As the story opens, the previous two days had been long and busy for the Lord, but the rewards for God’s Kingdom were bountiful. Jesus chose to leave the land of Samaria and travel to the area where He had grown up. He spent nearly 30 years of His life in this province, and most people in the area were familiar with Him. At another time, Jesus had said, proverbially, “that a prophet has no honor in his own country” (Jn. 4:44; Mt. 13:57; Mk. 6:4 NKJV) However, Jesus was received better in Galilee than some other areas, although, His life also had been threatened there (Lk. 4:28-30).

Setting For The Miracle
As Jesus arrived in the area, many different feelings about Him must have been discussed. He turned water into wine here. These people could remember when He had cleared the temple of tax collectors and crooked merchants during the Passover. But with all this, they still didn’t have faith in the Healer, although they were excited to see Him work wonders.

When He arrived, word spread quickly. There was a certain nobleman – literally “one in service of the king” – who lived about 25 miles away in Capernaum. He had a son who was sick to death. Apparently, all local means to heal his son had been unsuccessful. Whether his financial or social status had limited him further is not stated; either way, the man had little to hope for, except a miracle to save his son. When he heard that the Healer had come to Cana, he traveled a day’s journey to find Him. Leaving his dying son to seek help took great faith. The man’s son was near death, and might have died while the nobleman was away.

When the man reached Cana, he asked Jesus to come to Capernaum and heal his son. His request was simple and direct. The Bible never talks of flattery or a long request. It simply says that the man “implored” (asked, beseeched, desired) Jesus to come and heal the boy. Christ’s response challenged the man: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe” (Jn. 4:48). This comment was necessary. In the area of Galilee it would have been easy to attract a crowd to see the Carpenter's Son do some amazing things. With all the attraction but little belief, Jesus wanted to make sure this man believed that He could heal his child. A faith built only on miraculous signs is not a complete faith.

The nobleman was not prepared to argue his need, so he simply repeated the request, emphasizing its urgency: “Sir, come down before my child dies!” (Jn. 4:49). Christ’s response is one of the wisest judgments ever of human nature: “Go your way; your son lives” (Jn. 4:50). Jesus’ calm assurance in reply to the nobleman’s desperate request created a crisis. If the official really believed Jesus could make a difference in Capernaum, he must also believe Him now in Cana. The response that the man chose would testify to his faith.

The Bible tells us that “the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.” He had proven his faith by accepting His answer and returning home. He returned empty-handed based on Jesus’ statement that his son was going to live. The nobleman saw no miracle, he was given no sign of his son’s recovery; he simply heard the words spoken by Jesus and believed. Such faith is worthy of note, both then and now.

During the trip back home, the man likely would have pondered Jesus’ promise every step of the way. While still returning, his servants came to him with the news that his son had recovered from his illness and was going to live. Not losing sight of the source of the healing, the nobleman inquired as to when the change had taken place. The servants said, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him” (Jn. 4:52). The healing had been no accident, for at that exact time, “at the seventh hour,” Jesus had promised the man that his son would live.

The nobleman’s faith in the Lord’s power over health and distance grew into belief in Jesus Christ. He believed and brought his whole family to belief (Jn. 4:53). This life-changing event took place because a man believed the promise of One known to many simply as the Carpenter’s Son.

Purpose Of The Miracle
It is important to view the stories in Scripture with an eye to what they teach. To better understand this miracle, a few questions must be answered. First, what was the purpose of this miracle? The reason the nobleman came to Cana was because he wanted Jesus to come home with him and heal his son. The distance between the two towns was a full day’s journey, and the man felt Jesus would need to travel that distance to heal the boy. By healing the boy as he was talking to the nobleman, Jesus displayed His power over distance – it was no limitation. He simply assured this father that it had been done. The miracle also showed, again, Jesus’ power over health. This incredible power would cause many to seek Him and would also create some problems with people just looking for a healing prophet and not the Savior and Lord.

Lessons Of The Miracle
This leads to the second question: What lessons does this miracle teach? It teaches much about what the Lord wants from us in faith. Jesus first challenged the man, that he didn’t have true faith. The man asked again, and Jesus’ answer was not at all what the man was hoping for. He had to put his faith to the test and return home to see if Jesus had done what He said He would. As Christians learn more and more to put their faith in Jesus, He will use circumstances to teach them to put even more faith in Him. The Lord doesn’t want watered down faith; He wants us to follow Him confidently, not concerned with the destination, but fully trusting Him. True faith doesn’t even give time to process concerns, because it confidently trusts the one it is following. Such a level of faith in our Savior and Lord can bring about a radically spiritual walk, with many blessings for the follower.

Another lesson to be learned from this miracle is one of motives. The Bible encourages us to present our requests to God, without being worrisome or anxious (Phil. 4:6). When the nobleman came to Jesus, he came with a request he had been worrying about for some time. Jesus challenged him to consider his motives for asking for the Lord’s help. As we present our requests to the Lord, we must remember to keep our motives pure. One of the cleanest possible motives for requesting something of the Lord is so that God may be glorified through the request.

Response To The Miracle
The third question to answer is: Who witnessed the miracle and how did they respond? This miracle was private. The nobleman was the only one who heard what Jesus said, and then knew that his son was healed at that exact time. However, even though he was the only direct audience to the miracle, his belief affected many. The Scripture tells us that his whole household believed. The affect of these people on others is not stated, but we can assume that others came to a trusting faith in Jesus due to this miracle’s affect on a family. As Christians, we must ask ourselves this question: When I see the Lord work in my life, does it cause a radical change? The careful answer to this question should open the heart of one who has lost the fire and excitement in his faith.

It is apparent that this miracle can have great benefit for the believer who takes the time to learn from it. But the most important part to remember is this: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable ... that the man of God may be complete” (2 Tim. 3:16). If we take the time to analyze Scripture for ourselves, the benefits will be apparent in our lives. May the Lord bless our study of His Word!

By Kaleb Jackson