Healing the Official’s Son
TRANSLATION
(43) After two days Jesus departed for Galilee, (44) (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown). (45) When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they had also gone to the feast.
(46) He came once again to Cana of Galilee where he turned the water into wine. At Capernaum lived a royal official whose son lay very ill. (47) When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he came to him and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. (48) Jesus then said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” (49) The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” (50) Jesus said to him, “Go on your way. Your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus had spoken to him and went on his way.” (51) And as he was coming back (to Capernaum), his servants met him and reported that his son was recovering. (52) When he asked them the hour when he had begun to improve, they told him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” (53) The father knew that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” He believed (in Jesus) along with his entire household. (54) This was now the second sign which Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
OBSERVATIONS
In this segment John recorded for us the second sign miracle Jesus performed, this one challenging a royal official from Capernaum to believe in his ability to heal his son remotely. Several repetitions help us determine the segment’s thrust. “Galilee/Galileans” occurred four times (one time in vs. 43, twice in vs. 45, and again in vs. 46) and then twice in the phrase “Judea to Galilee” (vss. 47 & 54). Seven mentions of “Jesus” (in vss. 44, 47, 48, twice in vs. 50, and in vss. 53 & 54), three of “son,” (vss. 46, 50, & 53), three of “believe/believed” (vss. 48, 50, & 53), and two of “royal official” (vss. 46 & 49) completed the repetitions.
OUTLINE
I. The Galileans welcomed Jesus when he returned to their region. (43-45)
II. The official from Capernaum successfully petitioned Jesus to heal his dying son. (46-54)
IDEA STATEMENT
Those who place their faith in what Jesus tells them will receive all that Jesus has promised to give them.
APPLICATION
Note the progression John established for his readers in these verses regarding the nature of faith. First, Jesus challenged his hearers to move beyond the kind of belief that relies on “signs and wonders” (vs. 48). We could characterize this kind of faith as, “Only when I see will I believe.” In the next verse, John noted that the official “believed the word that Jesus had spoken to him and went on his way” (vs. 49). As a result of placing his trust in Jesus’ words, his son was healed at the very moment when he believed.
John then recorded that, as a result of his son’s healing, the official and his whole household believed, but in what? In the context of this chapter, it seems clear that John was emphasizing the principle that, when we place our faith in Christ, he will give us not only what we ask for but more, the gift of life eternal that he has promised to those who trust in him. This was the same kind of faith Nicodemus displayed (Jn. 3) and the same kind of faith the woman at the well and the people of Sychar manifested (Jn. 4). In the case of this royal official, not only was the son miraculously healed, but his whole household received the gift of eternal life because of their faith in Christ.