Taking Him At His Word

TEXT: JOHN 4:43-54 SERMON: “Taking Him at His Word”


In today's passage, John tells his first century readers that believing Jesus was the Messiah involved accepting Him as the:

I. Lamb of the Passover Feast vv 43-45

II. Wine of the Wedding Feast v 46

III. Healer of Infirmities v 47-54

The first thing John tells told his first century readers was that believing Jesus was the Messiah involved accepting Him as the Lamb of the Passover Feast (vv 43-45).

Explanation:

43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 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.

v 43 After the two days... v 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.

v 44 a prophet has no honor...

Matthew 13:54-58
54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Luke 4:23-30
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

v 45 the Galileans welcomed him... really a rejection (welcoming a Messiah who could amaze them, not save them)

v 45 They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival...

John 2:23
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.
-they were hoping he would perform miracles in Galilee like he had at the Passover

-disappointed to find he didn't intend to do so only to satisfy their curiosity

Jesus miracles at the Passover feast signified who he was, as John the Baptist said in John 1:29, "the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World", that he was the Lamb of the Passover Feast.

Some seeing the miracles believed that Jesus as the Passover Lamb was the Messiah.

- reasoning that he possessed powers indicating he had the favor of God

John 9:30-33
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not
from God, he could do nothing.”

However, as John 2:24 indicates Jesus didn't trust those whose faith was superficial and was based only on his performance of miracles.

John 2:24
24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.
Others seeing the miracles believed Jesus was an entertainer, a performer, a magician, an actor!

Illustration:

Siegfried & Roy Magic Trick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IDQUpxRwOc

Application:

I. Bread of our Communion Feast

We just finished celebrating our Passover, Easter.

And over Easter week we spent time remembering Jesus' journey to the cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World.

We remembered his washing his disciples' feet, his eating a Last Supper with them, his betrayal, his death by crucifixion, his burial, and the miracle of his resurrection.

Jesus sacrificed himself for our Sins, giving up His Body for us on the cross.

And in the Last Supper He initiated the sacrament of Holy Communion commemorating this by taking bread, giving thanks, breaking it, and giving it to his disciples saying, "This is my body given for you, do this in remembrance of me."

Jesus is the Lamb of the Passover Feast and He is the Bread of our Communion Feast.

Believing Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, involves accepting him as the Lamb of God.

It involves accepting him as the Bread of our Communion Feast.

When we "take and eat" are we believing Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ?

When we "take and eat" are we accepting Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World?

When we "take and eat" are we accepting Him as the Bread of our Communion Feast - accepting that his broken body on the cross frees us from our Sin?

And if so, what does this mean?

What does this mean for our lives if we are accepting Him as the Lamb, as the Bread, as the Broken Body on the Cross, as liberated from our Sins?

Does it mean we come to Him like the Galileans asking Him to amaze us?

Does it mean that we come to Jesus expecting him to perform miracles for our satisfaction?

Does it mean we come to Him like the those going to a Siegfried & Row Vegas Show?

Does it mean we come to Him like we would a performer?

The Apostle Paul in:

1 Corinthians 11:26-29
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning (recognizing) the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
Not judgment with a capital J, not eternal judgment, but the disciplinary judgment of sickness and death

Jesus told Nicodemus,

John 3:14-15
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Do we live discerning, recognizing that the Son of Man was lifted up and that by living our lives looking up to Him, looking up to the Cross, we find peace and assurance - not entertainment, not amazement, not performance, not something for our own satisfaction?

Does having "eternal life in Him" bring "peace and assurance" into our lives?

Is there anything else we really need?

Do we really believe the "Bread of Life" will meet all of our needs if we look to Him?

Or, do we believe the "Bread of Life", the Bread of our Communion Feast, can't or won't provide for all of our needs if we keep our eyes focused on Him?

Transition:

let's move on to another thing John told his first century readers about what was involved in believing Jesus was the Messiah.

