Well, turn with me in your Bibles one more time to John chapter 4. We will be finishing John chapter 4 today.

We’ve been in John 4 for several weeks now. And we’ve come through the account of the woman at the well. And last week we saw Jesus left Sychar, that region that John 4 has predominantly taken place in. And we saw that as he left Sychar, there was great belief and revival in that city. But then he came to Galilee, where there was reception of Jesus, but not belief. They received him because of the signs that he was doing. But we didn’t see belief like we saw in Sychar. And this is not new in John’s gospel. John tells us from the very beginning. that there would be many who would not believe in Jesus Christ. We know the purpose that he wrote this is so that we would believe, but that comes with many who do not believe. We saw in John 1, verse 11, that he came to what was his own, but his own received him not. Those who were his own did not receive him. So we know that part of the story of the life of Jesus Christ, part of the story that has to be told is those who reject Him.

In fact, we know that this is what was prophesied about Him. The Old Testament tells us a lot about the Messiah who would come, and one of the things it tells us is that He would be rejected. that there would be many who did not believe. A few passages from the Old Testament that tell us this. We see in Psalm 22 as David is writing, speaking of himself, but prophetically speaking of the son of David who would come. Psalm 22 verse six says, but I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. He would be despised by the people. Then, of course, in Isaiah, Isaiah 49 verse 7, thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, to the despised one, to the one abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers. This is the suffering servant that Isaiah speaks of, Jesus Christ himself. And Isaiah tells us he would be the despised one. These are names of Jesus, names we don’t often think of, but names given to him by the prophet. He is the despised one, the one abhorred by the nation. And then a familiar passage to us, Isaiah 53, verse three, he was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hid their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him. Part of who Jesus is and who He was prophesied to be is despised by sinful men, rejected, because unbelief is the natural reaction of the unregenerate heart. Without God’s regenerating work in us upon our dead and depraved hearts, nobody would believe in Him. And so it’s not surprising that Jesus faced more unbelief as he returns to Galilee.

We’ve seen this before. In John chapter two, as he was at that episode, that first cleansing of the temple, we covered that story, but we saw there in John two, verses 23 through 25, that when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them for he knew all men and because he had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man for he himself knew what was in man. He was not entrusting himself to them because they did not truly believe in him. It says they believed in his name when they saw the signs. So they believed in the signs. They believed that he was a miracle worker. And it was simply excitement over these miracles, not what the miracles pointed to. Because if they actually saw what these miracles pointed to, they would have seen his glory. They would have seen that he is the only begotten son from the father. They would have seen that He is God in the flesh. They would have seen Him as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the very thing that the Samaritans saw in Sychar, the ones who believed.

We see this same reaction to Jesus and His miracles throughout the book of John, and even from His own brothers. from Jesus’ own brothers, and yes, they were his real biological brothers, sons of Mary and Joseph, not cousins like many Roman Catholics and others will teach you. They were his brothers. There is a Greek word for cousin used in the Bible, but it calls Jesus’ brothers his real brothers. But in any case, in John chapter seven, we read about his brothers.

John 7 verses three through five, therefore his brothers said to him, leave here and go into Judea, that your disciples may also see your works which you are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself publicly to the world. For not even his brothers were believing in him. It’s one of those passages in John that makes you stop and scratch your head a little bit. Because John tells their reaction of, hey, look at the miracle, this is great, you should go show everyone your miracles. But then he says, but they didn’t believe. They believed in his miracles. They saw the miracles and they wanted him to go around and tell everybody and show everyone all the cool things you can do. But they didn’t believe in him.

Not even his brothers were believing in him. Oh, they believed something about him. They believed something about, at least that he was a miracle worker, but they didn’t believe in him for who he is. They didn’t believe in all that he truly is. They didn’t have saving belief. And this reaction is the exact same reaction we saw last week, as Jesus comes to Galilee. We ended last week on verses 43 through 45, where it says, and after two days, he went from there into Galilee. For Jesus himself bore witness that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast, for they themselves also went to the feast. As we talked about last week, they received him because they wanted the miracles. They saw what he did, but they didn’t believe. They received him because of what he could do, not because of him. And we might be tempted to think, well, maybe they just needed more evidence. Maybe if they could just be convinced, then they would believe. But the Bible tells us that unbelief is rejection. It’s not a lack of evidence, it’s not a lack of persuasion, it’s rejection. In John chapter eight, Jesus speaks of this. And he tells the people who were rejecting him why they were rejecting him.

