Upon first read of our text this morning, it may appear that Jesus becomes impatient with this man. The nobleman pleads with Jesus at least twice in our text to come to the bedside of his son, whose death seems certain, so that he might be healed. The Christ seems to have been short with him, as if he had no time for this man’s misery. Jesus heals the son with a simple word, not moving a foot, and not deviating from his path to Golgotha.
This does not provoke him at all, as our Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord Christ, who has given this man faith by his word, now desires him to grow in that faith. It is certain that the man already believed in Christ. As he leaves his dying son to seek out Jesus, he intercedes for his own child. Then he demands that Jesus accompany him so that the miracle can be performed. Instead, he is left in contentment with the words of our Lord that “your son is alive.” At first, he doesn’t see a way besides Jesus coming with him. His faith does not cling to the words of God, only to the signs and wonders. Yet, this man’s demand remains unfulfilled. It is only after he has been humbled and while returning home that the man is informed that at the very moment Jesus spoke those words, his son was saved from death.
There are not one but two miracles in this text. First, of course, the son who was near death is completely restored to life again. The second miracle is the faith of the father, the nobleman. At the beginning, his faith is weak and immature. And finally, it is made to grow and develop. He is made humble and meek. The man no longer depends on what he must see with his eyes, but he can rely on the words that he can hear with his ears. For faith that can only believe in what it sees is lost when there are no more miracles left to see. This is the greater miracle that the father grows in his faith. The seed planted by our Lord’s word began to take root in the Earth and sprouts to become a tree. For we know if it is seeds in the ground or our faith given to us by Christ, it will not endure hardship and drought when it does not mature and increase.
To be clear, it is faith in Christ that is given to us by the Holy Spirit that saves us. It is this faith that is accounted as righteousness. For we do not merit such grace from God. Saint Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” We do not choose to believe in Christ. As children do not decide to be conceived and born, nor do seeds decide to be planted. So is it with the children of God. For Christ plants the seeds of faith, and we are born again of above, being children of our heavenly Father.
This work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts does not remove the fact that faith in Christ must be maintained and nurtured so it can increase and meet trials and hardships. Our Lord says in John chapter 15, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Note that he does not call us the fruit but the branches. These branches, of course, come from Christ. And so do the fruit on the branches. For branches on their own, cannot produce fruit, they cannot grow, and they cannot even survive. The only way the branch will survive is by being attached to the vine.
Christ desires us to bear much fruit, to be branches that yield 20-fold, 30-fold, and 100-fold. Not an order that we would be saved by our works. In order that we may endure the things that try to take us away from Christ. Vines that produce only a little fruit will not endure and will die off when the birds of the air come to eat the fruit or to take the leaves for a nest. The entire branch will be bare and wither away when it is struck by the sun and scorched by heat. Or if an animal comes into the vineyard to eat every sprouting fruit and only leaves it to chew on the vine until it is gone. Or, if pests and insects carrying diseases infect the fruit, the branch will also become infected.
These are all things that happen to our faith daily. As the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh try to cut us off from Christ. Yet, it is the branches that are firmly attached to Christ that grow and flourish. So when the birds, the pests, the insects come that aspire to pluck our fruit away. It is our faith in Christ that produces even more fruit in times of hardship, which are so abundant that when a grape is taken, a bushel grows in its place. We are deeply rooted in Christ, and his Spirit has given us growth through his words and sacraments.
For even our increase in faith is not by our own doing, but it is by the work of God. As he has given us the faith in his Son, he desires to see to it until the very end. And we will obtain the goal of our faith, what Paul calls the end of faith, for we will know Christ face to face. And there our redemption will be complete, and we will behold the fullness of our salvation in the company of all the Saints in light. For on that final day, we will be gathered in our Lord’s harvest and brought to his heavenly banquet that will have no end.
It is God who has given us faith in His Son, and he will also give us the growth. So if you wonder if you have grown in your faith or if you haven’t grown enough, that is certainly not the case at all, because it does not come from ourselves. It comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, who has by the cross paid the sacrifice of sins, so that he may give us the Holy Spirit and faith in him. And similar to this man who came on behalf of his son, our faith grows, assurances strengthened, and convictions endure. As Christ saved his son’s life not according to his desires, but in a way Christ desired that would save not only the son from physical death, but ultimately his entire family from eternal death, as they all came to believe.
So, as we journey to our final homes, you are much like this nobleman. We are given the words of Jesus and sent to go on our way, that our faith in Christ would grow and increase all of them more. Therefore, cling to the words of life he has spoken and hold Christ to those words. Plant yourself in the Word of God, and your faith will grow into eternal life. When we reach our final homes, we have no one else to think but Christ Jesus, who has supplied the faith and the growth. Thanks be to God.
St. John's and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Parish 