John 4: 43-48

(John 4: 43-48)

Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.  For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.  Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.  So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.  Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

This is the story of Jesus healing the son of a king's servant as the second of the seven signs conveyed by the Gospel of John, which occurred during the journey of Jesus and his companions back to Galilee. When they arrived in Galilee, the Galileans said they had accepted Jesus. It is said that the reason they accepted Jesus was because they saw everything Jesus did in Jerusalem. The news of the first miracle that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana in Galilee may have been delivered from mouth to mouth in the region of Galilee. People would have doubts about this news that they would not believe without witnessing. But when they went up to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, they saw a young man in the temple in Jerusalem throwing down the table, blaming the merchants who had been standing in front of the temple.

Whenever people went up to Jerusalem to purchase an offering for the Passover celebration, they did not like the behavior of the profiteers, and they applauded one young man's courageous actions in his heart. When they knew that that very young man was Jesus who performed the miracle of the Cana wedding party, they would have wondered about Jesus' identity, and then Jesus stayed in Jerusalem and attended a meeting where he spoke. When the news that the young man had arrived in Galilee, the Galileans came out and welcomed him. When Jesus was welcomed, he left there and arrived in Cana in Galilee.

The son of a royal servant, living in Capernaum, about 30 kilometers from Cana, fell ill. He went to the hospital to heal his son, but his son's illness got worse. Then he heard rumors in Cana that a man named Jesus had turned water into wine. He also heard news that Jesus had been to Capernaum, where he lived. At that time, I thought it was like that, but the news from Jerusalem after the Passover gave him hope. He received a message that Jesus had arrived in Cana. As soon as he heard this, he ran to Cana without ordering his servants. At one step, he arrived in Cana and went to Jesus and begged Jesus to come down and heal my son.

However, unexpectedly, Jesus' answer was cold. “If you do not see signs and miracles, you will not believe at all.”
Upon hearing this, the king's servant hesitated at first. He did not give up. The title “Lord, come down before my child dies.” The title “Lord, come down before my child dies” does not mean that Jesus was acknowledged as the Messiah, but is an honorific title for raising others. At that time, the highest rank of the king's servant is hanging on to a young man in the countryside, saying, "Please come down and fix my child because my child is dying." So Jesus said to him, "Go, your son is alive."

The Greek word “chao” interpreted as “living” means the recovery of the sick. In response to Jesus' answer like this, the king's servant decided to believe Jesus' words without asking any more. Hastily went down towards the house. Then he saw that the servants who were supposed to be in his house were coming up. When the servants were running away, they gasped when they met their master, saying, "Master, your son is alive." When he heard of this good news, the king's servant asked his servants. “When did my son begin to be low?” The servants answered, “The heat fell at seven o'clock yesterday.” The king's servants realized that he was consistent with the time when Jesus said that his four sons were alive. Later, the Bible testifies that the king's servants and the whole family began to believe in Jesus.


Jesus is teaching what should be the foundation of faith. At the request of his father to come down to Capernaum and save his son, Jesus was able to go down with the king's servants and heal his son's illness in front of him. However, Jesus did not. It was not because the distance from Ghana to Capernaum was too far or because it was annoying to go down, but to instill trust in the king's servants.

Jesus said that if they believe in Jesus through the miracle that unfolds before their eyes, this faith will not last long. Many people try to believe only what they see. But Jesus says we shouldn't believe only what we see. Faith that relies only on what is seen is said to have its roots fragile. So, Jesus said, "If you do not see signs and wonders, you will not believe," despite the request of the king's servants. He strengthened his faith by speaking the Word.

When the king's servant believed the words of Jesus as it was, the miracle of the dying son in the Capernaum house 30 km away unfolded. Consequently, he witnessed the miracle Jesus performed, but the miracle was derived as a result of his believing in Jesus' words. In other words, the king's servant did not witness and believe that Jesus saved his son, but experienced the miracle that his son came to life when he believed the words of Jesus itself, and through this, he and his whole household believed.

The king's servant was not a professional, but a father who loved his son, and hung on Jesus, a young man who was insignificant compared to his social status. This is the love for human children. How can God, the father of the saints, turn away from the saints' petitions and prayers?
But God wants to give the saints the best. It is the Holy Spirit that God wants to give. It is not of this world that the saints should pray, but that it should be a prayer for the salvation of the spirit. In order for the prayers of the saints to be the second sign of saving the spirit of their neighbor, they must be based on faith from God.

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