From Fever Relief to Family Belief

How far would you travel to pick up some medicine that would relieve your sick child of their condition? It is logical to assume that any lengths necessary would be on the table in order to help out your child. Most of the time we don't have to travel very far since we have access in most cases to pharmacies which are open 24 hours a day. However, this luxury wasn't available in the first century. In our lesson from John 4:46-54, there was someone much better than a pharmacy to consult for a cure, and his name is Jesus.

In this story we find Jesus coming again into Cana of Galilee where he performed his first sign. He was approached by a nobleman who was probably an official in service to the king, probably Herod Antipas the Tetrarch of Galilee. This man possibly could have been Chuza, the king's household manager as referenced in Luke 8:3 (Westcott 78). His son was sick with a fever, near death, and he wanted Jesus to come down to heal him before he died. Capernaum was at a much lower elevation than Cana, hence the phrase "come down." Jesus eventually sends the nobleman on his way home where he would find his child well, and he in fact determines from his servants when he returns that it was indeed the very moment that Jesus told him "your son will live" (53) that he was healed. It is in this account of the second sign of Jesus that we see faith on display from fever relief to family belief.

The Nobleman's Faith Was Conditional

We've all heard of people who had to see something to believe it. This writer was once told stories by his wife (at that time girlfriend) and her father of seeing something crossing the road that looked like a kangaroo. Needless to say, that is something that would have to be seen to be believed in middle Tennessee! A few years after that it was documented that some local deer hunter had killed one and had its picture in a local market. This writer was also driving down the highway one day to see a helicopter perched on top of a powerline tower. Again, that is something that somebody would have to see to believe. We probably all know people like this, and we might even be one of them.

Jesus was confronted with this in dealing with the nobleman. This is what prompted Jesus to say what he did in verse forty-eight. The nobleman seemingly felt that Jesus had to be present to heal his son. Has your faith ever been conditional? Have you ever been like Thomas in John 20:24-29? Remember that before he saw Jesus upon the other disciples' report of seeing the Lord Thomas required visible and physical proof before he would believe. Consider also the reaction of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:11. Before he was obedient, he reacted in a very animated way to the command of dipping seven times in the Jordan river, thinking that the prophet should come in person to stand and call on the name of the Lord and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Paul says "for we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). Don't let our faith be conditional on what the Lord does or doesn't do for us in times of distress.

The Nobleman's Faith Was Critical

We know what someone means when they say someone is in critical condition, whether they're in the hospital, at home under hospice care, etc. The nobleman's son was critical in the sense that he was near death. We don't know what kind of illness he had but he did have a fever. The nobleman was trying to act before it was too late. Think about this - is it ever too late for Jesus to heal someone? Case in point, look at the story of Lazarus. Martha and Mary both told Jesus if he had been there Lazarus would not have died (John 11:21,32). Jesus proved that he can not only heal the sick but also raise the dead, as he has the power over death.

What are we willing to do to act on our faith? Peter's faith was critical - it caused him to get out of the boat when the Lord called him (Mt. 14:28ff). Yes, he did start sinking, but at least he acted on his belief. As the nobleman's faith was critical in the health of his child, the health of our souls is much more critical than our physical well-being. Don't let a crisis be the only time you act on your faith.

The Nobleman's Faith Was Contagious

Colds and viruses can be contagious, but good things can be contagious as well, such as a smile or great attitude. The nobleman's faith in Christ was contagious. Not only did he believe in Jesus but also his entire household did as well. This reminds me of what we're told of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16, where his whole household was baptized into Christ.

Do we have a contagious faith? We ought to be contagious by sharing our faith with the world, but we certainly need to be contagious around our family. When we're sick, the most likely people to be infected are our families. Passing on our faith to our families makes sense, because they're the most likely to be influenced by us. Consider Noah in Genesis 6. He was unable to save anyone else except for his family. Does that make him a failure? That idea would be absurd. It's a wonderful thing when we can ensure that we are taking our families to Heaven!

It seems that this nobleman had two levels of belief in Jesus: one in his word and two in who he was. It was the result of this encounter with Jesus that went from fever relief to family belief. What will it take for you to believe in Jesus as the Son of God?