John told his first century readers that believing Jesus was the Messiah involved accepting Him as the:

II. Wine of the Wedding Feast v 46


Explanation:

46a Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.

Backtrack a little...

Chapter 2: Cana in Galilee, a Wedding Feast, Turning Water into WIne

John 2:11
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Wine - “New Wine” – Gospel, Good News, New Testament, New Covenant
Joel 3:18
18 In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias.
Luke 22:20
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

1 Corinthians 11:25
25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Jesus is the best wine, served last

- fulfilling the Law of Moses

- John's seven great "I am's" -bread, light, gate, good shepherd, resurrection, the way, true vine

John 6:53

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

Revelation 1:5b-6

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

Jesus shed his blood for our Sin on the cross.

Hebrews 9:11-15

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Jesus first miracle was in Cana at a wedding feast.

It signified his glory and his disciples believed he was the Messiah.
The miracle of the wine also signified the blood of the new covenant.
Occurring where it did it also signified the Feast of the Lord, the Lord's Supper.

And, it signified the sacrament of Holy Communion the Lord handed down to us as recorded by Luke and Apostle Paul.

Illustration:


Healing - Applying the blood of Christ

Satan our enemy is terrorized by the blood of Christ or the representation of the blood of Christ. Even in the Old Testament, the angel of death avoided the houses where the blood of the Passover feast lamb was painted on the doorframes. Receiving the blood of Christ during communion is a no no to Satan. That is why many congregations use just the bread, which represents the body of Christ and omit the wine (or grape juice), which represents the blood of Christ. The Old Testament of the Bible mandated that the blood of the lamb be applied during the regular Jewish services. The lamb was the symbol of the Jewish Messiah, Christ. The slain lamb symbolized Jesus Christ's crucifixion, His taking onto His own body our diseases and sins and His making Satan impotent.

William M Branham points out in The Revelation of the 7 Seals that the blood of the Old Testament animal sacrifices only covered one's sins, for God refuses to look at sin. It did not wash away one's sins. One's sins did not get erased until the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. www.branham.org
As the blood of the lamb was applied to during Jewish services and to the doorposts of the Jewish homes, so now are we to apply the blood of the lamb when we take communion and when we pray. We are to apply His blood to every evil situation in our lives. When we pray we cover ourselves with the blood of Christ. This is not a literal doing, it is a spiritual doing, a spiritual warfare against a spiritual enemy. We cover our children with the blood of Christ. We cover our sins with the blood of Christ. We cover our emotions with the blood of Christ. We cover our feelings with the blood of Christ. We cover our minds with the blood of Christ. We cover or diseases with the blood of Christ. We do this out loud whenever possible. We do it 3x a day if necessary, for 3 months if necessary.

A door to healing is appropriating the Blood of Jesus. The old testament church applied the blood of a lamb to forgive sins and the blood of a lamb to prevent death. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the old testament requirements. The lamb of the old testament is a symbol of the Messiah, the Lamb of God. In communion we drink His blood and eat His body. When we speak aloud, "Blood of Jesus", both to ourselves and to Satan, we disarm the enemy and empower the angels to assist us. Whether we drink or apply the blood of the Messiah, we tap into His forgiveness, healing and protection…

Corrie Ten Boom in Tramp for the Lord has a chapter on Authority Over Demons. The movie The Hiding Place is her autobiography of her internment during the holocaust. She begins chapter 10 with Mark 16:17 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My name shall they cast out devils..." At that time the Communists did not allow people to speak about demons. However, God had told Corrie to use her authority in the Name of Jesus. Corrie was afraid of the authorities but nonetheless willing to obey Mark 16:17. She told the congregation that the servants (demons) of Satan were keeping them in bondage (wanting to receive Christ, but unable). Then she said aloud, "In the Name of Jesus I command all dark powers keeping people from the blessings of God to disappear. Go away! Get out of the hearts of these people. Get out of this church. Go to the place where God sends you." Guess what? The people were free at last to receive Christ into their hearts. Corrie went on to expound on missionaries who have given all but "not taken all the boundless resources of God's promises. Many do not know about 2 precious weapons: the power of the blood of Jesus - and every Christian's legal right to use the wonderful Name of Jesus to cast out demons."

