The 6th Sunday after Epiphany

SERMON - Jesus Alone Can Fulfill Our Needs!

INI

Text: John 4:46-53

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.

In Christ Jesus, who sheds such glorious light in the midst of this world’s great darkness, dear fellow redeemed:

“You have made us for Yourself and restless are our hearts until they come to rest in You!” Those words were penned by Augustine approximately sixteen hundred years ago. They reflect a fundamental need of all human beings for a relationship with God. You will not know true peace, until you come to know and develop a relationship with the one, true God! Augustine himself spent his first thirty-two years of life running away from just such a relationship. But he was then led by the Spirit through the preaching of Ambrose to surrender to God, to find his fulfillment in God, and with faithfulness to serve God for the rest of his life.

In Wednesday evening Bible Class we are discussing a book entitled, More Than A Carpenter, written by Josh McDowell, a man who prior to his conversion had an unquenchable thirst for happiness and meaning. He tried to find both through his university education, then through the pursuit of influence and prestige, and finally simply through indulging in all sorts of pleasures, but happiness and meaning eluded him. It was not until he was led to believe in Christ that all of the pieces came together and he found what he was so eagerly seeking.

My dear friends, is your heart restless? Are you searching for true meaning and genuine happiness in life? You are not going to find them in higher education, or in a successful stock portfolio, or in the accumulation of worldly influence and power, or in pursuing all those things the world considers fun. The Holy Spirit moved the apostle John to record the incident found within our text in order to impress upon each of our hearts that JESUS ALONE CAN FULFILL OUR NEEDS! Let us only recognize who He is, and let us only believe what He says!

I.

The incident in our text occurred fairly early in Jesus’ ministry. After being baptized He had returned briefly to Galilee, at which time He had performed His first miracle—the changing of water into wine at a wedding in Cana. He then left for Jerusalem to attend a religious festival. While in Jerusalem, He performed a number of miraculous signs, before returning to Galilee through the region of Samaria. The nobleman mentioned in our text is unnamed. His title, however, and place of residence, Capernaum, suggests that he was a court-officer—a governmental official probably tied to Herod Antipas—one of the regional governors serving under Rome. The evangelist Luke mentions a certain Joanna, the wife of Chuza—the steward of Herod, who along with other pious women later provided for the needs of Jesus and His disciples (cf. Luke 8:3). Because our text indicates that this official and his entire family came to believe in Jesus, many Bible scholars suggest this nobleman was indeed Chuza—a suggestion we will follow this morning.

We are told that Chuza, upon hearing that Jesus had returned from Jerusalem to Galilee, traveled the sixteen miles from Capernaum to Cana in search of Him. Chuza’s son was sick. In fact, he was dying. I am sure that as all good parents, Chuza and Joanna had attempted every conceivable remedy, no doubt calling in the local doctors and pharmacists of the day. But no one and nothing had been able to help. Chuza needed to find Jesus, because in his mind Jesus was the only one left who could meet his need—the healing of his son.

It is apparent from the final comment of our text regarding the fact that after the miracle Chuza and his family came to believe in Jesus, that he did not fully understand who Jesus was as he approached Him. The Jewish religious writings of the day, known as the Talmud, were filled with examples of sick people being healed by celebrated rabbis. Chuza had no doubt heard the stories of the miracles Jesus had only recently performed in Jerusalem. He came to Jesus—not believing Him to be the Messiah, or the Son of God, but no doubt simply viewing Him as an up-and-coming young rabbi, who possessed powers of healing and was therefore his son’s last best hope.

When Chuza found Jesus, he appealed to Him fervently to “come down and heal” his son. Jesus, seeking not merely to heal men’s bodies but to heal their souls, reprimanded Chuza and the rest of the people standing around Him: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” Jesus had no interest in being viewed as merely a miracle-worker—a physician of men’s bodies. He had come to rescue mankind from something much more dangerous than physical disease. He wanted Chuza to know that! He wanted Chuza to realize that what He had to offer was much greater than what He could provide with a single request. He wanted Chuza to know who He really was, for in knowing Him as the Messiah Chuza and his family would receive far greater blessings than the mere preservation of the physical life of a son. They would enter into a living relationship with the true God. They would receive the forgiveness of their sins, their adoption into God’s family, and the promised gift of everlasting life!

