NBC Sunday School Manual For July 10, 2021 :Topic -THE WORD HEALS
NBC SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2022
TOPIC: THE WORD HEALS
Background & Lesson Scripture: John 4:46-54
GOLDEN TEXT
Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed. John 4: 53
Objectives: By the end of the lesson, class members should be able to:
I. Define faith in their own words;
II. Explain how faith in Jesus Christ strengthens our relationship with Him;
III. Exercise their faith in Jesus for healing.
INTRODUCTION
In a dialogue between two brothers, an argument arose. The subject of the argument was based on the concept of: ‘seeing and believing” and “believing before seeing”. Looking confused and worried, the first brother demanded to know the difference between the two. The other brother who is more mature in faith explained that seeing is not believing. Those who hold on to this assertion always want to see miracles happen before they could believe. Without doubt, these groups of people are faithless. They do not believe in the power of Jesus to work miracles because they want to physically see before they believe. He further explained that those who believe before they see the physical manifestation have faith in Jesus and His power to work miracles even though they did not perceive its evidences. A. T. Robertson describes it as “the stubborn refusal of people to believe in Christ without miracles.” However, we shall examine the lives of some people in the Bible and the method with which Jesus related with them. Their situations were different and
Jesus’ method with which He related with each of them was also different. More importantly God-given Jesus’ encounter with them was a opportunity to prove His power and authority over sicknesses and diseases.
The latter part of chapter 4 of the gospel of John has the record of the encounter of a royal, probably a Jewish officer, whose son was sick and was at the point of death. The distance between Capernaum where the man lived and Cana of Galilee where Jesus was ministering was about 20-25 miles apart. Despite the distance between the two cities, the man demonstrated faith and believed that Jesus can heal his son. He took the step of faith and begged that Jesus should heal his sick son. Of course, his faith worked for him because the Scripture says that the boy was healed while the man was still on his way home. Because of the miracle, the man and his household believed in Jesus. The focus of today’s lesson is to encourage believers on the need to have faith in God’s word and believe in His power to heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases.
THE LESSON EXPLAINED
A. Request for Healing. John 4:43-47
Jesus left for Galilee after His encounter with the Samaritan woman. Interestingly, He received a warm welcome in Galilee because the people of Galilee had seen everything He did during the Feast of Passover in Jerusalem. He later returned to the city of Cana in Galilee where He performed the first miracle of turning water into wine. There, He met a royal officer whose son was sick in Capernaum. When the man heard about Jesus, he asked Him to come to Capernaum to heal his sick son who was at the point of death.
It is most likely that the situation was beyond the official’s control. He was faced with a great challenge of losing his son without any possible solution. It is also possible that he had exhausted all huma effort. But when he heard about Jesus’ arrival in Galilee from Judea, he had strong faith that Jesus could heal his son and he sought for help. He seized the opportunity to approach Jesus and begged Him passionately to come and heal his son. Without doubt, the official would have heard about Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine in Cana of Galilee thus; he did not hesitate to come to Him with faith and boldness. The testimony is that the man acted in faith and believed in Jesus’ ability to heal his son rather than waiting to see the miracle being performed before he believes. The lesson is that Christians should cultivate the habit of seeking Jesus’ intervention in times of trouble because as many that come to Him, He will not cast them away. He honours those who trust in Him.
DISCUSSION TIME
1. Discuss what the official did that is worthy of emulation according to the passage.
2. Discuss what they would have done especially considering the fact that Jesus was in Cana of Galilee and the sick son was in Capernaum.
B. The Healing of a Sick Boy. John 4:48-54
The man was desperate to have his son healed from imminent death. But Jesus’ response to the request of the man appears harsh. He said, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” (v.48). Nevertheless, the man did not argue with Jesus neither did he try to defend himself. He rather persisted in his request with atone of urgency saying, “Come with me before my son dies.” Obviously, the man was desperate and he threw himself on Jesus. Seeing his faith and persistence, Jesus was moved with compassion and said to the man, “Go, your son will live!” (v.50). By implication, Jesus commanded him to go home because his son was already healed. The man believed and obeyed Jesus’ command. On his way home, his servants met him with the testimony that the boy was healed.
Since after Jesus’ public ministry, this is the second miracle He will perform. Though from a distance country, Jesus spoke His Word with authority and the sick boy was healed. Also noteworthy in the passage is the official’s faith and obedience. He believed the Word that Jesus spoke to him and went home as Jesus directed him immediately (v.50), without any iota of doubt in his mind. More importantly, he did not wait to confirm the healing of his son before he believed.
Therefore, faith is more than mere affirmation of God’s nature; it is total trust in God’s power regardless of any circumstance. It should be noted that this is one of the several miracles that Jesus performed at a distance, which led people to put their faith in Him (Matthew 8:5-13, 15; Luke 7:110). The aftermath of the healing of the officer’s son was that he and his household believed and were saved. His faith was contagious because he was able to lead his family to Jesus Christ. Of course, this is evidence that faith in Christ Jesus strengthens the relationship among those who believe in Him. When we seek evidence of our miracles before we believe, we will miss God’s blessings.
DISCUSSION TIME
1. Discuss the implication of Jesus’ statement in verse 48.
2. Why do some Christians find it difficult to believe the words of Jesus unlike the official in today’s lesson?
Commitment: Based on today’s lesson, make a personal commitment to God to have faith in His word that became flesh.
Fellowship and Ministry Building Activity:
Let at least two class members share their personal testimonies about God’s recent miraculous healing that would have
led to death.
Prayer Points:
▪︎ Pray for those who are sick in your class
▪︎ Pray for those who are sick in the church
▪︎ Hold hands together as a class and declare the word of God concerning healing and health in the class, church and in your family.
Take Home: Write down three lessons you are taking home from today’s lesson.