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 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 

 

 On Saturday, we read of the outcome of Christ's visit to Samaria and His encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (see the first two readings in this story here and here):  And 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 also had gone to the feast.  The two days refers to the two days Jesus remained in Samaria following the conversion of the Samaritan woman and her townspeople (see Saturday's reading, above).  Jesus' own country is Galilee.  Galileans were present in Jerusalem during the Passover (John 2:13-25) where Jesus apparently had performed many signs.  That was the first of three Passover feasts recorded in St. John's Gospel.  My study Bible comments that while the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom gives more credit to the Samaritans for accepting Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see also John 20:29).  This statement that a prophet has no honor in his own country is reported 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 comments that here Christ admonishes the people in general (you is plural both times in Christ's statement) and not only the nobleman.  It says that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation; this kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn should 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 notes that this 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, and neither does he know that Christ would have the power to heal even if his child were to die.  Finally, he asks about the timing of the healing, suggesting that he still doesn't completely trust in Jesus' authority.  But after all is confirmed then he and his whole household believe.  My study Bible says that thus, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not simply the body of the child, but the soul of the nobleman.  This is the second of seven signs reported in St. John's Gospel.  (The first was the turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana.)

 

I recently had an experience of an acquaintance whose son fell ill with a very rare type of cancer.  He was quite healthy otherwise, and so the parents pursued many avenues of healing for their only child.  Sadly, this cancer had spread before anyone was aware of it, partly due to its very rare nature, and the fact that the child was otherwise a very healthy young man.  They prayed and enlisted many in their prayers for him.  But sadly, it could be observed that there was a belief at work that if only they believed hard enough that he would be healed, even miraculously, their prayers would come true.  Unfortunately the child -- a wonderful young man full of faith in Christ -- endured many treatments but ultimately was not cancer-free.  It remains perhaps the most tragic experience for so many of us who were praying and hoping.  But in my opinion, that young man who never gave up his faith in Christ, even when he (contrary to his parents' belief and promises) didn't believe he would be completely healed.  And this, to me, is a tremendous testimony to the boy for he faced difficulties that would test any of the saints we know, the martyrs we might have read about.  I was awed by what a tremendous positive and creative personality he had, and the love present in him and in his family.  In fact, it seemed as if he continued his treatments long after he did not feel he would get well, but did so for his parents' sake, and not to let them down.  Today's reading has prompted this memory, sad and tragic as it is (and perhaps dismaying to readers), because we have in a sense an opposite scenario.  A desperate man comes to Jesus, the Lord in the flesh, seeking healing for his direly ill son.  But he doesn't have that complete faith in Christ.  In fact, we read throughout the story that his faith is little.  Faith in him and his household is confirmed not after his son is healed, but when he found out what hour the son recovered.  The difference between the Gospel story for today, and the story of my friends and their sadly ill child is striking to me.  But one thing remains, and that is the power of Christ.  It is not "conjured" by us if we simply believe what we desperately want to believe.  The Lord, in the person of Jesus Christ, assured this nobleman his son will be healed in our story.  In the life we live in this world, full of its own sorrows and difficulties (including death and illness) we are charged not simply to believe that what we want will happen if we have enough faith, but rather to seek God's way to live through the difficulties and pursue our lives with the love, compassion, and insight that grace and prayer can give to us.  We don't know the outcome of all circumstances, and sad or tragic outcomes can happen, even things we most fear.  But what we are promised is the grace of God, our Savior's presence with us, and in the prayers of the faithful who also pray with us, including the saints in heaven.  Our faith is not about guaranteed outcomes, which is perhaps the hardest thing of all for us to accept, but it is about the grace we're given to live our lives through it, to build love and compassion, for our beloved dear ones who suffer to know our love is with them, and will continue with them.  And this is the promise we're given that in Christ, love and life is transcendent and abundant, even to an everlasting life.  The story of my friends, the parents who did so much with so much love, is not over. Through their efforts their son was beloved by many and will continue to be; they themselves were an inspiration to many.  Through God's love they will perhaps help many others in similar situations, but that remains to be seen.  Jesus says in today's reading, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  But perhaps we need to change our understanding of signs and wonders to include the grace of God that shows us how to love and guides us to compassion for those who suffer, even when our outcomes are not the perfection we desired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, following Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, 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 in 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.  Christ's own country is Galilee (see John 1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).   This statement, that a prophet has no honor in his own country, is so significant to the story of Jesus that it is found in all four Gospels.  See also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24.

