As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. (John 4:51–53)

As the official made the long journey home on the basis of Jesus’ word, his servants arrived with the astounding news that his son was living and well. They expected him to be dead. They had no explanation. But the official had the answer—and he couldn’t keep it to himself.

This was no time for secrecy! A happy, relieved father, he now had the privilege of sharing his faith with his household, who believed along with him. It may not have been easy to do so. Just like his going to Jesus in the first place, his proclaiming faith in the Galilean peasant may have come with a social cost. But genuine faith will always, sooner or later, become vocal.

In Acts chapter 4, when the religious officials in Jerusalem told the apostles not to preach anymore of this man called Jesus, Peter and John replied, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). It’s completely understandable that having faith for faith’s sake is not much to talk about. It is, after all, an empty faith. But when our faith has an object as wonderful as the divine Word who became a man to save people from their sins and welcome them into the life of God, it would be strange for us to keep quiet.

This article was adapted from the sermon “An Illustration of Faith” by Alistair Begg.

Copyright © 2023 , Truth For Life. All rights reserved.