The Official's Son

In this second week of Lent we are continuing to work our way through the seven miracles of Jesus that show up in the gospel of John. I mentioned last week that these seven miracles which John chooses to record all take place in the first half of his gospel. The first half of John’s gospel covers events spread out over a roughly three-year period. The second half of John’s gospel covers one week—from Palm Sunday to Easter.

I noted last week that so much of what John places in the first half of his gospel is meant to point forward to that one-week section in the last half of his gospel. These seven miracles of Jesus we see in John all point forward in some way to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. We started out last time at a wedding feast in the small village of Cana. Today we jump two chapters forward and skip over several events to find the next miracle of Jesus. But not surprisingly, we are back once again in the small village of Cana.

Let me quickly cover over what happens between the time Jesus left Cana after the water-to-wine miracle and now his return to Cana. Between these two events, the Jewish Passover festival occurs. This means many of the people throughout Israel travel to Jerusalem for Passover. Jesus and his disciples join all these other people in Jerusalem for Passover. The only notable story John tells about Jesus at the Passover is Jesus chasing out all of the cheating vendors from the temple courts who are selling animals for sacrifice.

In John 3 we see the meeting between Jesus and a pharisee named Nicodemus. It is in this conversation that we hear those words of Jesus which have become the most memorized and recognizable passage in all of the Bible. John 3:16

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Next comes a scene in which John the Baptist (the cousin of Jesus) notes the way more people are coming to Jesus than to him, and affirms that this must be so because Jesus is the Messiah, and John the Baptist is only meant to prepare the way for the Messiah. Apparently there are many other signs and miracles Jesus performs during this visit to Jerusalem because he is attracting quite a bit of attention. But John does not share any specifics about those miracles.

From here Jesus begins traveling from Jerusalem back north again to the region of Galilee. The region of Samaria was in between Jerusalem and Galilee. John 4 tells about the meeting Jesus has with a Samaritan woman at a well outside of a village in Samaria. Jesus ends up staying in Samaria a few days and gains quite a following of people in Samaria. This is where we pick up the story in the tail end on John 4.

John 4:43–54 NIV

43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there. 46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” 49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” 53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. 54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Even though we see Jesus again back in the small village of Cana, you get the idea that quite a bit has changed since the last time Jesus was here for a wedding celebration. Now Jesus has some notoriety and a reputation. People have witnessed some of the other signs and miracles that Jesus has done—which John does not tell us about in his gospel. So upon his return to the hill country area of Nazareth and Cana in the region of Galilee, we now find more people coming to Jesus and seeking him out.

John’s intent is to tell the good news of Jesus in a particular way; he wants his readers to know for certain that Jesus is the Messiah

But the way John tells this story makes special note of why it is people are seeking Jesus and what it is they are looking for from Jesus. I stated last week that John has a purpose in sharing these signs from Jesus in his gospel. John’s intent is to tell the good news of Jesus in a particular way. He wants his readers to know for certain that Jesus is the Messiah. And he wants his readers to know for certain what kind of Messiah Jesus is. John is trying to defuse all the misinformed notions that all these people carry about who it is they think the Messiah should be and what it is they think the Messiah should do.

people of Galilee welcome Jesus…but for the wrong reasons

the people welcome Jesus, but does that mean the people are actually happy to see Jesus? or are the people really more happy about what it is they think they can get from Jesus?

Let’s walk through some details in this story and see how this plays out. John tells us that when Jesus returns to Galilee the people welcome him. But we get the hint from the way John tells it that the people are welcoming him for the wrong reasons. Verse 44 is a side note John includes as a commentary on this. And Jesus himself points to this in the response he gives to the official in verse 48. (The ‘you’ pronoun is plural; Jesus is addressing this comment about disbelief to all of the people.) So John tells us that the people welcome Jesus, but does that mean the people are actually happy to see Jesus? Or are the people really more happy about what it is they think they can get from Jesus?

hometown hero athlete

Every now and then you hear stories of amazing athletes who come from humble beginnings but make it big in professional sports. And sometimes when this happens all the hometown relationships change. On the one hand, this person becomes popular and well known. But on the other hand, some of these old childhood friends no longer look at this great athlete as the kid who grew up next door and was fun to hang out with. Now they see someone who has suddenly taken in a big sports contract that may be worth millions of dollars. They still really want to hang out with the kid who grew up next door, but the motivation for doing so is completely different. For some of those old neighborhood friends, this athlete now becomes the ticket to step into living the big life on the coattails of someone else’s celebrity status and resources.

I wonder how many of those old childhood relationships Jesus had known from his growing up years in Nazareth and Cana are now turning out that way? Suddenly there is a different twist on those interactions because people are realizing that there might be some kind of windfall personal gain they can get out of Jesus. They certainly no longer see him as the kid who grew up next door. And neither do they understand that this guy is actually the long awaited Messiah who brings salvation to all of God’s people. This is entirely speculative, but I cannot help but wonder if the word got out and spread through the village about that whole water-into-wine thing that happened the last time Jesus was in town. The people have seen and heard these other stories of what Jesus has done since that wedding reception, and now they are piecing the story together. They are not even looking for Jesus to be some kind of Messiah; they are looking for Jesus to be that bartender who sponsored a round of drinks for every person in the entire village. They didn’t want a Messiah; they wanted more free wine. That’s all speculative—no one can say for sure—and John does not give us any information in the story about it one way or the other. All John gives us in this story is that Jesus is now quite popular in Cana, but for the wrong reasons.

royal official — person of power, influence, importance worked under king Herod Antipas within Roman Empire

And then a new person strolls into town. Our English Bibles translate it as a royal official from the town of Capernaum. This is a person who would have held a high position of authority in the government of Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great who was set up as an illegitimate monarch in the puppet regime of the Roman Empire. It was Herod the Great who was visited by the Magi and then tried to kill Jesus by having all the baby boys in Bethlehem murdered. Life under Herod Antipas was not as ruthless and violent as his father, but it was still the puppet regime of the Roman Empire in the area of Israel. So, this royal official who comes from Capernaum to Cana looking for Jesus is someone of importance and power and influence. It is not someone we would expect to make a trip to visit this little out-of-the-way village of Cana in the hills of Galilee. Yet here he is because—like everybody else—he is looking for something from Jesus.

