“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.”

Life Changing Faith

The ministry of Jesus progresses. We’ve seen the testimony of John the Baptist, the calling of the first disciples, water turned into wine and the temple cleansed. We’ve seen Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus and most recently His impact in Samaria, which started with the woman at the well – an outcast among outcasts, given hope and spiritually bought back to life in Christ. We now see Jesus back in the region of Galilee, in Cana, where the first of His miracles was performed at a wedding and the water turned to perfect wine.

1. Faith in Seeking Jesus

After confirming Jesus’s current geographical location, we learn of an official in Capernaum whose son is ill. There are a few things to note here in regard to this official. Firstly, he’s not coming from Cana where Jesus is, but Capernaum which is somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen to twenty miles to the east. It’s noted that the man is an official, some translations say “nobleman” or “royal official” which is typically taken to mean he was in the service of king (technically tetrarch) Herod Antipas. In Mark 8:15, while His disciples are distracted and discussing their lack of bread, Jesus tells them,

“Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Herod Antipas is the son of Herod the Great – Herod the Great being the ruler who fulfills the prophecy from Jeremiah in Matthew 2:16, killing all the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding region under two years old, attempting to kill the Messiah and eliminate any challenge to his rule. Antipas, though technically a Jewish ruler, was guilty of marrying his brother’s wife while his brother was still alive, which was directly against Mosaic law. When John the Baptist confronts him over this matter Antipas arrests John and ultimately has him executed. Jesus’s warning concerning both the Pharisees and Herod (or in some translations, “the Herodians”), points to both of these groups being leaders and authorities based on appearances, but without true Spirit or substance. Bearing these things in mind, it is somewhat surprising that someone in the service of Herod Antipas is seeking Jesus. This also goes to show that, as with Nicodemus, who was a member of the Pharisees who sought out Jesus, while Herod and many who serve him may be corrupt, it is the general condition of the group and not necessarily to a man.

So we see that the official, hearing that Jesus has returned to the region from Judea, leaves Capernaum to seek Him out. With a dying child at home, this could be seen as an act of desperation, but desperate or not, it’s also an act of faith, of placing any remaining hope in Christ.

“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.’”

In response to the man’s request to heal his son, Jesus tells him “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The translation of this “you” is not singular, but is directed to the people in general. While the gospels certainly don’t speak negatively of Jesus’s profound miracle work, there is a consistent caution to not put the cart before the horse. Receive the wine, the bread from heaven, be healed of sickness and disease and see the dead raised – understand that these things serve to prove and validate the ministry of Jesus, but know that He is not great because He does these things, these things are great because He is. Jesus is not subject to glory that is limited to the miracles, but the miracles are glorious because of His light and the power that shines through Him. They are sips from the river of life that He provides. The official doesn’t respond with indignation or frustration, but simply reiterates his need – he doesn’t seek Jesus looking for a sign, he just wants his son to live and trusts that Jesus can provide this if He will come heal the boy. Jesus then does something that we see Him do multiple times throughout the gospels in that He responds directly to someone’s faith. An example where this is explicitly stated is in Matthew 9:20-22 (though the event is recorded in Mark 5 and Luke 8 as well),

“And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.’ Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well.”

The Mark and Luke accounts tell us that the woman had spent all she had on physicians and that the disease had only become worse. Her position put her in a legal state of constant uncleanness, meaning that seeking help from the temple or religious leaders wouldn’t have been an option. She was in a hopeless position, and we see the desperation, but also the intensity of her faith that by just touching the clothes of the Christ, just the fringe of His outer garment, she could be made well. When Jesus acknowledges her, she falls before Him, confessing everything and declaring the miracle that Jesus has worked. All three accounts show Jesus telling her the same thing, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”

Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:23,

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

We see this supported in the miracles performed for those who express faith in Jesus, in His power as the Christ.

2. Faith in Trusting Jesus

“Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.”

Jesus doesn’t need to go with the man to heal his son. Distance doesn’t impose limits on the power of God, and so Jesus’s ability to work a miracle is unaffected by the miles between He and the dying boy. This points to a sharp contrast between the prophets who served God and Jesus who is God in flesh. We see two accounts of resurrection in the Old Testament in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4, where God restores two young boys to life through Elijah and Elisha respectively. In each case the prophet had to go to each of the children, pray to God and stretch himself out on top of the boy they sought to resurrect, effectively covering them. In both cases, God restores life to the children, but there’s an apparent degree of action on the part of the prophet in submitting their plea before God. Conversely, in instances where we see Jesus perform resurrection, like the raising of Jairus’s daughter (Matthew 9:23-26, Mark 5:35-43, Luke 8:49-56), or when He brings Lazarus back from the dead (John 11:38-44), they are done with little more than a word. In healing the official’s son, He is not restrained by the distance. This doesn’t point to a lack of power in the prophets, because the prophet’s power was not their own, but God’s. But it helps show the disconnect between God and man, that doesn’t exist in the perfection of Christ. The apparent simplicity with which Jesus works could have been a stumbling block or hang up for the official. From a human perspective there could have been an expectation for Jesus to need to go to the boy, place His hands on him or speak over him. People so commonly try to force God into a box, to set limitations and guidelines for The Living God, whose magnificence and glory is beyond our comprehension. If the official did this in response to Jesus, I wouldn’t judge him too harshly, but he doesn’t do any of that. Jesus speaks, the man believes Him, and he departs.

3. Faith Affirmed in Jesus

“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.”

Those who would deny God are forced to come up with naturalistic explanations for His work. It is often in the specifics that God gives that He uses to comfort those who believe and validate that it is in fact a blessing from Him that they’re receiving. Looking through the Bible, we see covenants established and upheld, we see kingdoms promised and delivered, we see the destruction of judgement and the healing and restoration that is allowed to follow. We see baren women promised sons, starving households promised food, and the word of God fulfilled. The greatest of all God’s promises, we are told of Christ’s coming, of the only Son who offers liberation from sin and a renewed relationship with the Father. In love, God does not leave us to guess, but shows Himself and offers validation to those who seek His face. The official’s son was sick to the point of death, he sought Jesus, Jesus responded, and the boy was made well. Things could end here, with the blessing received and the power of God displayed, but we get something more personal. The official, hearing the good news that his son is recovering, asks what time he began to improve and learns that it was the very hour that Jesus spoke. This was no coincidence or natural occurrence. There was no delay, the power and miracle were instantaneous. This further validation, this specific assurance of what Jesus has done bolsters the man’s belief along with that of all his household. This supports God’s use of the testimony and faith of one to influence and inspire that in others.

“This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.”

This is His second sign in the region, the first being the water turned into wine at the wedding at Cana. Though this is still early in Jesus’s ministry, this also shows us a completed cycle. After manifesting His power and causing some to believe at the wedding, He proceeded to Jerusalem for the Passover. Here He cleanses the temple, but while there He also has a deeply impactful conversation with Nicodemus, sharing the truth of the word with him. After this He moves through Samaria, encountering the woman at the well and changing her life forever. Now we see Jesus back in Cana, working a miracle for a man in the service of Herod Antipas and therein the Roman government, sparking belief in this man and his whole household. Jesus’s work through these different regions and (as my study Bible points out), three very different people, points to the future of the ministry, to bring salvation not just to the Jews, but to the world.

Pastor Chris’s sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH28ynbPcK8