a bible and you can turn to John chapter 4 but you'll also find the words up on the screen.
We're going to read from verse 39 to the end of the chapter. Many of the Samaritans from that town
believed in Jesus because of the woman's testimony. He told me everything I've ever done.
So when the Samaritans came to him they urged him to stay with them and he stayed two days
and because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman we no longer believe
just because of what you said. Now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is
the saviour of the world. After the two days he left for Galilee. Now Jesus himself had pointed out that
a prophet has no honour in his own country. When he arrived in Galilee the Galileans welcomed him.
They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover festival for they also had been there.
Once more he visited Cana in Galilee where he had turned the water into wine and there was a certain
royal official whose son lay ill at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee
from Judea he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son who is close to death.
Unless you people see signs and wonders Jesus told him you will never believe. The royal official said
sir come down before my child dies. Go Jesus replied your son will live. The man took Jesus at his word
and departed. While he was still on the way his servants met him with the news that his boy was
living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better they said to him yesterday at one in the
afternoon the fever left him. Then the father realised that this was the exact time at which Jesus had
said to him your son will live. So he and his whole household believed. This was the second sign
Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee. So this is the third of seven signs that John
records. The healing of the royal official's son. Can we read the signs and respond in the right way
is a question that sometimes becomes really important. If like me you've ever been bewildered
by foreign road signs like the time I drove up a Belgian bike lane. Sorry about that Belgium.
Or if you try and decipher those Japanese washing care labels or if you're on a building site and there
are all kinds of safety guidelines. It's important that we can read the signs and respond in the right
way. And if that's important for everyday life it's certainly crucial when it comes to John's gospel.
John in chapter 20 in verse 31 he says these signs, so the seven signs that he has recorded, these signs
are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing
you may have life in his name you may have life in his name. So the signs of John are pointers to
the identity of Jesus. He wants to make it clear that Jesus isn't just a good man, good teacher, wise
or a healer or some political figure. Jesus is the Messiah, God's promised Saviour and that he is the Son of God.
And that he's come on a mission. He's come on a mission to bring life. Life for all who will believe in him,
who will trust in him. And as such it always calls for response.
Today's story is set against a backdrop. On the one hand there are groups of people who are believing
as Samaritans and then also the backdrop of rejection or failing to recognise the Saviour among the Jewish
people themselves. And against that backdrop there is this personal story. Here is a royal official
with a personal crisis, with a family crisis. Can we imagine how he would feel his son nearing death
with no help and no real hope? How will he in that setting, how will he read the signs about Jesus
and how will he respond? Right now it is clear that we are in a variety of global crises.
Maybe today as you listen in you find yourself in a state of fear. Perhaps uncertainty. Maybe high anxiety and stress.
Perhaps frustrated or angry. I was just plain sad.
In the middle of our crisis, how will we read the signs? How will we respond to the signs?
Will they lead us, will they draw us to Jesus to find healing and to find hope?
So let's begin to look at our story. The first thing we see as Jesus arrives in Galilee is a flawed welcome.
There is a problem in the way that he is welcomed. There's a change of location in verse 43.
After two days he left for Galilee and that change of location brings a change of attitude.
He's just been in Samaria, a place where many Jews wouldn't even go because the Samaritans were regarded as despised half-breeds.
They sort of mix and match religion. So they were hated or they were avoided.
And Jesus goes to a Samaritan town and he meets with and spends time talking with and brings salvation to an immoral woman.
And then following her testimony, a whole town comes to hear and to believe Jesus' words.
These Samaritans see his identity.
So in the woman's own words, as she leaves meeting with Jesus and goes back into her town, she says,
Come see a man who told me everything I've ever done. Could this be the Messiah?
And then the people in the town, we know that this man really is the saviour of the world.
Here in the story of this town, there is a discovery that God's love is like an ocean with no bottom, with no shore.
This mercy that extends to people who are regarded as nothing and nobody, people who are despised.
