John 4:43-54

Read John 4:43-54 Jesus returns to Galilee and heals a royal official’s son – the second “sign”

The first sign and the stories that followed it helps us think about Jesus’s role as living water.  The next set of stories explores how Jesus’s word has the power to give life.

The 7 signs John focuses on are not the only miracles Jesus performs.  They are not even the only “signs” Jesus performs (John tells us in 2:11 that he performed other signs in Jerusalem).  But John gives special attention to these 7 signs that point beyond the miracle to who Jesus is.

Here are the Gospel of John’s 7 signs:

1. Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-12).  Followed by the discussion with the Samaritan woman, Jesus shows he is the living water.

2. Jesus heals the official’s son (John 4:46-54).  Jesus shows his power over illness and ability to heal even at a distance.

3. Jesus heals the paralytic on the Sabbath (John 5:1-47).  Jesus shows he is Lord of the Sabbath.

4. Jesus feeds the 5,000 by the multiplication of loaves and fish (John 6:1-14).  Jesus is the Bread of Life.

5. Jesus walks on water (John 6:16-24).  Jesus has power over nature and overcomes fear.

6. Jesus heals the man born blind (John 9:1-41).  This sign is preceded by Jesus’s declaration that he is the Light of the World (John 8:12).  It shows that Jesus offers spiritual insight so that we can see clearly.

7. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44).  Jesus shows his power even over death, after declaring that he is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).

What does Jesus say in verse 44, and what does it mean?

Some people see a contradiction between verses 44 and 45.  In the short run, verse 45 tells us that the Galileans welcomed him because the people who had gone to the feast in Jerusalem reported the good things that Jesus had done.  But John cautions us that this did not last in the long run, warning us in verse 44 that the proverb is true that says that a prophet is not honored in his native place.

What happens in this story about the royal official in Cana?

Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 have a similar but not identical story.  In Matthew and Luke, the one asking for help is a centurion – a military officer with 100 soldiers under him, and therefore a Gentile.  In John, it is a “royal official,” meaning someone in the court of Herod Antipas, who was the ruler of Galilee, and therefore probably someone who is a Jew.  In Matthew and John, the sick person is the centurion’s pais, a Greek word that can mean either one’s boy or girl child or one’s slave.  Luke uses the word doulos, which only means slave (although it is often translated as servant).  We needn’t be troubled by these minor discrepancies in people’s memory of what Jesus did.  However, the television series The Chosen suggests a solution to part of the possible discrepancy: in their storyline, the boy is the illegitimate son of the official and of a servant/slave under him, and the boy was raised as a servant/slave.  In all of the versions, the man is from Capernaum, suggesting that there is a common core event, even if there was uncertainty about exactly who Jesus healed from miles away.

How is the official feeling in the beginning?

Jesus responds in verse 48 by expressing concern that people only believe because of they see his signs and wonders.  What is wrong with that?

John warns in verses 44-45 that people might not believe in Jesus in the end, when the signs people expected don’t come to pass, even though they might believe for a time.  John previously warned in 2:23-24 that there is a difference between initially “believing” because of Jesus’s signs and truly believing in a way that permanently changes your life.

Why do you think the official persists when Jesus makes that comment?  What can we learn from him?

In verse 49, the official asks Jesus to come “down” to Capernaum.  Capernaum was a port city on the Sea of Galilee (a lake, actually), which is east of Galilee.  Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee are around 700 feet below sea level.  Archaeologists have identified 2 possible sites for Cana.  Both are up in the hilly part of Galilee, at least 700 feet above sea level, so there is a 1,400-foot difference in elevation between the two towns.  Capernaum was perhaps a 20-mile walk down from Cana, which would have taken a whole day.  To walk from Capernaum to Cana, as the royal official had done, would have taken longer, because it required a climb of 1,400 feet in elevation.

The official asks Jesus to come to Capernaum.  Why do you think Jesus chose to heal the man’s son at a distance rather than going to Capernaum?

Verse 50 tells us that the man “believed the word that Jesus said to him” and left.  Why was Jesus’s word enough for him?

The man chose to believe the word of Jesus.  Have you had an experience like that, where you needed to believe the word of God before it was clear that he would do something?  What happened?

What can we learn from this about the power of Jesus’s word?

When we are desperate, as this man was, we might be tempted to believe anyone who says they can help us.  How do you discern which words are truly from God and which are not, in order to avoid being fooled by false prophets?

If you had been that official, would you have needed something more than just a word from Jesus before you left?  More generally, what kinds of “signs and wonders” (verse 48) do you need before you are ready to believe a word from Jesus?

What is Jesus saying to you in this passage?

Take a step back and consider this:

Verse 53 says that the man (and his whole household) believed.  What sort of belief do you think he had when it says he believed in verse 53 (believed what)?  How might this belief have been greater or different than the belief he had in verse 50 where it says he believed when Jesus said his son would live?

Initially, the man at least believed that Jesus has the power to heal.  In verse 53, he probably believes that Jesus is sent from God and that what he teaches is true, and perhaps even that he is the Messiah.

“Belief” can have many levels.  One can believe merely that God exists, or also that Jesus has power from God, or that Jesus is God.  One can stop with head knowledge, or one can act on it and become a follower and disciple of Jesus.  One can make Jesus part of their life, or they can be “all in” and try to let Jesus shape every aspect of who they are.

When you say you “believe” in God or in Jesus, what does it mean for you?  What do you mean when you say you have put your faith in God?