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. 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."Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed. This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee. John 4:46-53
REFLECTION
According to John, the healing of the royal official’s son was the second sign Jesus did. The first miracle happened when the Lord turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana. John specifically asks our attention for these signs, because we can be easily tempted to focus on the spectacular occurrences and wonderful results while overlooking the purpose and deeper meaning of what happened.
Look at Jesus' first reply to the official – this desperate father who travelled from Capernaum to Cana to ask Jesus to come to his house and heal his son who was at the point of death… Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” Don’t forget the context when you read these words! Jesus had just left Samaria where the people came to believe in him as the Christ, the Saviour of the world. But in this area, his homeland, the Galilean people didn’t accept him for what he was. He had no honour in his own country – they just wanted him to do another miracle or cause a scene like he did in the temple. This time the miracle happens out of sight of curious eyes! The worried father believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and trusted that the Lord was able to heal his son from a distance - just by saying, “You may go. Your son will live.”
PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank you for giving us this testimony of this father – we don’t even know his name – but you answered his prayer without giving the curious people another miracle to talk about. Sometimes you touched people, sometimes they desperately tried to get near to you to be touched and healed – but this time you performed a long distance healing. Today we are not able to enjoy your physical presence, but we want to come to you with the genuine faith of this father. We trust that you can still do a miracle from a distance and we believe that you recognize our noble motives when we come to you with an honest request. We can’t see you with our human eyes, Lord, but we know that we can still take you at your Word.
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8 comments:
Beautifully done!
When you publish these beautifully written, insightful devotions into a book, let me know, please. I'll buy one! (But it'll have to be in English, please!)
Very well-done, Paul!
"We can be easily tempted to focus on the spectacular occurrences and wonderful results while overlooking the purpose and deeper meaning of what happened."
That is so true!
These spectacular miracles are supposed to get our attention: “But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." (John 10:37-38)
Peter said, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” (Acts 2:22)
On the other hand, the Great Pretender will also mislead with miracles: “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing...” 2 Thessalonians 2:9
I have a friend who dismisses Jesus as a magician. He says that because he really doesn’t know Jesus, and doesn’t know enough Scripture to see his miracles in a prophetic context.
When you were a kid did you ever pray really, really hard to move an object and then wonder why you had faith smaller than a mustard seed? In those days, I repeated my prayers over and over, as if prayer harder would work better. I don’t do that today. I’ve more or less learned to turn things over to God, and I believe that he has me in the palm of His Hand.
Nevertheless, if it were my child’s life at stake I doubt I could be that calm. The nobleman “took Jesus at his word and departed.” I’m profoundly grateful to not be tested like that.
P.S., I'd buy the book too... even in Dutch.
@ Carol
I agree 100%. Yes, Jesus did miracles to glorify His Father and to make His Father known to the people. He also fulfilled prophecy by his ministry of healing and this was a sign for the Jewish people: they could recognize Jesus as the Messiah IF they paid attention to the Scriptures and to Jesus' signs and wonders.
Luke 22:20-23
When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"
At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Jesus also instructed some people NOT to talk about a miracle - it looks like He was on a secret mission that would ultimately lead him to the cross and the grave where He performed His greatest miracles!
How many other miracles were there where the lucky recipients actually followed His instructions to be silent? It's fun to speculate.
Well, John did give us a clue:
John 21:25
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
But John didn't have access to the Internet! ;-)
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