What we believe is very critical. People of all religions have a statement of faith or belief.
- Hindu pilgrims believe the sacred Ganges River can wash away a lifetime of sins.
- Muslims have five pillars of Islam. The fifth pillar of their faith is a pilgrimage to Mecca. Every adult Muslim must make at least one pilgrimage to the holy city in their adult lifetime.
- Christianity is fundamentally the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He came and died for the sins of the world.
When the woman at the well went to Sychar and told them about Jesus, many of the people believed. When the Samaritans of that city came out to Jesus they became believers.
John 4:40–41 NIV84 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
In Christianity, the word believer is a common term that designates those who came to know and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. In Acts 5:14, the number of believers increased. Paul told the Romans, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes.”
John 4:42 NIV84 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
These are important words, the Samaritans believed because they heard what Jesus said. As a result of what Jesus said, they believed that He was the Savior of the world. No record is given about His message to the them. Whatever He spoke to them during those two days convinced them of the fact of Who Jesus is. Notice that their faith or belief brought about a certainty of knowledge of Who Jesus is.
1 John 4:14 NKJV And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
Consider the words: “We have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” Throughout John’s Gospel, belief in Jesus and His words has “the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes,” (Romans 1:16). What they heard and witnessed was sufficient to persuade them to put their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Romans 10:17 NKJV So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
As a result of what Jesus said, the whole city trusted and believed that He is the Savior of the world. Jesus’ words were so impactful that the Samaritans came to Him. This is significant for the Samaritans and for anyone who will hear the words of Christ. Jesus’ words were so impactful that when they heard and believed, a life change took place in them.
What is this belief?
Belief is the firm trust that something is true. Belief and faith are the strong conviction and trust in Christ as Savior and Lord. It is not merely the acknowledgement of some fact or event, but faith, trust and reliance. This faith or belief is total trust in Jesus.
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Notice what the people of Sychar did. They heard Jesus’ words and believed He was the Christ, and confessed that He was the Savior of the world. Their commitment turned them from the traditions of their past to Christ as Savior. When the Samaritans believed in Jesus, they were convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God and Savior of the world. Their faith stood on the value of the words that Christ spoke.
After the two days of tremendous ministry in Samaria, Christ led His disciples back to Galilee. On His way back, Jesus pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
John 4:45 NKJV 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 last time He was in Jerusalem, He was at the Feast of Passover.
- At that time, Jesus cleansed the Temple and drove out the money changers.
- At the end of John 2, the text tells us that while He was at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name, (John 2:23). We are not told what those miraculous signs were. Throughout His ministry, Christ did many miraculous signs. Faith cannot stand in miracles alone, it must be established on the truths of the word of God.
- It seems apparent that Nicodemus must have been in Jerusalem when the signs were performed. When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he said, “No one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him,” (John 3:2). Nicodemus had a degree of belief when he saw the signs that Jesus did at the feast. In the latter part of their conversation, Jesus told Nicodemus the words from John 3:16-18.
John 3:15-18 NIV84 That everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Anyone who receives Jesus and believes on His name is given the power to become children of God, (John 1:12).
John 4:45 NIV84 When He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
The Galileans who were at the feast welcomed or received Him because they had seen the thing He did. This paragraph gives a hint toward a significant problem that the Galileans had. Although they received Him because they saw the things He did, yet some in His own country did not honor Him.
The people in Galilee welcomed Him because they had seen His miracles. Many people came out to see the Lord’s miracles. Later, Jesus told the people, “you seek Me, because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” Their enthusiasm for the Miracle Worker did not indicate they had faith in Him. Although He ministered often in their Synagogues and did many miracles, everyone did not believe. The people were amazed and astounded at His knowledge, wisdom, and miracles, yet they were offended at Him.
John 4:46–47 NKJV So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
Jesus performed great miracles in Galilee. He demonstrated miraculous power at the wedding feast by turning water into wine.
This nobleman was desperate for answers because his son was sick unto death in Capernaum. This royal official came from Capernaum in Judea to Galilee looking for Jesus. When he found the Lord, he begged Jesus to come down and heal his son.
Notice the man believed that Jesus could do this. His son had been sick with a fever and was now at the point of death. His son’s desperate condition did not hinder his belief that Jesus could heal him. Failure to resolve his son’s problem drove him from Capernaum to the village of Cana, 20 to 25 miles away. He was hoping that the Healer would save his son from death. Listen to Jesus’ response to the man’s request.
John 4:48 NKJV Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
Everyone wants to see a miracle, but signs and wonders are not enough to establish faith or belief. It is exciting to see someone supernaturally healed in the name of Jesus. Jesus is more interested in the man’s faith than the healing of his son. Our faith and trust must be in God regardless of healings or miraculous signs.
Faith in Christ must not rest on healings, miracles, or supernatural events. Whether we see a miracle or not, Jesus is still the Messiah and the Son of God. This is crucial for our lives as well. Faith in miracles is not enough.
We want to see miracles, but greater than miracles is a faith in Christ that sustains us through life.
Listen to this father’s desperate appeal. What Jesus said did not discourage the man.
John 4:49-50 NIV The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
Did you notice that Jesus did not do what this man wanted Him to do? Jesus said, “You may go. Your son will live.” It sounds like the Lord had dismissed him. The man wanted Jesus to come down before his child died.
When Jesus said: “Go your way; your son lives,” the man took action on the basis of the words of Jesus. He did not require another sign, wonder, or miracle.
In 2 Kings 4, when the Shunammite woman’s son died she searched for Elisha on Mount Carmel. Elisha told his servant Gehazi to ask her if everything was well and if her son was all right. She said everything was all right, but when she found Elisha, she caught him by the feet and would not let go. When Elisha found out that the child was dead, he sent Gehazi to put his staff on the child’s face. But the woman said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” She refused to let go until the man of God came down and healed her son.
This nobleman was demonstrating bold faith in the word of Christ.
Although he had traveled 25 miles to Galilee to bring Jesus back to Capernaum, he believed Jesus’ words. He was desperate for a miracle for his son. All he could do was plead for mercy, for his child was at the point of death. If he believed that Jesus could make a difference in Capernaum, he must also believe Him now in Cana. So, he trusted Jesus’ words and left. Jesus didn’t have to go with him for his son to be healed. Before he heard any report, He believed Jesus’ word.
Have you experienced the trial of your faith? When we pray we must exercise faith. We must believe in Jesus and trust His word. We must believe that what He has said is true.
On the way back, the official must have pondered Jesus’ promise every step of his journey. Many different kinds of things could have been going through the father’s mind on his way home. He could have been saying: “Is my son better?” “What am I going to find when I get home?” I believe he was saying: “I am going home to see my son.” “He was sick when I left him, but I believe he is better.”
John 4:51-54 NIV While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed. This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
His servants met him with good news. The fever broke and His boy was alive and well. The healing was no accident, it occurred at the moment that Jesus said: “Go your way: Your son lives.” This man believed what Jesus said, and his son was healed.
If you are going to receive anything from the Lord, you must have faith in Him. Jesus’ word has power to save, heal, and deliver.
Do you really believe? His miracles testify that He is Who He said He is. Our faith in Christ must believe and trust regardless of the things we see Him do. Jesus is the Son of God even if we don’t see a miracle or receive a healing. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world . Believe in Him for Who He is.
Our faith must not waver with what we see or do not see. It must stand on the veracity of what He says. This is the Good News. We need to spend time in the Word of God and learn what God has said. You need to know that distance and situation is no problem with the Lord. Jesus’ power is able to save and heal from a great distance. His Word has power to do the work.
