Jesus, The Authoritative One
John 4:43-54
The truth we learn of Jesus this morning
Is one that I believe to be
The single most transforming truth in people’s lives today.
I have shared with you many times how at 8 years old
I walked the aisle and was baptized,
But how it was not until I was 19 years old that I was saved.
I could easily sum up the difference in one word.
AUTHORITY
19 years old was when I came under the authority of Jesus.
19 years old was when I gave Jesus the reigns.
19 years old was when I gave Jesus control of my life.
I believe that there is no truth that will transform a person’s life more than the truth of the authority of Jesus.
Now we all know what authority is,
Little children certainly understand it.
“Because I said so.”
“You’re not my dad.”
When I worked for my parents,
Dad was always hiring high school students to do the less fun jobs
“Let me tell you about a totem pole”
We call that authority.
Before we dive too far into our text,
I want to talk a little bit about the authority of Jesus.
There’s no doubt what John is trying to show us about Jesus
Verses 50-54, “Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”
When this man approaches Jesus, you will notice in verse 47
That this man wants Jesus to “come down and heal his son”.
Again in verse 49 he says, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
But Jesus flexes His authoritative muscle.
Not only does He not go with the man,
But He also makes a promise. “Your son lives”
This was Jesus showing His authority to speak a word and make it so.
That is why John says this in verse 54, “This is again a second sing that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”
Again, this is not just a miracle, this is a sign.
Jesus is teaching about Himself, and the point here is His authority.
So let’s take a moment and talk about the authority of Jesus.
Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
Much of Jesus ministry was a demonstration of His authority.
Jesus had authority in His teaching.
Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
Jesus had authority over nature.
Matthew 8:23-27 “When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, ” Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Jesus had authority over evil spirits
Matthew 8:28-32 “When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.”
Jesus had authority over sickness
Matthew 8:16-17 “When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”
Jesus had authority over death
John 11:43-44 “When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Jesus had authority over His enemies
John 18:4-6 “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”
Jesus continually demonstrated His authority,
And the people began to understand it.
Matthew 8:5-13 “And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, ” Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.”
People had begun to understand the authority of Jesus.
But that’s not that unusual, we understand the authority of Jesus.
We have heard the stories, we know the miracles.
We understand that Jesus has authority.
There is more than just understanding Jesus has authority.
We also need to understand the purpose of His authority.
His authority is for a purpose.
The gospels also show us this purpose.
To forgive sins
Matthew 9:2-6 “And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say, ‘ Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”
To grant salvation
John 17:1-2 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”
To conquer death
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
For Judgment
John 5:26-27 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”
All of this is vitally important for us to understand about Jesus.
He can do anything He wants, anytime He wants.
Everything is under His command, He has authority.
He is the only One with the authority to forgive your sin.
He is the only One with the authority to grant you eternal life.
He is the only One with the authority to conquer the grave.
He is the only One with the authority to judge you and condemn you.
Jesus is the authoritative One.
No one else has such authority.
You need not fear or trust in Buddha…
You need not fear or trust in Allah…
They have not authority.
Jesus holds all authority.
But then again, most of us know that too. I knew that at 8 years old.
But let me make a very important statement to you.
There is a difference between knowing about Jesus authority, And submitting to Jesus authority.
When I was 8 years old, I knew about Jesus authority,
But it wasn’t until I was 19 that I submitted to His authority.
Now don’t misunderstand me.
I didn’t make Jesus Lord. He was already Lord.
I didn’t give Him authority over me, He already had authority
I chose to submit to His authority.
There is no doubt that Jesus is the authoritative One.
He already has all authority in heaven and on earth.
He already is God’s chosen King.
Psalms 2:6-12 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
When you read that, you can see two clear truths.
One is that Jesus already has all authority,
The other is that you must submit to it.
It is the concept of the authority of Jesus
That I believe changes men’s lives forever.
Too often today we see people who
Claim to have a relationship with Jesus Christ,
But who have not submitted to His authority in their lives.
That is not salvation.
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
It is imperative that Jesus become the authority in your life.
Because some day, He will rule over you.
Since that is the case,
I want to quickly take you through our text this morning and show you how we are required to respond to the One with authority.
If God has truly given Jesus all the authority…
If Jesus is the only One who truly has the authority to help…
Then there is a way we ought to respond to Him.
Now first, let’s review the setting.
Verses 43-46, “After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast. Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.”
