. First of all, notice that the man didn't tell Jesus the address to his home. All right? Now think about that. Think about that for a minute. He didn't tell him the name of his child. You know, he may have. It's not written. We don't do. One way or the other. But what is striking is that Jesus knew where this child was and in what household, right? If he says, Go, your son lives, he off obviously must know who this individual is. That's a display of omniscience. Right? I mean, Jesus had GPS before we had GPS. I mean, he didn't have to punch that in, right?

36:25Listen, last, I just came across this article. It was actually written in July of 2016. It's called Mishaps by Surgeries, surgeons. Okay, and they're cataloging all these really messed up surgeries. Some people, and this is by orthopedic surgeons, but sometimes they operate on the wrong side. Okay? Sometimes they amputate the wrong leg. And it goes through this statistic, and it's frightening. Even today, I mean, this is just in the last six months when this article was written. Sometimes they do the wrong procedure. Right person, wrong procedure. But a good number of cases, the wrong patient.

37:16One talks about one wrong patient surgery actually involved a patient who underwent a cardiac procedure that was intended for another person with the same name. I thought I was getting a band-aid. But my point in this is that Jesus displayed a certain amount of omniscience, didn't he? And he also displayed a certain amount of omnipresence, didn't he? He knew. He spoke. Happened. But another thing strikes me here. John places an emphasis on life here that you need to know. Look at verse 50. Jesus said to him, Go, your son lives. Verse 51, same verb, his son was living when the servants came back. And in verse 53, your son lives. What John is showing here, and what this Herodian official came to understand was that Jesus was the Lord over the life.

38:24And this is what John tells us. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was a light of men. You see, there's only one life giver. The Word spoke, and the official's son was healed. You see, a faith that honors Christ, get this, not only believes that Jesus did the sign, but accepts the Implication of the sign. And this is going to be the problem in Galilee. This is going to be the problem with the whole Jewish nation. They're going to see the signs, but they're not going to accept the implications of the signs or where those signs are pointing, to say it another way. Well, faith that honors Christ, turns to Christ for help in times of need, knows that Christ's word is as good as his presence, accepts the implications that Christ is God, and fourth, surrenders their domain to Christ.

39:40Look back at the last part of 53. And he himself believed and his whole household. So the evidence that one has accepted the implications that Christ is God is that they surrender their domain to Christ. His whole household believes. He is fine with their whole household coming under the reign and dominion of Christ. His whole household. And this is pretty expansive. Children, servants, goods, whatever it was, under he believed. There's a new master. But look at the progression. First, I mean, he said, Look at the progression in this official's mind as we kind of think through this. First, Jesus was a miracle worker. He believed that. Then he believed that Jesus' word was as good as his presence.

40:47Then he believes that Jesus is the giver of life. And the man surrendered his family, his servants, and everything. And this is where tribute comes in. The man had become aware of who Christ is. He became sensitive to Christ's preferences. He deferred himself to Christ's preferences and he gave tribute to Christ. And that's what honoring Jesus involves: awareness, sensitivity, deference to him, giving him the tribute of our lives. And yes, this involves money. It involves time.

41:24But there's more than that. It involves the entire flow of our thoughts coming out of us. And how those thoughts then turn into words. And how those words turn into actions. And how those actions turn into a lifestyle. Do you have a faith that honors Christ? Have you surrendered your domain to Christ and all that you have and all that you are? This is the kind of honor that was displayed in Samaria. But as a general rule, this was not the kind of faith displayed in Galilee.

42:07So, this Herodian official teaches us, or this episode, I should say, about the Herodian official teaches us how we are to read the signs. The signs point to a greater reality, and that greater reality is Christ Himself and the value of Christ's Word. He is the Word. Well, I want you to look at verse 54 and look at this concluding statement. This is, again, a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

42:46So, He did a second sign. This wasn't the second sign that He did, but the second one that John relates as He was coming out of Judea into Galilee. I want to close. I want us to think about Christ here for a moment. I think all of us can relate to this. I think we all want to be honored by those around us. I think we can totally understand that, right? I mean, there is something in us that wants to be respected for who we are, not just our utility, right? Not just what we can do for others, but to really just respect us for who we are, right?

43:29Oh, Christ said. The same way. I think we can see this. Look back again at verse 44. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Jesus was looking for honor. Honor. I mean, he deserved it, he justly deserved it, right? But to be respected for who he was. That's what Christ wants from us. In fact, I could say this: that it's been God's desire from the very beginning to simply be honored by his creation.

44:11The fall in the Garden of Eden was first and foremost a failure to honor God. 1 Samuel 2:30 says this: Those who honor me, I will honor, and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed. So, what about you? Do you have a faith that honors Christ? Listen, soon this life is going to be over. Soon, if you are a believer, you are going to stand in the presence of God. And guess what? No more faith. Sight. And I promise you, when you see him for who he is, you will honor him for who he is. And even if you are an unbeliever here, you will see. See him, and you will honor him for who he is.

45:05Faith is only for now. Only here and now do you have the opportunity to live by faith. Only here and now can you have a faith that honors him. Don't waste these days, don't waste these moments. Live by faith, a faith that honors him. You only have one life to live, and I pray that you will endeavor, that you will have a faith that honors Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we know that you are a king. You are God supreme. Father, forgive us for our honorless worship of you.

46:00Father, thank you that you give us grace, that you meet us where we are. Father, but that you don't leave us there, that you challenge us and encourage us to greater heights of faith. Father, we ask that you would increase our faith. We know that we're not going to do so on our own. But help us to respond. Help us to respond in faith. Father, and do your work in us now, in Jesus' name. Amen.