Jesus demonstrates his divine authority and healing power in Cana of Galilee by miraculously healing a nobleman's dying son. The nobleman's persistent faith, despite Jesus' initial testing statement about needing signs, leads to his son's recovery and his own spiritual transformation. This event underscores the importance of believing in Jesus' word and highlights that true faith results in both physical and spiritual healing, extending to the entire household. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus, as Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals, offers salvation and peace to all who come to him, with the ultimate healing and best wine reserved for eternity.
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the fourth chapter of the Gospel by John on verse forty three four three now after two days he departed since that is the Lord Jesus and went into Galilee for Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country then when he was come into Galilee The Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast. And they also went unto the feast. So Jesus came again unto Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine.
And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea unto Galilee, he went unto him and besought him that he would come down and heal his son. For he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except he sees signs and wonders, he will not believe. The no man saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way, thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him.
and he went his way and as he was now going down his servants met him and told him saying thy son liveth then he inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend and they said unto him yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him so the father knew that it was the same hour in which Jesus said unto him thy son liveth and himself believed on his whole house. This is again the second miracle which Jesus did when he was come out of Judea unto Galilee.
Now please turn for a verse to the Epistle to the Hebrews chapter eleven. And verse one. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now to verse six. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Again the Lord will bless to us this reading from his precious work.
just for the sake of some continuity of thought and for the benefit of friends, not with us on Lord's Day evening, we are discussing the signs in John's Gospel. In Acts chapter two, verse twenty-two, Peter says that Jesus of Nazareth did among you wonders, miracles and signs. And we saw there was a difference between a miracle and a wonder and a sign. A miracle was the supernatural power of Christ in display. The wonder was the awe, the superlative awe, the effect that the miracle had on those that saw it. And the sign is the spiritual significance.
Of course, John brings before us the deity of the Lord Jesus. And John selects specially eight signs for the special purpose of the writings. We read that the Lord Jesus did many other signs of miracles, but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you might have life through his name. There's a double verb in that verse, and so there is the believing, the accumulation of the facts in the mind, and then there's the exercise of faith, the believing in the Christ, the Son of God. That brings salvation.
Now we looked at the first sign on Lord's Day evening, this beginning of miracles that Jesus in Cana of Galilee and his manifest forth his glory. The deity of Christ and his glory is in evidence throughout the entire twenty-one chapters of John's Gospel. And all the signs were for the glory of God. This beginning of miracles of signs that Jesus in Cana of Galilee and it manifests for his glory. In chapter nine, when the man received his sight, the disciples were asking questions regarding the man's condition and was soon responsible.
The Lord said, no, the man was blind that God might be glorified in what was about to be taken or rather done by the power of Christ. When the man received his eyesight, it was for the glory of God. And likewise the raising of Lazarus. The sickness was not nigh unto death, but for the glory of God. So the key thing to remember is that the signs in John's Gospel are for the glory of God. We also do alongside the eight signs on Lord's Day evening some of the divine titles of the Lord. And at Cana of Galilee, we selected the title Jehovah Shama.
The Lord is there. That was the difference. At that wedding, the Lord was there. And tonight, friends, as we look into our hearts, we can write over our heart Jehovah Shama, the Lord is there. This is simply amazing that the God whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain is actually resident in every heart of every believer in this auditorium this evening. You remember the Lord said to his disciples, If you love me and keep my commandments, him will my Father love, and we will come unto him.
So the moment we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal Savior, divine mystery, but nevertheless absolutely true, God, the Father and the Son take up the residence in the heart. Revelation three twenty, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and suffer with him, and he with me. The Lord Jesus, taking up his residence in our hearts. And the Lord said to the disciples that he would send unto them another comforter, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive or know, but ye know him, and he will abide with you forever.
So over our hearts tonight we can write the words, Jehovah Shama, the Lord is there. And as God's people assemble such as we do this evening, again we can say Jehovah Shama, the Lord is there. Whether it's two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of death. The Lord is there. And in Isaiah chapter twelve, Isaiah there, the prophet mentions that the holy one of Israel is in the midst of day. Jehovah Shema, the Lord is there. Very soon you and I will be called home into the Lord's presence.