In John chapter eight, verse 45, it says, but because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Because I speak the truth, that’s why you don’t believe. It’s not because you’re not convinced. It’s not because what I’m saying is not compelling enough for you. It’s because it’s the truth. And you hate it. And you reject it. They don’t believe, as he goes on to say, because they’re not of God. In verse 47 he says, he who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason you do not hear them because you are not of God. Hearing and believing Jesus is of God. It’s a supernatural work in us. It’s not something that we figure out on our own by our own human understanding. It’s not the most intelligent people that get it and come to belief. It’s those whom God works supernaturally in. They’re the ones who believe. These people don’t believe because they’re not of God, they’re not His. And the truth is that no amount of miracles could convince them. No amount of miracles or signs will convince anybody until they are born again and they can see with true eyes, until God regenerates their hearts and gives them eyes to see and ears to truly hear. Again, another place in John that speaks of this. In John chapter 12, Jesus says, it’s not because of the signs.

John 12 verse 37, but though he had done so many signs before them, so many signs before them, they were still not believing in him, so that the word of Isaiah, the prophet, might be fulfilled. which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Jesus is the arm of the Lord. He is doing the works of God, and it has not been revealed to them, which tells us it must be revealed. It has to be shown by God. who Jesus is. Belief is a supernatural reality that God works in us. And what we see in our text this morning is more unbelief. We see continued unbelief in Galilee, specifically in Cana of Galilee. And Jesus will confront that unbelief. But we also see Jesus overcome unbelief. Unbelief is not enough to stop Jesus from gathering those who are His. And He does this specifically with a man who comes to Him for a miracle. He comes for a sign.

And this text will divide into two sections, and they’ll follow the actions of Jesus in response to this unbelief. Number one, we will see Jesus confronting belief. In verses 46 through 49, confronting belief. And number two, overcoming unbelief. Confronting unbelief and overcoming unbelief. So I’m gonna read our passage for us this morning. John chapter four. Verses 46 through the end of the chapter in verse 54.

John chapter 4 verses 46 through 54. This is the word of the Lord. Then he came again to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he had heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him and was asking him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. So Jesus said to him, unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe. The royal official said to him, sir, come down before my child dies. Jesus said to him, go, your son lives. The man believed the word that Jesus had spoke to him and started on his way. And while he was going down, his slaves met with him, saying that his son was alive. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. And they said to him, yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at that hour, which Jesus said to him, your son lives. And he himself believed. and his whole household.

This is, again, a second sign that Jesus did when he had come out of Judea and into Galilee. So this is a story of a miracle. And this is not uncommon in the Gospels. We read a lot about miracles, a lot about healings. We’re told of many of the things that Jesus did in his life and ministry. And it is interesting that John’s account of Jesus’ life, the first two signs that he explains for us occur in the same place, in Cana. We saw the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine in chapter two. Chapter two, verse one. On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And it goes on to tell the story of Jesus turning the water into wine, and that, John says, is his first sign. And we see here in this passage in verse 46, he came again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine.

So this is the very same place. And another interesting detail, well, the fact that it’s the very same place should tell us that there should have been belief there of all people. who should know who Jesus is and what he has done. It’s the people from Cana. That’s where he did his first sign, so that they could see who he was. And he comes back to Cana, and all they want is another sign. But another thing to see here, that I’ll get out of the way to begin with, is that this is the second sign that Jesus did in Cana. And again, back at the first one, After that miracle in chapter two, verse 11, it says, Jesus did this in Cana of Galilee as the beginning of his signs. And his disciples believed him. So that was the beginning of his signs. And you see here in verse 54, this again is the second sign that Jesus did when he came out of Judea into Galilee. But if you remember, This isn’t just the second miracle that Jesus ever performed. This isn’t just the second sign that he ever did.

We saw in verse 23 of chapter two, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he was doing. And when he comes back to Galilee, it tells us that many of the people there were in Jerusalem, and they saw the many signs that he did. So when we read in this verse 54 that this is the second sign, this is the second one that John has explained to us. This is the second sign that John is using for evidence as he builds his case of who Jesus is, the Christ, the Son of God. John records for us eight major signs as evidence to prove his point. It’s interesting he only numbers the first two, but there are eight signs that he refers to as signs. These signs are called signs because they do what signs do. They point us to something. A sign points us to something else. It informs us of something. They direct our attention to what we are supposed to find or to notice. And that is the purpose for the signs in the book of John. They’re to show us something. But again, this is the very problem with these people in Galilee. They’re getting so caught up in the sign that they miss what it points to.

