OPEN: An instructor was conducting a seminar for executives and focusing on the topic of decision making. So he started out telling the story of 5 frogs sitting on a log.
“Four of the frogs decide to jump into the water. How many frogs are there left on the log?”
The class almost unanimously responded: ONE
“No,” the instructor smiled. “All of them are still on the log. Deciding is different than doing.”
Our story this morning, tells about this idea of people making decisions.
Just to give you a little background. Jesus has just left the Samaria a couple days before where he met with a woman at a well and now He has returned to Cana where He did His 1st sign in Galilee. No sooner does He get there than a man approaches Him. The man’s son is dying and he has traveled 20 miles to see Jesus and ask Him to heal his child.
As I first looked at this text I was a little shocked by Jesus’ first words. John 4:48 tells us “So Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’”
And I’m thinking to myself… that’s pretty harsh! This man’s son is dying. He’s walked 20 miles to see Jesus - and Jesus rebukes him? I figured there was something here that I wasn’t seeing here, because this didn’t make any sense at all. Why would Jesus say something like THIS to a grieving father!
So I looked it up in the Greek and found that while Jesus addressed the father, He wasn’t saying (to the dad) YOU will not believe unless you see signs and wonders, He was saying YOU’ALL will not believe… unless you see signs and wonders. It was plural. Jesus was talking to everyone who was there. (Depending on your English version the translation will either make that clear in the text, or will put a footnote at the bottom of the page explaining this).
What Jesus says is here is - they weren’t really believing in Him. All they seem to want are signs and wonders --- but no commitment. They wanted WHAT Jesus could give… but they didn’t want Jesus Himself.
ILLUS: Think about it this way. Have you ever heard of someone buying a boat… and then suddenly they have lots of friends? Or have you heard of folks who’ve come into a large inheritance or win the lottery… and suddenly everybody seems to want to spend time with them. If it had been you that bought the boat or came into money you’d know something was wrong. Those “so-called friends” were there ONLY for the advantages they can get from you. You’d soon realize that they didn’t want you for YOU… they wanted you for what you could give them.
That’s what’s happening here. These folks don’t really want Jesus, they want what Jesus can GIVE them. So everybody there… including the dad… was there for what they could get from Jesus.
You see, Jesus has a reputation. He did that miracle at the wedding feast here at Cana – water into wine and everyone knows about it. And then there was what He did at Jerusalem. John 4:45 tells us “the Galileans (at Cana) welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.”
WHAT HAD HE DONE AT THE FEAST??
John 2:23 “while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.”
Now Jesus has come back to Cana. And the folks want Him there - but not because of WHO He is but because of WHAT He could do for them. He’s become a sort of spiritual ATM. They’ve seen what Jesus can do and they’d like to have Him stay… they just don’t want to “follow” Him.
So Jesus calls them on it. They’d fallen into a trap. They’d confused the things about Jesus - with Jesus. And people do it today as well.
If there’s NO church building… they won’t worship Jesus.
If there’s a snow storm and they can’t get out for church… they won’t worship Jesus.
If there’s a family gathering or activity that takes them out of town on a Sunday… they won’t worship Jesus.
Because they’ve confused the BUILDING with Jesus.
If the songs at church aren’t to their liking… they won’t worship Jesus.
If the preacher is boring… they won’t worship Jesus.
If the seats are uncomfortable… they won’t worship Jesus.
If there’s too many people in church, or if too few, they won’t worship Jesus.
Because they’ve confused the things DONE in worship for worship OF Jesus.
Too often, people attach themselves to preachers, worship styles, buildings, the reputation of the congregation, the power that exists in their church, etc. etc. etc. and frequently miss… Jesus.
What these folks need is a “Come to Jesus” moment.
ILLUS: This past week I was listening to the news and heard a commentator tell about a leak that had occurred in Sean Spicer’s department (Press Secretary for the President). There was no question the leak had come from the staff, and so Spicer called his staff together, told them to put their cell phones on the table and searched through them for a clue as to who had leaked their discussion. Then the news commentator said Spicer had a “Come to Jesus” moment with his staff. The Press Secretary laid down the law and explained such leaks had better never ever happen again.
I was intrigued by that phrase “Come to Jesus Moment”, and so I looked it up online and this is what I found:
It’s an “aha” moment.
A turning point in your life.
A time when you’re confronted with the need to make a decision.
An instant of realization.
I also found that this phrase is fairly common in our culture, though it rarely has anything to do with Jesus. But it is a phrase that is derived from good Bible doctrine. If you’re going to be acceptable to God… you gotta have a “come to Jesus” moment. It’s a time when you suddenly realize WHO Jesus is… and you love Him for who He is.
When you have that “Come to Jesus” Moment you don’t need a building or a preacher or a comfortable chair or a familiar hymn. When you have that “Come to Jesus moment” you’ve come to Jesus because you love Him.
ILLUS: My daddy had one of those moments. At one point in his life Dad was a man’s man. He was as smart and strong and capable as any man could be. And dad had an arrangement with Jesus – Dad would be over here and Jesus would be “over there” – and that’s the way Dad liked it. Now, Dad would go to church, but not because he loved or needed Jesus. It was something just he did. It was “going through the motions.”
But then one day at church something happened. I don’t know if it was one of the hymns or the prayer or the sermon, but something touched him. And at invitation time Dad stood up and went down the aisle. Mom said that on the way home he pulled the car over to the side of the road… and began to weep. And he wept and he wept and he wept. From that day on he never drank or cursed again. He’d had his “Come to Jesus moment” and from that time on Dad loved Jesus.
This story from the Gospel of John is all about one of those “Come To Jesus Moments”. The father in this story had “come to Jesus” but he was only there because he wanted something. Once Jesus healed his son the father probably would have forgotten all about Jesus and gone his merry way. Once Jesus gave him what he wanted, Jesus would become a memory.
