Read: John 4:46-54
THEME: The Gospel record gives us so many examples of how people engaged with Jesus that it would be hard to find a human challenge that did not in some way meet Him face-to face.
Some encounters with Jesus were very brief. The one we look at today took no more than a moment as Jesus continued on His way, and yet it contained a request, a challenge, a plea and an assurance that proved life transforming.
The man who came with the request was a nobleman from Cana who had a sick son and wanted Jesus to come to his home to heal him. Jesus appeared dismissive, almost accusing the man of being an unbelieving miracle-hunter. But the man stood his ground and urged Jesus to come.
Jesus, though, is not limited by time and place. The son’s healing was effected without Jesus having to move and the man was sent on his way with Jesus telling him ‘your son lives’. The apparent dismissiveness of Jesus provoked faith. The nobleman was looking for a miracle and he received one that he would never forget, but the impact Jesus made in that one moment would have gone far deeper.
John chose this encounter as the second of the seven signs around which he built his gospel. It shows that Jesus was not constrained by distance and did not need a public performance in order to meet a need.
It is a privilege to live our lives relating to Jesus, but we must never lose sight of the transforming power of a moment.