BYSTANDER | WEEK 2
WEEK 2: LIVING AS IF
In order to demonstrate who he was, Jesus performed a number of miracles, which the apostle John referred to as “signs.”
The first of those signs was at a joyous occasion where Jesus turned water into wine.
The second sign was in the midst of a heartbreaking circumstance in which a father desperately asked Jesus to heal his dying son.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Give an example of something you believe (or believed) based solely on what someone else told you about it.
Tragedy can often cause people (even those who claim to not believe in God) to look up—whether it’s questioning or shaking our fists.
Why do you think that is?
Read John 4:46–54, where the apostle John recounts the story of Jesus healing a government official’s son.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” 53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. 54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
3. How familiar is this story to you?
Is there anything you just read that stands out as new information?
What are some details about this story that would lead a reader to believe this actually happened?
In verse 48, what seems to be Jesus’ main motivation for performing this miracle?
In verse 53, what type of emotion do you think the official had when he realized his son was being healed at the same time he had been talking to Jesus?
John tells us that the official and his entire household believed. How was this miracle not just a random act of kindness, but more of a strategic plan?
The official was desperate for Jesus to personally come to his son, but instead, he ended up going home without Jesus.
He didn’t know for sure his son was healed until he was told later.
In what ways do our lives mirror the wait that the leader had to endure until he got word his son was healed?
4. The testimony of others is what prompted the leader to seek Jesus for help. How might our testimonies cause people to seek Jesus?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
Jesus recognized there would be people who would believe in him who were not eyewitnesses to his miracles, and he looked into the future and called us blessed— in other words, happy, joyful, and peaceful.
Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. John 20:29