This is Jesus’ second sign He did in Galilee (John 4:54), though He had performed other miracles (John 2:23) after the first sign performed in Cana of Galilee. This second sign was that of a boy who was close to death (John 4:47) healed merely by a spoken word from afar (John 4:50). The event was brief; the lessons plentiful.
The person who begged Jesus earnestly was a Gentile, a Roman government worker (John 4:46). The sign was Jesus working outside of the Jewish population, hinting at His kingdom’s intended worldwide reach (Psa. 22:27, Psa. 67:4, Isa. 66:23, and many others). The Jews thought that since God chose them, then they were superior to the non-Jews. No; God chose them to be agents to show the world the goodness of God when they believed and obeyed the laws Moses handed down. They were to be a light to the Gentiles (Isa. 49.6), “That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
The father pleaded; the Lord promised; the man believed (John 4:49-52). The sign was also a healing accompanied by an earnest prayer of faith. The nobleman went against the grain of Jesus’ observation: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe” (John 4:48). Yet this man went his way, believing before seeing. He went against the grain of Jewish unbelief, which continually hammered away at Jesus and His miracles. “We want to see a sign from you!” the Jews insisted. So Jesus marveled in Luke 7:9 when a Gentile centurion believed His healing power at a simple word when His own people did not, saying, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”
These things were written to give us reasons to believe Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:30), who brings people back from the brink of death through faith and hope. Jesus is the Son of God who declares truth to the seeker that defies conventional expectations. He really is the Savior of the world, not just of Israel. He really does seek and save the lost, wherever that person may be found. He has only to speak a brief word that miles away immediately rouses the one at death’s door. His word gave life to the dying; it affects you who are living.
“So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way” (John 4:50). Let’s read the Scriptures day by day, taking hold of His word as we go our way. “Go your way; your son lives” (John 4:40). The man’s ears heard the promise; the official’s steps walked in hope. That spoken word is His transformative word, step by hopeful step pulling us from the gates of death.
This is the second sign Jesus did in Galilee (John 4:54). Sometimes lightning strikes twice in the same place. Jesus in His fullness gives grace upon grace, chance upon chance (John 1:16).