Soon we shall mount and soar away, through the bright realms of endless day, and sing with rapture and surprise his loving kindness in the sky. And over that satellite city of heaven, the capital city of the heavens. We can put the Lord's title there, Jehovah Shama. The Lord is there. John saw a new heaven and a new earth. And John saw the holy cities descending from God as a bride adorned for a husband. And the language there was the tabernacle of God is with men.
God taking up his residence in that holy city. And we shall be with him. There will be his headquarters. There will be his home. He will dwell with them. And his heart will be with his people. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there. In the first sign we saw that the Lord Jesus Christ produced the wine out of water and the good wine was left until the last. That is just typical of our Lord.
You and I have enjoyed the wine, the joy that He has imparted. He found us in an awful condition just like the men on the way from Jerusalem to Jericho. and the Lord and his kindness poured in as a good Samaritan, oil and wine. Emblematic of the Holy Spirit and the joy of God's salvation. They enjoyed the Lord's wine in Samaria. When Philip the Evangelist preached Christ in Samaria, the whole city was moved and there was great joy in Samaria. They enjoyed the Lord's wine in Samaria. It was Samuel Rutherford who said, When the Lord puts me in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's wine.
And so in our Christian experience we have tasted of the Lord's wine. But beloved saints of God, he's keeping the best wine until the last. Very soon he's going to call us out of this ungodly world, and it is better on before. We shall be conformed body, soul, and spirit like unto Christ. The body of our humiliation, this groaning tabernacle, shall be changed. And we shall appear with him in glory. That will be the best why. John says, Beloved, it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But one thing we know, when he doth appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
He's keeping the best wine until the last. And so he said to his disciples, I go to prepare a place for you. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself. Now where I am, there ye may be also. So the best wine is yet to come. And so we're so grateful to the Lord for all the spiritual benefits that we do enjoy now. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in that heaven is in Christ. We're just like the tribe of Naphtali, satisfied with favor, full of the blessings of the Lord.
So regarding the first sign, Jehovah Shema, the Lord is there. Now the second sign here, it's found in the same place. It was accomplished in the same place in Cana of Galilee. Now we notice that the key word in the first sign was the word obey. Whatsoever he says unto you, do it. Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of wrath. So the first word we link with the first sign is the word obey. But with the second sign, The key word that we must employ is the word faith.
And that's why I read with you in Hebrews chapter eleven verse six. He that cometh to him must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And so in this lovely second sign, first of all we have the place of faith. And then we have the path of faith. And then we have the price of faith. And then we have the peace of faith. And finally, we have the progress of faith. It's all in connection with faith. And against this sign, we must employ the Lord's title, Jehovah Raphaica, the God that heals.
And we must, friends, function on the principle of faith. And remember some years ago in Furtucket, Rhode Island, at a conference with T. Ernest Wilson. That wonderful man of God. And he read Genesis one verse one. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now he says there's a lot of speculation. A lot of intellectual argumentation. But when I read that verse he said I accepted on the principle of faith. And I bow my head and say thanks Lord. That is accepting things on the principle of faith. And so Hebrews chapter eleven, the whole book, the whole chapter rather, is taken up with faith.
Commencing with Abel by faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than king. And right down to the end of that great galaxy of stalwarts, of whom the scripture says, the world is not worthy. They were men and women of faith. Many years ago in the city of Cape Town, South Africa, There was a large medical assemblage, and the main speaker was Dr. Darwin, the nephew of Charles Darwin of Evolution Faith. And as he closed his presidential address, Dr. Darwin said this, As yet the riddle of the universe remains unsolved.
Why then do men of renown not turn to the only book which solves the problem in these works? by faith. We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. And the things which are seen are not made of things which do appear. This solution has held the field for ages. And it holds it today. And when Darwin, that was his uncle, and his discredited theory are remembered no more, it will still be maintained. God speak, world where? We accept it again on the principle of faith.
