John 4:43-54
Problems and Solutions
\\#43\\ reveals Jesus leaving the Samaritan village of Sychar and
moving toward Galilee. We know that we do not have all of the move-
ments Jesus made but John gives the idea that Jesus left Jerusalem,
went up to Aenon where John was baptizing and then, with deliberation,
turned into the Samaritan land and stayed with the Samaritan people
for two days.
Let’s pick up our study there.
I. Jesus’ Problems-Did you ever think that Jesus had problems?
That certainly is not a very common thought. He is God in the
flesh. What kind of problems could Jesus have? All of Jesus’
problem came from the same source-US. We caused Him problems
and this text alludes to several of them.
A. \\#44\\ The people did not honor or respect Him.
1. Jesus was leaving Samaria (Gentile land) and going into
Galilee (Jewish land) and as He does so, Jesus makes this
statement.
a. "A prophet receives no honor among his own people."
b. Could that be translated, "I will receive no honor in
Israel"?
2. It is for certain, Israel did not honor Jesus.
a. Jesus may have uttered this statement more than once.
(1) It is recorded in all four of the gospels.
(2) Matthew recorded it being spoken when Jesus was
in Nazareth, the city where Jesus was raised.
(3) I only know of two times Jesus went there as an
adult.
(a) \\#Matt 14:53-58\\ the people asked, "Is
this not the carpenter’s son?" and the text
says "He did not many might works there
because of their unbelief."
(b) \\#Luke 4:16-30\\ The people tried to throw
Him over a cliff.
b. It is possible that Jesus was in Nazareth when John
records the statement since that would be a city on
the way to Galilee.
(1) If Jesus was traveling through Samaria to
Galilee, Nazareth would have been a logical
city to stop in.
(2) \\#46\\ tells us that Jesus stopped at Cana of
Galilee, a city just north of Nazareth.
c. However, it is also possible that as He left Samaria,
Jesus was just acknowledging a sad truth about His
people and their respect (or lack of it) to Him.
B. \\#48\\ The people only wanted signs and wonders, miracles.
1. \\#46\\ Jesus was at Cana by then. This was a Jewish city
so we would suppose He was speaking of the Jews when He
said these words.
2. Their main desire was not to have the Messiah but to have
what the Messiah could give them.
a. I fear we are guilty of that.
b. How do we present salvation?
(1) Most of the time, we present it as the way to get
out of hell, to get out from under sin, to go to
heaven when you die.
(2) Does it even dawn on us to tell them salvation is
the way you can know God?
(a) Salvation gives you a relationship with God.
(b) Salvation allows the Holy Spirit to move
into your heart.
C. \\#48\\ The people would not believe.
D. What would be the remedy for Jesus’ problems?
1. One solution would have fixed them all.
2. Just eradicate wicked man from off the face of the earth.
3. God can; God has; and God will.
4. The only thing keeping Him from it is His love for you;
but don’t be more bother than what you are worth!
II. The Nobleman’s Problems
A. \\#47\\ His son was nearly dead from sickness.
1. No doubt he had tried more conventional methods before
coming to Jesus but they had failed.
2. One hates to think that people only come to Jesus as a
last resort but it has been pretty much that way for all
of us and it was probably true of this nobleman too.
B. The nobleman’s job might have caused him some problems.
1. I can see where coming to Jesus might have been difficult
for this nobleman.
a. A nobleman is one who is of the household of royalty.
b. He may not necessarily have been born to it.
c. He could married into it, been promoted to it, or even
purchased it during this time.
d. Regardless, as a nobleman, to come to Jesus, he had
to turn away from some things which were obviously
at his disposal.
(1) As part of royalty, he had to turn his back on
the ways of the MONARCH.
(a) I am thinking this is a Roman nobleman as I
do not see any Jewish man being referred to
in this feudalistic manner.
(b) This meant he had a Roman king and Roman
gods.
(c) Jesus had the title by some of being the
King of Jews.
(d) To go to one who had such a claim would not
be taken lightly by the monarch.
(2) As part of royalty, he had to turn his back on
MEDICINE. Medicine was in its infancy during
this time but that did not keep its
practitioners from thinking they knew more than
they did.
2. Yet, this father came.
a. What father would not?
b. What father would not recognize that his son was more
important than any position he held or work he did?
c. What parent would not understand that God gave him his
children and they are his to protect and to provide
for, to love and to nourish, to care and to guide?
d. Sadly, there are seem to be a lot of fathers in this
generation that don’t know that.
3. What was the father’s solution to this problem?
a. He went to find Jesus!
b. He had heard of Jesus, now He needed Jesus.
c. Forget the work. Forget the position. Forget what
the king thought. Forget what the king might do.
