THE KING’S BUSINESS
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healing the king’s officer’s son, that was the development of the king’s officer’s own faith. Nevertheless the compassion of our Lord goes out toward this man in his distress, and He instantly responds to his cry. It is to be carefully noted, however, how He responded to it; He does not go down as the king’s officer had asked Him to do, He simply speaks the word, but that word is effective and the man discovers that our Lord cannot merely heal by His presence and touch, but can heal by His bare word at a distance. Never had the king’s officer heard such sweet music as when he heard our Lord say, “Go thy way, Thy son liveth,” and Jesus is ready today to say the same thing to many if they will only seek Him as this man did. The words of Jesus were not only words of assurance, but words of testing. Will this man believe on His naked word. The man’s faith rose to the height of faith to which Jesus was calling him, he accepted His mere assurance unsupported aS yet by any other evidence, and went back to Capernaum satisfied with the naked word of our Lord. There is a world of meaning in John’s statement, “the man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him.” Oh, that each of us might learn that lesson, and when Jesus speaks to us believe it without other evi dence, simply because Jesus says it. The word that Jesus spoke did not seem at all probable; the sole ground the man had for faith was-that Jesus had said it. The son was miles away, the man could see no change that had taken place; but he had Jesus’ word and rested upon that, that was faith. He proved that he “believed the word that Jesus spake unto him” by doing as Jesus had bidden him, “he went his way.” He asked no sign, he no longer asked Jesus to “come down,” he counted it was all done because Jesus said so. From Cana to Caper naum, about thirty miles, he walked by faith. Jesus often demands us to walk in the same way. He gives us His bare promise, nothing else, and demands that we walk by that; that is enough. Happy is the man that counts it enough.
not greatly concerned about this side—his Gospel looks at things rather from the standpoint of their interior meaning than of their outward aspect. v. 49, “The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die." The king’s officer did not stop to discuss the question of the character of his faith, he knew it was very imperfect, but his main concern now was the healing of his boy, he. could brook no delay, the child might die before He reached the house. He at least had enough faith to think that the Lord Jesus might have power to heal his boy; he really believed He had, he knew that no one else could, and with all the earnest ness of a father’s love he cries to Jesus to come at once. His cry reminds one of that of the father of the demoniac boy in Mark 9:24. There, as here, the father was not at all sure that Jesus could help (see Mark 9:22), but he had some faith and used what faith he had to the uttermost. There is something indescribably touching in the conduct of this man, and it moved Jesus as such conduct always did. And yet this man’s faith was not of as high a type as that of the Samaritans; they believed on Jesus on simply hearing Him (vs. 29-42) though they saw no miracles at all. Further more, the Samaritans regarded Him and sought Him as a Saviour; the nobleman regarded Him and sought Him as a healer. There are some today who talk more of Jesus—and seemingly seek Him more—as a Healer than as a Saviour, and even seem to assume that theirs is a higher order of faith than the faith of those who seek Him as a Saviour. But surely one who care fully and candidly reads the Gospel must see that Jesus desired more to be sought as a Saviour than as a Healer. v. SO. “Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way, (;) Thy son liveth. And (omit, And) the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken (spake) unto him, and he went his way. There had been no haste on Jesus’ part in granting the king’s officer’s request. The case was indeed urgent, but there was something more urgent than
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