Healing An Official’s Son

Reading John 4:43-54

Icebreaker

Have you ever wanted something so badly you travelled a long way to get it?

Or queued for hours for a ticket to an event?

Have you ever felt desperate and in need of a miracle?

Study

Please read John 4:43-54

Verses 46-47

Q - What sticks out for you in these verses?

Jesus comes back to Cana – he already did a miracle here a few weeks ago. Now a royal official comes to him to beg Jesus to heal his son.

Q – is it important that he was a “royal official”?

He probably worked for Herod Antipas who was tetrarch of Galilee. Herod was the man who arrested John the Baptist, and had him killed, and was also involved when Pilate sent Jesus to him after Jesus’ arrest ( see Luke 23:8)

This man was likely wealthy and had high status. But he travels 25 miles ( 2 days journey) to beg a relatively uneducated carpenter from Nazareth ( from where “no good can come”) for help.

Verses 48-49

Q – what do you think of Jesus’ response? Seems a bit harsh?

However the Greek word for you in v48 is plural – so Jesus may be addressing the crowd and their need for signs and wonders to “prove” who he is. Some commentators suggest he is rebuffing the whole court and entourage of Herod Antipas who were hoping for a miracle, for a bit of a show.

Or is he testing the official? See if he is in earnest?

He pleads again, addressing Jesus respectfully as “Sir”

Verse 50

Q – how would you have responded to Jesus’s command to Go! Your son will live.

I would have wanted some sign or guarantee it was all going to be ok. This is the first healing miracle in John’s gospel so it is not certain the man even knew for definite that Jesus had healed anyone previously.

No mobile phones to check how things are at home, no possibility of getting back before nightfall, just a long journey with no assurance of what he will find.

This is faith – to travel, trusting in Jesus’s word.

Verses 51- 54

Q – can you imagine the relief when the servants meet the man on the road? Just pause for a moment, to enter into the story at this point.

And the realisation that the words Jesus spoke had power, even at such a distance, and that his son turned the corner at 1pm the day before.

Q – what impact did this miracle have?

Not just on the boy (obviously!) and his parents, but the whole household turned to faith. And perhaps it influenced the official’s work in the royal household, perhaps he even spoke to Herod Antipas about him and that is why we know (from Luke 23 again) that Herod had heard of the Miracle Man of Cana.

Response

What about us?

John deliberately links this sign with the first one, of water into wine.

Both miracles are prompted by trust. Mary trusted her Son to do something to relieve the embarrassment of the wine running out, the father of the sick boy was equally confident that he could rely on Jesus for help

People often say “Seeing is Believing” and this was so with the unexpected turning of water into wine – the disciples saw it and believed.

But this royal official demonstrates faith and trust without seeing – in fact , he needed to believe in order to see.

Pause now and reflect on your own situation

What are you hoping for now?

What promises do you need to hold on to today?

Can we keep going on the journey trusting in what Jesus has said? Even if we are not yet sure of what we are going to find when we arrive?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you have promised to be with us, to be our refuge and strength, you have promised never to leave us or forsake us. Sometimes we cannot feel your presence and the journey feels long and hard. Draw near to us, comfort us, assure us that you are there and that you go with us, Emmanuel , on every step of our journey of life.

Amen