No Distance Too Far

He Spoke, and It Was Done

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Jesus never went to Capernaum that day. He stayed in Cana and spoke one sentence. Twenty miles away, a dying boy got well. How could words do that?

Just a word. Jesus said, “Go your way; your son lives” (John 4:50). He did not touch the boy, stand by his bed or send him medicine.

At that hour. The fever left the boy at the very hour Jesus spoke (John 4:52-53). His word did not need time to travel.

The word that made the world. On the first day of creation, God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light (Genesis 1:3). Nothing was there until God spoke.

He spoke. “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). When God speaks, things happen.

Jesus is the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word is Jesus. Everything was made through Him.

The Word became a man. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The voice that made the stars spoke to a worried dad in Cana.

Holding it all together. Jesus is “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). His word keeps the whole world going right now.

A soldier who understood. A Roman centurion had a servant who was dying. He sent word to Jesus: “But say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Luke 7:7).

Orders. The centurion knew about giving orders. When he told a soldier to go, the soldier went (Luke 7:8). He knew Jesus' word had far more power than his.

Great faith. Jesus said, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Luke 7:9). The servant was healed, and Jesus never went into the house (Luke 7:10).

A living word. “For the word of God is living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). The same word is in your Bible. It still changes hearts and lives today.

A son given back. At the town of Nain, Jesus met a widow whose only son had died. He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise” (Luke 7:14). The young man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother (Luke 7:15).

What to do. Before you read the Bible this week, pray and ask the Lord to speak to you through His word. Then read it, remembering that the One who made the world is speaking.

Jesus healed the nobleman's son without going near him. That shows who Jesus is: the Word through whom everything was made.

The Word. John calls Jesus the Word, in Greek logos (say: LOH-gos), meaning a word or message. “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). The One who spoke in Cana is the Word who was with God and was God.

Creation by speech. In Genesis 1, God speaks and creation answers. God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light (Genesis 1:3). Psalm 33:9 sums it up: “For He spoke, and it was done.”

Hebrews 11:3. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.” The faith that trusts God as Creator is the same faith that trusts Jesus' word to heal.

Hebrews 1:3. The Son is “upholding all things by the word of His power.” Jesus did not just start the world. He keeps it going moment by moment.

The centurion (Luke 7:1-10). A Gentile officer understood authority: “For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me” (7:8). If his word could move soldiers, Jesus' word could move sickness.

Two officials. The nobleman first wanted Jesus to come; the centurion asked Him not to come, only to speak. Jesus led the nobleman to the faith the centurion already had: trust in His word alone.

Space is no barrier. Jesus is fully God and fully man. In His body He stood in Cana, but His power as God is not held to one place. Distance never kept Him from the boy.

Hebrews 4:12. God's word is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” Through the words of Scripture God still speaks and acts.

Isaiah 9:6. The Child born for us is called “Mighty God.” The healer in Cana is the Mighty God whom Isaiah promised.

Why it matters. If Jesus' word made the world and holds it together, then His promises to you are not weak. God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5), and that word is as strong as the word that healed the boy.

Application. Read one of Jesus' promises aloud this week, such as Matthew 11:28, and remember whose voice it is. Then answer Him in prayer.

The Same Hour, Wherever You Are

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The father was on the road between Cana and Capernaum. His son was at home. Jesus was back in Cana. At one o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus took care of all of it at once.

The right moment. The servants told the father, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him” (John 4:52). It was the same hour Jesus had spoken (4:53). Jesus was not late.

Jesus knew. Jesus knew exactly what was happening in a house He could not see. Nothing about your life is hidden from Him either.

Always with you. Before He went back to heaven, Jesus said, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Nowhere too far. King David prayed that if he went up to heaven, down to the grave or to the far side of the sea, God would be there to lead him (Psalm 139:7-10).

A present help. “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Present means here, right now.

Jesus prays for us. Jesus is in heaven now, and “He always lives to make intercession” for His people (Hebrews 7:25). Intercession means praying for someone.

Bring your worries. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). You can talk to Jesus about anything, anywhere.

Come boldly. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Pray for each other. “Pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). God loves to answer when His people pray together.

When healing does not come. Sometimes God heals right away. Sometimes He does not take the sickness away yet, and He gives strength to keep going instead. He is still near, and He is still good.

In the storm. One night a storm hit the disciples' boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was right there with them. He spoke to the wind and the waves, and they became calm (Mark 4:35-41).

Do not be afraid. God tells His people, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God” (Isaiah 41:10). The Jesus who cared about one sick boy is with you too.

What to do. Make a short list of people who are sick or worried. Pray for one of them each day this week, and trust Jesus with the answer.

The father asked about the hour, and the answer pointed straight to Jesus. At the moment Jesus spoke in Cana, the fever left in Capernaum (John 4:52-53).

The seventh hour. Counting from about six in the morning, it was about one in the afternoon. Jesus' word was not early or late. It came at the moment He chose.

Jesus knows. Jesus “knew all men” and “knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25). He knew the boy's condition without anyone in the house telling Him.

Present everywhere. God is not limited to one place. David asked where he could go from God's Spirit, and answered that heaven, the grave and the far side of the sea are all within His reach (Psalm 139:7-10).

The risen Jesus prays for us. “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:34). From heaven He cares for His people on earth, just as He cared from Cana for a boy in Capernaum.

Matthew 28:20. Jesus' last promise in Matthew is His presence: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Distance between us and Jesus is never the problem.

Prayer and healing. James 5:16 calls believers to “pray for one another, that you may be healed,” and adds, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” God still heals in answer to prayer.

Honest about suffering. God does not promise to remove every sickness in this life. Sometimes He heals, and sometimes He gives strength to keep going. A no or a not yet from God still comes from love.

Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God.” Even when the answer is different from what we asked, God is at work for His children's good.

In the boat (Mark 4:35-41). In a storm the frightened disciples woke Jesus and asked if He cared that they were perishing. He spoke to the wind, the sea became calm, and He asked why they were so fearful. He was with them the whole time, and His word ruled the storm.

Isaiah 41:10. “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.” God's presence is the answer to fear, and in Jesus that presence came close to us.

Application. Pray specifically, the way the father did, and then trust Jesus with the timing and the answer. Keep a prayer journal this month and write down how God answers.

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Read each section and answer the questions correctly.