Bible Study From The Daily Office for Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Collect:

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings:

Psalm 61; 62
Romans 1:16–25

Gospel: John 4:43–54

43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.

45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.

48 Then said Jesus unto him,Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

50 Jesus saith unto him,Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him,Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee

Commentary:

As we have often noted, most of Jesus’ ministry work, other than his death and resurrection, takes place in Galilee. We begin this study, with an event that took place after Jesus had met the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob near a town known then as Sychar. After a teaching moment with this woman, she went to tell others in her village that the promised one, the Messiah, was at the well. Jesus then spent two days with those people before making his way on to Gallilee.

To ascertain why he was traveling to Galilee where he would pour out the most of his ministerial efforts, we look at verse 44 which reads, “For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.” Mark offers an explanation of this saying of Jesus in chapter 6 verses 1 through 6; “1  And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.  2  And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?  3  Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.  4  But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.  5  And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6  And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. ”

Indeed, it is certainly difficult for anyone to overcome the sense of familiarity people have whit one who they have watched grow up. Those of us who have been blessed to observe a child grow and blossom into an adult, have the unfortunate habit of often perceiving that individual as we remember them, an adolescent, sometimes—as a brat—or as precocious child. It is difficult for any professional, minister, doctor, et cetera, to return home to practice their chosen trade for this reason.

Jesus—unbelievably—was no exception to this rule, and as we see in the next passage, while his own people rejected him the Galilaeans loved him..

“Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.  So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. ” (vs. 45 & 46”)

It was during this time in which Jesus had returned to the place where he made water into wine that he encountered a royal officer, probably a Jewish officer of the tetrarch Herod Agrippa, whose son was sick at the point of death. He lived at Capernaum about 20-25 miles away from Cana of Galilee where Jesus was ministering. Jesus spoke the words of healing in Cana and the boy was cured at Capernaum. This officer was accustomed to giving and receiving commands. He was accustomed to being in charge of government affairs and having things done.

This royal officer heard that Jesus had returned to Galilee from Judea and went to meet Jesus. The man appears to be included in the crowd of miracle-seeking Jews. However, his need is urgent and he persists in his request to Jesus. He "was requesting Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death" (v. 47). The boy appears to have been chronically ill. This nobleman took off at once to find Jesus and when he found Him he commenced begging Him to come down at once and heal his son, because he was close to death. This royal official repeatedly asked Jesus to come to his house. He went at once to Jesus and "began to beg and kept it up." He "kept on begging" (imperfect) Jesus to come to his home and heal his son (v. 47).

The words of Jesus in response to the request are almost harsh. "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." It is a reflection of the attitude of the people who had to seek the evidence before they would believe Jesus. They were insincere and shallow. Seeing is not believing. Seeing is seeing. They wanted to see "signs" or miracles that point to God's glory before they would believe. A. T. Robertson says it pictures "the stubborn refusal of people to believe in Christ without miracles." These were "attesting signs" such as changing the water to wine showing that only God can do it. The "sign" always affects the divine purpose and shows God at work. Give us miraculous signs and then we will believe. The word "wonders" means something so strange as to cause it to be watched. It is something beyond explanation. They are miraculous in nature.

God does not work that way. He calls us to come and follow and then He gives the evidence later. Our pragmatic humanism dictates that we see the evidence and then we will respond. That is not faith. That is a reaction to the work of God. When He is going to do something, He commands that we believe, and this leads to a crisis of belief. He demands that we take Him at His word and obey. The evidence will come later. These people were lacking in a deep commitment to Christ and were only looking for sensationalism.

The government official whose son was sick unto death was not arguing with Jesus. He does not try to defend himself. Basically he was saying, "Whatever the attitude of my mind maybe, you are the only chance for my boy, please come down lest he die." Verse 47 tells us he "was requesting Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death." Verse 49 tells us the father was persistent in his request. There is the imperative tone of urgency in his voice, "Sir, come down before my child dies." It was a crisis. It was out of control. He was desperate and He threw himself upon the mercy of Jesus.

The man thinks that Jesus' presence is necessary to perform the cure. However, Jesus gives the father only His bare words. Jesus spoke a word of authority and power. It was a healing word. That is all that was needed. It never occurred to the man that Jesus could heal his son at a distance. The power to heal lies in the person of Jesus Christ. "Your son lives"––not a word or syllable more. The man rests his faith in Jesus alone. He has only the word of Jesus and he rests his faith on it.

Jesus saw the sincere faith of the father and said, "Go your way; your son lives" (v. 50). The word "to live" conveys both the idea of recovering from illness and return to life from the dead. In our context, it refers to the physical recovery from the chronic illness.

What is our response when God shows us where He is at work? Do we argue with Him? Do we drag our feet? Do we make excuses and use diversion tactics like the woman at the well?

The royal officer saw himself as a man under command like a military officer. His attitude was not, "No one is going to tell me what to do?" He had an attitude of submission. He was a man under command.

The man said, "Come"; Jesus said, "Go." Without any hesitation the man went home. He obeyed the command of Jesus.

Do we really believe that the God who leads us where He is at work will also provide the resources to bring it to pass? I believe with all of my heart that when God calls a person to a ministry He also provides. I have watched Him do it over and over again to my utter amazement for fifty years. Often He provides even before we have time to ask. He leads us to seize an open door and the timing of His provision is always perfect.

When God tells us what He wants to do through us, we will face a time of spiritual testing. Can I trust God to do what He has said He will do in and through His disciples? How I walk by faith is a testimony of what I believe about God. Do I believe that He will accomplish what He has chosen to do through me? What is my response when Jesus says, “Come”? Do I follow all the way with Him?

God invites us to join Him in His work. He has an assignment for our church that only He can accomplish through us. When God invites us to come and join Him, we suddenly realize it is not something we can do on our own. If God does not do it through us, we will fail. This is the crisis point where many decide not to follow what they sense God is leading them to do. Then they wonder why they do not experience God's presence the way other believers do. Am I ready to trust and obey?

The father obeyed the command of Jesus. Perhaps it was the note of command of authority in His voice that the man was accustomed to hearing. He connected with Jesus. "The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off" (v. 50). It is instantaneous faith. "He started on his way." His faith was in action.

The man took Jesus at His word. There was no hesitation. He surrendered completely and immediately to the word of Jesus. Like the angels he does not argue or debate with God. He immediately did what Jesus told him to do.

Have you gone through a crisis of belief lately? It is impossible to stay where you are and follow Jesus Christ. If you have not been challenged, even scolded by the Holy Spirit to get up and walk by faith, you are probably staying in your spiritual safety zone and not walking with Him. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Believing is seeing. Jesus was looking for faith that was independent of signs and miracles. Jesus was the focus of the man's faith.

The critical question is where is God at work in my life? Where is God at work in your community? Where is God at work in your church? Do we have an intimate love relationship with Him and are we spiritually prepared to join Him where He is at work?

When was the last time God invited you, or your church, to come and join Him in a ministry that is beyond your ability to accomplish?

What was your response to the invitation? What was the response of your church?

Where is God at work in your life? Where is He at work in your town, village, or suburb? Where is He at work in your church?

When we walk by faith trusting in the Lord Jesus to lead and provide we will experience Him and we can honestly say with all of our heart I saw God do it!

Benediction

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Bible Studies From The Daily Office, is an outreach ministry designed to encourage the viewer to read one Old Testament or Epistle, a Psalm, and a Gospel selection everyday. Following each Gospel reading is a commentary designed to help the reader understand the traditional meaning of God’s Holy Word.

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