March 10 -- John 4:43-54
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” –John 4:48 (NASB)

John 2:23-24 says that people at the Passover Festival in Jerusalem “believed in [Jesus’] name” because they “saw the signs He was performing,” yet “Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all people.” So, it seems that belief founded only upon witnessing miracles is not the kind of belief Jesus is after.
John shows what kind of belief Jesus desires for us in the very next chapter, John 3:1-21, when he relates Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. In John 3:2, Nicodemus says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him” (emphasis added). Jesus responds, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3, emphasis added). In other words, belief based on seeing miracles is not enough—it may be intellectual belief, but it is not a belief that involves the heart.
We often speak of “giving our hearts to Jesus,” and this means that, by faith, we believe in His name, and this faith makes us willing to surrender our hearts and lives to Him so that God can remake us, conforming us to His image (see Romans 8:29). (We are spiritually “born again.”) Seeing miracles might convince someone that “God is with Jesus,” even that He is the Messiah, but seeing miracles does not necessarily change a heart. And John 2:25 tells us that Jesus knows what is in each heart.
With this background information, we can better understand Jesus’ response to the royal official in today’s reading. The official came from Capernaum to beg Jesus to come and heal his son (v. 47). So, when Jesus responds, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe” (v. 48), His words seem harsh until we realize: (1) Jesus had just come from an encounter with a Samaritan woman who believed in Him without seeing a miracle; (2) the people of Cana (a town four miles northeast of His hometown of Nazareth) only welcomed Him because of the miracles they saw Him perform at the Passover Festival in Jerusalem (v. 45); and (3) Jesus knew the hearts of the people of Cana, who just wanted to see more miracles, not open their hearts to Him. He also knew that “a prophet has no honor in his own country” (v. 44). So, Jesus was frustrated by the emotional and spiritual climate of Cana when the royal official came to make his request.
Even though Jesus was frustrated by the people’s refusal to believe without signs and wonders, He still offered grace to the royal official and his son. The official asked Jesus a second time to come to Capernaum, but Jesus replied, “Go…your son will live” (v. 50). Thus, Jesus healed the man’s son from a distance without providing an opportunity for the crowds seeking miracles to follow and watch.
To his credit, the official “took Jesus at His word” and went back to Capernaum. On his way home, servants met him to tell him that his son had been healed at the very time Jesus had pronounced that the boy would live! The official believed even though he did not see the miracle. We can only hope that his belief was more than intellectual—that it went all the way to his heart so that he might be born again.
Consider: How often do I seek a sign to strengthen my faith? Is my belief purely intellectual or have I surrendered my heart and life to Jesus? Am I willing to “take Jesus at His word,” especially during times when I’m filled with doubt or fear?
Talk to God about your fears and doubts today. Ask Him to help you “take Him at His word,” believing the promises He makes to you in Scripture and trusting Him with your heart and life.
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