C. \\#46\\ The nobleman had to find Jesus.
1. Jesus was in Cana and the nobleman was from Capernaum.
a. Capernaum was where Jesus’ headquarters were but
time wise, we don’t know when Jesus was there last.
b. He had been in Jerusalem, a crowded city; then in
Aenon, a nothing place where John baptized; then
Jesus started a trek across Samaria.
c. As far as we know, Jesus left no itinerary.
d. There were no newspapers to keep people up on where
Jesus was.
e. There was no communication so that you could call and
find out where Jesus was.
2. How could the father fix this problem?
a. \\#47\\ All he could do was wait until he heard where
Jesus was and then go see if the rumor was true and
Jesus was still there and hope that his son lived
until he found Him.
b. That’s not a very good way to do it.
c. There is no telling how long this father searched for
Jesus before he found Him.
d. Even so, this father had a better change of finding
Jesus in his problem than some do today in theirs.
3. Friend, we need to stay close to Jesus! When you need
Him, you don’t want to have to find Him.
a. Seek Him early.
Pr 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that
seek me early shall find me.
b. Once you have found Him, never let Him go.
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide
in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you.
D. \\#48\\ Jesus did not do what the nobleman expected.
1. This man, with a dying son hanging himself out on a limb,
was rebuked by Jesus.
a. This is a class action rebuke (not directed straight
at him but he was hit anyway.)
b. Have you ever noticed how many times God did what no
one would have expected.
(1) Jesus as born to a carpenter, a manual laborer.
(2) The angels appeared to shepherds in the fields
not princes in the palace.
(3) Jesus’ first miracle-water into wine? That
still confuses people today!
(4) Jesus did miracles and then told people not to
tell anyone.
(5) About how He treated the Syrophenician woman?
(6) Or when Jesus healed the blind man’s eyes and it
took two touches?
c. We need to remember that He is God.
(1) You and I should know WHAT He is going to do.
(a) He is going to judge sin.
(b) He is going to rebuke the sinner.
(c) He is going to reward the righteous.
(d) He is going to bring glory to Himself.
(2) But we are seldom going to know HOW He will do
it.
Is 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts.
2. How did the man respond? How will he deal with this
problem? Did he quit?
(a) \\#49\\ The man did not quit!
(b) Was he embarrassed? I suppose.
(c) Was he aggravated? Maybe.
(d) Was he surprised, shocked, disappointed? Perhaps.
(e) But he kept on asking!
3. Is it ever God’s will for us to quit asking for something
we need? Not unless He tells us that it is wrong to ask
for it.
E. \\#50\\ Jesus sent the nobleman home without Him.
1. The nobleman came with the intent of bringing Jesus back
with Him, but Jesus did not go.
2. At that moment, the father had some decisions to make.
(a) He could try to force Jesus to go.
(1) I do not think that thought ever entered into
his mind.
(2) Based on the what his response was, I do not
believe that nobleman came to Jesus because he
believed Jesus was a Healer who was good but
because he believed He was God who was a
Healer.
(3) I only mention that choice because there are
some so deluded as to the true identity of
Jesus, that they might think they could somehow
force Jesus to do something He did not want to
do.
(4) That would never happen!
i. You will not force Jesus to let you into
heaven.
ii. You will not force Jesus to give you a 2nd
change.
iii. You will not force Jesus to let you take the
blame for the family you misled.
iv. You will not force Jesus to hear you out.
(b) He could get mad and go home.
(1) That is what Naaman in the Old Testament did,
until a Hebrew slave girl challenged him to
reconsider.
(2) Too many have a way they expect God to work and
to be and if God does not do exactly what they
expect, they are going to lament God’s doesn’t
exist or just doesn’t care.
(3) Question-Just how does that fix your problem?
(4) This father was wise enough to see that if Jesus
was who He claimed to be, He could do what He
said He would do.
(c) He could believe that Jesus would do what He said He
would do.
(1) That is called faith and everyone who comes to
God must come believing without understanding
it all.
(2) Notice what John said of the nobleman.
50 …And the man believed the word that Jesus
had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
(3) He did not just go away. He believed and then
went away.
(4) This was a great leap of faith for this man.
i. As far as we know, this is the first time
that Jesus healed a person without being
present.
ii. \\#Luke 7:1-10\\ There would be a centurion,
also from Capernaum, who would voluntarily
offer for Jesus NOT to come to heal his
servant but to speak the word only.
iii. Maybe these two men were friends!
iv. But this man did not volunteer. He was
volunteered; yet, he believed.
v. He believed even though it was his son’s
life at stake.
vi. In fact, he had such faith in Jesus, that
it appears he took a leisurely stroll back
home.
aa. Capernaum is around 16 miles from Cana.
bb. \\#52\\ says it was about the 7th hour
that Jesus spoke these words (1 PM).
cc. But the father did not arrive back home
until the NEXT day, "Yesterday."
dd. I think this nobleman could have and
would have traveled faster if he still
had concerns, but he did not!
I don’t know what kind of problems you have but I will tell you that
Jesus is the Answer. He is not one of your answers. He is not your
best Answer. Jesus is your only Answer. Turn to Him.
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