It would be like if you just loved our church sign, the sign out by the road, and you just loved it, and you thought our church sign was so wonderful, and you told everyone about this amazing sign. This really is the greatest sign of all the signs there ever was. This is the best sign. And then someone asks you, well, what about Fellowship Baptist Church? That’s what’s on the sign. What about the church? How is that church? And you would respond, well, I don’t know, I’ve never been. But it’s a great sign, isn’t it? It’s an amazing sign. That’s getting too focused on the sign that you miss what it points to. And that’s what’s happening with these people.

Don’t get so focused on what Jesus does that you miss who Jesus is. And so now John shows us these signs with the purpose of pointing us to Christ. And this is the second sign that he’s shown us in this gospel, that gives us evidence of who he really is. So again, let’s begin at verse 46. And the first division of our text, the first response from Jesus to these Galileans is confronting their unbelief, confronting unbelief. Verse 46, he came again to Galilee, to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water wine. was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. Again, this is the place where Jesus had performed his first sign, so people knew that he could do things. But instead of showing true belief in him, the people wanted more. They wanted more signs, more of what he could do. And so since word had gotten around that the miracle worker was back, this royal official comes to hire him out.

And there are different theories about who this royal official is. Some believe it’s Herod Antipas who, because of the timing and location, he was the ruler in Galilee in that region at that time. Some speculate that it was his adopted brother, Manan, who ends up being a fellow pastor of Paul. So he was eventually a believer. In Acts 13, we read about him. Others think it may have been someone who worked for this Herod. I saw one account that theorized that this could be a man named Chusa, who we read about in Luke 8, verse 3, and his wife was a companion of Jesus, traveled with him. So there’s all of these different theories of who this royal official is, but whoever you think it is, it’s just a guess, because John didn’t see fit to tell us who it was. John didn’t see that we needed to know the name of this royal official. We just see that he’s a royal official.

And this royal official has heard about the signs that Jesus has been doing. He’s heard about him. He heard by word of mouth this reputation that Jesus has. And he is in need of such a miracle worker. Because as you see in verse 47, when he, the royal official, heard that Jesus had come out of Judea and into Galilee. He went out to him and was asking him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. Not only did he have a need for a miracle worker, he had an urgent need. His son was about to die. Maybe he heard about the wedding at Cana. Maybe he heard about all of the signs he did in Jerusalem at the Passover. Whatever the case, He’d heard about this miracle worker and he needed a miracle. And so he comes and he is persistently asking Jesus to come down and heal his son.

That word asking there, it’s in the imperfect tense, which tells us it’s a continual action. He’s doing it over and over. He won’t stop asking Jesus to come down and heal his son. He was not letting up. And so, Jesus responds to not only him, but to the crowds there who are also asking him for signs. In verse 48, Jesus said to him, unless you people see signs and wonders, you’ll never believe. Jesus had had enough of these people that only want to see his signs. He wasn’t just the local doctor in town. They needed to come treat their ailments. And so Jesus speaks right to the issue of their hearts. Their unbelieving hearts. You will never believe because of the signs. All you want is the signs. And he tells them it’s not about the signs and wonders. He is there for them to believe in him. And you might think that this response sounds harsh from Jesus. That this poor man just wanted his son to be healed. And he comes to Jesus because that’s his last chance. His son is about to die. And you can identify with this guy and the fear and hurt that he’s facing. So it might sound harsh if you don’t know Jesus. And how do we know that he truly doesn’t know Jesus yet? Well, did Jesus need to be present to heal his son? No, Jesus heals several people without ever being present.

You have the centurion in Luke 7, the woman in Mark 7, and then the account I read in Matthew earlier. Jesus can heal with a word. And this official is begging him, you have to come. You have to come down to my house. You have to come to Capernaum with me. You have to come because my son is going to die. Jesus had the power to heal without even being there. And second, this man is panicking because his son might die before Jesus gets there. Does death hinder Jesus’ abilities? No. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus specifically waited until Lazarus died before he went so that he could raise him from the dead. How does he do all these things? Because of what the signs point to. Because he’s God. And that’s the whole point. The whole point of his signs were what they pointed to, and they were missing it. They were missing the glory that he was revealing to them because they were focused on the sign and not what it pointed to.

Jesus repeatedly tells people that this is what the miracles were for, to show them who he is, the son sent from God the Father, that he is God himself in the flesh, God with us, and God can do anything. Jesus confronts this unbelief in him. In John chapter 10, verse 37, he says, if you do not, or if I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe in me. But if I do them, though you do not believe, believe the works, so that you may know and continue knowing that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. He said, at very least, look at the works and look what they point to. Look at the evidence that they give you of who he is. Even if you don’t take his word for it, look at the evidence right before your eyes and let that tell you who he is.

