John 4:43-54

Jesus Heals the Official's Son

43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that prophets have no honor in their 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.



Dig Deeper

When I was teaching high school history a few years back, I used to love to take the kids to the public museum in Milwaukee. There was much to see and it was a pretty good history museum. I really wanted the kids to see some of the incredible displays that they had there. In order to facilitate that, I would often give them a scavenger hunt list of things to look for and questions to answer as they went through the museum. The point was for the list to lead them through the museum so that they would hit important parts of it and take the time to read, learn, and appreciate the history in that part of the museum. One year, though, the kids got it in their head that the scavenger hunt was more of a race and that there was going to be a prize at the end for the group that got the most information. They began racing through the clues and running from one area to the next without stopping and appreciating the history that they were witnessing. They were paying more attention to the clues and had lost interest in what they were intended to point to.

As we open this scene in Galilee, we realize that something is quite different from the previous scene in Samaria. The people here are not soaking up Jesus and learning to believe in him, rather they seem to be more like those students racing around in the museum. They are far more interested in the signs themselves than in where they are leading. They are not, it seems, truly interested the truth or in any sort of new creation, they simply want to see a good show. It's like people today who would rather go to a church that puts on an entertaining show with music, charisma, and maybe even some exciting "miracles," rather than one with solid, biblical teaching that will actually lead them to the truth. Looking for entertainment or excitement over the truth can be dangerous, but when someone comes along who is truly looking for the truth, they are far more concerned with the truth than with the show.

Jesus heads back into Galilee and John gives us the important side note that Jesus himself had pointed out that prophets have no honor in their own country. There seems to be a bit of difficulty, though, between verses 44 and 45. Which is it? Is a prophet without honor in his own country or did they welcome him? Why would he be without honor when many of them were in Jerusalem during the Passover and had seen all that he had done there? What could John possibly mean?

Not only had they seen some of the incredible things that he had done in Jerusalem, surely by now word had leaked out about his having turned the water into wine at the wedding in Cana in Galilee. It's hard to imagine that some of the servants wouldn't have spread around the incredible sign that they saw. It's true that some people may have been a bit skeptical about the rumors of that event, but surely the events in Jerusalem would have confirmed that something like that could have at least been plausible. With all of the eyewitnesses and rumors swirling about, how could it be that Jesus was without honor?

Verse 48 gives us the vital clue that we need to understand what John is talking about. The Word has become flesh, but these people seem far more interested in the flesh part than the Word itself. They're not looking for the truth, they want the show. They were willing to treat Jesus like a celebrity that could do some incredible things but apparently had no interest in honoring him or the message that he was brining from heaven itself. Jacob's ladder in the flesh was pointing to the fact that heaven was breaking into the earthly realm, but all they were interested in was the entertainment, not the message. Jesus says straight out that unless they see signs and wonders, they will never believe. Jesus' point wasn't that they needed to see a couple of signs and then they would become solid believers, they had already seen signs. His point was that their level of belief would always (unless they seriously repented, but there is no evidence that they had much interest in that) tie their belief to more and more signs. It was all about them, not the truth. They needed to be constantly fed and entertained and pleased. Sadly, we still see people like this filling out churches in our world today. These are the people that are not very interested in the long, hard work of studying the Bible, serving others, and living by faith. No, they will only be around as long as things are fun, interesting, and pleasing to their concept of what church should be.

In contrast to the type of heart that responds to the signs for the show and the spectacle that appeals to their own flesh, a royal official, probably a Gentile, though not definitively stated, demonstrates the sort of attitude and response that is necessary. If he is a Gentile, as would seem likely, then John has followed the progression at the opening of Jesus' ministry of him ministering to Jew (Nicodemus), Samaritan (the woman at the well), and now Gentile. This is the same progression of the Gospel described on a larger scale in the book of Acts. This royal official doesn't need to see any show, he simply believes that Jesus has the power to heal his son before he dies.

Jesus does something quite unusual in that he doesn't go see the boy, he doesn't do anything that might give an opportunity for the crowds to follow him and see another show. He heals the boy who is ill about 14 miles away with the simple words, go, your son will live. This royal official continues to have faith in Jesus' word alone, for once Jesus says that, he took Jesus at his word and departed. He needed nothing more than the word of Jesus to believe that he had received what he came for. He believed on the basis of the word, something that those looking for the genuine truth will always do. Once they encounter the genuine word of God, they don't need anything more. Signs may confirm their faith but they do not establish it. This is the case with this official. He had spent half the day traveling to see Jesus and he simply takes Jesus at his word. He immediately turns around to travel back to Capernaum but could only make it part of the way back before night fall. The next day, as he approaches Capernaum, his servants meet him to tell that his son was healed at the same time that he was talking to Jesus. The sign that Jesus had indeed healed his son miraculously did not induce faith in the official, it was already there. The miracle confirmed the faith that he already had in the Word.

The problem with miracles is that they were designed as signs to point to truth and lead people to the truth, but some people don't want the truth as much as they want to be amazed. Remember that the idea of the logos, the Word, was a common one in the Greco-Roman circles of Jesus' day. John takes that concept and shows that the word of God from the Old Testament is the true logos, and that the Word has become flesh. For the Greeks, the logos was the centering and organizing force that kept the universe together. Those who possessed the logos for themselves would find themselves in harmony with that order but those that did not would find themselves in chaos. John has shown that the Word is indeed the person that keeps the universe in order. People who believed in the Word found themselves harmonizing with his ordering principles as he brought the universe to rights. Throughout the Gospel of John there is a clear distinction between those who believe on the strength of Jesus' words and those who believe because they saw something impressive.

As you continue to read the Gospel of John, don't be amazed by the signs and miracles that Jesus will perform nearly as much as you are amazed at what they point to. The signs in and of themselves are only important because they confirm what Jesus said. The new creation had arrived as Jesus went about doi



Devotional Thought

Do you respond at the hearing of the word of God alone, or do you need more to keep you coming back? Spend some time really thinking about whether you are genuinely interested in hearing and following the truth or whether you are just looking for a beneficial experience? Determine that you will be one of those that will respond to the Word and his word alone.