seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 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.
48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.
54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
So the first sign was the "water into wine" at the wedding. The second is "healing the son of a nobleman" from about twenty miles away.
Jesus had just spent 2 days with humans who accepted Him for who He truly is.... the Messiah. They were Samaritans.... who were hated by the descendants of Jacob [Israel] descendants of Seth [Noah's son]. As soon as He moved His Mission back to Judea [Galilee] .... He had to consider who would jump up against Him. He couldn't take on the Temple leaders yet.... it wasn't time.
The people in Judea didn't [couldn't] believe that a carpenter's son could be the Messiah. They were also pretty sure that if God was going to send the Messiah.... He would have confided in His own priests. Problem was... they weren't God's priests... the Temple was under Roman Rule just like everyone and everything around... conquered.... bought and paid for by a bloody conquest... they were preaching to the paycheck and the free housing.... I bet the lambs weren't even inspected of blemishes anymore.
Jesus had been so happy in Samaria.... a place that should have rejected Him. He had such a pleasant conversation at the well. The people in Samaria easily believed. Christianity was born in Samaria???
But.... then this nobleman came to Jesus. He heard about Jesus from someone who saw the chaos at the Temple. He heard the Messiah was on earth.... no one but the Messiah would have taken on the money changers in the Gentile Court at the Temple. No one else cared about the Gentiles. Gentiles, after all, were not direct descendants of Jacob [Israel]. Gentiles were not directly related to Seth [Noah's son]. Gentiles were not "chosen".
The nobleman wanted Jesus to come with him to heal his son. Jesus really couldn't do that yet. I can only imagine the chaos if Jesus had performed a healing in plain site at this time. Those Pharisees would have swooped in and accused Him of using Black Magic..... Magic was actually a big deal back then. Those Pharisees would not have someone claiming to be the Messiah on their watch. If God didn't introduce Him to them personally.... [not just the confluence of the planets or the Legion of Angels singing to some shepherds in the field].... then this guy Jesus was a fake... a magician.... and He needed to stop or be stopped.
So... Jesus didn't go to the bedside of this Believer..... But He healed him anyway..... from about 20 miles away.
People talk about how the nobleman just turned and went home..... they say the nobleman believed right away. I wonder... what good would it have done for him to pull on Jesus physically? Could he have ordered a miracle out of Jesus?
If my son was dying... and I went to the one doctor in the world who could cure my son..... and that man told me that I should go home... my son would live.... I would think the man was shooing me away. The nobleman was not a direct descendant of Jacob [Israel].... he was not chosen. What right did he have to ask the Messiah of the "chosen" to heal his Gentile son? It's like he didn't have the correct insurance to cover the cost of a visit.... and the doctor told him... go home and be with your son. Did the nobleman head home because he really needed to spend time with his son because his son was ill?
The nobleman "believed" before he went to see Jesus. Jesus didn't have to turn the water into wine for the nobleman. The nobleman "believed" there was something about Jesus.... and the nobleman stepped out for his son and asked a Jewish man to save the life of a Gentile boy. Jesus healed the boy but didn't make a big deal of it. It's almost like the most famous doctor in the world sent the perfect prescription.
OK.... the nobleman didn't have to "Believe" for his son to be saved. The nobleman had to "Believe" before he asked for Jesus to heal his son. If the nobleman didn't believe Jesus was the Messiah.... and the only one who could heal his son... then he wouldn't have hunted Jesus down. He searched for Jesus.... and found Him in Galilee.... having just returned from Samaria.
John... the author of this Gospel.... was a close personal friend of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. John says the man received word his son had been healed. John also says that as a result of that healing.... the whole household was saved. So far.... two miracles, a temper tantrum, and a conversation over a drink of water at a well in a town where He shouldn't have been in the first place.... have been accomplished. His "church" is growing.... word is spreading.... among the Gentiles....
Jesus cured the boy..... from 20 miles away......