In John 14, he says again, John 14 verse 11, believe in me, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe the works themselves. So either believe Him or believe the works that He does and what they point to. Miracles and signs should point you to who Jesus is. And these people should have seen. They should have seen that He is God, that the Father is in Him, and that He does the very works of the Father. So Jesus here is rebuking them. He’s rebuking them for failing to believe and what the signs point to. But the man didn’t give up. The man did not give up. In verse 49, the royal official said to him, sir, come down before my child dies. Come down before my child dies. He ignores Jesus’ rebuke of him and the rest of the Galileans, and he keeps asking the same thing. So you see, these people remain in their unbelief. Although Jesus confronts their unbelief, they remain in it. But Jesus isn’t done with him yet. Jesus is far more gracious than anyone deserves, and he’s not done with this man yet. He’s after his heart. But the first response we see from Jesus is confronting this unbelief.

Which leads us to the second response that we see. And that is overcoming unbelief. Overcoming unbelief. Verse 50, Jesus said to him, go, your son lives. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. The man came begging Jesus to come with him to Capernaum. You’ve got to come, my son’s going to die. And instead, Jesus simply says to him, go. Go, your son lives. He had come from Capernaum to Cana. You can put yourself in his shoes and imagine what’s going through his mind. He came from Capernaum to Cana, which is about 16 miles. And his focus this whole time is I need to bring this guy back. I need to get him to my son. I need to get him there before he dies. And he begs and he begs. And finally Jesus says go. Go, your son lives.

He came looking for a sign. And what did Jesus give him? Did he show him a sign so that he could see it and believe? No. Jesus gave him his word. He spoke to him. Jesus gave him his words, and at this point, this is all this man has. He has seen nothing. He knows nothing about how his son is doing. He’s only heard the words of Jesus. Little does he know that at that very instant, the boy was healed. We don’t find that out until later when he finds out. But all he has now is the words of Jesus. And how does he respond? How does he respond to the simple words, go, your son lives? The man believed. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him. And he started on his way. He believed the word.

Even though he had no confirmation of it, the man believed. He believed in the word of Christ. That’s exactly how it happens. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. And not only does he believe, He shows his belief. Without any proof that his son was healed, he took Jesus at his word and he started for home. If he didn’t truly believe, he would have kept begging for Jesus to come. He would have said, okay, that’s great, but please come with me anyways. Please, just in case, just in case it didn’t work, will you please come? No. Jesus speaks and he believes and he turns and goes home. Just like it is with all of us, his belief shows in his actions.

Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. How do we know that Abraham believed God? He actually sacrificed his son. until God stopped his hand. He did it. He did what God told him to do and that’s how we saw Abraham’s belief. And how do we know this royal official believed? He left. He went home. He believed what Jesus said and he turned and he went home. If you actually believe Christ and take him at his word, it will show up in your life. And it continues in verses 51 and following. And while he was still going down, he met his slaves, saying that his son was still … Sorry. His slaves met him saying that his son was alive. So he inquired them. the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him.

So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, your son lives. And he himself believed in his whole household. He believed, and then he left, and then he got confirmation, on the way home his slaves meet him. And they had already left to find him to tell him the good news. It wasn’t as though Jesus was still working the miracle and by the time the father got home his son would be healed. No, at the very moment he said, go, his son was healed. And they came to tell him that he had recovered, not that he just wasn’t dead yet. They wouldn’t have left the boy Just to tell him he wasn’t dead yet. No, he was healed. And you can imagine the joy that this father felt.

So it says he inquired of them the hour in which he began to get better. And you can see exactly what’s going on in his mind. Tell me exactly when this happened. Exactly when. He wanted confirmation. That this is what really happened. That it wasn’t just some fluke. That he just happened to get better while he was gone. So the slaves replied, yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him. And that’s when he knew. That’s when he knew exactly what happened. He had believed earlier when Jesus gave him his word. But this confirmed. this man’s belief, and it says he himself believed and his whole household. This man acted in faith by turning and going home when Jesus told him to. That takes a lot of faith.

When you’re willing to come that far because your son is so close to dying, and you’re focused on bringing this man back with you, and all he gives you is a sentence. And you turn and you leave. That takes belief. And his faith was confirmed when he heard about what happened, when he saw the sign. And that’s the difference. Those that saw the signs first, they just wanted more signs. But this man believed and then saw the sign. But these people in Galilee, they come to Jesus for the signs, for what the benefit will be for them.

