The Gospel of John, as with the other gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, can be divided into three major sections: 1) Jesus “divine encounters,” such as with the Woman at the Well in Samaria; 2) Jesus’ miracles that served as “signs” of His deity; and 3) Jesus’ teachings, either to His disciples, the religious leaders, or to the larger multitudes who had gathered to hear Him. Today’s blog focuses on a combination of the first two, that is, an encounter with a nobleman and the miracle that Jesus performed on behalf of the nobleman’s son. Let’s take a closer look.

After His encounter with the Woman at the Well, Jesus and His disciples continued traveling north toward their “home base” in Capernaum, along the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Along the route to Capernaum lay the town of Cana, where Jesus had previously turned water into wine at the wedding celebration. Knowing that Jesus would be traveling through Cana, a nobleman (or royal official), who lived in Capernaum (about 15 miles from Cana), heard that Jesus was returning to Galilee and decided to rush to Cana in order to “intercept” Jesus as soon as possible. Why, because his son lay sick and dying, and this nobleman needed to get word to Jesus as soon as possible. Naturally, the nobleman requested Jesus to quickly come to Capernaum in order to heal his son. Here’s how Jesus responded:

Unless this people sees signs and wonders, you simply will not believe (Jn. 4:48).

This was indeed true throughout Jesus’ ministry. As Paul would say later in his letter to the church in Corinth, “the Jews are always looking for signs.” The nobleman responded by requesting that Jesus come to his home in Capernaum so that He could heal his son before he dies. And that’s when Jesus’ responded,

Go your way, your son lives (Jn. 4:50).

Now here is the key to this entire encounter and subsequent miracle, as John records the following:

The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and started off toward Capernaum (Jn. 4:50).

The nobleman believed what Jesus said, that his son “lives,” and departed from Cana for home, of course wondering if this was actually true. And as he was heading home, some of his servants met him on the road and told him that his son was alive. And I love this part,

He inquired as to when the fever left him, and they said at the seventh hour (about 7pm Roman time). So, the father new that it was at that very hour when Jesus said, “your son lives” (Jn. 4:52-53).

Not only do I love that part, but this part of the encounter is even better, as John records that the nobleman,

…believed, and his whole household (Jn. 4:53).

This miracle not only healed the nobleman’s dying son, but it also caused the rest of the nobleman’s household to believe. Jesus’ miracles always had an impact far beyond those for whom the miracle was performed. And then John records,

This is the second sign that Jesus performed when He came out of Judea into Galilee (Jn. 4:54).

Jesus had a purpose is doing his miracles, or signs, and that was to confirm the fact that He was indeed the long-expected Messiah, as well as the Son of the living God. In fact, that’s why John specifically recorded these encounters as well as miracles so that we, too, might believe. 

Friends, Jesus performed these miraculous signs in the presence of many witnesses, and John accurately recorded them for posterity. We still have the opportunity to “believe” in Jesus, not only for who He was and is, but also for the fact that He died on the cross to forgive our sins and give us new life. Because of this miracle, the nobleman, his wife and children, and all of his servants believed in Jesus, because his son was healed the moment Jesus spoke those words, “Your son lives.” 

A divine encounter led to a miracle, a miracle that changed an entire household. And God is still doing that today if we will only believe in Him and allow Him to use us for His honor and glory. My encouragement to each of us is  just that: believe in Him and allow Him to use you. You will be amazed at what He can and will do! God bless you all.