We see the heart of Jesus, which is moved by need and which moves towards those who are suffering and those who need to know God and his hope.
But now he's come to Galilee. Now he's come to his home territory.
And the emphasis is very much on not the words of Jesus, but what they had seen.
They welcome Jesus because of what they have seen.
They are looking for Jesus to do miracles.
That's where their interest seems to begin and end.
Not in his words, not in his identity.
They want miracles.
It's also important, and John really wants to flag this up for us,
that this is taking place, verse 46, in Cana in Galilee.
So Jesus' first sign in Cana, now his third sign in Cana,
they create bookends to this whole section from John chapter 2 to the end of John chapter 4,
with the temple clearing in the middle.
So what do these signs, as we put them together, what do they teach us about Jesus?
Jesus turned water into wine to keep a wedding celebration going,
to show that he brings joy, that he brings grace,
that he is the true bridegroom who ultimately is going to lay down his life,
whose blood will be the wine that creates for lasting eternal joy.
Then there's the temple clearing.
And Jesus identifies himself as the true temple.
He is the way to God, to meet with God.
He's the new centre of worship.
And now here in this third sign, we're going to see him,
in this healing brain, restoration and life.
So the Samaritans see and believe the words of Jesus,
that he is the Messiah, that he's the saviour that God had promised,
but that the Jews in that section are largely failing to see,
and some are beginning to be resistant to Jesus.
So there's responses.
And so straight away, the question then becomes, well, how are we responding?
And one thing that becomes clear in this passage is that a superficial welcome of Jesus is not enough.
The people in Galilee, they wanted Jesus for what he could give.
Maybe get some people healed, maybe do something wonderful.
Maybe today we find ourselves thinking,
if I had Jesus, he could maybe give me a bit of peace, which I need right now.
Or I could get my life back.
And so we pray for a while, or we have that sense of looking for Jesus, for what we can get.
In a way, sometimes we can treat Jesus like,
perhaps if there's a friend that we know who has skills or who has access,
sometimes we maybe use that person for what they can supply,
in which case we're not really being true friends at all.
John's gospel is saying to us, we need to receive Jesus for who he is,
to welcome him as the saviour that we need.
Nothing else will suffice.
So their welcome is flawed.
But into that, we see Jesus as a merciful saviour.
So we're back in Cana, and we're back in a family situation.
But this is a totally different family story.
So the first time he was in Cana, it was a family wedding celebration.
And Jesus keeps the feast going and provides true joy.
Well, here's a very different story.
Here's a dad who's desperately concerned for his second dying child.
But again, there's another sign that transforms a family.
As we'll see, he transforms a family, not just for now, but for eternity.
So we meet a royal official in verse 47,
who hears that Jesus has come back,
and he goes and he begs Jesus to come and heal his son.
Now, what's clear is the royal official is coming with desperation.
He's coming with desperate faith.
It's not clear how much he knows about Jesus.
The other Gospels make clear that miracles were part of Jesus' public life from the very beginning.
He was giving windows into God's kingdom,
that he's about restoration and about life and pushing back the forces of darkness.
Perhaps he has seen some of these miracles.
Perhaps he's heard the reports.
There's the news spread of this one who is doing miracles.
Could he be the Messiah?
But we don't know.
But what we do know is that however much he has heard about Jesus,
it leads him to act.
I wonder today, have you begun to see who Jesus truly is?
Have you begun to see that with his power and with his truth,
that he is the Son of God?
And have you begun to see why he came?
That he is responding to our need, to our lostness,
to the fact that spiritually we are dead because of our sin,
separated from the one relationship that matters above all,
our relationship with God.
And Jesus has come to be a saviour, to die on the cross,
to go there, to take the punishment for sin,
to give us forgiveness and eternal life.
Have you begun to see that?
Or do you recognise that?
And the question is, will you act on that?
We need to understand it's not how much we know that counts.
It's all about who we know.
It's not about how strong our faith is.
It's about who our faith is in.
So this royal official, he gives us an example to follow.
