Psalm 67 Acts 2:1-6, 37-42 John 4:43-54
Narrowing Horizons
I had the most wonderful father-in-law one could wish for. Oom Corrie, as we called him, was not only a very deep and godly follower of Jesus, but he was also a great storyteller. One day, as we were walking through one of his orchards, he told me about his method of pruning. He claimed that many farmers made the mistake of pruning the trees at the highest possible point because they thought that more branches would produce more fruit. But, he said, too many branches placed a greater demand on the tree, sucking up all the energy and restricting the development of the fruit. So, in the end, the farmer would end up with an inferior harvest. Rather have less branches, he said, that would give you a higher yield of quality fruit.
Now, have you ever noticed in the Gospels how often our Lord seemed to pass by crowds of people to reach out to an individual? In the past two sermons, we saw him do that with the Samaritan woman, and today, we saw him doing it once again with the nobleman from Capernaum.
Verses 44 and 45 are interesting as they seem to suggest that the Galilean welcome was spiritually shallow. Verse 44 points back to an incident recorded in Matthew 13:53-58 where the Galileans were offended at Jesus as he taught in their synagogue. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the builder’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Jude? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where did this man get all these things?” At that time Jesus responded by saying what John repeated here: “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country and in his own house.”
So, what was this welcoming all about? Why did the Galileans welcome Jesus on his return from Judea? It was, John tells us, because of what Jesus had done in Jerusalem. You see, the Judeans looked down in the Galileans like city dwellers often look down on country folks…and remember Jerusalem was known as the Holy City whereas Galilee was known as Galilee of the Gentiles. The Galileans were exposed to more Gentiles than the Judeans, so the possibility of spiritual contamination was higher. They also had a distinct non-Judean Aramaic accent rather than the more refined southern accent. So, when Jesus cleansed the Temple during the Passover Festival, the Galileans claimed him as their hero, because, in their eyes, he had exposed their stuck-up southern cousins. But that was all. Their welcome had nothing to do with faith in him as the Messiah. When Jesus said, “unless you people (plural) see signs and wonders, you will never believe”, he was addressing more than just the nobleman, as we shall see.
Now, it is interesting to note that we have closed a circle here. At the beginning of John chapter 2 Jesus performed his first ‘sign’ in Cana. Here at the end of John chapter 4, Jesus was back in Cana where he performed his second ‘sign’. In both cases, what Jesus did was for the benefit of those who believed in him. Also, in both signs, Jesus simply gave a command that required an obedient response of faith even though what he required seemed ludicrous. “Fill six purification jars with water.” Seriously? “Go, your son lives.” No way!
After the first sign, no one other than the disciples seemed to have believed in Jesus. After this second sign, it is the nobleman’s household that believe in Jesus, not the Galileans. The principle seems to be reaching a few to reach many.
We see the same principle at work when we compare the Samaritan woman with this nobleman, only here we see Jesus’ method of disciple-making even more clearly. Through both individuals, Jesus reaped a higher quality harvest. Through the Samaritan woman Jesus reached an entire village. Through the nobleman he reached, not only this man’s household, which would include all those who worked for him, but perhaps it was this nobleman’s witness that brought some of the household of Herod Antipas to faith as well, like Joanna, the wife of Chuza who was the household steward of Herod Antipas (Luke8:3)…or even a man by the name of Manaen, a man, we are told in Acts 13:1, who grew up with Herod but later became one of the leaders of the church in Antioch.
Can you see what Jesus did? He intentionally singled out two unlikely lower branches…a Samaritan woman and a man who was either a Gentile or a collaborator with Herod, both of whom bore much fruit. Both more than likely did not comprehend the truth about Jesus in the beginning, but their respective suffering and their need had prepared them for the revelation of his Person. Unlike the Galileans, the foreigners, if indeed the nobleman was a foreigner, responded in faith.
In many ways, the nobleman may have been seen as an unwelcome party gate crasher. Imagine, if you will, a man from Real Madrid stumbling into a Manchester fans celebration. Oops! But Jesus did not treat the man as an outsider, did he? He included everyone around him in his rebuke. “Unless you all see signs and wonders…” You see, Jesus knew that faith founded on and rooted in marvels is an inferior faith and often shrivels in the heat of pressure. But note in this story, the only one who responded positively was the nobleman.
I think he had made up his mind before he left Capernaum for Cana. Jesus was the only solution…his only hope. So, unlike the Galileans, he was not offended…rather he was persistent in his request. He kept asking…he kept seeking…he kept knocking…for him there was no backing down. Jesus was the only one who could heal his dying son.