 

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 says that Galileans were present at Jerusalem during the Passover (John 2:13-25), when Jesus performed many signs.  As the Galileans received Christ after having seen His signs, greater credit is given to the Samaritans by St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says.  This is because they accepted Christ based on words alone, without the 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."  My study Bible comments that here Christ is admonishing the people in general (in the Greek, you in this verse is plural both times), and not simply the nobleman.  It says that faith which is based only on miraculous works is not sufficient for salvation.  Such an incomplete type of faith quickly turns 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.  While this nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, it's also apparent that his faith in Christ is weak.  My study Bible suggests that he does not understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance, and neither does he grasp that Jesus would have the power to heal even if his child were to die.  In the end, however, he inquires about the timing of the healing, as he still doesn't completely trust the Lord's authority.  It's only after everything is confirmed that he and his whole household believe.  So, my study Bible concludes, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not only the body of the child, but also the soul of the 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 reported in John's Gospel.  My study Bible comments that, having revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (John 1:45-48), Jesus now demonstrates that He can heal from a distance.  This reveals that Christ's divine power knows no earthly limits.  While there are similarities between this sign and the miracle recorded in Matthew 8:5-13, there are many crucial differences as well; these are two different encounters. 

 

Jesus' signs reveal the presence of the Kingdom, God extraordinarily present.  In the first sign Jesus turned the water to wine (John 2:1-12).  My study Bible referred above to Jesus' insight into the heart of Nathanael from a distance in John 1:45-48, revealing His divine quality as "heart-knower" (Acts 1:24, 15:8).  This is to compare the quality in today's reading that Christ can also heal at a distance.  Christ's quality of knowing is obviously more expanded than that, as He also knew enough from a distance to tell the nobleman, "Go your way; your son lives."  This kind of knowing that is not bound by distance (nor, obviously by physical sight or any other physical senses) is a part of the divine characteristics of Jesus Christ.  There will be five more signs in this Gospel revealing that identity.  It's interesting to think that these qualities or revelations of "signs and wonders" aren't merely done for the people who ask for them or receive them.  They are also done for the disciples, who will learn, through time spent with Christ and the increasing revelations they're given through His ministry, what He is all about.  These actions of Christ will reveal to the disciples, and, of course, to we who read and hear about them all these centuries later, just what Jesus is about, what the Son does, and even what is in His heart.  For we learn through these signs also that God is love, that Christ acts from compassion, and not simply a use of power to convince any of us about His identity.  This distinction is overwhelmingly important, because we need to understand "what manner of spirit we are of," as Jesus said to John and James Zebedee (Luke 9:55).  For our Lord does not use His divine power in any sense in which a worldly ruler or person of power would use it.  He does not use it to impress.  He does not use His power to prove Himself to anyone.  And, in fact, He will be repeatedly challenged to show that power -- to show some extraordinary sign -- in order to prove to the religious authorities that He is truly the One whom He says He is. He does not use His power in order to coerce or manipulate.  In point of fact, Christ will not use that power even to save His own human life when He is under threat of death at the Sanhedrin or in front of Pilate the governor of Judea.  (See also Matthew 26:53, giving us His words at the time He is placed under arrest in the garden of Gethsemane.)  Jesus does not use power to make an impression nor for any kind of "worldly" reason, except to reveal Himself in the right time and place for those who will be faithful.  And this is the reason why He does not do miracles on demand, or as proofs of His identity, nor even responds to scoffers who challenge Him in the ways in which they would desire Him to.  He acts out of a mission from the Father, to reveal the Father to human beings who are capable of grasping and receiving faith, He acts out of love, and mostly to reveal to us how much we are loved.  So much so, that we are offered eternal life with Him (John 3:16).  Perhaps we would be wise to consider our own motivations for the things we do.  Do we have a kind of mission?  If we were assigned such by Christ, what would it be?  He has commanded us, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  He will teach in John's Gospel, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John 6:29).  Perhaps a greater motive for the things we do in life is to seek Christ's way; that is, to please God.  If we are confident in who we are, we needn't prove anything to the world, but seek the praise of God more than the "praise of men" (John 12:43).  Let us consider the ways He teaches us how to live by His own example in the use of His power, and in His signs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go your way; 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!"  So 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, after Christ had begun to speak with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, His disciples returned from purchasing food in the town, 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 thing 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. Christ's own country is Galilee (John 1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).  There were Galileans present at Jerusalem during the Passover (see this reading), where Jesus had performed many signs.  My study Bible comments that  while the Galileans received Christ, having seen His signs at the Feast, St. John Chrysostom gives greater credit to the Samaritans (see yesterday's reading, above) for having accepted Christ based on words alone, without the 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."   My study Bible comments here that Christ is admonishing the people in general (as you in this last verse here is plural both times), and not only the nobleman.  It says that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation; such a type of incomplete faith will quickly turn to scorn when the miracles cease (John 19:15).  