This father is an official in Judea, some think he’s a relative of Herod’s. He’s probably rich, and he’s probably powerful - but now his son is dying and none of wealth or power can change that.
But he’s heard about Jesus. And he’s walked 20 miles to ask Jesus to come heal his son. That’s about the distance from here to Galveston, IN. How many of you have ever walked to Galveston? Didn’t think so. You’ve got to REALLY want to see someone to walk that far.
Now we’re not told much about what happened that day. So I put on my “Sanctified Imaginator” and tried to visualize what this father said to Jesus. All we’re told in the text is this: “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.” John 4:47
That’s all it says, but I suspect there was more involved than what that short sentence says. And so I let my imagination run a little bit and this is what I think happened:
This is a father and his son is dying. Now I don’t know about you, but if it were my child who was dying, I’d have done just about anything to get Jesus to heal him. I’d have offered Jesus money, maybe I’d have tried to impress Him with my political influence… I really don’t know! But if I’d have been that dad – and my son was dying – I’d have done whatever I had to to influence Him to come heal my boy.
And I imagine the crowd gathering closely around Jesus. They’re intrigued by what they’re seeing. This father is important. He’s an official. He has clout. Surely if Jesus is going to listen to anyone… it’s gonna be this guy.
But instead of honoring this man of importance, Jesus’s answer is curt and harsh. Not only does Jesus rebuke this man (and the rest of the crowd) by saying “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe” (John 4:48) but He refuses to go to the man’s house to heal his child.
He REFUSES!
That’s unheard of!
Just imagine this: This crowd sees Jesus as some kind of itinerant preacher. A nice guy to be sure, but little more than a humble rabbi. As far as they’re concerned, He’s a man of no lasting importance in this world.
BUT here He is addressing a leading official in Judea as if He is speaking to a subordinate. He speaks with authority!
He speaks … as if He were a King. And He says “Go; your son will live.” John 4:50
Now perhaps there’s something in tone of Jesus’ voice or maybe something in His facial expression - but this father was somehow comforted by this simple statement. And we’re told “The man BELIEVED the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” John 4:50
He didn’t argue with Jesus. He didn’t try bargain with Him. He simply believed - and started back home. Now, I don’t know why he believed, or why he went home as he did. But I do know this: this man NOW had faith that if this Jesus said this was going happen… it was going to happen.
So, was that father right? DID Jesus heal his son?
Oh yeah.
“As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” John 4:51-53
Wow! That’s a powerful story. But if that was all you saw in the story… you missed something. In fact, I deliberately didn’t read the last sentence of verse 53 because I wanted to emphasize it. And I deliberately didn’t put that part of the verse on the screen because I want you to look at it in your own Bibles. Look at it. What does the last sentence of John 4:53 tell us?
“And he (the father) himself believed, and all his household.”
He and his whole household believed because they saw the SIGN that Jesus did.
“This was now the second SIGN that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.” John 4:54
If you recall from last Sunday’s sermon the SIGNS (or miracles) that Jesus did… were done to get people’s attention. The miracles were like calling cards to draw attention to WHO Jesus was. Jesus did them to give authority and credibility to His ministry.
But the miracles were never done just for the sake of the fireworks they created. They weren’t done just to entertain the masses.
With the first sign Jesus did (water into wine) we’re told “And his disciples believed in him.” John 2:11
And after this miracle (where the boy is healed) we’re told “(The father) himself believed, and all his household.” John 4:53
You see, if the miracles of Jesus didn’t cause people to believe in Him and desire to follow Him, then those miracles were essentially worthless. If those signs didn’t cause folks to change their lives and believe in Jesus then they were without value. Bringing people to faith and commitment were what the signs Jesus did were all about.
And the same thing is true in church.
If the songs we sing don’t cause people to see Jesus and want to follow Him, then they’re worthless. If the prayers we pray don’t cause people to see Jesus and want to follow Him then they lack value. If the sermon I preach doesn’t cause people to see Jesus and want to follow Him I may as well not get up here to begin with. If the communion meditation doesn’t cause people to see Jesus and want to follow Him then its empty words.
Everything we do here should ALWAYS be focused on Jesus.
Everything we sing or say or hear should point to Christ.
That’s what Paul wrote about communion
“… as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
1 Corinthians 11:26
(Pointing at the communion table) if this becomes nothing more than a “religious exercise” – just something we do because we’re in church – then we’ve missed the point. When we take of the bread and the cup every Sunday morning we’re declaring to the world around us that we KNOW why Jesus came and we BELIEVE He paid the price for our sins.
As one person said: “This isn’t about a religion called Christianity it’s about a relationship with Christ.” A religion is all about going through the motions, but a relationship is all about spending time with someone you love.
CLOSE: Your attitude should be like the one I read about in a story by Max Lucado:
There was a preacher who went to visit a dying man in the hospital. As the preacher entered the room, he noticed an empty chair beside the man’s bed. He asked the man if someone had just been by to visit.
The old man smiled, “I place Jesus on that chair and I talk to Him.”
The preacher was puzzled so the man explained.
“Years ago a friend told me that prayer was as simple as talking to a good friend. So, every day, I pull up a chair, invite Jesus to sit and we have a good talk.”
Some days later the daughter of this man told the preacher that her father had just died. She said “I left him in his room alone for a couple of hours. When I got back to the room, I found that he’d died. But I noticed the strangest thing. His head was resting, not on a pillow, but on an empty chair that was beside the bed.”
Do you know what that old man had done?
He was so in love in Jesus that he wanted his last moments to be resting in the lap of his savior.
That’s the kind of love we should all strive for. If you don’t have that in your life yet, we offer a time of invitation…
