This short section of scripture, found in John 4:43-54, really speaks to our motives for seeking out Jesus.  Many will seek Him for what they think He can do for them, but true followers will seek him as the Messiah who offers salvation from sin.

The people of Galilee (Jesus’ home town) did not honor him as Messiah, instead they gathered around Him hoping to see signs and wonders.  However signs are simply meant to point to the real thing.  In this case, Jesus’ miracles (signs) point to the fact that He is THE Messiah.  The Royal Official (possibly someone who was hated by the local Jews because of his employment in Herod’s court), takes Jesus at His word even when there is no visible sign.

Handout: Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

Memory verse:  And the man believed what Jesus said. John 4:50

Narrative:

After spending two days with the people in Samaria, where they received Him with Joy and confessed Him to be Savior of the world, Jesus went on to Galilee, His home town.  He went there knowing  that the people would not honor Him as the Messiah, but rather they would just gather around him looking to see his signs and wonders.

But that did not stop Jesus from continuing on His journey for which God had sent Him.

As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There the people gathered around to see if He would perform any miracles.

Meanwhile, there was a royal official from Capernaum whose son was very sick.  The boy, his family, friends, and doctors were all powerless over the illness, and the father was quite afraid that the boy would soon die.  When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he made the 20 mile trip to as fast as he could.  And when he arrived in Cana, searched and asked around until he finally found Jesus.

As soon as he found Jesus he went up to him and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.

Jesus answered the man with a question posed to all that were there.  He asked, “Will any of you people ever believe in me without seeing miraculous signs and wonders?”

The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”

As if to say, “Will you believe in me without seeing?”  Jesus told him did not go with the man to his house.  Instead He simply said, “Go back home. Your son will live!”

At that moment, the man had a choice: he could either believe Jesus or choose to not believe him since there was no way of knowing if what Jesus told him was actually true.  But the man trusted Jesus; he believed what Jesus said and immediately started for home.

While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well.  The man was overjoyed.  He believed that Jesus had done that miraculous work that He promised.  So he asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” That that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.”

The miracles (signs) that Jesus did were a sign that He is God! They were a sign that Jesus’ message was completely true. They were a sign that He could take away their sins, and all who believe in Him would enter God’s kingdom. Many people were only interested in the signs; they wanted to see miracles, but they didn’t care about the real thing that the signs pointed to: that Jesus was the Messiah. They wanted physical healing, or wine at the wedding, but they didn’t think about the thing that was WAY more important: Jesus could give them eternal life

The Bible tells us it was different for the royal official.  When he saw Jesus’ miraculous healing, he and his whole household believed in Jesus not just as a healer but as THE Messiah!