QT 8 Jun 12, Sometimes our sophistication is our greatest enemy to faith

John 4:43-54 (NIV) After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."

53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.

54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

NOTE: I doubt the "certain royal official" really cared about the theological implications of belief, miracles, and signs. At that point, the man was not a "certain royal official" but just a Dad with a sick and dying son. He did not play up on his status, at least from the text, and is said to have "begged" Jesus to come and heal his son. Suffering comes to all classes of people in a variety of ways and forms. One's person suffering is usually different from another, but in one thing they all agree--they all hurt and it seems overwhelming at the time. Jesus decides not to visit the man's home, but rather just to pronounce a verdict (a promise) -- "your son will live." The man accepts his word, of course at that point, any hope is worth trusting. His later "calculations" showed that his son started to improve at the very moment Jesus said "your son will live." His testimony of this fact was sufficient for his entire household to believe. Nowadays, miracles of healing, which God still does perform in his mercy, although not always, are rarely the thing that brings another to faith. We are too sophisticated and argue away these supposed miracles with words like: coincidence, good luck, karma, and medical explanations. But God does still intervene at times in human history in his compassion for his children, and we would do well to give him thanks for everything we have.