Bible Text: John 4:46-54 | Preacher: Pastor Andrew Richard | Series: Trinity 2023 | The few verses of today’s reading contain the entire scope and increase of faith in the Christian life. The royal official believed in Jesus, and thus went to Him in person to make his request. Then the official believed the Word Jesus spoke to him. Then the official believed when he saw that Word confirmed. This repetition of his believing does not mean he lost faith and then regained it, but that his weak faith became stronger. We desire this for ourselves, that our faith would not be weak, but strong.
Now when we talk about faith, we can talk about faith’s object and we can talk about faith’s strength. The object of the man’s faith throughout the reading is Jesus. His faith, whether weak or strong, lays hold of Jesus. The weakest faith on earth, so long as it is faith in Jesus, possesses full forgiveness, full life, full salvation, full hope, full mercy―Jesus in His entirety. On the contrary, the strongest faith on earth, if it is not faith in Jesus, but faith in works or reason or emotion or politics or money, no matter how strong that faith is, it is faith in the wrong thing. Such faith does not bring forgiveness, life, and salvation, but utter disappointment, and in the end condemnation. So the most important characteristic of faith is that it have the right object. I would rather have weak faith in Jesus than strong faith in myself.
But concerning faith’s strength, I would rather have strong faith in Jesus than weak faith in Jesus, in the same way that I’d rather be in a room with a large window and much light so that I could see rightly, than in a room with a peephole that barely let in any light and I see dimly. In the same way that I’d rather have a strong body that could carry more and endure more, than a weak body that collapsed under the least burden and quickly lost the will and ability to go on, so too I want a strong faith and not a weak faith. A weak faith is too easily misled by the senses. When the sight of the eyes and the hearing of the ears present something contrary to the Word of Christ, a weak faith falters. A weak faith is too easily scorched by tribulation and choked by the cares of life. It too easily succumbs to temptation. A strong faith, on the other hand, is not shaken by trial nor tribulation, the enticements nor the accusations nor the lies of the devil, the treasures nor pleasures of this age, the senses nor reason. A strong faith stands opposite the whole world and Satan himself and holds onto one little Word from Jesus and endures through all things. One with a strong faith can suffer any bodily affliction, any loss of possessions or reputation, can bear any cross, and can do so unmoved and with joy in the Lord, praying, “Lord, as Thou wilt deal thou with me” and singing, “In Thee, Lord, have I put my trust.”
Now let’s look in more detail at the nobleman’s increase of faith, see what he gained from it, and learn to desire such increase of faith for ourselves. So what was this man’s faith like at the outset of the reading? We note first of all that his faith had the right object: he trusted in Jesus and was willing to journey some miles in order to see Jesus in person and make his request. And when the nobleman made his request, when he prayed to Jesus, he fully expected that Jesus wanted to help and had the power to do so. However, his weak faith did not fully comprehend Jesus’ power. The nobleman had it in his head that Jesus had to be present in order to heal his son. And he prayed very specifically out of the misunderstanding of his weak faith, “Come down and heal my son, for he is at the point of death.”
I think we’ve all prayed similarly narrow-minded prayers. The weakness of faith only sees one option and, like the nobleman, thinks there can only be a good outcome if Jesus acts according to that one option. Sometimes the weakness of faith sees no options, but it is still faith in Jesus. This is like the disciples in the storm on the Sea of Galilee, who wake Jesus and say to Him, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing” (Mt. 8:25). Their weak faith is desperate, but at least turns to the right place, to Jesus, and that is the comfort of all right faith: whether strong or weak, it has Jesus. Jesus says, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Mt. 8:26), and then He does something they would never have thought to ask: He rebukes the winds and the sea, and there is a great calm. Similarly the Israelites: when they journey out of Egypt, they find themselves caught between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. It says in Exodus, “They were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord” (Ex. 14:10). The Holy Spirit doesn’t even record their prayer. Instead He records their terror tantrum, which a weak faith is apt to throw: “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (Ex. 14:11). And there too the Lord does something they never would have thought to ask: He parts the Red Sea and leads the children of Israel through on dry ground. That option didn’t even enter their minds. Yet after it happened, they wouldn’t have had it any other way. They sing and praise God that He did what He did: “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea” (Ex. 15:1). That event became an eternal assurance of the Lord’s love for His people, an eternal proof of His almighty power, an eternal warning to His enemies.
The Lord “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20), though a weak faith thinks too highly of its own asking or thinking, too highly of the physical senses and the outward appearance of things. When weak faith doesn’t experience earthly prosperity, doesn’t receive an immediate or exact answer to prayer, but instead has adversity or loss, or receives training in being patient, then, like the Israelites, the one with weak faith despairs of God’s help and concludes that the Lord is angry. The bruised reed is in danger of being broken and the smoldering wick in danger of being quenched.
Jesus sees the danger in weak faith. He laments it in the reading: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe” (Jn. 4:48), which is to say, “You want faith to be sight, but that’s not the nature of faith. ‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’ (Heb. 11:1). Even that which you do see ‘was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible’ (Heb. 11:3). If My Word, which you cannot see, brought into existence that which you do see, then my unseen Word takes precedence over anything your senses take in. This is the ground of faith: My Word.”
