Preserved in Jesus Christ – Day 2
The Power of God’s Word
Um(Imi)bhalo weBhayibheli
NgokukaJohane 4
Ukuphiliswa kwendodana yenduna yaseKapernawume
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. John 4:50 (ESV)
How often have you sat in church or read your Bible and known that the message was directly for you? What was your response? Our verse today deals with one man’s response to the words of Jesus.
The full story is told in John 4:46-54. Jesus was in Canaan and about 40 kilometres away, in Capernaum, a little boy, the son of a royal official, was dying of fever. His father, having heard of Jesus, sets out to see him. He begs Jesus to come to Capernaum and heal his son.
Jesus replies, “Go, your son will live.”
To come to faith, one needs to recognise and submit to the power of the word of God. The royal official says, “Come.” The carpenter’s son says, “Go.”
The royal official believes Jesus and obediently sets off home. It is a long way from Canaan to Capernaum and he needs to overnight. The next day, servants from his household meet him and tell him the joyful news that the fever has broken and his son is recovering. He asks them when this happened and they reply, “Yesterday, at the seventh hour.” (John 4:52)
The father realises that that was the very hour when Jesus had said to him, “Go, your son will live.” The Bible records that the official and his entire household believed.
There is much that we can learn from this passage about the power of the word of God, which is as relevant today as it was then. The Lord still carries out his work through the power of his word. God still talks to us today through the Bible.
Our Sovereign Lord is unchanging. His message is the same today as it was 2 000 years ago. He is not bound by time or distance. He is also still as near and as accessible to all who turn to him in their need, just as he was when he healed a dying boy from 40 kilometres away.