And this happens today. People come to Jesus because they think that he’ll do something for them. They perceive what he will do and that’s why they want him. And sometimes people even make a deal with God. God, I’ll follow you if I get this promotion. Or if you’ll just heal my family member, then I’ll do whatever you want. Or I’ll go to church because that will make my life better. I’ll do the Christian things because then the other things in my life will start to go my way. I’ll read my Bible in the morning because then that means I’ll have a good day. But what happens when life stops going your way? What happens when you don’t get the next promotion? What happens when God doesn’t heal your family member next time? What happens if your life stops getting better? Usually what happens is those that came to Jesus for those reasons move on to the next thing that they think will satisfy.

Because like these people in Galilee, many people come to Jesus for his signs. For what he can do for me. They don’t come to Jesus for who he is. They don’t believe his word because his word’s not enough. I need to see something. I need some proof. I need you to do something for me and then I’ll believe. No, you won’t. If his word is not enough, then no matter how many signs he does, you still won’t believe. That’s what he told us. But think about this man, this father. He believed Jesus’ word. Among all the crowds that were there, There was one who believed in him, who believed his word, and he showed that he believed by obeying his word. Go, your son lives. And he went because he believed. He believed that Jesus would do what he said he would do.

And another thing we shouldn’t miss in this story, What was it that actually healed the man’s son? Was it because he came to the one who works miracles? Was it because he asked in the right way or said the right words? Was it because he was persistent enough and he didn’t stop asking and he asked enough times and finally Jesus gave in? Was it because he believed? Was it because his faith was strong enough? Was it because he believed in the right person? In Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God? No. None of those things are why his son was healed.

His son was healed because of Jesus Christ. Jesus healed his son. Jesus healed this man’s son for no other reason than that it glorified God. It revealed the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus healed this man’s son because it was the work the father had for him to do. We are meant to see that Jesus is full of grace and of power and of glory. We see the grace of Jesus on display in that this man did not deserve for Him to heal his son. He didn’t deserve this, but Jesus healed him anyways. Jesus confronted the unbelief in just asking for signs, and so He asked for a sign again, and Jesus healed him.

We see the power of Jesus on display and that he didn’t even need to go. He didn’t even need to be there or touch him or breathe on him or anything. He just said, go, it’s done. Your son lives. He spoke a word and it was so. We see the glory of Jesus on display and that he did what only God can do. He revealed His glory. Glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. And it did bring a whole household to faith in Him. Not because they saw the sign, but because they saw who the sign pointed to. They saw Him. They came to Christ for more of Him, not just for what He could do. He already did what He could do for them. They came for Him. And that’s the point of this story.

Verse 54, this again is the second sign that Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. This is the second sign that points to who Jesus is. He is the Christ, the Son of God. He is God in the flesh. He did come and live in perfect obedience, fully completing the work of God. And that work was finished on the cross, where He hung in my place. And He hung there for all who would believe in Him for salvation from their sins. He hung there for me. He hung there for this Father who believed in Him. And He hung there for you if you believe in Him. But He didn’t just hang there and die, He was buried and He rose again the third day. And now He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for me and for you if you believe in Him. He’s interceding on behalf of all those for whom He died. And He’s coming again one day. And the signs that He will do in that day are going to be a sight to behold. But that day will be too late for those who only want His signs.

If you do not yet trust Christ as your Savior, You need to come to Him and believe in Him. Don’t just believe in what He can do and the things He can do to make your life better. Believe in Him for who He is. For all that He is. Come to Him for more of Him. That’s what saving faith is. Faith in who He is and what He has done. believing His word and trusting that He is true. Come to Him for Him.

Let’s stand and close in a word of prayer this morning. Our God in heaven, we are humbled by this account of our Lord Jesus Christ. The awesome glory and power and grace that are on display in Him. Like this Father, we have no reason for Jesus to care for us, to heal us, to die for us, but Jesus is gracious and he came for us. And we know that he is more powerful than anything that could be put before him. And we see the great glory of God. on display in the person of Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you for this account from the gospel of John, this evidence that you have given us to believe in. Lord, I pray if there is anyone here this morning who does not believe, Lord, pierce their heart. Help them to see who Jesus is. Help them to see their need for him. because of their great sin that separates every sinner from you. And Lord, call your people to yourself. Help them to see who Christ is and believe in him. And then walk away changed people, people who will live for him, who will go into their homes and communities and workplaces and live for him. God, we thank you for who you are. We pray all of this in Christ’s precious name. Amen.