Marvels: Healing of the Royal Official’s Son
Welcome to our new series Marvels: Miracles of Jesus in the Gospel of John. This week Pete and Jarm discuss the healing of the royal official’s son in John 4.
1. To begin, discuss in your group what miracles you have witnessed in your life, or the life of someone close to you. How do you define the miraculous?
Read the passage in John 4:43-54 together.
2. Discuss the quote from Gary Burge that Pete included in his sermons both this week and last week:
“John wants us to see beyond this event, to see the sign as a means to an end, and not an end in itself. The story prompts us not simply to promote Jesus’ power and somehow prove that because he has this power, he is who he claims to be. The story invites us to ask penetrating questions about this person, and when we glimpse his glory we will discover faith.”
3. Think about Jesus’s signs at the wedding in Cana (turning water into wine) and the healing of the royal official’s son. What do these miraculous signs show us about Jesus? What questions do these miracles cause you to ask?
4. How do the more “mundane” miracles described in these passages (there is no big reveal or “wow factor”) help you to see the “everyday” miracles God grants you?
5. Talk about some everyday miracles. In what ways are you tempted to dismiss the miraculous, writing it off as a coincidence? How can you begin to increase your awareness for these types of miracles?
6. The royal official shows extraordinary faith in the words of Jesus (“Go, your son will live”). What are some areas of your life in which you can begin to trust in Jesus like the official did?
(*Video available after Sunday services)
