After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee (John 4:43-54).

One of the unique characteristics of John’s Gospel is the emphasis on the personal journeys of faith. We see people like Nicodemus, who talked to Jesus and then later became a disciple (whether immediately or later we don’t know). We see the woman at the well, who argued with Jesus but then asked, “Could this be the Christ?” (Again, John is silent on her ultimate fate.) The conversation we are going to look at in this post is another journey of “from faith to faith.” It also continues Jesus’ mission to be the Savior not to just the Jews, not to just the Samaritans, but to all the world.

Context

These events occur immediately after the events of John 4:1-42, the Samaritan woman at the well. John tells us that Jesus stayed with the Samaritans two days. After He left there, He continued His original trip to Galilee (v. 3). There are two things that set the scene here. First, John’s comment that “Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown,” reminds us that Jesus was returning home, as it were (as much as He had one). Second, John makes a point to note that there were many Galileans at the Feast mentioned in John 2:13-25 (the Passover), and saw the signs that He performed. So of course when Jesus returned to Galilee, as John notes, they welcomed Him–Jesus implies later that they welcomed Him only because of the signs.

The “official” at Capernaum that is mentioned in this conversation is most likely a Gentile official in Herod’s court. This would fit well with John’s emphasis that Jesus is the Savior of all, not just to the Jews.

A Desperate Plea

Jesus in Cana, where He turned the water into wine (2:1-12). John, as is his pattern, does not specific why Jesus chose Cana. In any case, this official hears that Jesus is in the region and went to see Him. He comes with a simple plea: “Heal my son, for he is at the point of death.” Now, notice his son wasn’t just sick or ill. He was dying. At death’s doorstep, as it were.

He makes no case, no bargains with Jesus, no trying to convince Jesus that it was the right thing to do (“I’m a really powerful man, Jesus, and I could really help You out!”). He went and humbled himself with a simple desperate cry of the heart.

Just as in the conversations with Nicodemus (John 3) and the Samaritan woman (4:1-42), Jesus’ initial reply seems out of place, even harsh. He says, “Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” In taking a closer look at His response, however, we see first that the you is plural in the Greek. Here Jesus is addressing the Galileans as a whole more than just this one official. Second, since He knew that the Galileans had welcomed Him primarily because of the signs He performed at the Passover, His response was giving the chance for the official to separate himself from them. Jesus was waiting to see a true need, not just a desire for a miracle.

A Dilemma of Faith

Again, the official does not try to bargain, argue, or persuade. He simply repeats his plea: “Sir, come down before my child dies.” One can almost hear the desperation in His heart. Jesus then simply says, “Go, your way, for your son lives.” A simple command in response to the plea, really, but it put the official in the position of having to make a choice.

Will he choose to ask for a sign to authenticate Jesus’ words, and thus put himself in the camp of the Galileans? Or will he simply return home as Jesus said, acting in faith? This is arguably the harder of the two choices. John tells us that the official “believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” He chose the harder of the two roads. This is the kind of faith that Jesus looks for–a faith which He honors. We know the rest of the story. John relates,

As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live” (vv. 51:53).

The official discovered it just as Jesus had said. The faith that he exercised in obeying Jesus’ command, I should point out, was not saving faith. He had simply asked for and received healing from Jesus. Yet, we can see the results. As with the Samaritan woman, Jesus uses the physical to open the door to the spiritual. John tells us, “And he himself believed, and all his household.”

When John uses this phraseology, it typically indicates what we might call saving faith. The official has moved from a basic faith in Jesus’ power to placing his life in Jesus’ hands. What’s the lesson here? The lesson is that the Lord will honor the simplest acts of faith, and will use those to draw men and women to Himself. One of the greatest catalysts of change in a person’s life is physical need. We must not overlook that when ministering to those around us. When we start at the point Jesus did, that too is an act of faith that He delights to honor.