Superstition or Faith? John 4:46-54
Signs: How Do We Know? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
What is the difference between superstition and faith? When I was a youth pastor, I had former Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Hammond speak for us. I asked him about the common disconnect I hear professional athletes say versus how many of them seem to live. In a post-game interview, it’s very common to hear a professional athlete give credit to Jesus for what they’ve been able to do, but it also seems just as common to hear a news story the next week where they’ve fathered children all over the country or beaten their girlfriend. So, I asked him if this was just a perception of professional athletes or if it was a reality.
He told me that there were certainly genuine believers among professional athletes who were committed to following Jesus, but he said it was more common for them to think of Jesus more as a superstition. They thought that if they didn’t pray a certain way at a certain time that they would strikeout. If they did strikeout, they’d change the way that they prayed or the time that they prayed. They thought that if they didn’t give credit to God for a good performance that they’d be likely to have a poor performance last time. So, their relationship to Jesus is similar to their lucky underwear or their pregame routine, not a personal, life-changing relationship with the Son of God.
God’s Word
God’s Word
So, what’s the difference? What’s the difference between saving faith and superstition? (headline) What’s the difference between talking to the ceiling and talking to the Almighty? Well, I think that’s exactly the question that John intends to answer in this morning’s passage. Remember that Ryan told you last week that John tells us the main point of his book in John 20:30-31. These signs are given “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” So, John has written his book that you may believe, and in this second sign, he’s showing us what real belief, not superstition, looks like.
Faith isn’t on your “terms.”
Faith isn’t on your “terms.”
John 4:46–49 “So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.””
Superstition is an attempt to get what you want because of what you did. It’s jumping through the right hoops and doing the right rituals to get the result you desire. It’s giving to your church because you want to receive more. It’s praying before your meal because you want to be healthy. It’s going to worship because you fear something bad will happen if you don’t. It’s being sure to say “Lord willing” before any plan that you have because believe it’s a formula for protection. Superstition is doing the right rituals the right ways to get the right results.
In fact, most religion can be classified as superstition. Buddhism gives you the right steps to take toward enlightenment. Islam gives tells you how often to pray and where to aim your prayers and what to say in your prayers. Catholicism gives you hail Mary’s. And, this is what John is teaching against with this story.
We don’t “make” the “stipulations.”
We meet this royal official on the worst day of his life. His son has a fever, and the man realizes that he’s about to die. You’ll notice that this takes place in Cana in Galilee. It’s the site of Jesus’ earlier miracle of turning water into wine. And, likely being an official in Herod’s court, this man would’ve been privy to the info of what happened. Whether he believed it or not in the beginning, now he’s doing what any loving father would do. He’s at the end of his rope and willing to try anything. So, he comes to Jesus and “asked him to come down and heal his son.”
And, Jesus doesn’t respond the way we might expect. He doesn’t say, “Show me your son.” He says, “You’re filled with superstition.” Jesus issues a rebuke in response to the official that goes even beyond the official. The “you” here is plural. It’s “y’all.” He’s talking to all of Galilee. He’s just been with the Samaritans where many believed in him, but in Galilee they want signs and miracles. You see, the official didn’t ask, “Jesus, heal my son.” He asked him to “come down and heal his son.” The official couldn’t conceive of Jesus being able to help in way that was different than the way he envisioned. Just like Galilee couldn’t envision a Messiah that looked different than they expected him to look.
The word “unless” that Jesus uses indicates the presence of a stipulation. Jesus is saying, “Unless I come to you on your terms in the way you expect, you don’t believe in me.” But, stipulations to prayers reveal an unbelieving heart. They’re the product of a superstition, not faith.
We don’t “set” the “schedule.”
We’re dealing with a desperate man here. It was a 20 mile journey from Capernaum to Cana. It took him at least two days to get to Jesus. He had to leave behind his near death son, risking the possibility of missing his final moments on earth. He was desperate, and when Jesus responds with his rebuke, the man’s desperation only increases. “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Desperation seems to be giving way to frustration, doesn’t it? He wants help, not a theology lesson. He’s on a timeline. He needs this to happen “before” his son dies.
You see, the thing about superstitions is that their meant to work on your timeline. The Hail Mary is always there when I need it. The lucky shirt can be pulled out on the morning I need to win the tournament. But, Jesus is always more concerned with your heart than He is with your schedule. He is always as concerned with what’s happening IN you as much as He is with what’s happening TO you.
