It’s being called a medical miracle. Chastity Cooper, 24, of Warsaw, Kentucky, gave birth to her daughter Alexis Michelle on Monday, July 23, 2001, at University Hospital. But Chastity never knew she was pregnant. She was in a coma the entire time she was pregnant, except for the first two weeks. Her coma was the result of a car crash last November where she sustained severe head injuries. There has been some slight improvement in Chastity, but she is still described as being in a permanent vegetative state. Little Alexis was a healthy, full-term baby, weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and her father Steve Cooper says that he swears that Chastity smiled when he showed her the baby. It is one of the only cases ever recorded where the mother was in a coma the entire duration of the pregnancy.
In the Scripture today we are presented with another medical miracle which truly was a miracle. A Roman official walked from his home in Capernaum to Cana after he learned that Jesus had arrived there. When he found Jesus, he begged him to come and heal his son. Jesus told him to leave for home and he would find his son well. He did exactly what Jesus said, and before he arrived at his home, his servants met him on the way with the news that his son was alive and well. As a result of the miracle, the official and all those in his home placed their complete faith in Jesus.
I see in this story a model for how we are to approach God with our needs. The first thing this story tells us is, that if we are going to have Jesus meet our needs: We have to go to Jesus. That may sound too obvious at first, but there are many people with needs who go everywhere and to everyone but Jesus. If you saw the movie with Tom Hanks entitled Cast Away, you know who Wilson is. Wilson is a volleyball which floated ashore in a package after the FedEx plane, in which Hanks was riding, crashed into the sea during a bad storm. Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a fast-paced FedEx executive who gets stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific after his plane crashes, with little chance for survival. In trying to survive, he tries to start a fire with a sharp stick and cuts his hand severely. In anger, he takes the volleyball and throws it as hard as he can. When it lands he sees that his bloody hand has made an imprint which looks like a fiery head. With his finger he fashions a face in the blood — an idol, if you will. He talks to his new friend. You could even say he prays to Wilson as he attempts to make a fire. All through the film he communicates with this volleyball, asking his help and currying his friendship. The interesting thing is that nowhere in the film does Tom Hanks every talk to God. He prays to the volleyball, but never to God. Now, you have to ask yourself why he has more trust in a volleyball than God. But then you have to ask why other people trust in all kinds of things rather than God. They will talk to their friends. They will call Dr. Laura. They will read a self-help book. But they will not come to Jesus. Maybe the key word here is “self-help.” We have more trust in self-help than God’s help.
It is interesting that the man in our story today is described as a royal official. He is most likely a Roman official who was overseeing that area of Galilee in some capacity. According to Roman law, he would have had authority over Jesus, who was merely a peasant living in his jurisdiction. But he did not come giving orders, he came to Jesus in humility. He was a nobleman, but he humbled himself and came to Jesus. There are many people who do not come to Jesus because they have to humble themselves to come. They have to admit that they cannot do it by themselves. They have to admit that they have a need. And that is hard for some people. If they could come to Jesus while standing tall and proud they would come, but when they have to come with head bowed they will not do it.
When this man came to Jesus, he also put forth effort. He walked 20 miles from his home in Capernaum to Cana where Jesus was. As I read this passage, I began to wonder how many sick people there were all around Jesus that day. How many people who knew Jesus was in the area had sick family members? Remember that Cana is where Jesus performed his first miracle. People should have known him as a miracle worker, but no one came with their need except one man. And the man was not from the area; he lived a long distance away. And neither was he a Jew. He was not of their faith when he first arrived. He was a Roman who worshiped little pagan gods like Tom Hanks’ “Wilson.” But this Roman official was the one who came to Jesus, while those who should have placed their faith in Jesus did not come. How many people missed a healing that day? How many people missed a touch from God simply because they did not come? It is no different today. Jesus is here, ready and waiting for someone to put forth the small amount of effort it would be to come, and they simply do not bother. But if you are going to have your needs met, you have to come to Jesus.
The second lesson this story teaches us is that, if we are going to have our needs met: We have to overcome the obstacles. We Americans think life should always be good and easy. Most people expect God to make it easy for them to believe. They should not have to put forth any effort, and God should not put any obstacles in their way to hinder them from believing. But as I read through the Bible I find many places where Jesus makes it difficult for people to believe. In this story, Jesus seems to dismiss the official’s request. He brushes him aside as he says, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe” (John 4:48). You can almost see Jesus starting to walk away. There is no “easy believism” here.
Why would Jesus do something like that? It actually happens in several stories throughout the New Testament. In the 15th chapter of Matthew a Canaanite woman came to Jesus begging him to heal her daughter. But the Bible says, “Jesus did not answer a word.” However, she continued to press him with her request. Then he seemed purposely to offend her when he said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. . . . It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” But the woman climbed over the obstacle that Jesus put in her way, and said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then the Bible says that Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour” (Matthew 15:23-28).
I could cite many more instances of this kind of thing happening between Jesus and people. But the question is, why didn’t he make it easier, not more difficult, for people to believe and receive a miracle? Why did he put these obstacles in their way? Because Jesus wanted them to put forth some effort. A faith that requires no effort is a faith that is not worth having. When Jesus stretches us, it forces us to grow. We grow by overcoming doubts and disappointments. We grow when we believe in spite of the fact it is difficult to believe. Does a coach make it easier for his players to play ball, or does he put obstacles in their way? Does he make it difficult and push them to do things they think they cannot do? Does he choose the players who avoid the weight room and don’t take their running seriously, or does he choose those who are willing to do the difficult — those who overcome the obstacles?