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  So 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 nobleman's great concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  My study Bible says that he does not understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a  distance, nor does he grasp that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  Then he asks about the timing of the healing, as he still does not completely trust the Lord's authority.  It's only after all is confirmed that he and his whole household believe.  Therefore, it notes, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not just the body of the child, but also the soul of the 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 Christ performs as reported in John's Gospel.  My study Bible says that as He has revealed He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (John 1:45-48), Christ now demonstrates that He can heal from a distance; therefore, His divine power knows no earthly limits.  There are some similarities between this sign and the miracle which is recorded in Matthew 8:5-13, there are also some crucial differences; they are two different encounters.

It's rather interesting that Jesus has come again to Cana in Galilee -- where He made the water wine -- and here is also the setting for this second sign in John's Gospel.  We might wonder what it is about Cana specifically that enables or allows Christ to perform such miracles, as they are also dependent upon faith (Matthew 13:58).  We remember that, as my study Bible explains it, John uses the term "signs" in his Gospel, to show that these miraculous actions point beyond themselves to the truth that the Kingdom of God has come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ.  So, while the first sign was turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana, here Christ heals the nobleman's son from a distance.  It is a clear statement of Christ's authority as One who is divine, who is God, for who else could perform such an action?  Indeed, this is the point of the encounter with the centurion in the similar story in Matthew 3:5-13.  We have to wonder at the statement that forms a central crux of the story in today's reading, though, Christ's declaration, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."   Possibly, having returned from Jerusalem, and coming again to Cana, Jesus felt that more signs and wonders would not be necessary, that His previous signs both at Cana and in Jerusalem at the Passover would be enough.   He is apparently disturbed enough by this to remark upon the lack of faith He's finding.  Perhaps He's disappointed in these demands for signs and wonders, but that also becomes another reason for the healing.  The "little" faith the nobleman starts with in asking Christ to heal his son is enough for Christ to go on, so as to build up and strengthen a beginning faith.  For, after all, Christ has come into the world in order to save, and for salvation, it is necessary to have faith.  At any rate, we might assume, also, that the nobleman is used to giving orders himself, having a high rank in the society.  At this stage, Jesus (although not a nobleman, nor even a Levitical priest or member of the ruling Council) in some sense is socially equal to the nobleman; it is the nobleman who must approach him and plead for help, demanding that He "come down" to heal his son.  But Jesus need not travel down to where the boy is, and with only the words "your son lives" the boy is healed.  This is a command indeed, that traverses space and time so as to be instantaneous.  There are no barriers to Christ, and thus what we see is an expression of power and authority that knows no boundaries at all, beyond the capacity of the nobleman to imagine.  It places Christ squarely in the place of the divine, the One to whom "every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:10).  So Christ is beyond the nobleman in this sense, someone with superseding authority beyond all that we know.  This is the great sign of God's Kingdom being present in Him, yet again, for the second sign given in John's Gospel.  He has insight into those who would become His disciples, insight into the Samaritan woman at the well to whom He directly revealed His divine identity, and now here, He heals at a distance as well, without needing to be shown, without needing to be present, without being told about the ailment leading to death of the boy.  All of our conventional understanding of limitation are not present to Him, but He is clearly present in all ways to us.  That is, in His Incarnation, He heals what ails, and brings His divinity to our humanity.  If He can heal this boy, He can also hear our prayers, for there is no stopping the action and intention of the Lord.  All we need is our faith.

