John 4:46-54--Jesus Heals an Official's Son

John 4:46-54
English Standard Version
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Jesus Heals an Official's Son
46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

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Today's passage starts the second section of the Gospel of John as we see the second sign here (see verse 54 where John clearly points out that this was the second sign).  Jesus is back in Cana in Galilee (the same place that the first sign where he made the water into wine).  From there Jesus went onto Capernaum, we're going to see a lot of this city as it seems like it becomes "home base" for Jesus and seems to be where Simon Peter's mother-in-law lives.

When they get to Capernaum, there was an official whose son was ill.  The man asked Jesus to come with him to heal his son who was so sick that he was about to die.  The man thinks that Jesus has to be there in person, possibly to touch his son, for his son to be healed.  Jesus says that "unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."  I think Jesus is referring to the Jews in general here and not just the man, and that Jesus was concerned more about this man believing who He was than healing the son in the way that the man asked. Even after this the man said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."   If Jesus had done that, then perhaps He could be viewed as just another prophet or man of God, but Jesus instead just said, "Go; your son will live." and the man had to go in faith believing that his son has been healed and would not die.  He had to take Jesus at His word and believe that His word and His will could heal from any distance.

When the man returns home, his servants say that the son is recovering, and the official inquires of his servants at what time the son started to get better.  They tell him that it happened "Yesterday at that seventh hour" (that is 1:00 pm) which was exactly the time that Jesus told the official, "Go; your son will live."  He and his entire household believed that Jesus was the Son of God.  Even though the phrase "Son of God" is not explicitly there in the text, we are told that this is a "sign" and that all the signs that are given are given so that we may know that Jesus is the Son of God.  It would be strange to say that the official came to any other inference here other than what the sign was intended to convey and that we would be told that he "believed."  We too are meant to see these signs and believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that in Him and through Him we might have eternal life.