<< Back |
Chosen no: R-4132 a, from: 1908 Year. |
Change lang
| |
The Rewards Of Faith
--JOHN 4:43-54.--FEBRUARY 16.--
Golden Text:--"The man
believed the word that Jesus
had spoken unto him, and he went his way."--John 4:50.
AFTER spending two days with the Samaritans at Sychar, our Lord
proceeded on his journey to Galilee. We have already noticed that this was
contrary to his instructions to his disciples, and that the Samaritans, not
being Jews, could not at that time receive special blessings--not until the
seventy weeks of divine favor set apart for the Jews had been fulfilled, and
the door opened to the Gentiles. We can imagine, however, that there was some
special reason why the people of this little city were distinctly favored by
our Lord, particularly when we remember that on another occasion he declined to
go into a village of Samaria, and the people of that village refused to sell
the disciples food, and thus incensed James and John to the extent of their
suggestion to the Master that fire be called down from heaven to consume the
village and its inhabitants. (Luke 9:54.) In Acts 8and 9:31we have clear
indications that the work of grace flourished amongst the Samaritans very
promptly after the door of opportunity swung open to them. No doubt that later
fruitage developed from the words of grace and truth which our Lord dropped on
the occasion of the visit here referred to.
Our Lord and his disciples went into Galilee, notwithstanding [R4132 : page 45] the fact that the Lord corroborated
the proverb that a prophet has no honor in his own country; but while he would
have less honor there in one sense, it was a better field for labor in another
sense, because the people, while outwardly less religious than those of Judea,
were really in a better attitude of heart to receive the Lord and his truth
than those of Judea, who were shackled with sectarianism and the burdens of the
Law imposed by the teachings of the Pharisees.
Although our Lord's first miracle was performed in Galilee, his first
reputation was gained in Judea and at Jerusalem, and now on his return to his
home country, he had proportionately more honor than if he had remained, for
many Galileans, attending the feasts at Jerusalem, had been witnesses of his
teachings and miracles there. Thus he returned again to Cana, the scene of his
first miracle, with added honors. We remember that on the occasion of his first
miracle, the people said, Is not this Jesus, the carpenter, whose kinfolk we
know? How, then, is he a prophet, a teacher? (Mark 6:2,3.) Now, however, his
fame was spread abroad, so that a nobleman living at Capernaum, twenty-five
miles distant, learned of his presence at Cana, and made the journey to present
a special request for the healing of his son, who was at the point of death. The
word rendered nobleman in this text might more literally be rendered king's
officer, and the supposition of some is that this was Chuza, Herod's steward or
chamberlain, whose wife, Joanna, was one of the women who subsequently
ministered to Jesus.--Luke 8:3.
CHUZA'S MANIFESTATION OF FAITH
The essence of this lesson is faith, and it well illustrates degrees and
development of faith. Knowledge is necessary as a basis for faith, and this
Chuza possessed. His faith was manifested in his coming to the Lord and
publicly acknowledging his confidence in the Lord's ability to heal his son. We
may well consider that this indicated a good measure of faith to begin with,
but our Lord--with no lack of sympathy for a father's interest in his dying
son, but with a desire to develop Chuza's faith--hesitated to go with him, and
seemingly objected to so doing, saying, "Except ye see signs and wonders,
ye will not believe." (v. 48.) Had Chuza's faith been small, or had he
been lacking of humility, he might have had opportunity for a manifestation of [R4133 : page 45] incredulity and indignation.
He might have said, I did not believe in you anyway. It was merely a
haphazard matter, because the physicians can do nothing further for my son, and
I thought that your coming might possibly accomplish something. But now, sir, I
see your hesitancy, and interpret it to mean that you occasionally pick out
cases where you can effect a healing, where you can apparently effect a
miraculous cure; but that in the general run of diseases, where death is at the
door, you are as helpless as our physicians. I have at least demonstrated the
fraudulency of your general claims. Adieu. But no; Chuza's attitude of heart
was different. Our Lord's delay merely increased his urgency. He supplicated,
and finally said, "Sir," Rabbi, "come down ere my child
die." Don't, please don't wait to discuss a matter of faith if you realize
my position as a father and my interest in the subject, but do come now, and
render me the assistance, and discuss the philosophy of faith and tell me of my
further needs subsequently.