 

 

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 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 hard 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 

 

 Our recent readings have included the story of the Samaritan woman, whom Jesus met at Jacob's well.  See readings from Thursday and Friday.   On Saturday, we read that at this point Christ's 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.  Jesus' own country is Galilee (see John 1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).  This saying, that a prophet has no honor in his own country, is so central to the story of Christ that it appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24).

 

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.  Galileans were present at Jerusalem during the Passover which Jesus has attended (the first of three Passover feasts reported in John's Gospel; see John 2:13-25).  At that feast, Jesus performed many signs.  While the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, my study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom who gives greater credit to the Samaritans, as they accepted Christ based only on His words and teaching, without the 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 hard 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, we're given an important signal here in the Gospel about faith and miraculous signs (wonders).  My study Bible points out that Christ here is admonishing the people in general, as you is plural both times) and not only the nobleman.  It says that faith based on miraculous works alone is not sufficient for salvation.  This kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn should 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.   My study Bible explains that this noblemans's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He does not understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance.  Additionally, he doesn't know that Christ would have the people to heal even if his child were to die.  Finally, my study Bible says, he inquires about the timing of the healing, as he doesn't completely trust the Lord's authority.  Only after all of this is confirmed will he and his whole household believe.  So, as He heals the child from a distance, Jesus in fact heals not only the physical body of the child, but also the soul of his father.  

This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  This is the second sign of seven reported in John's Gospel.  My study Bible declares that having revealed He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (John 1:45-48), Jesus now demonstrates that He can heal from a distance.  Thereby He shows that His divine power does not know any earthly limits.  It also notes that there are certain similarities between this sign and the miracle reported in Matthew 8:5-13, there are several crucial differences, and thus it's clear they are two different encounters.  

Today's reading seems to take us onto the path of consideration of faith and signs.  How does one work without the other?  How is one complete in and of itself, and the other incomplete?  After Christ is seen by some of the disciples post-Resurrection, the disciple Thomas declares he will not believe without proof.  As Jesus makes an appearance to them when Thomas is present, He offers to Thomas to touch the wound in His side, and to witness the wounds in His hands, at which point Thomas declares, "My Lord and My God!"  Jesus tells him (and all of us), "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (see John 20:24-29).  This question of proofs obviously would remain important for the life of the Church to come, just as it is indeed important for us today.  Many people read the texts of the Bible with a deliberate skeptical eye, and beyond, discounting all possibility that the miracles or signs reported can be real.  But it is wise to be skeptical also of placing limits on God and what God can do, because there is so much that we simply don't know.  Modern theoretical physics postulates many dimensions to the universe, not all of them necessarily operate by the same physical rules we do.  Neither can we limit for certain the potentials of a Person like Christ, whose existence would transcend all of those possible dimensions.  But let us consider this connection between faith and proofs, and what substance or reason makes these signs so significant for Christ's mission to us.  Certainly they are not simply to convince people of His divinity.  Jesus makes it very clear that it is not His intention to draw faith through proofs of any kind.  Instead, these "signs" are just that -- like an icon is meant to do in Church, they point to something beyond themselves.  They teach us not only about Jesus, but about God the Father and the Spirit as well.  They teach us something that is essential to know in order to understand Christ:  that there are no limits to His divine power.  Wherever we find ourselves, whatever place we're in or circumstances with which we need to cope, Christ transcends all of them in His divinity, and He is there with us through faith and the power of God.  We have contrasted in today's reading the worldly thinking of the father (the nobleman), and his attempts to verify Christ's power together with the effect of this sign of healing on him and his whole household, and not simply the restoration of the child to physical health.  In this we are given a more complete understanding of Christ's mission in the world, the significance and effect of His signs, and how they prove useful even for us.  For while we may not experience what it is like to live with Christ physically present in human form, we can know what it is like to call upon and depend upon our faith for help to us.  As we go through our own lives, our own faith will also be tested, and we will find ourselves in circumstances where we need to trust to God to help us find the answers and correct response.  Outcomes are not guaranteed to be precisely what we would have preferred, but help is always there as we are led forward in ways meant to strengthen our faith and draw us closer in communion with God.  Let us consider what signs are for, the One to whom they point, and our own faith and its progress through our 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 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 spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, 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.  The region of Galilee is Jesus' own country.  This powerful statement, that a prophet has no honor in his own country, appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).  There were Galileans present at Jerusalem during the first Passover given in John's Gospel which Jesus has attended during His public ministry (John 2:13-25), during which Jesus performed many signs.  My study Bible comments that while the Galileans received Christ, having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom gives greater credit to the Samaritans (about whom we've read in our past two readings) for accepting Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see 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."  Again, the emphasis here is on belief or faith that comes only through seeing signs and wonders.  The "you" here is plural both times, so this is an admonition by Jesus to the people in general, not just to the nobleman.  My study Bible comments that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation -- this kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn if the miracles cease (John 19:15).  For the sign of turning water to wine at the wedding at Cana (the first sign given in the Gospel), see this reading.