So, you’re mistaken if you believe that following Jesus will never leave you frustrated. Jesus most often works in a way that is completely different than you expect on a schedule that is much longer than you expect so that you can see what you need to see and learn what you need to learn to become who you need to become. You see, whenever we aren’t married by the age we expected or have three children stairstepped in the way we expected or when our prodigal child doesn’t return as quickly as we expected or the promotion at work doesn’t come as soon as expected, we tend to think: “If only I would’ve done this or that, if I had made this decision and not that one, then my life would be on schedule.” But, this is supersition, not faith. This is you thinking you could’ve done a different set of rituals in a different way to get your ideal result.
Jesus is willing to let you become frustrated in order to cultivate faith and kill superstition. And, faith is trusting his provision over your plans.
Faith is the willingness to have your ways frustrated because you trust that Jesus’s ways are better. Are you willing to trust Jesus when you’re desperation is met with frustration? Or, do you insist that God answer your request in your way on your schedule? Well, one of those is saving faith, and the other is hopeless superstition.
John also wants you to see that…
Faith isn’t “blind.”
Faith isn’t “blind.”
John 4:50 “Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.”
(show picture of me within Rhino) (At least, i’m the fastest in my group) We had the opportunity to go on a safari while we were in Africa. And, I’ve been fortunate to on a number of these over the years, but this year, we had a new experience. We’re in this open air vehicle flying through these dirt roads, and we come upon a white rhino. And, our guide throws it in park and jumps out. He motions for all of us to get out, and without even thinking, we all jump out and begin follow after this guy as he approaches this rhino. All of your spidey senses are telling you that this may not be the right call. But, every, single one of us follow this man so close to a full-grown rhino that you could reach out and touch it. So, we’re all thinking that rhinos have just gotten bad press, and we asked him when we got back, “Are rhinos not dangerous?” He said, “Oh no, they’re very dangerous. If it’s a black rhino, we’re dead. If it’s a mother rhino, we’re dead. If it’s a territorial male rhino, we’re dead.” But, this was the perfect example of the only one you can walk up to. Y’all, never have a put so much faith in a man! But, it was a blind faith, wasn’t it?
In fact, I would say that it was more superstition than faith. None of us had met the guide. None of us knew if he knew what he was doing. All of us just assumed that if we walked quietly the way that he said to walk and walked single-file behind him the way he instructed us to walk, that we could approach a 2000 pound behemoth with a horn for a nose. But, this isn’t the proposition of Christianity. The purpose of John putting these signs in his book is so that you can have a true, substantiated faith. He’s inviting us to:
“Know” a “proven” Savior.
The official didn’t choose to approach Jesus at random. He chose to approach him because Jesus was proven. Remember there are numerous miracles performed by Jesus, and John is choosing seven very intentionally to make his point. He’s not just telling you to believe. He’s building a case for why you should believe. John has no interest in you following Jesus blindly. You don’t have to. Jesus holds up to scrutiny.
So, it’s no accident that the second sign John highlights, the very one where he’s teaching the nature of faith, happens in the same location as the first. He’s wanting you to see that people are coming to Jesus because He’s credible. He’s proven. He’s shown already that He can defy the laws of nature and that He cares about people. And, that’s what prompts this desperate dad to come to him.
John is inviting us to know a proven Savior so that we will…
“Trust” a “credible” word.
So, Jesus says simply, “Go, your son will live.” There’s no fanfare. There’s no parade. He’s not trying to build a brand or attempting to politicize the healing of the boy for good optics. He just simply tells the man something that the man has no way of verifying apart from his trust in the credibility of Jesus. “Go, your son will live.” And, here’s what’s amazing. For this official, that’s enough. He doesn’t stay there and beg Jesus to come to his house. He doesn’t go looking for another healer who would come. He doesn’t even ask, “Are you sure?” He trusts what Jesus says because he knows how credible Jesus is.
That’s faith. It’s not blind. It’s built on reputation, experience, and witnesses. It’s based on a man who said who would be raised from the dead and was. It’s a history of witnesses that have endured by his word and verified his authenticity. It’s trusting the credibility of his word in your life even before you see the impact or the results or the hope. But, it’s not blind. It’s credible. It’s historical. It’s been witnessed. It’s been testified.
Jesus said it, and that was enough for this man. Would this have been enough for you? Would Jesus saying it alone have convinced you that everything was okay? Well, does it? He’s said you have nothing to worry about. Is that enough? He’s said you’ll have your daily bread. Is that enough? He’s said you’re forgiven? Do you really believe that? He’s said He’ll never leave you. Do you trust that He’s with you right now? He’s said that He’ll always keep you and sustain you. Is that enough?
