Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – February 13, 2024

13 Feb 2024 – Sts. Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos

Text: John 4:46-54

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

St. John built his argument that Jesus is the eternal Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14) around seven particular demonstrations of His divinity, which John calls “signs.”  Right after the “first of His signs” (John 2:11) – turning water into wine – an “official” in Capernaum approaches Jesus seeking his son’s healing.  From the other Gospel accounts, this man was a Roman military officer, and his son is also described as his servant.

The other accounts give more details of this miracle, which John has identified as the “second sign” of Jesus in his Gospel.  But John glosses over these details in his own account of this incident – which St. John considers to be one of the seven most important proofs of our Lord’s divinity. 

And there is an irony here.  For while John’s Gospel is a rhetorical argument for the divinity of Jesus, our Lord Himself is not a fan of such arguments and proofs – which is the very point that John himself makes in what he emphasizes in this miracle!  In other words, what is important about this sign is that signs are not supposed to be so important.  Nevertheless, we poor, miserable sinners do need convincing.  Jesus is merciful in giving us signs of His divinity – though the word of the Word should be enough.  For “faith comes from hearing… the word of Christ (Rom 10:17). 

John’s account of the healing of the official’s son hones in on our Lord’s frustration with the constant demand for signs: “Unless you [plural] see signs, you [plural] will not believe.”  But the official – who is a Gentile – is not part of that “you [plural].”  For he already has faith – which is why he comes to Jesus in the first place.  He believes in the power of Jesus to command even illness, and to banish it by means of His words alone.  We learn from Matthew (8:5-13) and Luke (7:1-10) that this centurion has such faith that he accepts the military-like order of Jesus as sufficient to heal his son.  He understands the delegation of authority as a “man set under authority” (Luke 7:8).

John emphasizes the fact that the official is not concerned with signs, but rather love for his son.  He doesn’t need convincing.  He already believes.  And so he prays, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”  Jesus commands the illness to leave from afar: “Go, your son will live.”

In this sign, we see faith – not in signs, but in Jesus Himself.  For signs have a way of taking over the landscape, becoming more important than the thing signified.  Sometimes signs become clutter that only detracts from the thing being pointed to by the sign.  If we understand John’s seven signs not as rational proofs, but rather as “oracles of God” (Rom 3:2, Heb 5:12, 1 Pet 4:11) that bear witness to Him who is the Oracle of God Made Flesh, then our faith is in Jesus and not merely in signs.

And the true signs of Jesus are not merely manifestations of His mighty power, but also of His “mercy and loving-kindness” (Ps 36:5 AMPC).  And in giving us this sign, Jesus is giving us a sign of His own resurrection, the ultimate sign of both God’s power and His mercy: “Go, your son will live.”

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.