Musings From the Gospel of John – Number 6
by Bruce Cooper
John 4:44 NASB
“For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.”
John takes the time to let us know that Jesus personally confirmed that a prophet has no honour in his own country. Does that mean what it sounds like Jesus is saying? To paraphrase could be “a prophet of God is not recognized as such in the country or place that he originates from”. And why is that? Familiarity with the individual who is claiming to be a prophet of God could definitely be part of the problem or reality. To have no honour would infer that the prophet is not respected as being a prophet. When you honour someone it generally means that you hold them up in high esteem. We see the reality of Jesus being questioned as being a legitimate prophet happening in other parts of the Gospels (Matthew 13:55, John 6:42 and Mark 6:3-5) where people point out that Jesus is the son of Joseph and who His mother is and the names of His brothers etc.
It’s interesting to note that in Mark 6:3-5 it states the following: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. Note that it states “and they took offense at him”. Can you hear them saying “Who does He think He is!” Yes, Jesus dealt with that ridicule too. And the ridicule that we may endure is nothing compared to the ridicule that Jesus endured in silence, because Jesus who came in the flesh to walk on this earth, created all things that were made, and that would include this very earth.
John 1:3 NASB
“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Also note that it says, “could do no miracle there”.
Does that mean that God, in the person of Jesus, is limited by our lack of faith, in what He can do? Could God not over ride our lack of faith and perform what we would call a miracle anyway? I’m pretty sure He can and could. What I think this shows us is that Jesus and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, deliberately chose not to perform any miracles in this instance and other instances where there was demonstrated lack of faith, to show us the importance of, and necessity for, our belief, trust and faith in God, and how our faith plays into what God can and accordingly will do. God never does something just because He can, there always appears to be an objective lesson or reason behind everything that God does. And when it comes to faith or trust in God, the following scripture verse immediately comes to mind:
Hebrews 11:6 NASB. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
And then in John 4:46-54, we have Jesus healing a nobleman’s son. Jesus is back in Cana of Galilee. And we have a certain “Royal Official” who is probably someone who was in the service of the king. Herod Antipas was technically the “tetrarch” of Galilee, but he was referred to as a king. This “Royal Official” hears that Jesus is in Cana, of Galilee and he leaves his home in Capernaum, to find Jesus and ask Him to heal his sick son, who is at the point of dying. Bear in mind that as of this point in time, the only miracle that Jesus has performed is the changing of the water to wine at the wedding in Cana. This “Royal Official” must have heard of what Jesus had done and was persuaded enough to leave his sick son and find Jesus to ask Him to intercede and heal him. That decision in itself shows faith or belief in Jesus.
In verse 4:48 Jesus uses this opportunity to illustrate the connection between the people needing to see “signs and wonders” in order to believe. This observation that Jesus makes is really important. Jesus is NOT giving them a commendation about having found the right way in which to gain faith or belief in God. This is acknowledgement of God via the miraculous (what God can do) versus who God is and what He says. It’s interesting to note that when Jesus was in Samaria, they believed in Jesus, BECAUSE OF HIS WORDS (John 4:41). The demand or requirement for “signs and wonders” within the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement within our own times should take note of how Jesus did NOT see this requirement or need for “signs and wonders” as a positive path towards faith in God.
But Jesus does heed the request of the “Royal Official” and tells him to go home because his son now lives and the “Royal Official” believes the word that Jesus has spoken. Plus we have the additional confirmation that when Jesus spoke the words, at that same time, the fever left his son and he survived. Then note that this “Royal Official” and his entire household believed.
The final verse of John 4 tells us that this healing that Jesus performed was the second sign or miracle that Jesus performed after He had come from Judea to Galilee.
More Musing rom the Gospel of John to follow.
Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!
When Bruce Cooper became a Christian he had a thousand questions. One objective for his blog is to provide answers to many of the questions that he originally had. His “Christian Resources” and “Defending Your Faith 101” pages provide many facets of Christian Apologetics. Bruce is an ordinary Christian layperson and his blog is the result of his conviction. Teaching Christians to know why they believe, and what they believe has helped him build on his conviction. Bruce served 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. He has worked as an Information Technology (IT) Network Administrator, and a Certified Google Apps Deployment Specialist. He retired at the age of 70 and now works part time with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. Bruce, A.K.A. Papa, and his wife Peggy live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their five children are grown and have gifted them with 7 wonderful grandchildren.
Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!
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