And I believe it is this determination that reveals him to be the right branch to prune…he would bear much fruit. So many were passed by for this one, unlikely man. But there was one final check. “Go,” Jesus said, “your son lives” (not “he will live” as NIV but "he lives" 2nd person present indicative). A simple instruction…like filling purification pots with water…but an instruction that appears to defy logic.
We know the story so well that the full force of this command is lost on us. Put yourself in this man’s sandals. Your child is dying…you walk (or more than likely run) about 40 kilometres…a day’s journey to find the only healer you know that could help you…and this healer tells you to turn around and go straight back home without him. All you have is his word.
Now, let me say that last line again. All you have is his word. Is that enough?
In her book, Prayer in the Night, Tish Warren tells the story of friends of hers whose infant son had to have surgery. She writes: “Like any parents whose child is going under the knife, my friends were anxious. Before the nurses wheeled their infant son into the operating room, (my friend) looked at (her husband) and said, ‘We have to decide right now whether or not God is good, because if we wait to determine that by the results of the surgery, we will always keep God on trial.’”
Dearest beloved brethren, we cannot determine the character of God based on our experiences. Job was right. God has given. God has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. If you believe this in your heart…if you take God at his word and believe that he is who he says he is…then when the inexplicable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, gut wrenching, heart tearing event explodes in your life, you may be shaken, but not shattered.
All we have is his word. Is it enough?
Have you noticed that Jesus never made it easy for people to believe in him? I think some in the Church make a huge mistake when they think that compromise or concession or diluting or altering of the Gospel to suit the whims and fancies and demands of unbelievers will bring people to faith in Jesus. That is so contrary to anything Jesus would do. The message of the cross will always be an offense to those who are perishing…the cross will always be a stumbling block. The cross speaks of sacrifice…not my will but yours be done. And those who wish to claim the benefits without repentance or obedience will always fall over it.
Now, it is equally important to note that the miraculous recovery of the nobleman’s son does not happen because the father responded positively. No, rather his son was already healed when Jesus spoke the words, “your son lives”. In fact, I think that the miracle we see unfolding in this story is not so much what happened in Capernaum with the child as it is what happened in Cana in the heart of his father.
There is no miracle greater than the turning of the human heart to God. This is something only God can do. Medical science has come a long way and we can do many things today that would have been impossible in Jesus’ day, but to bring someone to faith in Jesus is something only the Spirit of God can do.
But notice what happened next. On his return and after hearing the report of the servants, the man believed…but not only him…his whole household believed. Like with the Samaritan woman, one seed was sown in the right place and a whole field was harvested. A dear friend in India once told me that his entire Hindu and partially Maoist family came to faith in Jesus when his dying mother was healed through the prayers of a small, local, persecuted church. One seed, but oh what a harvest.
Now, John tells us that this was the second sign…please note, not the second miracle. This is the second sign. These were signs that served as pointers along the way which would inevitably lead the disciples to the conclusion that Jesus really was the Son of the Living God. They were signs written so that those reading might come to the same conclusion. It is interesting to note that in both the changing of water into wine and the healing of the nobleman’s son, Jesus was not physically involved. Others simply responded to his command and what happened, happened.
At the end of his earthly life, Jesus had lost most of the crowds because they said his teaching was too demanding. In fact, only John and the women were with him as he died on the cross. A harsh pruning to be sure. But Jesus had poured himself into the lives of twelve men (minus one) and a small group of women for three years.
After what I believe is the final sign in John, namely the resurrection, this small and timid band of followers increased numerically to one hundred and twenty, a number that included his siblings who had at one time not believed in him. At Pentecost, the promised Holy Spirit so worked in and through them that about three thousand believers were added. These men and women later returned to their own countries and told their friends and families. And so, within one generation, the Gospel had been heard throughout the known world. One man invested his life in twelve men and a few women…and today, Christianity is considered the largest religious group in the world.
If the Church is to continue to reach the world, we too will need to be pruned…there is nothing attractive about lukewarmness or lily-livered compromise. There is nothing quite so distasteful as bland food. It doesn’t help to fill the seats of the church with half-hearted people. It is the otherness of the Church that causes those who live in darkness to see the light. Darkness only begets darkness. We must be salt and light, Jesus said. Different, not like. The bride of Christ is to be holy, pure, spotless, without blemish, and faithful to his word.
So, will you join me as I pray for the divine vinedresser to do what needs to be done in his orchard?
Shall we pray?
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023
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