Based on John 4:39-54 (New King James Version)
“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’ Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.’ The nobleman said to Him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your son lives. So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, ‘Your son lives!’ Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, ‘Your son lives.’ And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”
The French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal said the following about faith: "There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition." The rationale behind this can be interpreted in that God leaves just enough ambiguity to test human intent and yet, preserve free will. To further explain this point—and how it relates to the biblical quote—we should first look a bit at Blaise Pascal’s background. Blaise was born on June 19, 1623, in Clermont-Ferrand, France, the son of a tax collector. He was a prodigy in mathematics and science, credited with many achievements and insights that we still utilize in those fields today. For instance, at the age of sixteen, he wrote a significant treatise on projective geometry and conic sections. Later, he would significantly influence modern economics and social sciences through the development of the probability theory. In 1642, he began working on what were then called calculating machines, establishing himself as one of the inventors of the mechanical calculator. These are just a few of Pascal’s many achievements that have shaped human progress. Yet, alongside these accomplishments, he came to faith later in life.
What is the point of all this? The point is that many people attribute their lack of faith—or their struggles with faith—to intellectual factors, believing themselves too intelligent to accept the existence of God and Jesus Christ. They justify their unbelief by citing their supposed intellectual superiority. However, history has seen many intelligent and powerful individuals—even prodigies like Pascal—whose intellect did not hinder their faith. There were Gentile kings who professed faith in God—such as Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus—who ruled vast portions of the world; as they themselves acknowledged, they did so only because God permitted and granted them that authority. History also tells us of Charlemagne the Great, the first emperor to rule the Holy Roman Empire, who established the first Christian government over the world. So, as Pascal said, the whole matter of faith has nothing to do with the intellect, or power, or anything of the sort; rather, it is a simple question of whether or not a person desires to have faith. It is not a matter of aptitude or ability, but of free will—of whether a person chooses to believe or not. And this leads us to the following.
The Lord said: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” And this holds true for many people. Most people wait for some kind of physical proof of God before deciding to have faith in Him. Yet we know from the Word—as well as from the reality we see today—that no matter what God does or what happens, if there is no desire to believe, there is no faith. In the Word, we see all the deeds the Lord performed on earth. And we see that, despite all the signs He performed—even raising the dead—the people in general did not believe. They saw His works, they touched them; Lazarus even lived and walked among them after having been dead for four days, yet they did not come to such faith. Instead, what did they do to the Lord? They arrested Him, scourged Him, crowned Him with thorns, and finally, nailed Him to a cross, where He poured out all His blood and died. Some might foolishly say: "That was the fault of the religious Jews." Here is what the Word says: “Pilate said to them, ‘What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said to him, ‘Let Him be crucified!’ Then the governor said, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they cried out all the more, saying, ‘Let Him be crucified!’ When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.’ And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’” Matthew 27:22-25. Therefore, signs and wonders are of little avail, because they produce something temporary or rootless. If faith is reached, it is not permanent.
Yet, we see the example of the Samaritan woman and the people who were with her. All the Lord did was reveal a hidden truth—He revealed the woman's sin. There were no great healings, no multiplication of food, no deliverance from demons, nor anything of the sort. There were no signs. The Samaritans believed He was the Christ simply because of what the woman told them and what He preached to them during His two-day stay.
So, to be able to believe, is not all His creation—the work of His Word—sufficient? Is it not enough to consider everything that happens and exists because He allows it—things entirely beyond our control, such as the air we breathe, the beating of our hearts, the rain, the sun, gravity, and so many other things that exist because He permits them? As it is written: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20. And most significant for our future: Is the sublime display of love—shown when He died on the cross for all humanity so that, by grace and faith in Him, we might have eternal life—not enough? Is His mercy not enough? It is written: “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Hebrews 10:29-30a. We have far more than enough to come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as such. The only thing required is the willingness to believe. So, have you decided to have faith in Christ through the revelation of His Truth? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!