After Jesus interacts with the woman at the well he returned to Cana of Galilee where he turned water into wine. Apparently, news of this miracle spread into the region. As Jesus entered the town people began to share that this miracle worker was returning.
There was a royal official in Galilee whose son was sick in Capernaum. The man’s boy was on the verge of dying. This man heard that the miracle worker was coming into town, so he found Jesus and pleaded with him to come with him and to heal his son.
Jesus’ response seems insensitive when he responded with, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe” (Jn 4:48). There is a possibility that this man would have been a Gentile, while this isn’t clear in the account. His belief in Jesus extended only to Jesus as a miracle worker. The context of this statement communicates that Jesus was not a magician who would automatically heal people but that he was capable of more than physical healing. Jesus told the man that his boy would live and continued on his way. The royal official believed in Jesus’ word and went to see his son.
The next day one of the royal official’s servants came and reported that his son was miraculously healed at one in the afternoon. John 4:53 says, “The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household” (John 4:53). The official believed in Jesus’ word then came to believe in Jesus.
There are many people who look to Jesus as a lucky charm or genie – someone they can run to when there is a problem to solve, but walk away when their life is ok. This view is called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Simply put, people believe that God wants everyone to be happy and nice to others and God doesn’t care about the particulars in your life, as long as you are good, and He will jump into action when there is a problem to resolve.
While this sounds like a great view to have, it isn’t correct theology. God is concerned with your daily life and God doesn’t exists just to make your daily life better or free of pain.
The royal official approached Jesus with a belief that Jesus could physically heal his son’s sickness. The next day the royal official came to a belief in Jesus as the Messiah who spiritually heals the sickness of sin.
Many people are looking for a miracle, a physical healing, or a new opportunity. There are times where God heals miraculously, but Jesus is always ready, willing, and able to spiritually heal anyone who comes to Him.
Spiritual healing – one that rids us from the stain of sin and sting of death – is a greater healing than any other physical or financial healing that we could ever experience.
Live It:
- Are you a follower of Jesus or do you only run to Jesus when you want him to fix a problem?
- How can you live with a reliance on the Lordship of Jesus?
Christ Chronological: John 4:46-54
Chase Snyder
Writer, Pastor