The man believed the word that Jesus spoke and went on his way. John 4:50 ESV1
Read John 4:45-54
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) Today, we meet a father who believed in the possibility of something he had never before seen. He took a chance and asked of Jesus that which was contrary to reason. His faith was rewarded. On the contrary, to those who wanted proof before they would believe, Jesus gave chastisement.
The first healing which Jesus performed seems to be the Healing of an Official’s Son recorded in John 4:46-54. I say that it is the first, because John writes, “This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee” (John 4:54). “The first of His signs, [which] Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested His glory” (John 2:11) was at a wedding where He changed water into wine, another event only recorded by John. (Either John was privy to some events which the other Gospel writers were not, or certain happenings stood out to John which didn’t so impact Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The events recorded in most of chapters of two through five of John are not included in any of the other Gospel writings.)
At this point, Jesus may have had only a small band of followers, maybe only Andrew, Peter, James, John, Philip, and Nathanael (see John 1:35-51). But between the wedding in Cana and this healing, there had been a significant event which dramatically increased Jesus’ popularity. The Passover had been celebrated in Jerusalem.
“Jesus [had gone] up to Jerusalem. In the temple, He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And He told those who sold the pigeons, ‘Take these things away; do not make My Father’s house a house of trade.’ So, the [religious leaders confronted Him and] said to Him, ‘What sign do you show us for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’” (John 2:13-16, 18-20).
Jesus’ zealous behavior and seemingly outlandish answer to those who confronted Him really impressed people. “Many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing” (John 2:23). His actions were not soon forgotten. “So, when He came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him, having seen all that He had done at in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast” (John 4:45). His popularity spread to other towns, as well.
“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” (John 4:46-47). I don’t know what made this father think a Man who violently chased merchants out of the Temple and confidently sassed the religious leaders could heal his son–unless he had another connection. Perhaps he knew one of the above-mentioned disciples, or perhaps he was somehow connected to one of the servants at the wedding in which the water was turned to wine (see John 2:9). Either way, this father took a leap of faith in asking Jesus to come and heal his son. Just because Jesus could turn water to wine didn’t mean He was a healer.
Even though this official was full of faith, Jesus seemed reluctant to help out this desperate father. “Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe’” (John 4:48). This statement seems less directed at this particular man than to humanity as a whole. Jesus knows “what is in a man” (John 2:25). Over and over again, during the course of Jesus’ time on Earth, the Jews demanded signs from Jesus to prove Himself. Over and over again, He performed miracles, and over and over again, the Jews still struggled to believe in Him. Jesus likely could see that this request was just the beginning of the chaos.
But undauntedly ignoring the words of Jesus, “the official said to Him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies’” (John 4:49). Jesus didn’t go with the father, but He did have compassion for the man and his son. “Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live’” (John 4:50). Without first seeing any kind of sign or wonder, “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” (John 4:51-53).
Because a child got deathly sick, a desperate father took a leap of faith, and Jesus displayed His authority over sickness, even at a distance, and an entire household was saved. But this was only the beginning of hordes of people wanting something from Jesus. Many of these did not have the innocent faith of this father. Jesus knew part of the reason He had come was to bring healing. He Himself quoted Isaiah 61:1-2 as His purpose for coming, “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor’” (Luke 4:18-19). But all of the hubbub around physical healings ended up distracting from the greater purpose for His coming—the spiritual healing of all humanity.
Multitudes of people were physically healed by Jesus, yet so many people missed the purpose of Jesus’ coming. This fact caused Jesus much sorrow. (See Luke 19:41-42). Could our focus on getting our prayers for healing answered be distracting us from seeing or experiencing something more important? Are we causing Jesus to lament over us? Do we want Jesus’ blessings more than we want a deeper relationship with Jesus Himself? These are important questions for us each to consider. If we find we are guilty, may we heed the words of Jesus’ first sermon, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
1Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.