The reasoning of the world says, “seeing
is believing”. This is the mindset that
we will hear Jesus speak against in this week’s passage from John 4: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will
not believe” (John 4: 48). So instead of “seeing is believing”, The teaching of Jesus is that in spiritual things the
order is reversed and that believing is seeing, for it is only as you believe
in Jesus that you see spiritual things happening.
This is the case when a desperate father
comes seeking a miracle from Jesus for his terminally ill son. Jesus demonstrates compassion and grace
choosing to heal the boy, but not in the way the man requested, and not without
challenging the attitude of the people that were seeking signs, but not the One
the signs pointed to.
How often are we like the people John
writes about, watching for signs and wonders, but not looking to Jesus for who
he is and not listening for his word to us.
In contrast to the others around him,
this desperate father demonstrates the kind of faith that takes Jesus at his
word without seeing what Jesus will do.
This is saving faith. Contrary to
the people in John 4, this is the kind of faith the Samaritans had who “ believed because of his word. They said to
the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we
have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the
world.” (John 4:41-42)
Miracles were a natural part of Jesus’
ministry and led people to faith (10:38). But Jesus is more than what He had
the ability to do, and he expects more from us. “ He looks for men and women not only to
believe in his ability to work a miracle, but especially to believe in him. Merely
witnessing or experiencing a miracle does not mean that one has experienced a
gift from God; rather, it is faith itself that permits someone to participate
in the miracle he grants; it is faith that turns these miracles into “divine
signs.” (Burge, Gary Burge, John (NIV Application Commentary, 117)
Often as we begin our worship services we
pray welcoming Jesus among us. We must
be careful. The people we see in this
week’s passage “welcomed him” when Jesus came, but only because of what they
had seen him do. What do you come to
worship expecting? Do you come with a
“to-do” list for Jesus, or do you come to hear a word from him and give him the
worship he deserves?
Gary Burge writes: “The root problem is our fallen
capacity to receive and accept things from God. We will accept gifts that
benefit us directly, that heal us or profit us; but a divine revelation, a
divine sign, discloses who we are and who God really is. Divine signs, like
light, are painful since they disclose everything hidden in the dark (3:19). I
often recall the astounding story of Jesus in Luke 16:19– 31, the rich man and
Lazarus. When the tormented rich man asks that his brothers be warned about the
doom awaiting them, the conversation between hell and heaven ends with a
comment by Abraham: Even if a person on earth is given every sign, even if
someone were to come back from the dead, they would not believe. The human capacity to seek after God and to
identify him and worship him is entirely broken. It was as true in Galilee as it is today.”
This week we will celebrate
communion. As you prepare for worship
ask God to reveal to you where you have sought Jesus for what he can do for you
instead of for who he is. Ask God to
give you a heart to hear His word, and the faith to believe it even before you
see how God might work through it.
I look forward to seeing you Sunday.
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