Now this second sign, the place of faith, was at the same place as the first sign in Cana of Galilee. What did we learn about the first place? The first sign, if you remember, it was the place of felicity. It was a happy occasion. You had a happy occasion here on Saturday. A wedding is always a happy occasion. And so it was especially a happy occasion because of the great visitor, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he added to the joy of that great occasion. It was a place of felicity where they sung the song of gladness.
It was also the place of purity where the undefiled was given to the undefiled. and it was also a place of unity where two become one. And so it's just like the Lord Jesus to come and give us the second sign at the very place of the first sign. Cana of Galilee. We must always be a happy people. We always should produce the song of gladness. We always ought to be a holy, pure people. holiness be cometh thy house forever and we ought to be a united people how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to gather together in unity and so the Lord uses this as a background for the second miracle we ought to be a happy people now secondly we have the path of faith this man was a nobleman He was a ruler or a courtier.
And this man had a problem. His son was lying at the point of death. But notice what the scripture says in verse forty-seven. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him. That was the path of faith. he that cometh to God unto him, he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Now he was a ruler, he didn't come to some political sphere, he didn't look for a senator or a congressman, and he certainly did not go to the Sanhedrin, the religious sphere, because neither the politicians nor the religious people can ever meet a man that needs Christ and all his acceptability.
But he came, thank God, the path of faith. He came unto him. He is the solution to the every problem. Is he not? Yes, he is. In Genesis chapter forty-nine, we read these words, that the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, though Shiloh come, And unto him shall the gathering of the people be. God says, Gather my saints together unto me, those who bear the covenant with me by sacrifice. And in the Revelation chapter one, we receive the revelation from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness.
The first begotten from among the dead and the prince among the kings of the earth. and to him that loveth us. It's present, continuous tense. And to him that loveth us. And he washed us from our sins in his own blood. He will never give up loving his people. Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved him unto the uttermost. And to him. The prophet Zechariah He sought to bring God's people into moral conformity to the new construction of the temple. And he realized that revival must begin with him.
And so in chapter ten we read, And out of him the cornerstone. Out of him the nail. Out of him the battle ball. Out of him the absolute ruler. And you can link that portion in Zechariah ten with the four Gospels. Out of him the cornerstone, that's Luke's Gospel, where he's presented as a great exemplar. Out of him the nail, Mark's Gospel, the burden bearer, bearing our sins on his own body on the tree. Out of him the betelbow, that's John's Gospel, the great victor.
When he cried, it is finished. And out of him the absolute ruler, the great despot. Beloved saints of God, it is Christ all the way. The point says, in Christ there is love abounding. In him redeeming grace. In him my daily manner. In him my hiding place. In him there is atonement. In him redeeming grace. In him a full salvation. In him an end of strife. It's the Lord Jesus all the way. And would to God you and I could rise to the occasion and say tonight, I cannot do without him.
Or would I, if I could, he is my daily portion, my medicine and my food. He's all together lovely. None can with him compare. The cheapest of ten thousand, the fairest of the fair. the path of faith he came from Capernaum unto him. Wonderful to see those realising and recognising that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who can heal the body and heal the soul. Jehovah Raphael. And there we have the price of faith. He that comes unto God must believe that he is the price of it this man made a round trip of approximately forty miles from Capernaum to Cana of Galilee salvation will always cost us something when I make that statement I think of a preacher who was converted amongst the lumberjacks of a northern Ontario and he was absolutely new to the business the spiritual business but he
was soundly converted and the first thing he did was to try and reach his unsaved friends and associates the lumberjet. And he preached the gospel and if he didn't listen, then he took care of that. He was a big, rugged mess. But then the time came when he heard something about being baptized. And so he told his friends he was going to be baptized. Oh, they said, you have to pay thirty dollars to give up tithes well he never heard of that before but he took it into his mind and there it settled so in due course he's brought before the oversight and this old brother said to him well you're born again yes and you want to give up tithes yes well he said you'll pay a price he said I've got the thirty dollars right here that's how new he was to the spiritual business but friends to become a convert And to come to Jesus, it will cost us something.
