John – God Speaks!
Was this man a Jew or a Gentile? We don’t know. We don’t know his exact position in the government. He may have been a member of Herod’s court, but whatever his national or social standing, he was clearly at his wit’s end and desperately needed the help of the Savior. He desperately asks ”please come now” to Capernaum to heal his son.John 4:48 was not a rebuke of this nobleman. Rather, it was our Lord’s lament at the spiritual condition of the people in general, both in Judea and Galilee. “Seeing is believing” has always been the “pragmatic” philosophy of the lost world, even the religious world. The nobleman believed that Jesus could heal his son, but he made two mistakes in his thinking: that Jesus had to go to Capernaum to save his boy, and that if the boy died meanwhile, it was too late.
We must admire this man’s faith. Jesus simply said, “Go back home. Your son will live” (John 4:50). And the man believed Jesus and started to return home! Both the Samaritan woman and this anonymous nobleman must have pleased the heart of Jesus as they believed the Word and acted on it.
When Jesus acts in our lives, are we as quick to respond in faith?
John 4, New Living Translation
Jesus Heals an Official’s Son
43 At the end of the two days, Jesus went on to Galilee. 44 He himself had said that a prophet is not honored in his own hometown. 45 Yet the Galileans welcomed him, for they had been in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration and had seen everything he did there.
46 As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.48 Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”
49 The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”50 Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.
51 While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. 52 He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” 53 Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus. 54 This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea.
WHAT DO WE LEARN?The boy was healed the instant Jesus spoke those words, so the man’s servants started out to find him so they could share the good news.
When the father and the servants met, their report confirmed his faith. Note that the father thought the healing would be gradual (“began to improve”), but the servants reported a complete, instant recovery.
This man began with CRISIS faith. He was about to lose his son and he had no other recourse but the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people came to Jesus with their crises, and He did not turn them away. The nobleman’s crisis faith became CONFIDENT faith: he believed the Word and had peace in his heart. His confident faith became CONFIRMED faith. Indeed, the boy had been completely healed! And the healing took place at the very time when Jesus spoke the Word. It was this fact that made a believer out of the nobleman and his household. He believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and he shared this faith with his family. He had CONTAGIOUS faith and shared his experience with others.
HOLY PAUSEAt what stage is our faith?
Jesus showed His power over space. He was not limited simply because He was in Cana and the sick boy was in Capernaum. The fact that the father believed the Word and did not know the results until the next day is evidence that he had confident faith. He trusted the word that Jesus spoke, and so should we.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You spoke the world into existence. You created all that is in the world. Therefore, You have power over all. You show Your glory in Your story of Life each time we read it and take it in to be part of our being. You are God and we are not. My faith is built on You and Your power.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
