That You May Know - Pt 3

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. (John 4:46-47 ESV).

Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. There are some oddly incongruous things revealed in Jesus’ visit to his “hometown.” We might even call them strange. Cana is just 15 miles from Nazareth. The people were certainly aware of Jesus’ teaching and miracles. He should have been “their” hometown hero. It is strange that he was so unwelcome. Even his brothers rejected him in the beginning. They did “welcome” him (v. 45). The difference is strange. The “welcome”, or reception, he received was not what it looked like on the outside. It had no true honor for his person in it. It was just an interest in his signs and wonders. Upon this John introduces an “official” (v. 46). 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. Jesus does not address the man only. He addresses the whole group he has been talking about—the whole region of his own hometown. It seems to me that Jesus is testing him. The official is asking for a miracle for his dying son in a time where people loved to see miracles. And he seems to be asking for the same reason any unbelieving person would love to see a miracle. He has a need and wants it fixed. He does not come to Jesus and admit to his sin asking for forgiveness. Unbelievers don’t love God; they use God. So Jesus bluntly says to the man that he and the other Galileans were sign-seekers (v. 48). It is a rebuff that the official is determined to ignore as he continues to ask for his son’s life. Jesus simply spoke, “Go; your son will live,” the man obeyed without a question. He believed and went. He did not insist on seeing the miracle. He did not complain that Jesus would not come with him. And amazingly, he simply left, John says, believing. I’m inclined to think that in that moment of seeing Jesus speak so sovereignly in spite of his accusations, something awakened in the man. He saw something more than a miracle-worker. We should not miss the grace of Jesus here. He did not reject the official because he had compassion on him. And, we also see not only the grace of the healing, but the power of it. The boy was dying of a fever. The power of Jesus to heal is seen in the fact that he did it with a mere word. A dying boy healed with a word, over distance, at once. Such is the power of Jesus. Grace and power, mercy and might are His to give!