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.  My study Bible comments that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  It says that he does not understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance, nor does he grasp that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  Finally, he inquires about the timing of the healing, as he still does not completely trust Christ's authority.  It is only after the healing was confirmed that he and his whole household believed.  Therefore, my study Bible says, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not just the body of the child, but also the soul of the nobleman.

 

 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  In today's reading we're given the second of seven signs in John's Gospel.  Christ has already revealed (to the disciples) that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (John 1:45-48).  Here He demonstrates that He can heal from a distance, which shows that His divine power has no earthly limits.  My study Bible also comments that while there are certain similarities between this sign and the miracle recorded in Matthew 8:5-13, there are also many crucial differences, and that these are clearly two different encounters.

 

 It's interesting to observe that the first two signs or miracles in John's Gospel involve a kind of knowing on Jesus' part that is not part of the capacity for human beings.  He "knew" about wine in the waterpots, somehow having the capacity to turn this pure water into wine.  He "knew" about the boy and how to heal from a distance.  Jesus displays both omniscience and omnipotence:  a universal awareness and a power that seemingly has no limits.  He can turn what is lacking into fullness (water into the best wine at the wedding); He can transform what ails into wholeness (the healing of the nobleman's son).  In both of these signs or miracles, Jesus restores to rightful completeness that which threatens to diminish human life -- running out of the important element of wine at the wedding; the nobleman and his household are threatened with the loss of this important life of his son.  We might remark upon the fact that when we pray, it is so frequently in response to what seems to be lacking in our lives, or what is threatened to be taken from us, the things that make for our sense of wholeness, completeness, fullness.  But we can read Christ's disparaging of a faith that relies solely on signs, and think about what it is we pray for, and how we determine what that is.  In a modern age with robust modern economies there are choices and "must haves" that no one in Christ's time could possibly have imagined for themselves.  We have a proliferation of choices to make and things to consume -- and also demand to keep up with -- that has never before occurred in history.  In the cases of the two miracles or signs so far in John's Gospel, the things we read about are considered to be necessary:  wine was a traditional symbol and accompanying to union or covenant (such as in a marriage); and we can consider for ourselves the significance of this nobleman's son and his importance to the household.  But in a modern world we might find ourselves praying for things we don't always truly need, as demand is so often generated through market forces, advertising, and other pressures to which we (and especially our children as well) are vulnerable.  In the modern context, faith becomes all the more important, if only so that we can discern what is truly needful and good for us, and what is truly important for our wholeness, and what we lack that harms human life.  For we might imagine that we need all kinds of things; we might find we worship all kinds of things, like the social status that some goods would confer, or the image of ourselves in the eyes of others whose values or care for us may be questionable in the first place.  We might be putting our faith in things that are improper for us, and so sometimes when those prayers go unanswered, the loss of what we hoped to gain puts us in a better place to reconsider our values, and what it is we are "worshiping" with our requests.  Even though the loss of the nobleman's son would be a deep loss and tragedy, Christ still pauses to make a general comment about the people's reliance upon signs and wonders for faith.  But what if our faith and its object in the first place was the only guarantor of true richness and value?  If we place our faith in Christ to begin with, would that not help us to know what it is we really need in life, what restores and blesses human life, and what deep needs we might be lacking, such as love and beauty and truth?  We place emphasis on faith in the first place -- and the correct object of that faith -- so that we know what we need and what we pray for, so that our own thinking is in the right place to begin with.  It's too easy to rely on lies about what we need, or what would make our lives "perfect" -- and to overlook the things that are of the essence for restoration of family, relationship, a sense of balance and peace.  So, for today, let us consider what we pray for and what we think we need.  Most of all, let us open up to the need for faith in the first place -- and faith that is based in the right place, focused on the right object, the Person of Christ.  For this basic trust makes all the difference in what it is we think we need, the things we believe will make our lives whole and good.  Do we need love?  Do we need to live with a sense of love, of compassion, of kindness?  Is our wholeness based on acquiring this for ourselves as part of the blessings and gifts of the Holy Spirit -- the greatest gift of all?  Let us consider how essential to us is our faith, and Whom we trust with that faith to begin with. 

