ACC ~ John 4 v48

MIRACLES ARE FOR THE UNBELIEVING

CHRYSOSTOM: The fact that he came and asked for help was a mark of faith. He also believed Jesus’ words when he told him, “Go, your son lives,” since he indeed did go. Then why does he say this here? Is he contrasting him with the Samaritans, who believed without signs, or is he rebuking Capernaum in the person of this centurion who was from there?… But notice also how the centurion only believes when his servants inform him, not when Christ spoke to him. And so Jesus rebukes the state of mind the man had when he first came to him and spoke to him. In this way he also draws him along in his faith since he had not believed as strongly before the miracle took place…. The man says, “Sir, come down, or my child will die.” It is as if he were saying that Jesus could not raise his son after death, as though Jesus did not already know what state the child was in. It is for this reason that Christ rebukes him and touches his conscience, in order to show that his miracles were done principally for the sake of the soul. For here he heals the father who was sick in mind no less than the son in order to persuade us to listen to him, not because of his miracles but because of his teaching. Miracles are not for the faithful but for the unbelieving and for people who are not as knowledgeable about the faith. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 35.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:124**.

DO NOT WAIT FOR MIRACLES

CHRYSOSTOM: So what are we taught by these things? We are taught not to wait for miracles or to seek promises of the power of God. I see a lot of people, even now, who become more pious when, during the sufferings of a child or the sickness of a wife, they see any sign of relief. And yet, even if their child or wife did not obtain that relief, they still should persist in giving thanks and in glorifying God. Because right-minded servants and those who love their Master as they ought should run to him not only when they are pardoned but also when chastised. For this too also shows the tender care of God, since “those whom the Lord loves he also chastens.” [1] HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 35.3. [2]

[1] Heb 12:6.

[2] NPNF 1 14:125**.

WHY SUCH HARSH WORDS?

GREGORY THE GREAT: I see only one thing that I need to explain to you: why the one who had come for a cure heard the words “Unless you see signs and portents, you do not believe.” The one who was seeking a cure for his son surely believed; he would not be seeking a cure from one he did not believe could do it.

Why, then, did he hear the words “Unless you see signs and portents, you do not believe,” when he believed before he saw the sign? But recall what he was asking, and you will see that his faith was in doubt. He asked Jesus earnestly to come down and heal his son. He was asking for the physical presence of the Lord, who is nowhere absent in his spirit. He had little faith in one he thought could not heal unless he was physically present. If he had believed completely, he would have known that there was no place where God was not present. He was considerably distrustful, then, since it was not the Lord’s greatness he esteemed but his physical presence. He sought a cure for his son even though his faith was in doubt, since he believed that the one he had approached had the power to cure, and yet he thought he was not with his dying son. But the Lord whom he asked to come revealed that he was not absent from the place he was invited to. He who created everything by his will performed the cure by his command alone. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 28. [1]

[1] CS 123:221-22.