Our Lord's point had been gained. He had tested the nobleman's faith,
and had led his mind upward from the mere healing operation to something
higher, to the divine power behind it, and to the fact that our Lord's miracles
were merely intended to introduce him as the Messiah. But the test of faith was
not yet finished, for our Lord, instead of accompanying Chuza to his son's
bedside and there performing a cure, merely told him, "Go thy way; thy son
liveth"--he will not die at the present time, he will recover. (v. 50.)
The word was believed, the importunity ceased, and instead, no doubt,
gratitude, thankfulness, was expressed. It is noted that the miracle took place
in the seventh hour--1 p.m. It may be presumed that Chuza came the twenty-five
miles on horseback that very morning in great haste. It is notable, however,
that while he might have returned the same evening at the same speed, that he
did not arrive at home until the next day --evidently taking the journey
leisurely. Meantime, his servants met him with the pleasing information that
his son was out of danger. He inquired particularly for the time, and they
promptly answered, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left
him;" so Chuza knew that the recovery was the result of our Lord's word
and power.
ANOTHER KIND OF FAITH
We read that Chuza "believed, and his whole house." But did he
not believe before, when he started to see the Master, when he was speaking
with him, when he accepted his reply and started home? Yes, all of those were
steps of faith, of belief and obedience in harmony therewith, and attesting the
same; but when he arrived home and realized the miracle, it led to a belief in
the Lord of a still higher and of a still deeper kind. He now believed, not
only that Jesus was able to work miracles, but that he was indeed the Redeemer,
the Messiah. His faith at last had reached the heart. No doubt it was as a
result of this that his wife, Joanna, in harmony with his wishes, became one of
the active supporters of our Lord's ministry.
What lessons of faith can be learned today along the lines of this
lesson? We answer that faith today has its various gradations or steps. First
of all, we could have no faith except as some knowledge would serve as its
foundation. It is written, "Without faith it is impossible to please him
[God]" (Heb. 11:6), and only those who please God, who have his approval, will
have eternal life. Hence, we know that the heathen, who have no faith in God
because they have no knowledge of him, are not accepted, are not justified, are
not in any sense of the word saved or approved of God as worthy of eternal
life. This settles at once, to all who are guided by the Scriptures, the
erroneous supposition that the heathen are going to heaven, because [R4133 : page 46] of their ignorance. As the Apostle
points out, "How can they believe in him of whom they have not
heard?" and how could they hear without some proclamation, either oral or
printed? and how can the proclamation reach them except as God be back of the
matter and direct it to them, and grant the opening of the eyes of their
understanding?
But an elementary knowledge and an elementary faith built upon it is not
sufficient--faith must grow, and before it can grow it must lead to some kind
of works. Chuza's primary faith led to his journey to our Lord, by which he
attested his faith. But generally there must be a necessity, as in Chuza's
case--his son's illness. Some might hear of Christ, though they might never
approach did they not realize the necessity; but the same message that tells of
Christ points him out as a Savior, and implies that all men are sinners. Only
those who realize that they are sinners, only those that desire to escape from
sin and death, will be led to investigate and approach the Lord, that they may
find relief from their burden of soul.
FAITH COMETH BY HEARING--THE MESSAGE
OF GOD
In the first approach of a soul to the Lord it may be necessary that the
feeling of need should be intensified; and hence, although the Lord is very
merciful and compassionate and forgiving, he permits the penitent one to
supplicate, and delays his assurances of forgiveness until matters seem vital
to the one who is hungering and thirsting for the divine favor he seeks. Then,
as in the case of Chuza, the Lord does not do something outwardly, miraculously
proving to us that our prayer has been answered and that we are forgiven, but
he merely tells us so, saying, "Thy sins be forgiven thee!"