I have little time for this wishy-washy presentation of the gospel. Just have a little talk with Jesus, and everything will be all right. You don't find anything about that in the Word of God. Salvation will cost you something. And it cost this man, and so the price of faith, he made that long journey. He was distressed, and he was distracted, and he was despondent. But the Lord Jesus Christ was testing him. He said, Except ye see, ye will not believe. Signed and wonders. He was trying to test this ruler as to the aspect of faith.
And he led him along step by step. He came a long way to find the solution to his problem. You remember a man that came a long way? He was very religious. He was a chancellor of Ethiopia. He was a very religious man, very authoritative, in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of the Ethiopians. And he came approximately fifteen hundred miles to find God's salvation. He didn't find it in the religious system of Judaism, but he found it on the Gaza Strip, as you read from the Word of God.
of one cutoff out of the land of the living. He came a long way. One night in the city of Toronto, Brother Boyd Nicholson and I were conducting gospel meetings. The man came down every night from Barry, a round trip of over a hundred miles every night. And we could see the man was in deep distress. And finally one evening he said, My wife and I would like to talk to you. His name was John McGeehan and he came from Belfast in the north of Ireland. He says, I have listened to the best of preachers in the north of Ireland. I have a father and mother in heaven. And he says, I am on my way to hell.
I saw the notice in the newspaper. And I am not leaving this building tonight until I get right with Christ. My colleague was dealing with a lad of fourteen years of age and so I took this couple aside and we looked into the world. His wife Drusilla came from Germany and she was very quick to respond to the appeal of the gospel. But he took him two solid arms to finally break through. And then just then my colleague joined me and just as he was about to talk to the Lord in prayer, I took a very quick look at him And I saw him lying prostrate on the ground. Just like Saul of Cossack, he buried his face in shame on his past history.
That dear man with his wife found Christ. They came a long way every night. They paid the price. But a far greater price was paid for them in the death of God's beloved son. And they went on well for the Lord. the price of faith. We must believe in what God says. And then there was the peace of faith. The Lord said to him, Go and he went. That was faith. He had asked the Lord to come down to Capernaum and heal his son. But the Lord says, Go, thy son liveth.
He believed the word of God. He that cometh to God must believe that he is. and a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And so he acted upon the word of the Lord, and he went his way. A peace came over his troubled soul at the word of the Lord Jesus. Wasn't that not true in our conversion? A man who was really down to business regarding the sin question, He knows the volume of his sin, how repugnant it is to God. And when you get down to business and the Lord is removed, why you enjoy the peace of God.
The natural man is no peace. Destruction and misery are in his ways. And the way of peace he has not known. But that's why the Lord came, to give light to those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and guide our feet into the way of peace. And so this man was guided into the way of peace at the command of the Lord Jesus when he said, Go. Paul said, in writing to the saints at Philippi, Don't be over-entious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be known unto God, and the peace of God, which passed it all understanding, will garrison your heart and your mind.
Oh, the marvelous peace when Jesus speaks. We were having meetings in the city of Detroit, and we see the Livingston's here from Detroit. We welcome them here tonight. And there was a dear lady, the wife of the correspondent of Martin Road Gospel Chapel in Detroit, Evelyn Barclay. She was working as a home help in the home of an ex-Jesuit priest. His name was Jack Lafayette. He had spent fourteen years in that establishment as a Jesuit priest in the city of Montreal. But she had been witnessing to him about Christ. And he got interested. And finally, she said, there are two preachers in town.
Maybe you would like to have a conversation with them. He said, I sure would. And so I was working with Brother Gordon Weger from Philadelphia. And we went down to see this man, Jack Lafayette. He reminded me so much of Saul of Carthage. He was a real theologian, a tremendous mind. But he says, there's still a void, an aching void in my heart. I've not got peace. When I said, Jack, my name is Neil, and your name is Jack, let's get down to business. Did you ever ask the Lord Jesus into your heart? He said, I never did. I've talked about him.
