Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 4:43-54 (Ep. 11)

Episode Date: April 13, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers John 4:43-54 and talks about how familiarity with Jesus kept Jesus’ own people from following Him. We also see Jesus’ power in His second miracle in Galilee. Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. Today we're going to be looking at the second miracle of Jesus that takes place in his hometown of Galilee. John, the gospel writer, wants you to believe that Jesus is the Christ and he's going to provide much evidence for that in the miracle that we're going to look at today. But he's also going to show us what prevents people from coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Our passage today is John chapter 4, verses 43 through 54. Let's dial in. John chapter 4, verses 43 through 54.

After the two days, he departed for Galilee, for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his hometown. So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they too had gone to the feast. So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.

The official said to him, Sir, come down before my child dies. And Jesus said to him, Go, your son will live. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.

So he asked them the hour which he began to get better, and they said to him, Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him. The father knew that the hour was when Jesus had said to him, Your son will live. And he himself believed in all of his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee. Okay, so if you've been following along thus far, or if this is your first time joining, one thing you got to know about me is that I love context. Because I think context enables us to glean the maximum amount from every single passage. It helps us to know why Jesus went to the places that he went, why he said the things that he said, and why he performs the signs that he performs. Context is important. And the context of this passage, it says that Jesus is just leaving Samaria and he's been

hanging out with the Samaritans for a couple days, which is cool because this is one of the only times in the gospel we see him just hanging out with a group of people for a period of time. I love that. So Jesus says, Peter, James, John, pack your bags. We're going to Galilee. He says, one thing that you need to know is that we're not going to receive the same reception in Galilee as we did here in Samaria. I can imagine at this point, the disciples responding and saying, how come Jesus,

that's your hometown. And Jesus responds and says something interesting. He says, because no prophet has any honor in their hometown. Jesus is intentionally going where he knows he will be less honored than he was in Samaria, but they're his own people. He's coming to his own people knowing that they will not understand him and they will not honor him for who he is. And this is what we see over and over again throughout the scripture. The ones that you and I would think would have been the most receptive to Jesus are the ones that scorn him and reject him the most. John chapter 1 verse 11 sets the stage for this reality. It says that he came into his own and his own people did not receive him. But then watch the next verse. It says that the whole city is coming out to meet him as he arrives here in John 4. So it seems like a contradiction. On

the one hand, Jesus says in verse 44, a prophet has no honor in his hometown. And the next verse in verse 45, it says that the people are coming out to welcome him. What is John the gospel writer trying to show us? How could Jesus be without honor in his hometown and yet seemingly receive this warm welcome? Well, one of the ways that we are going to see people reject Jesus over and over again throughout the scripture is not by denying him altogether. And John is showing us this, that the far more subtle way of rejecting Jesus is the same today as it was in first century Galilee. It is by using God rather than loving God. These people wanted miracles more than they wanted a Messiah. They wanted physical healing more than

they wanted spiritual cleansing. We see the same idea in chapter two. After Jesus cleanses the temple, it says that many believed in the signs that he was doing. But Jesus himself, it says in 225, did not entrust himself to anyone because he knew what was in men. These people were impressed by his signs, but they did not submit to him as savior. To them, he was merely a miracle worker. And this was not a faith that Jesus accepted.

They wanted to be entertained by Jesus. And they were only interested in what Jesus could do for them. And here's something that we'll see John crystallize throughout his gospel. Unbelievers don't love God. They use God. And this isn't unique to Jesus' hometown. We see the same thing today. Now Jesus says no prophet has any honor in their

hometown. Why do you think this is? What keeps people from Jesus that would have been the most acquainted with him, that would have known him the best? What is it that hampers their ability to follow someone that they know? The answer is familiarity. It is the familiarity that they have with Jesus that keeps them from Jesus. But the same mindset can apply to us today. People can be so familiar with the truth and with Jesus and with Christianity that his grace is no longer amazing, his love is no longer marvelous. Jesus is all too familiar. And it happens with his hometown 2,000 years ago. And this familiarity breeds apathy and indifference towards what is right in front of us.

And this is what happened with Jesus' own. He came to them and they did not receive him. So this is the setting for Jesus' second miracle. We read in verse 46 that a royal official hears that Jesus is in town. He's heard of the miracles of Jesus and he heard that he turned water into wine and he comes to the city and he begs Jesus. He implores him to come and heal his son. The word official here means that he would have been closely connected with Herod Antipas, a wicked man. This is the guy that would have cut John the Baptist's head off. So this official here is not a Jew. He's not a Christ follower. He's not a disciple, but you don't have to be a Christian to go and beg someone to heal your child. He's a

noble man of wealth, and he had probably pursued every single alternative and was desperate. And he's heard that Jesus was the guy that turned water into wine. And he comes to Jesus and implores him, please, please come save my son. I've tried everything else. Please come save him. And Jesus says what? No. Verse 48, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Jesus, interestingly, refuses his request. Jesus knew that this official had come with an earthly need that had nothing to do with a desire for salvation and responds and says, you won't believe unless you see miracles. But interestingly, the guy doesn't even respond to that

and just continues to urge Jesus, please come heal my son. Jesus responds and says, go your way, your son lives. Now, I wish I could have heard the way that Jesus says this because I think it must have been said in a way that possessed both tenderness and authority because the man just obeys and leaves without a question.

He didn't insist on seeing the miracle. He just believed that Jesus had the power to perform the miracle, whether that was 15 miles away from his house or 15,000 miles away from his house. It wouldn't have mattered. When Jesus speaks with authority, there are no spatial limitations to his power. It says then that the man left Jesus and his servants came to meet him on the road home. And they tell him,

your son lives. And the father responds and said, what time, what time did he get better? And they tell him about the seventh hour yesterday, which would have been 1 p.m. And it says, and the father knew it was the same hour that Jesus had said to him, your son lives. And at this point, it says that he believed in Jesus and the faith that this man now possesses is real. This is John's goal, chapter 20, verse 31, that he wants us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in his name. This is not only the heart of John,

but the heart of the Christian faith. This is the heart of the gospel, believing in who Jesus is. True gospel salvation comes to those who have genuine faith. Now, the thing that I just wanna address real quick is that Jesus on the one hand says, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. But then Jesus goes ahead and accommodates this superficial faith by performing the miracle anyway. Why would

he denounce the performance of signs and then perform one immediately after that? What's the answer? I think it's because Jesus is kind. He's kind. All faith has to start somewhere, doesn't it? And that's why he performs these miracles, so that people would draw the conclusion that his power can only come from God and that they would believe in him and receive salvation from their sin. And this noble man believed, but not only him, his entire household. Similar to the previous passage where the woman at the well believes and goes back to her own people and it says many of the Samaritans also believed. We're seeing a theme here.

The ones that you and I would think would have had nothing to do with God are the ones that receive him most intimately. And the ones that you and I would think would have received Jesus most warmly are the ones that are rejecting him. Because John is telling us that they're too familiar with him. They're too familiar. If you're too familiar with the truth as well, we need to ask God to defamiliarize us so that we'd never become apathetic to his amazing love and his amazing grace. Stay dialed in.