In chapter 3 we
were with Nicodemus, the religious teacher, in the last lesson we were with an
uneducated Samaritan woman; and today, we are with a royal servant who worked
for Herod Antipas. the king who executed Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist.
The writer is
saying something here. Jesus gets into conversations with every sort of
individual. They are different from each other; and they are different from
Jesus and his disciples. Jesus talks to different characters, same then, same
today.
Our passage begins
with two welcomes. It all seems quite simple. Jesus left Samaria and arrived in
Galilee and the people are happy to see him because they had seen the miracles
he had done in Jerusalem. Those are referred to in John 2:23. But we are
learning that things are usually not that simple in John’s Gospel.
Because we have v.
44. Here the author tells us that Jesus had said that a prophet has no honour
in his home-town. But then in v. 45 Jesus is honoured. What’s going on?
Something very important and the author wants us to take note. The people in
Galilee welcomed Jesus because of the miracles, because of his works, not
because of his message. We find out that this is not enough when in v.
48 Jesus criticises the official for just wanting a miracle. Real honour means
accepting not just what Jesus can do, but – of much more importance – who He
is. The Son of God who gave his life for the sins of the world.
So – two types of
welcome in Capernaum two thousand years ago, two types of welcome today. Jesus
is popular when He is doing miracles; not so when He says he is the Son of God,
the only way to God the father. People reject that.
This whole idea
that faith in a miracle worker is not enough is underlined in the story about
the son of the official being healed.
In verse 46 Jesus
goes to Cana, and we’re told again about the water into wine miracle. Why? The
miracle was only in Chapter 2. Perhaps the author is wanting to say – remember
that story about water being turned into wine was about Christ’s suffering, his
hour - it will be the same here.
Jesus is in Cana,
and about twenty miles away in Capernaum there is an official whose son is very
ill. The word used for official here in Greek is basilikos, so someone
attached to a basileus, a king. This means this man was working for
Herod Antipas who ruled over Galilee. Capernaum wasn’t very large, its
population no more than a thousand, but it was important because it was a border
town. So, Herod had officials there. This one was certainly Jewish, because
Jesus complains in v. 48 that ‘you’ plural will only believe if you see a
miracle. That was a complaint for the Jews, not the Romans.
In verse 47 the
situation of this father is grim. His
son is at ‘at the point of death’. No wonder when he hears that Jesus has got
back from Jerusalem he sets off on the twenty-mile journey from Capernaum to
Cana. This was his last hope. We need to imagine the official arriving from the
journey hot and sweaty asking people where Jesus is. Then he is at the door. He
has no time for formalities. He just blurts out his request: come with me and
heal my son.
We expected Jesus
to be polite to Nicodemus, he wasn’t. We did not expect him to talk to the
woman at the well, he does; and now we expect him to be sympathetic to this
official. But we’re learning that’s it is not wise to have fixed ideas about
what Jesus should say or do. And here Jesus doesn’t seem to show any sympathy;
instead he rebukes the man, telling him that he – and all the other Jews – were
just interested in miracles. It seems harsh.
There are two
things to say. The first is that this man thinks that the most important thing
in his life is the healing of his son. But it’s not. That is reality. The most
important thing in life is to understand who Jesus is. It would be unkind for
Jesus to heal the son, without asking the man to understand who he was. Jesus
is saying to everyone, not just this man, that faith in miracles is not enough.
There must be more.
The second point
is that Jesus tests individuals. He wants to know how serious they are. He
tested his mother at the wedding. He tested Nicodemus. He tested the woman at
the well. And now he is testing this official. If we get near to Jesus, He will
test us. It will not be an easy ride.
In verse 49 the
official passes the test. He could have walked away angry and upset. I’ve come
all this way, and he just rebukes me. But he is concerned about his son, not
his pride. So he just respectfully repeats his request. Its simplicity is
moving, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies’.
Now we are
expecting Jesus to get up and go, but Jesus doesn’t move. He just speaks, ‘Go,
your son will live.’ And then we read some very powerful words, the official
‘believed the word that Jesus had spoken’.
For Jesus – this proves
that the official believes because He has spoken. That is enough for him. There
was probably shock on the faces of those around Jesus as they watched the
official leave; but on Jesus’ face I believe there was joy, for this is what
brings gladness to his heart, belief, faith in what He says.
And there was
going to be joy for the man. A quick summary would be that he got home and his
boy was well. But in this Gospel, there is always more.
As with the
wedding in Cana, we again have servants who know first what has happened. They
set out to tell the official that his son is better. As he hears the news the
official wants to know the exact hour when this happened. And the servants
know. It was yesterday, at the seventh hour. This was exactly the time when
Jesus said, ‘Your son will live’. Jesus spoke, and it happened.
The story then is
underlining the authority of Jesus’ word. He does not have to be physically
present in Capernaum. He can speak in Cana, and twenty miles away something
will happen. The story is reminding us that Jesus is the Word. In Genesis, God
spoke and it happened. In the prologue, Jesus is the Word, without Him was not
anything made that was made. And – in Him was life. In his word there is
literally life.
But alongside the
emphasis on Jesus’ word, is the ‘hour’. We have already learned in Chapter 2
that we must pay attention when we see the word ‘hour’. It connects to Jesus’
hour of suffering. When Pilate sent Jesus to the cross it was the sixth hour
(19:14), so when he actually died it would have been the seventh hour. That is
when the blood was shed, that is when the water flowed. That is when one Son
dies, so other sons can have life. Life and healing for us, death and
separation for Jesus.
We are told that
on hearing this the official – and all his household believed. But hadn’t the
official already believed? Yes, but in this Gospel, there are steps of faith,
and that is what you have here. Perhaps the author is suggesting that the
official now did not just believe that Jesus was able to heal his son, but that
Jesus was the Messiah, the Lamb of God.
Let’s remember…
Faith in Jesus the
miracle worker is not enough.
One word from
Jesus changes everything, wherever we are in the world.
When you are a
servant, you understand more
Jesus brings one
son back to life; but He himself would die. That is love.
From a royal offical, we go to a feeble lame man. Click on the link below
https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-gospel-of-john-lame-man-5-1-47.html
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