John Chapter 4, Part 2,
JESUS Demonstrates How to
Prioritize Life.
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| https://ministry-to-children.com/do-not-worry-sermon/ |
Today’s
Blog finishes the discussion of John Chapter 4. Part 1 was the story of Jesus
revealing Himself to the woman at the well and that whole town. If you haven’t
read that you can go to https://his-heart-beats.blogspot.com/2020/02/john-chapter-4-part-1-lure-of-miracles.html
You can also read all blogs in the Series on What Makes Jesus Tick @
Today
we’ll see how Jesus responded to the leader asking prayer for his son in Cana,
demonstrating His priorities. May your desire to tick like Jesus does, to be
more like Him, grow more and more.
The disciples had left Jesus at the
well and went to the store to buy some lunch for themselves and Jesus. Jesus
seizes the moments of their return to present an object lesson. The natural
reaction for any of us would have been to say, “Thanks guys, I’m starved, lets
chow down” but instead He replies to their urging Him to eat with a new
perspective.
John 4:31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus,
“Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you
know nothing about.”
I think some emotion is lost in the
translation of their response,
John 4: 33 “Did someone
bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.
In today’s vernacular perhaps they
were saying, “What is He talking about? We’ve eaten with Him often, what going
on?” Jesus responds showing that obedience to the Father’s will is a higher
priority than eating or “chowing down”. The satisfaction He felt from seeing
people recognize Him as Savior is far greater than the finest dinning anywhere.
I am not advocating abstinence from food, just prioritizing that as secondary
to being about the Father’s Business.
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| https://whereverwhosoever.blogspot.com/p/ street-witnessing.html |
John 4:34
Then Jesus explained: “My
nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing
his work.
Wow, think about how having such a
passion for obedience to the Father’s will affects our lives. The old amazing
book referred to in the preface, (“In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?” by Charles
Monroe Sheldon) details what changes as the Christians determine not to do
anything without first asking, “What would Jesus do?” What a different world we
would be living in if the church lived this way.
By prioritizing the Father’s business
over His normal human physical hunger, the whole town developed a far more
important hunger. Jesus put off the rest of his journey for a couple of days in
order to address that deeper hunger of the soul that was stirring among these
people.
John 4:39
And many of the Samaritans of that
city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told
me all that I ever did.”
40 So
when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He
stayed there two days.
41 And
many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then
they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we
ourselves have heard Him and we know
that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
On to Galilee were Jesus Responds to the Plea of Faith
John 4:43
Now after the two days He
departed from there and went to Galilee.
45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans
received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for
they also had gone to the feast.
The hearts of the Galileans were
expectant of miracles. He was in Cana where he had turned water to wine. The Galileans
had also been in Jerusalem and saw Jesus do miracles during the Passover
holiday. Now He is back.
John 4:46 As he traveled through Galilee, he came to
Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official
in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick.
47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea
to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who
was about to die.
There is no reference as to whether
this official was a Roman or Jewish. Either way the Lord’s response was a very
interesting response to the man’s faith.
John 4:48 Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me
unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”
Knowing our loving savior, we
understand that He was not being antagonistic. He wanted the people to have
real faith, not based on what He does but Who He is.
The man obviously passed the test in
that he had sufficient faith to receive the miracle requested.
John 4:51
While the man was on his way,
some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well.
52 He
asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday
afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!”
53 Then the father realized that that was the
very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus.
The question is why did Jesus ask the
question in verse 46? Was He after something more than checking the official’s
level of faith for a miracle? I suspect a bit of frustration. Jesus is so much
more than a “Faith Healer.” He wants people to know Him as the Lover of their
soul. It’s a “who” He is, not just “what” He does.
What
a wonderful outcome of this brief encounter: the boy healed from something life
threatening and the whole family saved. This official probably had servants who
would have been included as part of the household. Again we see the Lure of
Miracles as discussed in Part One.
For so many people the acceptance of
Him as Lord and Savior is a response to a what He did in some miraculous,
tangible way; then we begin to relate to the Who He is. The other side of this
would be the multitudes that responded to Billy Graham’s simple message of the
Who and Love of Jesus demonstrated at the Cross, then His resurrection. God
wants all mankind to relate to Him, God
our Father, Christ our brother, Holy Spirit our ever present and closest
friend.
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| https://ministry-to-children.com/do-not-worry-sermon/ |
PRAYER: Oh God, we
can get so selfish, so caught up in our own plans from day to day that we lose
sight of the bigger picture of living for and becoming like you. Lord, we’ve
given our hearts to You so we have no right to take them back. We seek pleasure
in the wrong places. You are our most important treasure.
Luke 12:34
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Colossians 3:1
If then you were raised with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the
right hand of God.
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