So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"

 

 Now after the 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 

 

Yesterday we read that while Jesus was still speaking with the Samaritan woman, His disciples came, 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 the 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.  Jesus' own country is Galilee.  This saying, that a prophet has no honor in his own country, is so significant that it appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).   Naturally, there had been Galileans present at Jerusalem during Christ's first Passover of His ministry (John 2:13-25).  Jesus had performed many signs there.  While the Galileans received Christ having seen the signs, my study bible says that St. John Chrysostom gives greater credit to the Samaritans, who accepted Christ based on words alone without the same accompanying signs (see also John 20:29).  

 

 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."  Here, Christ admonishes the people in general (you is plural both times), and not simply the nobleman.  My study bible comments that faith which is based on miraculous works only is insufficient for salvation.  This kind of incomplete faith turns quickly to scorn if the miracles cease (John 19:15).   

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.  My study bible comments that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance.  Also, he doesn't understand that Jesus would have the power to heal even if his child were to die.  In the end, he inquires about the timing of the healing, still not entirely trusting in Christ's authority.   But only after all is confirmed do he and his whole household believe.  Therefore, in healing the child from a distance, Christ heals not only the body of the child, but also the soul of the nobleman.  As the text tells us, this is the second sign which is reported in John's Gospel.  The first occurred at the wedding at Cana (see this reading).  My study bible says that, having revealed He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (in the calling of Nathanael; see John 1:45-48), Christ now demonstrates that He can also heal from a distance.  This shows that His divine power has no earthly limits.  It adds that while there are some similarities between this sign and the miracle recorded in Matthew 8:5-13, there are also many crucial differences.  These are therefore clearly two different encounters.

Christ's healing the nobleman's son from a distance displays at first glance a kind of confidence in the workings of His divine power that we rarely encounter in other things.  That is because this confidence is also a kind of knowing that comes from divine awareness, which also knows no boundaries.  So, essentially, we have both the effectiveness of Christ's healing power, and also His knowledge and awareness being displayed without "earthly" boundaries we would normally expect for any kind of healing procedure or for the awareness of something that has taken place.  My study bible emphasizes that in the context of John's Gospel, these are "signs" which reveal Christ's divinity, His "glory" as John might put it : "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" - John 1:14.  But, while it affirms qualities that belong to the divine which are on display in Jesus, there is something additional we can say about these capacities both to know and to heal at a distance that Jesus expresses.  These are qualities associated with the divine in which we invest and with which we seek to commune and petition in prayer.  Effectively, God's presence with us from a distance transcends the space and time boundaries of this world.  As boundaries they are rendered non-existent within the prerogatives and qualities of God.  That is, God can be with us, God can know what is going on with us, God can "see" us, God can heal us.  We do not have to be in the presence of God, beholding God with our own intelligible senses as human beings or earthly means of awareness to call God to ourselves, and to have God present to us.  Since it is healing which is on display in today's reading, let us understand that healing can take place on many levels through prayer, whether it be emotional, physical, spiritual or otherwise.  Healing takes place within relationships as well, even to help us be at peace with the choices others have made with regard to our relationships with them.  Moreover, God's healing activity takes place to restore God's relationship with us.  So when we observe this marvelous healing activity at a distance in today's reading, let us also come to terms with the idea that even when we can't come to God, God can come to us under any and all circumstances.  In this context, it is helpful to understand the name of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives in John's Gospel, in John 14:16, 26.   In the Greek, He calls the Spirit "Paraclete"  (Παράκλητος).  This name is often translated as Comforter, or Helper.  But the literal meaning of the word comes from Para-  which means "from close-beside" and kaleo which means to "make a call."  It means "One who comes when called" and is especially used to indicate an Advocate, such as one who comes to help in a court or legal proceeding, one who can plead another's cause, an intercessor, one who comes to help.  But for our purposes today, let us consider God the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, as One who does the work of coming to our assistance, of helping us with intercession and prayer.  The personification of the Holy Spirit in the name "Paraklete" which is given by Jesus is one that exemplifies for us this divine quality of not needing to be physically present to help and to heal in all kinds of senses of these words.   Let us understand the power of prayers, and how they are related to the divine qualities of Christ on display in this second sign given in the Gospels.  

