The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home.

John 4:43-54 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And after the two days, He departed from there for Galilee. ⁴⁴ For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵ So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, only because they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

⁴⁶ Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” ⁴⁹ The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. ⁵¹ And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. ⁵² So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³ So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household. ⁵⁴ This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.

Today’s text says: He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking 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 simply will not believe.” The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus says: “I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.”   It is vital that we believe Jesus will do for us what He said He would do. Believing is more than what we do in our minds, our hearts or even in our spirits. It says: The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home.  The man acted on his belief. Despite the fact that he had no evidence to believe in, he went home. We need to walk in faith, believing even when there is no evidence to see. Hebrews 11:1 says: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says: We walk by faith, not by sight.

It is important that we see that Jesus also said: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”  In John 20:29, after the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to Thomas and the other disciples, He said: “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”  For those who believe, it should not be necessary that we see signs and wonders. Our faith should be evident even in what is unseen. God does want us to be healed and whole. The truth is, when Jesus was on the cross in John 19:30 He said: “It is finished!” All that is promised to us and for us is already fully accomplished in the eternal heavenly realm. When we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us: Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, we are asking to see the evidence of the realities of heaven manifested on earth.

Mark 16:14-20 says: Later He appeared to the eleven disciples themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reprimanded them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen from the dead. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, may I truly walk by faith. May I not seek after the signs, but rather as I share the gospel may the signs follow me. May my faith be the evidence to those who need to see to believe. May Your word, “It is finished,” be confirmed and may Your kingdom come and Your will be done, in and through my life. Amen.