 

 

Go your way; 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 speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (just after His revelation that He is the Christ), 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 also had gone to the feast.  Jesus' own country is Galilee.   John reports Jesus' testimony that a prophet has no honor in his own country; this statement is present in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).  Galileans were present at Jerusalem during the Passover (John 2:13-25), when Jesus performed many signs, my study Bible explains.  While the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom gives greater credit to the Samaritans (see the readings from Wednesday and Thursday) based on words alone without the 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."  My study Bible comments that Christ is admonishing the people in general (you in Christ's statement is plural both times) and not merely the nobleman.  Faith based on miraculous works only is insufficient for salvation.  This kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn should 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 nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak, my study Bible says.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance, nor does he sense that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  He finally asks about the timing of the healing, still not completely trusting in the authority of Christ.  It's only after everything is confirmed that he and his whole household believe.  My study Bible concludes that thus, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not just the body of the child, but also the soul of the nobleman.  

This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.   As the text tells us, the story of the nobleman's son in today's reading is the second sign of seven reported in John's Gospel.  My study Bible remarks that having revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (see the story of the calling of Nathanael, John 1:45-48), Christ now demonstrates that He can heal from a distance, showing us that His divine power knows no earthly limits.  There are certain similarities between this sign and the miracle recorded in Matthew 8:5-13, but there are also many crucial differences, which make clear they are two different encounters.  

Why is ti important for us to know that Christ can heal from a distance?  This revelation must be given to us for a reason.  It not only reveals Christ to be divine, but it also adds certain perspectives on our faith to us, that are relevant to our own lives and how we experience faith itself.  We need to understand Whom it is with which we engage in communion and relationship.  My study Bible comments that Christ's action in today's reading shows that His divine power knows no earthly limits. This is a theme which appears in many of the miraculous signs in the Gospels.  But if His power is not bound by the worldly limits to which we're subject -- that of distance, in this case -- then it means that His power can also effectively reach us.  It means that when we enter into worship and prayer, we're not just practicing something alone that we do from a distance.  Rather, this "unlmiting" of earthly limits mean that Christ can be present with us, too ("I am with you always, even to the end of the age" - Matthew 28:20).  And not only Christ enters into communion with us, but when we worship there also present that great cloud of witnesses to whom St. Paul refers in Hebrews 12:1.   In the readings involving the Samaritan woman of the past two days, Jesus revealed that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."  To worship in spirit and truth indicates a lack of earthly barriers; not only does it mean that as temples of God (1 Corinthians 3:16), God's spirit may dwell in us, but it also means that there are no barriers within our participation in the life of Christ, and Christ in us.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says to the disciples, "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:28-31).  Therefore we are to understand that our unlimited God sees everything, and is with us in all the details, even to the number of hairs on our head.  So everything that Christ does tells us of Gods' concern and care and presence with us.  From a distance He heals this nobleman's child, and in so doing, He heals the nobleman as well.  This is another aspect of what it means that Christ's power is unlimited, for it reaches into all aspects of our lives and can heal in ways we don't even understand that we are broken.  Our lives intersect with God's power and love which reaches everywhere, but so often we don't understand how God cooperates with us in our lives and requires our cooperation as well.  Building on even a weak faith, Christ can come to us and dwell with us (John 14:23).  Our expectations of life are one thing, and also what we call perfection, but there are times when even an infirmity or sadness may be used by God to help expand our faith (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Let us consider, at each moment of our day, in every tiny place in our lives, how Christ can be present with us, for our God is the God who sees, who is with us even when we are abandoned (Genesis 16:7-13).  Today's passage tells us that when Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives," this man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  We don't all know what it would be like to speak to Jesus face-to-face, as human being, but let us seek to take confidence in His word, in our time with Him in worship, and in private prayer.