But he said, I never did. Well, I said, there's the root of your problem. Only the reception of Christ can bring peace. He says, tell me more. So we took him to one of our favorite verses. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, I'll open the door. He said, I'll open right now. Standing by was his wine, and she still not said it. And to the left was her brother, the brother-in-law of the ex-Jesuit prince. He prayed twice. He thanked the Lord for saving his soul and giving him everlasting life. This gentleman to my left suddenly jumped from his seat and he's jumping around in the kitchen and he's touching his chest and he's pointing inward.
I wonder what was going on. I said to his sister, I said, what's going on? Well, she says, Jack's a deaf mute. And he's just gotten saved. Well, I said, I don't understand. I said, I have a tough job communicating in English. I can't read to deaf mute. No, but when you were talking to Jack, he was reading your lips. And he's gotten saved. And she's still not saved. And we shed tears profusely. That deaf mute took Brother Riga six feet six in his arm the best way he could. That was a gigantic operation. And then I got the same performance.
And then a tear running down his cheeks. He touched the two of us. And he went this way. As much as they say. Simply to thy cross I cling. O Lamb of God. I come. Jack LaFaber lived two years to prove the reality of his conversion. And brother John Barton now at the Pittsburgh home. He took part in his funeral. He found peace. not in religion but he came unto him that was the peace of faith finally we have seen the place of faith the second miracle took place where the first sign was given the path of faith it was unto him the price of faith we must believe and the peace of faith accepting the Lord's work.
Now the Lord says, him or her that come at unto me, I will have no wise cast up. And so out he went in faith. Now the amazing thing is this. This man was so sure that the Lord had healed his boy that he took a little vacation and he took an extra day to get back home. That's how sure he was because he asked at what time of the day. And they say, well, yesterday and they mentioned the hour. And so he took a little vacation on the way home. He was so sure in the power and in the manifestation of the glory of Christ in the healing of his boy.
What was the result? Here we have the progress of faith. It really was a double miracle. Because this man not only was his son healed physically, but we discover that the ruler, the father of the child, he was healed spiritually. It was a double miracle. Not only he, but we find that his whole house believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there was that double miracle, physical and spiritual healing. And the whole house responded to the appeal of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isn't it a wonderful thing when a person gets saved? But it's certainly more gratifying when the whole household gets saved. And that ought to be an objective to think of our dear loved ones, children, relatives who are not saved. We should do everything in our power to see them brought unto the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a lovely family up there in the Hamilton, Ontario. They go to the Assembly now in Burlington. Brother Boyd Nicholson and I were working in Toronto, and she brought all the children up to the meetings in Toronto. Well, in this particular series, we had the joy and the privilege of pointing the oldest boy who was about sixteen years of age, and his sister about fourteen years of age in those meetings, and they came to Christ.
Well, we were back down in Hamilton, Ontario, where the Berks, our friends from West Fifth, the Frames, brother, operate, and they brought the other two children down to hear the gospel preach. And so with the joy of seeing the other two children brought to Christ in the meetings at West Fifth in Hamilton, Ontario. I don't know if you were there that night, brother, and Betty. Yes. And it was a remarkable night, and so the four members of the family, we were instrumental in their salvation. Going home, Scott said to his wife, Well, Elsie, we can't help these fellows out anymore.
They've got them all. And it's too late to start all over again. But we were so thankful that God used us as the channel of bringing that lovely family into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. So thank God for Jehovah Raphael, the God that can heal. Shall we pray? Loving Father, we thank thee again for thy kindness, bringing us together around thy worm. We thank thee for these signs in John's Gospel and this marvelous miracle that was performed in the city of Capernaum where the Lord was at Cana of Galilee. Truly, our Father, there's no case too hard for Christ.
And we bless thee as said him or her that cometh unto me. I will in no wise cast up. So Lord, do take care of thy word and encourage thy people. And remember again those who are sick. Think specially of our brother Dunning tonight. Lord, minister to him. We do pray that he might know thy peace and thy presence in a special way. Do part us with thy blessing. And those who would love to have been with us but could not. Do give them their portion where they are. We ask it in His precious name. Amen.