But Jesus not only laments weak faith. He also strengthens weak faith by His Word. When the nobleman persists in his prayer, Jesus says to him, “Go; your son lives.” And at that Word a most wondrous thing happens. The man who was convinced that his son could only live if Jesus came to the house with him, turns and departs in hope, even though Jesus isn’t coming with him, even though Jesus didn’t answer his exact prayer. And why did this sudden change happen? Because, as we heard, “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him” (Jn. 4:50). The man believed, not that he didn’t before, but that Jesus strengthened his faith with the Word. We see this likewise with the widow of Zarephath, who, thinking a moment before that she was facing death by starvation, gladly baked the last of her flour and oil into a loaf of bread for Elijah. Why? Because of the Word, which said, “The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth” (1 Kgs. 17:14). Peter fished all night in vain. But when Jesus said, “Let down your nets for a catch,” Peter said, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (Lk. 5:4-5). From these events we see that faith is satisfied with the Word of Jesus. Faith requires nothing more than that Word to rest secure.
Certainly we’ve experienced this as well. How often have you had peace in your heart, a peace that doesn’t seem to make sense because the outward circumstances haven’t changed, a peace that flies in the face of everything your senses are perceiving, a peace that surpasses all understanding, simply because a Word of the Lord gave you comfort and hope? “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench” (Is. 42:3). Jesus feeds faith with His Word and fans the ember into a flame that, even in the face of a windstorm, can stand straight and burn merrily. This may indeed surpass our understanding, but “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
“We walk by faith, not by sight.” Consider that for a moment. We often don’t know how a situation will conclude, what the outcome will be. But we have Jesus, so why do we need to know how it’s all going to turn out? We didn’t even realize the entire weight of our sin, the full depth of our depravity, just how sorry our plight was. But Jesus saw it all, understanding more about us and our situation than we did. And He acted in mercy, bearing that weight and plumbing that depth and making our plight His own, withholding nothing from us, not even His own life. He did what was best for us, while we were dwelling in darkness and the shadow of death, not even comprehending the full problem, let alone anything of a solution. This more than anything teaches us what we should trust in time of need. We never have the full picture of our own situation, we can’t conceive of all possible options, and we’re poor judges of which would be the best, even if that option has occurred to us. But nothing is hidden from Jesus. He sees all, He abounds in steadfast love and mercy, He knows better what’s best for you than you do yourself, and He remains willing to accomplish it. So don’t be afraid to cast yourself completely on this Lord and pray, “Thy will be done.” His will is better for you than yours is, and, as with the nobleman, Jesus will let you see the blessedness of that truth.
The nobleman continues on his way, and partway home he meets his servants, who report to him that his son is recovering. He then asks a question that stems from faith and serves to strengthen faith further: “At what hour did my son begin to get better?” And it was at the exact hour when Jesus said, “Your son lives.” Now the nobleman could have skipped over this question. He could have simply rejoiced that his son was better and thought no more of the Word of the Lord. But how much sense would that make? About as much sense as nine lepers forgetting all about the Word that healed them. Yet that account of the lepers shows that, for as little sense as it makes, this sort of thing does happen: people forget the Word that saved and sustained them. With the lepers we see that the easiest way to forget the Word is to dissociate it entirely from what’s actually happening in life. But the nobleman doesn’t want that. He purposefully seeks to see the connection between the Word of Jesus and his life. He asks at what hour his son began to recover, and when he hears that it’s the same hour at which Jesus spoke the Word, his faith is strengthened even further, as it says, “And he himself believed, and all his household” (Jn. 4:53).
We do well not only to hear the Word of Jesus, but to remember it, to remember that the heavens and the earth were created and continue to exist by that Word, and therefore that Word has more to do with life than anything else and affects life more than anything else. So we should connect what the Lord says with how life goes. For example, we should consider that in teaching us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus is telling us that our Father in heaven will always care for our life. Then we should also look at the life of Christians, and observe, as David does in Psalm 37, “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Ps. 37:25). And what do we see? That the Word of Jesus is true!
When we escape temptation without falling into sin, we should remember the Word of the Lord in 1 Corinthians 10, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13). When we pass through affliction and afterward realize that we have received much good from it, we should recall the Word in Psalm 119, “It was good for me that I was afflicted that I may learn Your statutes” (Ps. 119:71). When we see the downfall of a haughty, wicked man we should remember that the Lord said, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When the Lord brings us through danger and preserves our life, we should recall Psalm 121, “The Lord shall keep you from all evil; He will keep your life” (Ps. 121). When we sin, and the Lord lets us feel the consequences, and yet spares us from the full punishment that we deserve, we should remember Proverbs 3, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Prov. 3:11-12).
The Word of the Lord proves true (Ps. 18:30). There’s opportunity to realize it every day, and it is good for faith to connect the Word of the Lord with everyday life. When you have peace of mind in spite of the outward circumstances, when your conscience has rest after you have sinned, when you have comfort in the face of affliction and strength in the face of temptation, then think to yourself, “The Word of the Lord has proved true.” Then when faith realizes the truth of God’s Word, it becomes stronger still. Jesus exercised the nobleman’s faith and fed it and made it strong. O Lord, make such noblemen of us, that after persevering in faith here on earth, we may behold Thee in heaven. Amen.