Tommy Tenny www.godchasers.org warns us that each time the Lord intends to use or bless us, often the enemy will come in like a flood. The greater the blessing the Lord intends to give, the greater the oppression. An example of this is the 40 day fast Christ took after His baptism by John the Baptist. Luke 4:1-3 KJV Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (where He) was 40 days tempted of the devil. In those (40) days He ate nothing.

Patricia A McLaughlin in her book Rooted in Jesus: Healing Generational Defects www.queenship.org reminds us when receiving the wine (or grape juice) in communion to put not only our own sins under the the blood of Christ, but also the sins of our relatives and ancestors. This helps to eliminate generational curses that are the cause of so many inherited diseases.

We can even take communion daily in our homes or in a Catholic church. The Catholic priest is not going to walk up and ask us if we are Catholic, Jew or Protestant. It is God to whom we are accountable. However, it is imperative that we confess your sins silently to God in the pew prior to receiving, lest we get sick or die, according to scripture:…
1st Corinthians 11:23-30 (NIV)

It is vital to know/recognize that when God adopts us into His family, we are in the genealogy/blood line of Christ! This is significant. We can do ALL things through Christ Jesus, our blood relative. He now lives in our DNA, in our blood, in our spirit. His blood in us is what operates to do His work in our flesh, NOW. We can do His miracles, signs, and wonders. Actually, it is He Who can do through us His wonders. As in human conception, when sperm unites with egg, His Spirit unites with our spirit to become one spirit. Obviously, we need daily to grow up, mature, but God's side of the equation is 100%, as it was with Jesus. That is why God can always operate in/through our imperfect flesh, as we begin to recognize and obey the voice of Daddy God.

Scripture says there is life in the blood and that both the Old Testament/Torah Jews and the New Testament Jews and converts to Christ are NOT to eat/drink blood of the creatures they killed. Yet in the New Testament, we are commanded to drink His blood (represented by red wine or red juice) and to eat His flesh (represented by unleavened Passover bread/ manna/communion wafers). Thus we see that there is an invisible spiritual life in the blood of Jesus Christ, the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth and later slain/manifested on the cross. So when we plead the blood or cover ourselves with the blood of Christ, we are enlisting the invisible spiritual life that was in Him and that rose Him from the dead. We are taught that the human being is a mirror image of the invisible spirit man, not the other way around. The invisible spirit world is more real than the visible world. When we take daily communion [both species/bread+wine], we take a daily spiritual blood transfusion - downloaded directly from heaven. Thus He not we spiritually live and operate in these transient bodies. ANY miracle is of Him and by Him alone.

Remember, there is still slavery in the world today. Sometimes we can actually still purchase back/redeem these slaves with money. Likewise, this will help us to remember that Christ Himself purchased us from Satan, with His own blood, a huge cost to Him. We are so precious and valuable to Him. God sacrificed His Son for us. His Son sacrificed His life blood for us.
Thank You holy Trinity.

©2002-ThroughToday
ELouiseRiceM All rights reserved.
http://www.schizophrenia-info.info/healing_blood%20.htm


Application:

II. Wine of our Communion Feast

So what is John trying to tell us today?

What is he telling us about our belief in the Messiah, our belief in Jesus Christ?

What is he telling us today about accepting Christ as the Wine of the Wedding Feast?

As the one who not only turns water into wine, but whose blood became the wine of our Communion?

The disciples believed in Jesus as Messiah, as the Christ when they witnessed his glory in the miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding feast.

Later, they partook in his Last Supper where he initiated the sacrament of Holy Communion with them.

And, they witnessed the pouring out of his blood on the cross for the Sin of the world.

And through the Gospel Writers we witness this as well.