My dear friends, you and I know the true identity of Jesus. Oh, yes, the world around us wants only to believe that Jesus is a man—a good man to be sure, a religious man, but a man who lived in the past and who, therefore, has no claim upon any of us in the present. This is not true! We know Jesus to be the promised Christ. We know Him to be the Son of the living God. We know that He is at God’s right hand—we confessed that only a few minutes ago! Yet, how often do we not treat Jesus just like Chuza—like a physician on call? How often do we not live our lives in our own way, on our own terms, without much thought with regard to the will and desires of our Savior—until we need Him? Then we treat Him like a first-responder. Our child is involved in an accident, a call comes from our doctor that the diagnosis reveals cancer, we go to work only to find a pink slip in our company mailbox—then we cry out to Jesus, expecting Him to come and fix things for us. We want Him to perform a miracle for us—right now preferably, and we fail to see that the greatest miracle is that Jesus chose to be our Savior and seeks to live within our hearts. Jesus is a much greater Friend to us than one who occasionally stops by to bless us. No, the Book of Revelation presents Jesus as standing there at the doors of our hearts, knocking and seeking entrance (cf. 3:20). He wants us to open that door and welcome Him, so that He might enter our hearts and dwell there showering us with daily blessings! It is in just such a relationship that we will find true happiness and genuine meaning in life. It is through just such a relationship that Jesus will bring us His greatest blessings and, thereby, fulfill our greatest needs. Yes, JESUS ALONE CAN FULFILL OUR NEEDS! Let us recognize who He is!

II.

Let us believe what He says! Chuza heard Jesus’ admonition, but motivated by a father’s love, he could not but persist with his urgent request: ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus, our compassionate Savior, desiring to instruct as well as to help told Chuza: “Go your way; your son lives.” While we are not privy to everything that went through Chuza’s mind at that moment, we know this—he heard the instruction and implied promise of Jesus, which led him to believe, and we are told “he went his way.” He left Cana and headed back towards Capernaum. Chuza’s faith in the promise of Jesus was consequently rewarded, for we are told that as he was traveling home, his servants came to meet him. They reported that his son was better. When Chuza asked when his son began to improve, they stated: “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” That was the same hour that Jesus had told him to return home for his son would survive. How the tears of joy must have flowed down Chuza’s face! What wonder must have gone through his mind, as he raced home—not just to embrace his son, but to inform his wife, Joanna, and the rest of the members of his household about Jesus! No longer did Chuza view Jesus as a mere Rabbi. No, He had clearly revealed Himself as much more! Chuza, Joanna, and everyone living in their home came to know Jesus as the promised Messiah—the Son of God and the Savior of the world! From that time forward Jesus was no longer viewed as simply a source of occasional help, but rather the source of help for every occasion! He was for them the living water (cf. John 4:10), the bread of life (cf. John 6:35), their good shepherd (cf. John 10:11), the vine to which they as branches were attached (cf. John 15:5). Their lives and futures were inseparably attached to and dependent upon the One, whom many others simply considered a rabbi from Nazareth, but whom they knew could and would fulfill their every need!

My dear friends, JESUS ALONE CAN FULFILL OUR NEEDS! Let us only believe what He says! Let us believe what He says about His Word. In our New Testament lesson we heard Jesus say that if we abide in His Word, we will know the truth, and that truth will set us free (cf. John 8:31-32). Let us believe what He says about Himself—that He, His Father, and the Holy Spirit are one God—the only God—the God who saves! Let us believe what He says about us—that by nature we are lost in our sins and would be justly condemned for all of eternity, but that by His grace we have been found and by faith in His saving name will enjoy the bliss of heaven throughout all of eternity! Let us believe what He says about our salvation as wrought by His own redemptive work! That work is finished (cf. John 19:30). We are complete in Him (cf. Colossians 2:10). We need never fear, for He will finish that good work which He has begun within our hearts (cf. Philippians 1:6). He alone will always love us. He alone has the power always to protect us. He alone is always in a position to hear and help us! We cannot say that about any of our family members or friends, no matter how well intentioned they may be!

May we, then, as Chuza share the good news of Jesus with our family and friends, our neighbors and co-workers, for God sent Jesus to save us, and not only us, but the whole world! JESUS ALONE CAN FULFILL OUR NEEDS and those of all others! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting
To God alone be the glory!