With however much he knows, he comes to Jesus in faith.
And we see in this, in his experience,
just how merciful Jesus is,
how willing to save and to restore Jesus is.
So on the one hand, he can point out the flaw
in the welcome he's received in Galilee.
So in verse 48,
unless you people see signs and wonders,
Jesus told him,
you will never believe.
Unlike the Samaritan who believe in the words of Jesus,
unless you see signs and wonders,
you will never believe.
But what happens next?
Jesus in mercy and compassion gives a sign
so that the man will believe.
So the royal official said again,
come down before my child dies.
Jesus says, go, your son will live.
And the man discovers the child was healed
at the very moment that Jesus uttered those words.
And so one group, the Samaritans,
they believe simply because of the words of Jesus.
This royal official, he needs extra assurance.
And Jesus in mercy,
Jesus with a gentle heart,
gives that assurance.
So we're getting an insight into the heart of Jesus
for sinners and sufferers
as we think about this sign.
We read at the beginning,
that invitation from Jesus,
come to me if you're weak,
come to me if you're burdened,
and I will give you rest.
There's no qualifications on that.
And he tells us why we can come with confidence
it's because he is gentle
and he is humble in heart.
In just a couple of chapters,
in John chapter 6 and verse 37,
Jesus will say,
whoever comes to me,
I will never drive away.
I will certainly welcome
whoever comes to me with faith,
whoever recognises me as saviour,
whoever reaches out,
cries out,
I will come
and I will never send them away.
Do you see
the welcoming heart of Jesus?
Do you hear him
inviting you
to come to him?
To invite him in
to your life,
into your circumstances,
to give you hope,
to give you peace,
to give you a future.
In chapters 2 to 4,
we get a wonderful picture
of the mercy of Jesus.
Who are the people that
respond with faith?
Who are those that Jesus moves towards?
Those facing shame.
The bridegroom of the wedding
who'd failed to provide for his guests.
Facing that public shame,
Jesus steps in.
Those who are facing the injustice
of being denied a place to worship,
Jesus steps in
and clears the temple.
Those whose lives are empty
and who are despised
because of their
moral behaviour,
the women of Samaria.
And now,
this man who is desperate
and in a personal crisis,
all of them
a weak
Jesus
compassion.
Sometimes
I'm not sure
that we understand
or that we can ever understand
just how
deep
the Saviour's love is,
just how
merciful
he is,
that his posture
towards us
is not
finger wagging,
but arms wide open
to welcome
and receive us.
And now that he's in heaven,
now that he's enthroned
in glory,
his heart hasn't changed.
He still
sends that heart
of mercy
to you
to give you hope
today.
And then we see
in response
to Jesus' sign,
a family
who believes.
There's evidence
of faith
in the man.
In verse 50,
John says,
the man
took Jesus
at his word.
There's faith.
Jesus says,
your son
will live.
The man
believes,
takes Jesus
at his word.
When Jesus
says,
whoever
believes in me
will not perish,
but have
eternal life,
we can take
him
at his word.
Whoever
comes to me,
I'll never
drive away.
We can take
him at his word.
I am the way
and the truth
and the life.
No one comes
to their father
except through me.
We can take
him at his word
that if we come
to him,
then we will
come to know
our father
in heaven.
Now,
Jesus
performs this sign,
a powerful
miracle,
healing the boy
at a distance,
backing up
his identity
as saviour
of the world.
The official
has exercised
faith
and his
seeing the sign
led to
believing.
When he's told
the boy was healed
at one in the afternoon,
the father realised
this was the exact
time that Jesus
said your son
will live.
So he
and his whole
household
believed.
that boy
was saved
twice over.
He was healed
physically
but he was also
healed spiritually.
Now he too
is trusting in
Jesus as saviour.
Now he too
has the hope
of eternal
life.
Just a little
reminder for us
if you're listening
in and you're
a Christian
to be praying
for your
family
and to be
praying for
families,
praying for
families in our
church.
that salvation
would come
to whole
households.