And we eat the bread.
And we drink the cup.

And the questions is are we really accepting it?

Are we really accepting the cup, the wine, his blood?

Is the cup, representing his shed blood on the cross making any difference in our lives?

Does the shed blood of Christ merely cover over our Sin like the blood of goats and calves and bulls did during OT days?

Are we only outwardly clean?

Or has our acceptance of the cup, the wine, his blood, cleansed our consciences?

Has our acceptance of the cup, his blood washed away and freed us from our Sin?

Has the cup, his blood healed us?

And, do we allow the power of the blood of Christ to protect us from evil?

Do we allow it to protect our minds, our bodies, our hearts, our souls?

Do we call on the blood of Christ to protect us from the oppressive effects Satan has on our being and our life?

Do we call on the blood of Christ when we pray?


Transition:

In this passage, John told his first century readers there was one more thing involved with believing Jesus was the Messiah.

John told his first century readers that believing Jesus was the Messiah involved accepting Him as the:

III. Healer of Infirmities v 47-54

Explanation:

46b And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.

47 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 was close to death.

“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 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.”
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.
54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

v 46b royal official - officer in Herod's service, possibly a Gentile

v 47 Capernaum - a distance from Cana
http://www.bible-history.com/maps/galilee_north_palestine.html

v 47 went to him... begged him to come and heal his son who was close to death

v 48 Jesus: "Unless you see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe."

- general attitude of Galileans, not the official

- questioning the motives of the official due to being rebuffed in Galilee (Nazareth) before

- desired a belief characterized by dedication rather than amazement

- his aim was to elicit a commitment rather than to just cure the sick son

v 49 come down before my child dies - father desperate!

v 50 Jesus: "Your son will live."

- words of power!

- words of healing, not forecasting a happy ending

- dismisses official with a statement that his son is alive

- creates a dilemma of faith: difficult choice of insisting on evidence (showing disbelief) or exercising faith without any tangible proof to encourage him

- he took Jesus at his word and departed

vv 51-52 while he was still on the way

- miraculous report (his boy is living)...

-man curious to know when he got better (yesterday at 1pm)

v 53 more than coincidence: therefore "believed"

- timing miraculous

- recovery more than circumstantial

THE PURPOSE OF JOHN'S GOSPEL

John 20-30-31
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these 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.

v 54 second miraculous sign - second in Galilee (vv 2:23 & 3:2 indicate other miracles)


Illustration:

SESSION 1 DARKNESS

Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Luke 18:42

I was driving fast down a stretch of an interstate highway I frequently drive in consulting to the prison system. I was concerned because my fuel gauge was on empty and I didn’t think I could make it to the next exit.

As I came to a big sweeping curve to the right, simultaneously my engine killed and my headlights went out for some reason. My initial reaction was one of fear—that my momentum would take me off the road and into the ditch since it was pitch black out and I couldn’t see the curve in the road at all.

However, I was amazed that my car lost none of its momentum and it stayed on course as it continued around the curve even though I couldn’t see a thing.

I woke up Anne to tell her my dream – especially my fear that the darkness may have something to do with being eternally separated from God.

The next morning through prayer and meditation I came to two understandings of the dream.

This is one of them.

My racing down the highway to the point of running on empty and eventually out of gas was the depression I was in due to my ongoing attempts to live on my own power and strength. The loss of my head lights was the loss of my reliance on sight as the basis for how I live.

My maintaining momentum represented that I could trust God to be my strength because He was the true source of my strength. It took getting to the point of exhaustion to see this.

My staying on the highway in total darkness represents that only by faith can I remain on the path that God has planned for me. If I continue trying to live based on sight, I will get off course and be out of God’s Will for my life.

The sweeping curve represents the difficulties and challenges that lie around the bend that I need to navigate by faith and through God’s strength, rather than by relying on my own abilities - which will fail me.


Application:

III. Savior of our Souls

What is John communicating to us this morning 2000 years after he wrote these words.