What if the Canaanite woman had given up when Jesus did not appear to be interested in helping her? What if she had just sat down and cried? What if this Roman official had taken Jesus’ words as a rebuff and walked away angry and bitter? They would never have received what they needed from Jesus. There will come those times in your life when everything seems to be going South and you wonder why God does not immediately answer your prayers. It will seem like he is turning a deaf ear to you. You will wonder if he still loves you and is interested in your welfare. But if you push through those times and do not lose heart, your faith will grow. You will find yourself living on a new spiritual plane and feeling the embrace of God. Jesus said that we, “should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). He said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). Faith takes effort on our part. It is not just handed to us by God. He challenges us when he asks us to believe and trust him. Faith does not come to the one who sits down and gives up, it comes to those who put forth the effort to believe and persevere. People who pursue God overcome obstacles and are persistent in their quest for God. And God honors that persistence.
The Roman official would not take “No” for an answer from Jesus. He said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” It was at that point that Jesus said, “You may go. Your son will live.” The Bible says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
The third lesson this story teaches us is that, if we are going to have our needs met: We have to take Jesus at his word. When Jesus told this man to go home and that his son would live, the Bible says, “The man took Jesus at his word and departed” (John 4:50). I love that! The man took Jesus at his word. How many times have I failed to do that? I know what Jesus has said, but I fail to take him at his word. I believe my word over his word. I take the word of others over his word. I ignore his word. I pretend I don’t hear his word, or that it does not apply to my situation. I forget his word. I’m too busy to listen to his word — too distracted. Sometimes I don’t trust my interpretation of what he is saying. But this man not only puts for the necessary effort to come to Jesus, he takes him at his word.
Notice that the man had no reason to believe that what Jesus had said was, in fact, true. Usually, Jesus healed by laying his hands on someone — but his son would not be touched. Jesus refused his request to go with him to his home. The man believed without anything to prop up his faith. Here is the dilemma of faith — when we are asked to believe God before there is any evidence that what he has promised will happen. What will we do when we have no outward assurance? We have to trust Jesus before we see anything — before there is any evidence. If we believed after God gave us evidence, then we would not be operating in faith. Faith must come before there is any evidence or sign. Faith must come even when there is no particular benefit to believing. We do not want Jesus to be talking about us when he says, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe” (John 4:48). Jesus never does anything the same way. He rarely does anything the way we think he will, or the way we think he should. We can never put God in a box and predict his behavior.
This man did not insist on evidence or proof before he would believe. He took Jesus at his word. And notice what happened as a result. As he was on his way home, before he arrived, his servants met him with the news that his son was not only alive, but was completely well. It was in his going, not in his arriving that he received the assurance that his faith had been rewarded. Good news comes and good things happen to those who take Jesus at his word. What it takes is a willingness to step out in faith. It is not enough just to say you believe God, you have to act on that belief. It means that you believe against all odds. You have faith when it seems ridiculous to believe. It means that you walk in obedience in spite of your feelings. You trust God even when you have no evidence or sign that your faith will be rewarded.
When the apostle Thomas finally believed that Christ had risen from the dead — only because he placed his finger in his wounds — Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Does God have to perform for you before you will place your trust in him? If so, you will never experience real faith. The Bible says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God honors the one who pursues him with all her/his heart. You will not find him if you seek with anything less. You have to ask with the expectation of receiving. You have to knock believing the door will be opened. You have to seek with the anticipation that you will find.
You have to walk in faith, just as that man walked in faith toward the answer to his prayer. When he arrived home and saw his son alive and healthy, his faith went to a whole new level. He not only placed his faith in Jesus’ ability to heal, but he placed his faith in Jesus as the divine Savior. And he wasn’t the only one; his entire household believed. When you think about it, this was truly amazing. There have been many times that I have received an answer to prayer like that and assumed that it was just coincidence. I knew that I prayed, and I knew that what I had prayed for had happened, but I chalked it up to coincidence. I began to think it would have happened anyway. I wonder, if as this man continued on his journey home, after he received word that his son had fully recovered at the precise time that Jesus had told him his son would live, that he was tempted to think it would have happened that way even if he had not gone to Jesus. I wonder if the devil tempted him to wear a cynical grin and think that it was just a fluke.
If he was tempted in that way, he overcame that preposterous thought, because he placed his full faith and confidence in Jesus. He may have had his doubts, but he kept on walking toward the answer to his prayers. He walked toward his spiritual destiny. His entire household, family and servants, placed their complete trust in Jesus. A single act of faith led to a life of faith. Their lives were changed. They were never the same again. The boy had been healed physically and the entire household had been healed spiritually.
A while ago, the news carried the story of a retired school teacher who lost her life savings when she was taken in by an elaborate investment scheme peddled to her by a swindler. When everything she owned disappeared, and she could not locate the man who sold her the plan, she went to the Better Business Bureau for help. Her dream had vanished and she was penniless. When she went to the Better Business Bureau, the director said, “Why on earth didn’t you come to us first? We could have helped you. Didn’t you know about the Better Business Bureau?” “Oh, yes,” she said sheepishly. “I’ve always known about you. But I didn’t come here first because I was afraid you’d tell me not to do it.” Many times we don’t take Jesus at his word, because we are afraid of what he will tell us — only to face disaster and find ourselves deeper in need. But when we go to Jesus, overcome the obstacles, and take him at his word, we find that our needs are met in ways that we could not imagine, and that the words of Scripture are true which say, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
Rodney J. Buchanan
July 29, 2001
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
