THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD – by Parris Bailey

Jn.4:42 – Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

Jesus made a special trip into Samaria to meet up with a special lady at the well to share his love. The disciples were bewildered and the city was shaken, they beg him to stay for days. The gospel spread to the Gentiles and Jesus had no problem with that. They were so hungry, for it says once they HEARD HIM THEY KNEW HE WAS SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. No miracle was performed just Jesus and that was enough.

But now things were different, Jesus goes back into Galilee back to his own kinfolks. Ellicott quotes; “How different from this faith, which demanded a miracle, and therefore was not faith, but sight, was the acceptance by the Samaritans without a miracle, who believed for the woman’s word, and more fully when they heard the word of Christ Himself.”

At once a Nobleman came to him who cried, “Heal my son, lest he die”, Jesus answered back; “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe”. Even the Apostle Paul said in 1 Cor. 1:22 “how the Jews seek for sign”.

Mcclaren says; “We become blind to his beauty. Because, to their own impoverishing, the nobleman and his fellows were blind to all the beauty of His character. The graciousness of His nature was nothing to them. They had no eyes for His tenderness and no ears for His wisdom; but if some vulgar sign had been wrought before them, then they would have run after Him with their worthless faith. And that struck a painful chord in Christ’s heart when He thought of how all the lavishing of His love, all the grace and truth which shone radiant and lambent in His life, fell upon blind eyes, incapable of beholding His beauty; and of how the manifest revelation of a Godlike character had no power to do what could be done by a mere outward wonder.”

Jesus took the nobleman’s faith and built upon it. When we have faith as a mustard seed it becomes enough for him. His faith just needed a little stretching thats all! Give him what you have and he will change the world through you.

Spurgeon; “Give him what faith you have, and ask for more. Why should you keep yourself out of comfort by laying down a program, and demanding that the free Spirit should pay attention to it? Let him save you as he wills. Away with foolish prejudices! Imitate Bunyan when lie spake words to this effect:— ‘I was driven to such straits that I must of necessity go to Jesus; and if he had met me with a drawn sword in his hand, I would sooner have thrown myself upon the edge of his sword than have gone away from him; for I knew him to be my last hope.’ O soul, cling to thy Lord, come what may!”

Jesus said, “Go your way, your son lives.”So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.” The servants met him with the news of his son’s healing, in fact the very hour Jesus told him. What a beautiful ending to a desperate situation, and of a faith that was feeble which Jesus fixed! Time and distance make no difference to the Savior of the world.