This official gives us insight as to what to do with the Authoritative One.
I am going to show three things Jesus deserves from you because of His authority.
#1 SEEK JESUS FERVENTLY
John 4:47
Now we learned that this man had a son sick in Capernaum,
And here we read that Jesus had come to Cana.
The two cities are 20 miles apart.
It was unheard of for a royal official to come to a carpenter for help.
The point is, it is not normal for this royal official to come to Jesus, And it certainly isn’t normal for him to travel 20 miles to do it.
Unless, Jesus has the authority to fix the problem.
When push comes to shove,
You will do whatever it takes to find the One with the power.
People will be fine to skip church, and do their own thing,
But let them hear the word “cancer”,
And all of a sudden Jesus becomes pretty important.
YOU SEE JESUS IS THE ONLY ONE WITH AUTHORITY
You could just look for a solution in Capernaum, but none will work.
There is only One who truly has the authority to deal with you,
And He deserves for you to seek Him fervently.
BECAUSE, WHERE WILL YOU GO, IF NOT TO JESUS?
The Bible says you must seek Him fervently.
Now, here is the good news.
The Bible promises that if you will seek Him, you will find Him.
Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
If you seek Jesus fervently, you will find Him,
But understand you must seek Him.
He is the Only one who can save your soul.
He is the only One with authority, He deserves to be sought after fervently.
#2 STICK WITH JESUS PERMANENTLY
John 4:48-50
Now at this point, the story takes an unexpected turn.
This man traveled all the way to Jesus,
And Jesus seemingly throws it in his face.
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”
It is almost as if Jesus challenges his motives.
It is almost as if Jesus pushes him aside.
Now this is most certainly not what we expected.
But I don’t want you to think this is uncharacteristic of Jesus.
Matthew 15:21-28 “Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”
When this woman first comes to Jesus, He ignores her.
But this woman doesn’t stop, she is so loud the disciples as Jesus to send her away.
Then Jesus says what His silence had suggested, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But that doesn’t stop this woman, she bows before Him.
Then He seemingly insults her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
But she still humbles herself, and Jesus commends her faith.
We find at the end that Jesus wasn’t trying to send her away, He was discerning if she really thought He was the authoritative One.
If she really believed that Jesus was her only hope,
Then her only option was to stick it out,
But if she was not convinced He was the only answer,
Then she certainly would have left.
“The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.”
He could have gotten offended and left,
But he knew that Jesus was the only One with the authority to heal his son.
You see, if Jesus really is the only One with authority,
Then not only should we seek Him fervently,
But we should stick with Him permanently.
If Jesus is the only One who can help, then let nothing drive you away.
If Jesus is the only One who can save, then let nothing deter you.
Jesus used this tactic all the time.
Matthew 8:19-20 “Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
It is quite common for Jesus to throw a test your way
When you come to Him.
This is why so many today do not submit to the authority of Jesus.
It is hard to submit to the authority of Jesus.
He requires self denial; He requires humility; He requires sacrifice.
And people aren’t going to pay that price until they are convinced that He is the only authority.
But if you believe that Jesus is the Authoritative One,
Then not only will you seek Him fervently,
But you will stick with Him permanently.
#3 SUBMIT TO JESUS TOTALLY
John 4:51-53
Here we find the entire story coming to a close
With the only reasonable outcome.
As the father is making the journey home, his servants met him to report that his son was living. The man inquires the time and understands that it was exactly at the moment when Jesus said he would live.
And then this man gives the proper response.
“and he himself believed and his whole household”
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?
They came to a point of saving faith in Jesus.
They surrendered fully to His authority.
They didn’t make Jesus authoritative.
Jesus was already authoritative.
THEY JUST SUBMITTED TO IT.
That is what you do to One with authority.
There is no doubt that Jesus is the Authoritative One.
There is no doubt that Jesus is the only answer for sin and death.
There is no doubt that Jesus is Lord.
The question is:
HAVE I SUBMITTED TO HIS AUTHORITY?
IS HE THE LORD OF MY LIFE?
That simple fact makes the difference in your life like nothing else.
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW IF JESUS IS IN YOUR HEART, THEN IS THE CROSS ON YOUR BACK?
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
ARE YOU WALKING IN OBEDIENCE TO JESUS?
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
I knew Jesus was Lord for a long time in my life.
But at age 19 Jesus became my Lord and I was saved.
He is the Authoritative One, give Him authority over your life.
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