You see, John isn’t asking you to place blind faith into some random person or thing to ensure that you’re okay. And, Christianity isn’t either. That’s superstition. The invitation is to trust a Savior that is credible and proven. He really lived, and He really changed the world. His love was proven for you because He went to the cross, and He died. And, his credibility was authenticated when He raised from the dead. So, yes, you’re being asked to trust him without seeing him, but you’re not being asked to trust him without knowing him. He is credible, and that means that his words and promises are too.
No, faith isn’t on your terms and faith isn’t blind. That’s superstition.
Faith is a “process.”
Faith is a “process.”
John 4:51–54 “As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.”
So, think of how this official must’ve felt as he started the 20 mile walk back home to his son. Hopeful, but nervous. Excited, but unsure. Faithful, but doubting. You can imagine the chaos of the internal dialogue that was going on. Then, he sees them. He sees his servants running and waving hysterically. You can imagine that he’s stunned for a second and it takes a second for him to process what’s happening. And, he realizes that everyone is smiling and joyful. The fever has broken. The boy is recovering. And, it just so happens that the boy’s fever broke at the exact same time that Jesus told him that his son would live. And, he knew. And, he believed. Remember that’s John’s goal.
Think of the progression that we’ve seen in this official through our passage. In verse 47, he has just enough faith to go to Jesus. In verse 49, he has just enough to plead with Jesus for help. In verse 50, he believes enough to go home and check on his son. But, in verse 53, John summarizes by saying, “And he himself believed, and all his household.”
Now, let me ask you: at which point was this man converted? At which point did he become a Christian? Was it when he went to Jesus, or was it when I pleaded with Jesus for help, or was it when he left Jesus expectantly, or was it after He witnessed the deliverance of his son and believed? In fact, when exactly were Jesus’ disciples saved? Ever thought about that? Was it when they left everything to follow Jesus? Well, they still thought he was a political figure. Was it when Peter declared that Jesus was the Christ in Mathew 16, and Jesus said that “on this rock, I will build my church?” Well, Peter would go on to deny Jesus and disbelieve that he would be resurrected. Was it after the resurrection when the disciples marveled at Jesus’ appearance? Maybe.
Faith is forged over “time.”
Either way, what we can say is that the formation of faith was a process. You see, Jesus’ seemingly harsh rebuke of the man (and Galilee), and Jesus’ unwillingness to go to the man’s house was really Jesus drawing out the man’s faith and forging it over time. It’s the same for us.
You know, a blacksmith forms iron into something useful with high heat and precision strikes. For a long time it doesn’t seem like anything is happening at all. It just looks like a pointless piece of bent metal being beaten by an angry man. And, honestly, that’s how some people understand God in light of their suffering and frustration. But, with enough heat and enough strikes in the right places by the right person, that piece of iron can be formed into something strong, useful, and enduring.
That’s how men and women are shaped. You know, this story really isn’t about a boy that was healed so much as it as about a man who was healed. This man was delivered from a life of miserable superstition into a joyful faith. But, he reminds us that…
Faith is forged through “pain.”
The healing of a man isn’t quick and isn’t easy. Faith doesn’t come easily to us. Think of the feelings that came with the forging of faith. He’s going through the worst moment of his life. His son is dying, and he obviously loves him very much. So, how does this forging of faith feel to him in the moment? It feels like by heated up and struck. He feels powerless to help his son. He feels desperation and then frustration. Faith is forged through pain. It’s forged through suffering and disappointment, powerlessness and despair.
But, when your confidence is in a credible Savior, your desperation becomes the context for your exhilaration. The day of death becomes the starting place for resurrection. Just like it was for this man and his son. And, over time, what happens is that you develop more and more experiences — through the same feelings of powerlessness, desperation, and despair — that only end up increasing your confidence in your Savior.
Of course, we want the exhilaration without the desperation. That’s human nature. But, I know that my favorite stories, the ones that exhilarate my faith, all come from my hardest times. I love to tell the stories of my house burning down because I can look back and see how God used it to lead me to pastoring this church. I love to tell the story of nearly dying in Africa because God used it to form me into a better man. I love to tell the story of nearly resigning my pastorate six years ago because it shows that everything that’s happened has been God’s kindness.
True faith doesn’t come cheap. But, true faith leads to true praise. And, true praise is priceless.
