March 24, 2020
Signs and Wonders Amid Whines and Blunders
John 4:43–54
Katie Gaultney
Central Truth
Why are we surprised when God answers prayer with "yes"? Respond to His grace and kindness with confidence in God's mighty power, gratitude for what He has done, and belief that impacts others.
Key Verse | John 4:48-50, 53b
So Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. . . . And he himself believed, and all his household.
John 4:43–54
43 After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
Jesus Heals an Official's Son
46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you 1 4:48 The Greek for you is plural; twice in this verse see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants 2 4:51 Or bondservants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour 3 4:52 That is, at 1 p.m. the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
Dive Deeper | John 4:43–54
Married for less than a year, I had finally done the unthinkable: lost my wedding ring. Of course, any bride cherishes her ring, but this bauble didn't come out of the display case of a jewelry store. It was an heirloom in my husband's family, nearly a century old. And somehow, it wasn't on my finger.
I zipped frantically around town, retracing my steps. Time after time, I came up, quite literally, empty-handed. I returned home, dejected. Finally, a crazy thought occurred to me: pray!
Moments after I desperately asked the Lord to help me find my ring, I spotted it on the floor. My instant reaction was joy, followed by shock that God did exactly what I prayed. But why should I be surprised? Am I regarding prayer as a "sign and wonder" (John 4:48), a parlor trick that elicits "oohs" and "aahs" when it works out? Or am I submitting myself to the One whose ways are higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9), regardless of the outcome?
We don't get what we want just because we've prayed. God's kindness and grace still abound even in the "nos" and "waits." But Jesus' encounter with the official in Galilee reminds me of how I ought to respond when God says "yes."
The official asked Jesus to heal his deathly ill son. Jesus took him to task, saying, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." (John 4:48)
Nevertheless, the official pleaded with Jesus, and Jesus spoke a miracle into that little boy's life. "Go; your son will live." (John 4:50) It was a gift of grace. And the official responds, in turn, by believing, and his household followed.
When God answers with "yes," my first response shouldn't be surprise, but "of course." I knew I was praying to the Maker of heaven and earth, in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). Gratitude and adoration should quickly follow. And finally, like the official, I should move forward in the knowledge of the kindness I have been shown and impact others with my belief.
Discussion Questions
1. God is not a genie or a gumball machine. In fact, prayer is a lot less about the outcome and a lot more about allowing the Holy Spirit to align our hearts with God's will. Ask yourself a tough question: Are you approaching prayer with a spirit of humility, trusting that God's best for you may not be what you had envisioned? Or do you hold a sense of entitlement when it comes to prayer, believing God owes you something, or that you deserve whatever it is you're asking for?
2. Let's look at John 4:48. "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." In the original text, it wasn't a "you" singular; it was a "y'all," as we Texans say. Whether He was addressing a crowd of rubberneckers, or referring to the privileged class, to which the official likely belonged, Jesus reminded them to believe and acknowledge God's power without needing a miracle to demonstrate it. In what ways might you be measuring God's power against what He can do for you in your day-to-day life?
3. Many of us ask for signs and wonders, forgetting that God's greatest miracles are around and within us. Through the act of creation, God took nothing and made everything. He sent His Son to earth to live and die as a man, laying on Him the punishment for our sin and then raising Him from the dead to rule forever alongside the Father. And when we accept His free gift of salvation, God takes our heart of stone and exchanges it for a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Will you take a moment to meditate on the miracles God has done in your life and thank Him for them?