What does he want us to take away this morning from what he has written about this second miracle Jesus performed in Galilee?

Like Galilee, we are surrounded by a culture of doubt.

Like Galilee, we are surrounded by a culture that thrives on entertainment.

We pump ourselves up with entertainment.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1985) is a book by educator Neil Postman.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/Amusinghkn.jpg

In the introduction to his book Postman said that the contemporary world was better reflected by Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, whose public was oppressed by their addiction to amusement, than by Orwell's 1984, where they were oppressed by state control...

Drawing an analogy with the latter scenario, Postman sees television's entertainment value as a present-day "soma", by means of which the consumers' rights are exchanged for entertainment...

The essential premise of the book, which Postman extends to the rest of his argument(s), is that "form excludes the content," that is, a particular medium can only sustain a particular level of ideas. Thus Rational argument, integral to print typography, is militated against by the medium of television for the aforesaid reason. Owing to this shortcoming, politics and religion are diluted, and "news of the day" becomes a packaged commodity. Television de-emphasizes the quality of information in favor of satisfying the far-reaching needs of entertainment, by which information is encumbered and to which it is subordinate...

Drawing on the ideas of media scholar Marshall McLuhan — altering McLuhan's aphorism "the medium is the message", to "the medium is the metaphor" — he describes how oral, literate, and televisual cultures radically differ in the processing and prioritization of information; he argues that each medium is appropriate for a different kind of knowledge. The faculties requisite for rational inquiry are simply weakened by televised viewing. Accordingly, reading, a prime example cited by Postman, exacts intense intellectual involvement, at once interactive and dialectical; whereas television only requires passive involvement. Moreover, as television is programmed according to ratings, its content is determined by commercial feasibility, not critical acumen. Television in its present state, he says, does not satisfy the conditions for honest intellectual involvement and rational argument.

So in this multimedia culture that is becoming devoid of the printed word are we more like the Galileans or more like the Capernaum official?

Do we come to Jesus to be entertained, expecting him to amaze us?

Or do we come to him in desperation, begging him to help us?

Do we come to Jesus because we are fascinated by what he can do?

Or do we come to Jesus imploring him to come and heal us or someone we love?

Do we come to Jesus because he is he is a Superstar?

Or do we come to Jesus with a dedicated and committed heart?

And do we take Jesus at his word?

When he told the royal official, "Go, your son will live," he didn't question Jesus, he left.

Jesus tells us in John seven times who he is - the seven I am's.

Jesus tells us in John he has gone to prepare a place for us.

And in Romans (8:39), Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And in Hebrews (13:5), it tells us that God has said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."

Do we take Jesus at his word?

Do we believe he is the way, the truth and the life?

Do we believe that through Him nothing can separate us from the love of God?

Do we believe that he will never leave us or forsake us?

Like the royal official do we believe him when he tells us these things?

And can we move on with our lives no matter what our situation is, no matter what are circumstances are, no matter how little we can see of how he will fulfill what he says to us in these words?

For when he says these things to us it creates a crisis of faith for us and like the royal official we face the dilemma where we either choose to question Jesus' words or we choose to take him at his word, believe what he says and keep moving forward in life.

Transition:


In today's passage, John tells his first century readers that believing Jesus was the Messiah involved accepting Him as the:

I. Lamb of the Passover Feast vv 43-45

II. Wine of the Wedding Feast v 46

III. Healer of the Infirmities v 47-54


Conclusion:

In this passage, John tells us today that believing Jesus is the Messiah Involves accepting Him as the:

I. Bread of our Communion Feast

II. Wine of our Communion Feast

III. Savior of our Souls

The royal official took Jesus at his word and experienced the miraculous timing and non-coincidental healing of his son.

Belief in His Body and His Blood brings miraculous timing and healing into our lives.

Will we move forward and experience it?

Are we willing to move forward in our lives no matter how many curves lie ahead in the road Taking Him At His Word?

In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.