Your son lives

Christ Pantocrator, c. 1100.  Daphni Monastery, Greece.  Scripture open to John 8:12

 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 had also 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

On Saturday we read that Jesus' disciples came to find Him speaking with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, 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 man, "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 had also gone to the feast.   Jesus' own country is Galilee (1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).  There were Galileans present at Jerusalem during the Passover (2:13-25), where apparently Jesus performed many signs that are not explicitly given to us in the Gospel, although this is the second time John has mentioned such signs at the Passover (see 2:23).    My study bible comments that while the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom assigns greater credit to the Samaritans for having accepted Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see the past three readings of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, above).  Let us note that while He is received because of the signs these Galileans have reported from the Passover feast, He does not "commit Himself" to them (2:24).  Moreover, as the text makes clear, Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country, a statement repeated in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).

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."  My study bible says that Christ is here admonishing the people in general, as you in Christ's statement is plural both times, and not merely the nobleman.  It says that faith which is based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation.  Such a type of incomplete faith will quickly turn to scorn when miracles cease (19:15).

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.  My study bible comments that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a  distance.  Neither does he know that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  Finally, he thinks to inquire about the timing of the healing, while he still doesn't completely trust in the Lord's authority.  Only when it is confirmed do he and his whole household believe.  My study bible says that therefore, by healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not only the body of the child, but also the soul of the nobleman.   This is the second sign of seven given in John's Gospel.  In the first chapter, Jesus revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (1:45-48), and now He demonstrates that He can heal from a distance.  My study bible says that this shows that His divine power knows no earthly limits.  There are similarities between this sign and the miracle reported in Matthew 8:5-13, but there are also enough differences that we may consider them to be two different encounters among many.  John Himself writes of the many signs and works of Jesus' ministry which go unreported, in the final verse in the Gospel:  "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (21:25).

That John reports many signs Jesus has done without explicitly naming them or describing them adds a particular dimension to John's Gospel.  That is, that we are given seven specific signs in detail, out of the many that reportedly were done.  Therefore we can conclude that John gives us these specific signs for a reason.   It is part of a systematic, deliberate method of revelation.  These particular signs are given in this way for a reason; they tell us something particular about Jesus, and give us insight into who He is in a particular way.  His first sign was to turn water to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.  Here in today's reading is another Galilean miracle, performed in His home country.  A nobleman, perhaps a ruler in the synagogue, comes to Jesus because his son is ill.  He pleads and is desperate as his son is dying.  Let us note that it is in the middle of this report, right after the request is made to Jesus, that He complains about the Galileans:  "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  Here is the crux or heart of the story, as it occurs right in the middle of it.  Jesus pauses to make note of the fickleness of their faith, even the hardness of hearts, that they will not believe without signs and wonders.  It gives one pause to think that perhaps this sign is given in this particular way in order to reveal Christ to those incapable of faith otherwise.  This particular sign will unfold without regard for space nor time, as Jesus can both heal from a distance and also pause to reflect on the nature of their particular lack of faith.  In this way, the nobleman may do his own checking on the particular time of this healing, and so affirm Christ's word and come to faith, even that of his whole household.  We can conclude from this sign that we might doubt all we will, but God is aware of our time and our place, and neither time nor space form barriers to the work of God nor barriers to our prayer.  I have a friend who frequently speaks about "God's perfect timing," and this particular sign is certainly one instance of that.  Having experienced such timing in my own prayer life, I can only affirm what others teach, and that it has been true in my experience as well.  We often forget that God sees and hears in secret (Matthew 6:6).  Today's reading, and this second sign, affirms what was hinted at in the Name (I AM) given by Jesus at Jacob's well to the Samaritan woman (in Friday's reading), that there is no place where God is absent.  There is nothing of which Christ is unaware, no place He cannot be nor reach with His power, nothing He does not see.  It is a sense of confirmation of the mind and intelligence of God which misses nothing, knows our ailments and agonies, hears our prayers, and is master over elements of time and space.  Let us also remark that there are times when our prayers seem to be unheard.  But of what we know of God, we may also find ourselves in particular circumstances for a reason, with our prayers invited at all such times, and outcomes which must be put into God's hands, difficulties in which we are challenged to invite God to help us cope and to set our own minds aright.  Sometimes, as in Christ's own experience of the Cross, we are in a place of struggle in which we come to find that we are never alone.  This is also the place for prayer, a request, a plea, an understanding that God awaits our call in every time and place and circumstance.  Christ's transformative power, present to turn water to wine and to heal this boy from a distance, may also be at work in our grief and in our disappointment, touching circumstances to heal even what we don't want to accept.   In the icon above, of Christ Pantocrator ("Almighty"), the Scripture is open to John 8:12:  "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Let us remember that it is our prayer that calls that light into any and all circumstances in which we find ourselves.  There is none too deep, too far away, too far removed for Him to reach and enlighten for us.  His light is the light of life.

