Do You Need a Physical Sign to Believe in God and His Will to Make Something New? - Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

 From Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent until Tuesday of Holy Week, the Gospel Readings for week day Masses are drawn from the Gospel of John. And there is a reason for this.

John’s Gospel has a distinct way of addressing faith, compared to the Synoptic Gospels. We see a growing gap between those who come to believe and those who refuse to believe, as we read John’s Gospel narratives. So, as we move forward toward Holy Week, keep this in mind.

The Gospel Reading of Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent (John 4:43-54) describes how Jesus healed the royal official’s son in Cana in Galilee. Cana is also where Jesus performed his first miraculous sign by turning water into the choicest wine at a wedding banquet (John 2:1-11). Healing the royal official’s son in today’s Gospel Reading (John 4:43-54) is known as the second sign that Jesus performed.

The Gospel narrative tells that the royal official asked Jesus to save his son, as his son was on the blink of death shortly after returning to Galilee from Judea. To the official, Jesus said:

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe (John 4:48).

It seemed that this statement of Jesus did not register in the official, as he was desperate to have Jesus at his house to save his son. So, he asked Jesus:

Sir, come down before my child dies”(John 4:49).

Jesus replied:

You may go; your son will live” (John 4:50a).

Why did Jesus respond like this to the royal official’s request?

The official asked Jesus to come to his house, where his son was dying. But, Jesus simply dismissed the official in saying, “your son will live”.

Why was that? Why Jesus did not go to the official house, as requested?

To understand, we need to remember what Jesus said to the official earlier:

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe (John 4:48).

Jesus knew that the official would not believe in him unless he sees a visible or tangible sign. So, he dismissed the official and did not go to his house but simply said that his son would live in order to test the official’s faith. Faith means to believe but not just to believe but to believe without seeing or touching (i.e. John 20:24-29).

So, the royal official believed what Jesus said and went home, as dismissed by Jesus (John 4:50b).

Because he believed and went home without taking Jesus, while on his way, his servant came to inform him that the official’s son would live, and the official also figured out that the son began to recover when Jesus said that the official’s son would live (John 4:51-53).

Jesus did not go to the royal official’s house though it was what was requested of him by the official but dismissed him, simply telling of the official’s son’s recovery. It was to test the faith of the official – to test to see if he would believe what Jesus said even seeing without seeing. And the son was healed because the official believed what Jesus said and went home as dismissed by Jesus.

To better understand the importance of faith – believing without physical presence or physical signs, compare today’s Gospel narrative (John 4:43-54) to the Matthew’s narrative of Jesus healing a Roman centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13). While the Roman centurion did not ask Jesus’ physical presence, the royal official ask Jesus to be physically present.

The centurion’s servant was healed even though Jesus was not physically present with the servant, because the centurion believed in Jesus and what he said. In fact this is what the centurion said to Jesus:

Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed (Matthew 8:8).

Now compare this to what the royal official said to Jesus:

Sir, come down before my child dies (John 4:49).

Jesus found this Roman centurion’s faith and humility was impressive (Matthew 8:10-12) – no match to Jews in Galilee who would not believe unless seeing visible and tangible signs (John 4:45, 48).

Jews in Galilee welcomed Jesus upon his return from Judea because they heard about signs that he performed in Jerusalem (John 4:45; cf. John 2:23).

The First Reading (Isaiah 65:17-21) described an post-exilic eschatological vision of the Messianic Kingdom to be established on earth as it is in heaven. For this, Jesus has come to us, and he wants us to believe, preferably, without seeing. Obviously, Jesus wants us to believe that his Kingdom will come – though we have not seen it in our naked eyes yet.

The way the Kingdom is envisioned is that it is the ultimate manifestation of God’s will to make something new. It does not mean to simply bring back what has been lost but to make something totally brand-new. Thus, the Messianic Kingdom is not a restored Eden, which has been lost ever since the fall of Adam and Eve. It is totally new and it is not yet seen to anyone’s naked eyes – except John, to whom Jesus gave its vision, as written in Revelation 21:1-22:5.

God’s will to make something new is also reflected in His declaration to remove the reproach of Egypt when the Israelites celebrated Passover in Gilgal, as reflected in the First Reading of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle C (Joshua 5:9a, 10-12). It was also found in the Second Reading of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle C (2 Corinthians 5:17-21), making us new creations in Christ. And, it is further reflected in the transformation of the prodigal son, as he was lost to sin but found in his father’s mercy, as his old filthy clothes were replaced with new splendid garments, described in the Gospel Reading of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32).

It is ultimately our belief, namely, our faith, that makes it possible for us to enter the Messianic Kingdom. All of these seven signs performed by Jesus sure are to help us believe and have faith in him for the Kingdom to come. But, even without these signs, the Word spoken by Jesus is enough to find our way to the Kingdom (i.e. Matthew 8:8). Also the Holy Spirit is necessary for us to believe and enter the Kingdom as faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9).

If we receive the Word and the Holy Spirit, then, we believe, even without a sign. Then, we are on our way to the Kingdom, which reflects God’s will to make something new.

Without faith, no entry into the Kingdom. The question is: Do you need a sign to have faith or to keep faith? Or can you have faith without a visible and tangible sign, because the Word and the Holy Spirit are enough? 

As it is in His will, God is making something totally new toward the Messianic Kingdom. But without faith, we will not see it and cannot be benefited from it. Thus, for our eschatological and soteriological purpose, we need to boost our faith.