Seeing is Believing?
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
A royal official believed Jesus’ words that his son was healed—even before he returned to his son. A lesson in faith that can echo in our hearts still today.
Humble Hero (Desire of Ages)
Chapter 20 - Except Ye See Signs and Wonders
What would you do, or what would you give up, in order to save your child’s life? In today’s lesson this isn’t a hypothetical question. The nobleman’s son is dying and nothing the doctors could do would save his life. The nobleman has to make a choice: accept Jesus’ word, or walk away. What would you do? Let’s find out what it’s like to be faced with a choice like this.
Have each student take three minutes to go outside (either the Sabbath School room or their home) and look for a flower or flowering shrub. Instruct them to take several close-up pictures with their phone that they can share with their classmates.
What makes each of us special? We are all humans, created in the image of God, but we are also all different. God is the ultimate parent. He loves each of us equally, so imagine how He feels when one of His children refuses to follow His guidance. Let’s see what happens when a human parent is faced with the difficult choice of giving up control and letting God do His work.
Read John 4:43-45
43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
Read John 4:46-50.
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.
Read John 4:51-54.
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.
When you see Jesus working in your life or the life of someone you love, how does it make you feel? Can you relate to this story? Think about the fact that without Jesus’ divine intervention this man was going to lose his son. Most of us have never been faced with a crisis of that magnitude, but our crises are just as painful. Are you willing to put your problems in Jesus’ hands and let Him work to make you whole again?
LEADER’S NOTE
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
Jesus’ reputation was beginning to form. His mission with His disciples continued as they traveled across Judea. Their travels took them through Samaria where He had met a woman at Jacob’s well. This woman, being one of the scorned of the city, came out to the well when no one else would be there. Little did she know that this day would be different and she would meet her Messiah. The young man she met would change her life and she made no secret of it, sharing it with anyone who would listen.
This week we continue to follow Jesus back to Galilee where His first miracle took place. Here He would teach yet another lesson to the people surrounding Him. The Galileans, having heard of all the miracles and having seen the things Jesus had done, accepted Him. We will meet a man that showed powerful faith, putting the life of his son into the hands of the humble carpenter from Nazareth.
Who is the person you trust the most?
Read John 4:43-54.
43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
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.
This week, for the first time, we see Jesus save the life of a person, bringing him back from the brink of death. We see the incredible power of faith. A father so trusting in the power of God, he left to return to his ailing son with no proof that he was cured. Many people, as Jesus said, must see in order to believe, but the nobleman provided an excellent example when he showed such complete trust in Jesus.
In our everyday lives we have to learn how to trust, and we have to make the decision to put our faith in God. This story is one of the many that shows us the faith we should have. We tend to show the minimum amount of faith. We depend on what we can see and do not like putting our faith in Someone whom we cannot see. Like the nobleman, we must learn to act on our faith in God.
The Galileans only believed in Jesus because of the proof they had received, but the nobleman needed no proof to believe. He put his full trust in this Man he had just met. We each face our own trials and have the option to release these pressures, but because we are reluctant to have faith, we hold on to all of our problems.
Sometimes even when we receive signs from God, we choose to ignore them. We are given proof and we are given good reason to trust, but we still refuse when all it would take is one look. There are so many signs of God’s love, care, and power. Whether it is a blooming flower, family, or the food waiting on the table for you in the morning, there is proof everywhere that you are loved and cared for.