 

 

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

 

 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 

 

 And 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 also had gone to the feast.  Jesus' own country is Galilee (see John 1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).  There were Galileans present at Jerusalem during the Passover feast (John 2:13-25), when Jesus performed many signs.  My study Bible comments that while the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom gives greater credit to the Samaritans for accepting Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see also John 20:29).  For the story of the Samaritans, see the readings of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (above).   This saying to which Jesus Himself testified, that a prophet has no honor in His own country, appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, John 4:44).

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."  This setting for today's reading is Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.   My study Bible comments on these verses that Christ is admonishing the people in general (you in this last verse is plural both times) and not only the nobleman.  It remarks that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation; this kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn should the miracles cease (see 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 notes that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, even though his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance, and neither does he grasp that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  In the end, he asks about the timing of the healing, still not completely trusting Christ's authority.  Only after everything is confirmed do he and his whole household believe.  Therefore, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not just the body of the child, but also the soul of the nobleman.  The text notes for us that this is the second sign of seven included in John's Gospel.  

It's quite interesting that my study Bible remarks that in the healing of the body of his child, the nobleman's soul is also healed by Christ.  This is the remarkable thing about the mysterious workings of God's power.  We don't know by what means or roundabout ways God's effective grace works in the lives of people, but ultimately there is a very significant factor that is always pertinent, and which we so often discount -- and that is the effect of God's work on faith itself, on those who come to faith.  My study Bible has also noted in today's reading that faith based solely on miraculous or marvelous works is a false faith, because if the miracles cease, so an incomplete faith turns to scorn.  We should keep in mind that ultimately it is not marvelous or miraculous signs that form the substance of faith or its purpose.  Jesus has stated that His purpose in being sent is for salvation:  "that the world through Him might be saved" (see John 3:16-17).  Although nominally speaking, today's passage tells us about this important second sign in John's Gospel, perhaps a greater purpose is served in the saving faith rendered in the nobleman and for his whole household, as the text tells us.  This is an important filter through which we might look at many things in the world, including our own lives and the others that we touch through our faith and through the grace that can be at work through us, whether or not we realize it.   There are times when even adverse circumstances can work to help bring about a saving faith; oftentimes it is only when things are not going well that people may turn to prayer, and it is in such a time when their hearts will turn to God and respond to the comfort and care mysteriously found there.  This article at the blog of Oxford University Press cites studies that show growth in people's reliance on religion and the importance of God in their lives in times not only of natural disasters but also man-made disasters such as war and conflict.  Adversity in childhood can often be a factor in the development of a strong religious faith in adulthood.  Psalm 27:10 reads, "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up" (KJV).  There are many who have found that less-than-perfect parenting is deeply healed through a sense of the love of God as Father, Son, and Spirit, as good guidance and support replace what was destructive and chaotic during upbringing.  Through the prayers of the saints, such as the Virgin Mary, many have experienced an inexplicable motherly tenderness that helps guide adult life; and the virtues of the saints as described by St. Paul as fruit of the spirit become a firm ground for the responsibilities of maturity, as opposed to what was poorly presented by natural parents in childhood.  I heard a very wise speaker say the real danger in a life of ups and downs is that when things are going well we will forget to pray, forget our need for God.  We should remember that the signs given in John's Gospel are just that:  they are "signs" of the presence of the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ.  They manifest in some way the presence of the Kingdom, the work of God present to us and among us.  But it is a life of faith that saves, that sometimes rugged journey that asks of us to grow and to struggle and to work and to pursue our faith; in the words of St. Paul, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).   Even as we read the magnificent and significant signs in John's Gospel, we must remember that they are called "signs" for a reason, they point to something.  And it is that deeper "something" that is the substance of faith and of salvation, in whose life we participate through prayer and worship, and in Whom we find ourselves.

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.