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe

 Now after the 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 had also 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 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

On Saturday, we read the final section of the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, and her encounter with Christ.  (See the readings of Thursday and Friday for the earlier parts of the story.)  At this point His disciples came, 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 the 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 had also gone to the feast.  Jesus' own country is Galilee (1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).  So central to the Gospels is this understanding that a prophet has no honor in His own country that it appears, in one form or another, in all four (see also Matthew 13:37, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).  Galileans were present at Jerusalem during the Passover festival reported earlier in John's Gospel (2:13-25).  This is the second time that John has disclosed to us that Jesus performed many signs at that feast, although we don't know specifically what they were.  While the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, my study bible says, St. John Chrysostom gives more credit to the Samaritans (see Saturday's reading, above) for accepting Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see also 20:29).

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."    Jesus is admonishing people in general here and not specifically the nobleman (you is plural both times).  My study bible tells us that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation.  This kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn if the miracles cease (19:15).

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 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.  My study bible remarks that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand the true Lordship of Christ:  that He is Lord over illness even from a distance.  Neither does he understand that Jesus would have the power to heal even should the child die.  He inquires about the timing of the healing, still not completely trusting in Christ's authority.  But after all is confirmed he and his whole household believe.  In healing the child from a distance, therefore, Jesus not only heals the body of the child, but also the soul of this nobleman.

This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  This is the second of seven signs that John's Gospel reports to us.  (We note that John also tells us Jesus did many other signs which he does not report in his Gospel.)  My study bible says that having revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (1:45-48), Jesus now demonstrates that He can heal from a distance.  This shows that His divine power knows no earthly limits.  While there are certain similarities between this sign and the miracle that is recorded in Matthew 8:4-13, there are also crucial differences.  These, it concludes, are clearly two different encounters.

The fact that there are no limits to Christ's power should tell us something very comforting, and also in which we can put our trust.  That is, there are no worldly obstacles to His power.  There is only the determination that God's will is to use power and authority in particular ways and for particular purposes.  By definition, God is so far beyond our own understanding and ways of being that what these purposes and ways are will remain mysterious to us.  Revelation is all about what it is that God chooses to give us and to teach us, both about ourselves and about God.  In today's reading, we're given to understand not only that God's ways are not our ways, but in particular that by applying a worldly way of thinking to Christ, we fail to know Him.  We fail to grasp what we are dealing with.  This is why faith is essential to our relationship and participation in the life He offers.  It is by faith that we begin to grasp something of God.  It is by faith that we are capable of sustaining this kind of relatedness and communion with Someone who is so far beyond what we are.  The demand for proofs is quite an interesting thing to think about, because there are indications here in this reading that reply to our constant demand.  John tells us clearly, in the words of Jesus, that "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." Proofs put Christ down at our level.  We demand that God conforms to our expectations and judgment.  He will say to all who demand one that "a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign" (Matthew 12:39, 16:4; Mark 8:12; Luke 11:29).  The connection through faith asks for something more and something different.  The food we desire is participation in Him, in the love and grace of God, in the work of the Spirit, in the communion of saints.  When we pray for our daily bread, this is a direct plea for the Eucharist and all that it means and adds to our lives and forms of community for us.  If we desire only proofs, we will never get enough to satisfy an impossible and spiritually infantile demand that does not recognize the love that is offered, nor the life it contains.  What is the work of faith?  How does it pull us and draw us?  What does it give us?  This is what we're asked through the Gospel today, and Jesus' words and teachings.