From a Distance

FROM A DISTANCE Have you ever had a high fever? A high fever. A burning fever. The kind of fever that makes you shiver under electric blankets set to 'high'. The kind of fever that has you begging for mercy. Which is worse - a cold or a fever? A cold prolongs suffering but the fever is intense suffering. Neither are pleasant experiences. The word fever is mentioned several times in Scripture. The Hebrew word for fever is charcar from the root word charar, meaning to burn, melt, glow or inflammation of the body. In Greek the word is puretos. A fever can be a curse for disobedience. "The LORD will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they shall pursue you until you perish." (Deut. 28:22) Job endured fever "My skin turns black on me, and my bones burn with fever." (Job 30:30) Simon Peter's mother-in-law suffered from a fever. And when Yeshua Jesus had come to Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her (Matt. 8:14-15). Fevers can torture the soul because the burning sensation can be so bad, that there appears to be no help. Publius' father suffered from a fever. And it came about that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him (Acts 28:8). One of the miraculous signs (John uses the word 'sign' in his gospel) that Yeshua Jesus did in the Gospels was to heal a boy of a fever, and He did it from a distance. We all know of Cana as the place where Yeshua did His first miraculous sign, and Cana was the site of Jesus' second miraculous sign, according to John's gospel. He came therefore again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain royal official, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him. He beseeched Yeshua Jesus to come down and heal his son for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off. And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"; and he himself believed, and his whole household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed, when He had come out of Judea into Galilee (John 4:46-54). The royal official approached Jesus, we know not if he was a Jew or a Gentile. He could have been a Gentile as he was a royal official (possibly worked for Herod). He might have been a Jew, as he knew that Jesus was in Galilee from Judea. We do know that his son was sick in Capernaum and he went to Cana to see Jesus. He begged Jesus to come and heal his son. Sir, come down, he cries. Sir, come down before my child dies. Sir, come down to my lowly state. Come down to my lowly abode or I shall die. In seven words, Yeshua proclaims the boy will live. He heals the boy, from a distance. Not only did the boy get healed from the fever, the boy lived. Not only did the boy live, he became a believer. Not only did the father see his son be healed, his son lived. Not only did the father see his son live, he saw his son believe. Not only did he see his son believe, he and his entire household believed. The first miraculous sign in Cana involved things - water changing into wine. The second miraculous sign in Cana involved people - lives being changed from death to life. The Great Descender, Yeshua Jesus, comes down to us - to you, to me, and gives aid and mercy to us in our time of need. Sir, come down. Sir, descend. LORD, help! LORD, save me! LORD, help me in the midst of this despair! Jesus, come to my rescue. From a distance, He raised the royal official's son from death to life; from life to life eternal. He does the same miraculous work for you today. From a distance. www.barricae.com Copyright 2004, further reproduction prohibited.