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Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.
So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
- John 4:43-54
Over the course of the past two readings, we've read about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. In yesterday's reading, the disciples came upon Jesus speaking with her. And they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?" The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they went out of the city and came to Him. In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. My study bible notes, "Jesus' statement concerning the prophet without honor is reported in all four Gospels. His own country refers to Galilee. Galileans were present in Jerusalem during the Passover, when He won many devotees because of the signs He performed. Because they gave Him only this minimal honor based upon their wonder at His signs, and not true glory based upon belief in His messianic vocation, He knew not to trust Himself to them." On Wednesday of last week, we read: Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." Again, John's Gospel puts the emphasis on the meaning and power of real faith, by showing us that Jesus will not put his own trust in those who have faith simply by virtue of "seeing signs and wonders." Here, the words are emphatically stated by Jesus.
The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. In some sense, Jesus' words to the man regarding faith work as a kind of "goad" -- it's like a test of some sort. But this man isn't asking simply for a miracle in order to believe. He's asking out of love and concern for his child, and appealing to the compassion of Christ. The Gospel tells us that "the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him." My study bible says that this is enough for the official to have faith. Thus, the official manifests true belief, unlike the people Jesus referred to above, who only believe because of signs and wonders.
And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. My study bible notes that "this is the third time the phrase "your son lives" is reported. It notes: "The very word of the One who is the resurrection and the life gives life as well." This is the second sign of the Gospel of John. A note also reads: "In Cana of Galilee, Nathanael's hometown, Jesus had demonstrated, by identifying Nathanael from afar, that He could see at a distance. He now shows He can heal at a distance -- He can heal the unseen."
It's interesting to note the connections that love makes in this powerful story of the second sign in John's Gospel. Jesus (via John's Gospel) has made the point several times now that faith simply through signs and wonders isn't the kind of faith that He's looking for at all. He won't "entrust Himself" to those who simply believe because of these signs and wonders. So what happens in this story that changes the scene for us? Why does Jesus give the command to "go" and that "your son lives?" What we note is the deep love and concern of this man for his son. He really doesn't care about much else. Unlike others, he's not simply testing Jesus to find out about His divinity. He's not among those whose faith relies solely on this. Rather, he's petitioning, and his request is a prayer. And I believe that we need to see the story on these terms. God may seem to be far away. In the fullness of God's power and glory, God dwells in a place beyond us, and is not "fully" manifest in our world in this sense. But we can pray, we can petition, and we can hear the word of God. We don't need signs and wonders to pray with what is in our heart. We simply need love. We don't need miracles to trust Christ: we need love, and over the longest distances, the unseen can respond to us with a word, with our faith, and within the heart where God's compassion answers us. The distance we perceive may be great, but God is truly everywhere, and there are no barriers to God's work in us and in our world. So I see this story in terms of true prayer of the heart, and the compassion of God. Jesus reveals His divinity, but in so doing He instructs us all about the times when He will not be incarnate, in the flesh before us as the man Jesus. Nevertheless, our faith is a bond; and heart to heart, He will respond.