Where the proper faith is, the results will be similar to those in the
case of Chuza--the penitent one will believe, trust, and go his way, thankful
and rejoicing. Whoever cannot trust has not yet come to the place where it is
proper for him to have the relief. He must first cultivate more faith in the
Lord, and to this end he may need a larger knowledge of the Lord and his
goodness. He may need to call to mind the Lord's character, that he is very
merciful and of tender compassion; that while declaring that we are sinners, he
declares also that he so loved us while we were yet sinners as to give our
redemption price. (John 3:16.) He must consider how graciously the Lord has
already dealt with many in the forgiveness of their sins, and in the granting
to them of his holy Spirit, whereby has been wrought in them the glorious
transformation of character, so that the things which they once loved they now
hate, and the things they once hated they now love. With these lessons before
the heart, and with confidence that the Lord changes not, that he is the same
yesterday, today and forever, all sincere seekers of divine favor have an
abundance of foundation for faith in their forgiveness and acceptance, and are
authorized to have "strong consolation."--Heb. 16:18.
What should be the result of a true faith which after various
difficulties has reached the degree of justification and come to realize the
forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to the Father, and the merit of the
precious blood, covering all blemishes, future as well as past? As in Chuza's
case, his faith bringing him to a condition of discipleship--to a position of
believing on a still higher plane than ever before--so it should be with us. A
realization of the grace of God in the forgiveness of our sins should lead us
to that faith in him, that confidence in his Word, that acceptance of him as
the great Teacher, the Messiah, which would believe in him to the extent of
accepting all of his gracious provisions and propositions. This would mean that
we would turn from the world to become his disciples, to lay our little all on
the altar of sacrifice, with full confidence that he who has begun a good work
in us is both able and willing to complete it in the day of Christ, in the
Millennial Age--early in the morning of which the Church, the Bride, is to be
helped, delivered, "changed."--Phil. 1:6; I Cor. 15:51,52.
We trust that the majority of our readers will be able to trace in this
lesson their own experiences of justification and sanctification. And what
further remains? We answer that next in order comes the testing --a testing of
the degree of our consecration, of its genuineness, of the sincerity of our
consecration. This is the Christian's life. The earlier steps of faith and
justification were merely primary to our standing upon this plane of
sanctification--begetting of the holy Spirit to a new nature. The Lord's
special dealing during this Gospel Age is with these New Creatures,
Spirit-begotten--not that they are many as compared with the world, or even as
compared with those that take the first step of faith unto justification. They
are a Little Flock, to whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the
Kingdom--to as many of them as prove faithful. (Luke 12:32.) The Apostle
declares of them,
"ALL THINGS ARE FOR YOUR
SAKES" -- 2 COR. 4:15--
Everything in the realm of nature and of grace must for the time so
operate as to be most favorable to this class, for the Lord has declared that
all things shall work together for good for these--"the called according
to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28.) Whatever cannot be overruled for their good
must be hindered, must be stopped, cannot proceed. Little does the world
realize the important place in its affairs and interests occupied by this
Little Flock; indeed the world knoweth them not, even as it knew not their Lord
(I John 3:1) --the world reckons them as a part of the filth and off-scourings
of all things, knows them as fools for Christ's sake. But by and by the veil
will be lifted, and the whole world shall understand the mysterious workings of
divine providence, for, as the Apostle declares, God, in the ages to come, will
"shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus."--Eph. 2:7.
Whoever has a sufficiency of faith to be accepted of the Lord in this
class and to be begotten of the holy Spirit, will still need to grow in grace,
to grow in [R4134 : page 47] knowledge and to grow
in faith, but he will find in the divine provision everything needful to these
ends. Hence the Scriptures declare that God is faithful in the matter, and that
if any of these Spirit-begotten ones shall fail to reach the glorious outcome
of the call, it will be their own fault--because they have neglected or not
properly used the divine grace in harmony with the divine injunction. Let our
faith abound, dear brethren, and grow stronger and stronger, and to this end
let us feed upon the heavenly manna provided us, and make use of the various
opportunities for growth, and be not slothful, but fervent in spirit, serving
the Lord.
W.T. R-4132 a : page 44 – 1908 r.