Now pay attention to this detail of the story. Look at the interaction between Jesus and the official. The official finds Jesus and begs him to come to Capernaum and heal the official’s sick child. The Greek wording here indicates a small child, perhaps a toddler. And we also pick up the detail that the illness is a very severe fever which was certain to end in death. We do not know what exactly this begging looked like; John does not share details of the conversation. Maybe the official tried to arrange a transaction: Jesus, name whatever it is you want from me in exchange for coming to heal my son.

official gives an order: “come [to Capernaum] before my child dies”

The part of the conversation that John does record for us shows is important. In verse 49 the official says to Jesus, “come down before my child dies.” Remember that Cana is in the hill country and Capernaum is a much larger town along the trade route on the western shore of the sea of Galilee. The ‘come down’ reference is about altitude. The village of Cana is at a higher elevation than Capernaum, which is along the sea. Archeological ruins of what would have been Cana and Capernaum at the time of Jesus place these two towns about 16-19 miles of walking distance apart. This is a significant distance to walk. It is not as though Jesus could block off a few hours in his morning schedule to go run this one errand. The official is asking Jesus to travel for a whole day to come do this one thing for his son.

other people in Galilee who are flocking to Jesus are all looking for what they can try to get from Jesus | this particular royal official is attempting to order it from Jesus

But that’s not entirely accurate. The way John records the conversation the official does not ask Jesus to do this for him, the Greek language John uses puts it in the form of a command. The official is ordering Jesus to obey and to come to Capernaum. I know it looks softer than that in our English Bibles, as though it is still coming as a request or a petition. But what this royal official is trying to do is give Jesus a command. I suppose that is not entirely out-of-place. This official would have been a person who was used to giving people orders. His position was not the kind of job in which he would ask people for things; he was very accustomed to giving commands and expecting people to obey his orders. All these other people in Galilee who are flocking to Jesus are all looking for what they can try to get from Jesus. This particular royal official is attempting to order it from Jesus.

Jesus responds with an order: “go [away, back where you came from]”

The response that Jesus gives to this official is also recorded by John. Jesus replies to this command from the official with a command of his own. Instead of complying with the orders of the official, Jesus gives an order of his own. He tells the official, “Go back.” In effect he is telling the official ‘no’ to his command. Jesus says, I am not going back to Capernaum with you, and I am ordering you to leave here.

But there is more. Jesus also tells the official, “your child will live.” Sure, the difference may sound trivial. After all, the thing that the official really wanted all along was for his son to be healed. And of course it turns out that Jesus has both the power and the compassion to do just that. But the particular way this story plays out in John’s gospel is telling us quite a bit more than just a miracle of compassion and healing.

instead of going with the official to Capernaum, Jesus places himself between this man and his son

Instead of going with the official to Capernaum, Jesus places himself between this man and his son. Jesus essentially forces the official to make a choice. He didn’t get exactly what he wanted. And now he must leave Cana either believing Jesus, or rejecting Jesus. This is the point of the story that John is putting in front of his readers—in front of us yet today. In moments when we find that Jesus is not doing exactly what it is we expect or want Jesus to do for us, how do we respond to Jesus? Do we respond in faith by believing Jesus even though he may not be doing whatever it is we would expect or desire? Or do we respond by rejecting Jesus because he may not be doing whatever it is we would expect or desire?

official must make a choice — believe Jesus or reject Jesus

how do I respond to Jesus in moments when God may not be doing exactly what I expect God to do?

Jesus gave this royal official an opportunity to believe in Jesus, an opportunity to take a step of faith in Jesus without yet knowing exactly how it was going to all happen and play out.

The official has to leave without knowing for certain how exactly this would end. I suppose he could have stuck around in Cana while sending a messenger back to Capernaum as quickly as possible. He could have stayed close by to keep track of Jesus until there was word of some kind to verify the outcome. But that’s not how the story goes. The official goes on his way back to his home. What Jesus gave this royal official was something so much greater than just an opportunity to get something for himself out of Jesus. What Jesus gave this royal official was an opportunity to believe in Jesus, an opportunity to take a step of faith in Jesus without yet knowing exactly how it was going to all happen and play out.

We still live in a world yet today in which people come to Jesus wanting God to do something for them. We live in a world where people look for Jesus as a means to fulfill personal desires and wishes. Our world tries to bargain with God in ways that attempt to bend God’s activity towards our own commands and our own orders. But this story in John 4 still reminds us today that God will not be commanded and ordered. Even so, God desires to show compassion and mercy for his people yet today. And God still responds to people yet today in ways that steer us towards belief in Jesus. God works within our world and within our hearts in ways that prompt us towards faith in how we respond to God.

how do I come before Jesus today? am I coming to Jesus with a list of desires and demands? or am I coming to Jesus trusting that he will guide my steps of faith?

Sometimes God does not always answer our desires and our hopes the way we might like for him to do. But God always does so in ways that extend opportunities for us to believe and step forward in faith no matter the outcome we may desire. How do you come before Jesus today? Are you coming to Jesus with a list of desires and demands? Or are you coming to Jesus trusting that he will guide your steps of faith. He may not be the Messiah who always provides exactly what we are looking for. But he is always the Messiah who provides exactly what he know we need from him.