Pray for
mums and
dads as
they look
to teach
the Bible
and to
pray for
and with
their children.
Look to
bring them
up in
faith
in challenging
circumstances.
I sometimes
think of
Jonathan Edwards,
a theologian
from a past
century.
He used
to,
I think
daily,
pray for
six future
generations,
praying that
each of
them would
know the
Lord and
would serve
Jesus.
Important to
pray for
families and
households.
But this
royal official,
a wonderful
story,
through his
tears,
through his
pain and
anxiety,
he is able
to read the
signs about
Jesus.
He came to
Jesus in
faith and
he believed.
God,
we are
always being
called to
respond today
to the
Saviour.
The Bible
is very
clear.
There are
only two
ways that
Jesus relates
to us.
Either he
will relate
to us as
our judge
if we
refuse him,
if we
don't allow
him to
deal with
our sin and
to forgive
us, then we
will pay the
penalty.
Jesus will
be the
judge or
Jesus will
relate to
us as a
friend, as
a Saviour,
as our
elder brother,
as the
one who
loves his
church and
who gave
himself for
the church
so that he
might have
the joy of
spending eternity
with his
bride.
His call
has come
to him,
to believe
that he
is for
you and
to respond.
We see
just how
merciful and
how loving
Jesus'
heart is
towards us
most clearly
at the
cross.
Here's the
story of a
son who was
close to death
but there at
the cross
Jesus didn't
just go close
to death,
Jesus tasted
death,
Jesus died
and he
didn't die
for anything
that he
had done
wrong,
he died
in our
place for
our sins.
He didn't
have to do
that in
love,
he chose
to do
that.
Just as
the father
chose it
to send,
the son he
loves to
be our
Saviour,
so Jesus
in love
comes and
he tastes
death and
there God's
just anger
against our
sin falls
not on us
but it's
funnelled
onto him
so that
we might
know love,
we might
know forgiveness,
we might
have joy
in the
family of
God.
That just
as this
family in
our story,
they had
joy as
they welcomed
Jesus into
their life.
So we
can have
joy knowing
his mercy
that runs
deeper than
our circumstances
that is there
for us in
our suffering,
in our sin,
in our sorrow.
When we
think about
signs,
the cross
itself stands
as a blazing
neon sign
showing us
the dazzling
glory of
God's
merciful love
extended to
us in
the coming
of Jesus.
Will you
come to
him for
mercy and
rest today?
God's
love
to
say,
let's
pray once
again
together.
Let's
pray.
Lord God,
we thank
you for
your son
Jesus,
for his
mercy,
and we
thank you
that he
remains
compassionate
while he
sits in
the glory
of heaven,
ruling and
reigning over
all things,
interceding,
praying for
his people,
the church,
and calling
others to
come to
him.
Lord,
we pray
today that
just as we
see in
our story
Jesus'
compassion
for the
sick,
Lord,
we pray
that you
would show
mercy to
those who
are sick
and suffering.
It's some
that we
know in
our families
and in
our friendship
groups and
in our
communities.
Lord,
we pray for
healing and
restoration.
We thank
you for
doctors and
nurses and
care workers.
We ask that
you would
sustain each
one of
them.
Lord,
we thank
you for
your mercy
in the
virus seeming
to be under
a greater
level of
control and
we pray
that that
would continue
in our
own country.
But we
also remember
parts of
the Americas
and parts
of South
Asia where
there is
still a
huge battle
going on,
many lives
being lost,
much trauma,
happening.
And Lord,
we pray
that you
would show
mercy.
Lord,
we pray
for national
recovery as
we turn our
attention to
the future.
We pray for
financial recovery.
We think of
thousands of
people who
have been
made jobless
in the last
week.
Lord,
we ask for
provision.
We pray
for compassion.
We pray for
good solutions
for business
leaders,
for governments,
for employers.
Lord,
we pray for
social recovery.
Having spent
so much time
on our own,
we thank you
for greater
opportunities to
see family and
friends.
We pray that
as a nation
we'd continue
to do that
safely to
avoid any
spiking.
But Lord,
we recognise
maybe in a
more profound
way than ever
before how
important it
is to be
physically
present with
the people
that we
love and
care about.
And so we
pray that you
would bless
us as we
move towards
greater relationship.
Lord,
we pray for a
recovery of
emotional health
because of the
isolation,
because of the
fear,
because of
trauma and
grief that's
been experienced.
Lord,
may you show
great mercy
to us.
May you provide
true and
lasting healing.
recovery.
Lord,
may you provide
spiritual recovery
that in the
middle of this
crisis there
would be a
turning to
yourself,
recognising
that you
and you
alone ultimately
bring lasting
hope,
lasting healing,
and you bring
true life.
Lord,
we pray for the
global church
today.
We thank you
for parts of
the world that
are able to
open up for
worship,
albeit in very
different
circumstances.
We pray that
that would
encourage our
brothers and
sisters in
Christ.
We pray that
they would have
a sense of
joy in being
together.
We pray too
that there would
be joy of
knowing new
people joining
the church.
Thank you for
all those stories
of people in
this time being
led to online
church, being
led to read the
Bible and to
pray, and for
those who have
put their faith
in Jesus.
We pray to see
lasting spiritual
change through
this time.
And we pray in
Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now, let's sing
again.
We're going to
sing from Psalm
146.
We're going to
sing the first
six verses, and
then we'll sing
the hymn Across
the Land.
Praise the
Lord, my soul,
O praise Him.
I'll extol Him
all my days.
While I live to God,
my Savior, from my heart
I will sing praise.
Do not put your trust
in princes, mortal men
who cannot save.
All their plans will come
to nothing when they perish
in the grave.
Blessed is the one who truly
looks for help to Jacob's God.
Blessed is the one who places
all his hope upon the Lord.
He who made the earth and heaven
and the seas with all their store.
He who keeps his every promise,
who is faithful evermore.
You're the word of God, the Father,
from before the world began.
Every star and every planet
has been fashioned by your hand.
All creation holds together
by the power of your voice.
Let the skies declare your glory.
Let the land and sea rejoice.
You're the author of creation.
You're the Lord of every man.
And your cry of love rings out
across the land.
Yet you left the gaze of angels,
came to seek and save the lost,
and exchanged the joy of heaven
for the anguish of a cross.
With a prayer you fed the hungry,
with a word you come to see.
Yet how silently you suffered
that the guilty may go free.
You're the author of creation.
You're the Lord of every man.
And your cry of love rings out
across the land.
With a shout you rose victorious,
wresting victory from the grave.
And ascended into heaven,
leading captives in your way.
Now you stand before the Father,
interceding for your own.
From each tribe and tongue and nation,
you are leading sinners home.
You're the author of creation.
And your cry of love rings out
across the land.
You're the author of creation.
You're the Lord of every man.
And your cry of love rings out
across the land.
And now let's pray.
Lord God, just as that Samaritan village
said they no longer had to believe
simply because of the words of this lady,
she testified to who she'd met,
that they had come to know for themselves
Jesus as the saviour of the world.
We pray that that would be our own personal experience,
that we would know Jesus as the saviour of the world.
We also pray that you'd help us
to share the message of Jesus with others
so that many around us might have that joy
of knowing Jesus as saviour for themselves.
So we pray that you'd go with us into this new week.
We ask that you'd give us strength
for all the tasks and challenges
and opportunities that lie ahead.
May we be conscious that your mercy
is there for us each step of the way.
Amen.
Now, just to remind you,
if you belong to our church,
especially Digital Tea and Coffee,
as always, is on at 12.
We have Monday prayer at 8.
And the community groups are meeting
to study John's Gospel together.
So hopefully we'll see some of you there
and look forward to sharing with you again soon.
Okay, take care and God bless.
Thank you.