49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” 50 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. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” 52 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.” 53 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. 54 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
4:49
The nobleman said to Him,
The government official made an appeal to Jesus.
“Sir, come down before my child dies!”
The official expressed urgency regarding healing his son because he was at the point of death. The official did not understand Jesus’ statement about a superficial faith in verse 48 but continued to ask for his son’s healing.
4:50
Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.”
Jesus did not need the son’s presence to heal him. Jesus simply said, “Go your way because your son lives.” The son was healed the moment Jesus made this statement.
So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
The official took Jesus at His word and proceeded to Capernaum. The man believed Jesus’ promise without seeing a sign or wonder. His faith was in Jesus’ word, and without question.
4:51
And as he was now going down [to Capernaum], his servants met him and told him, saying,
As the official proceeded north to Capernaum, his slaves met him to tell him that his son was healed. What striking news! He went “down” from a higher, hilly plateau to a lower. The Sea of Galilee was over 600 feet below sea level.
“Your son lives!”
The son of the official was suddenly healed. The slaves shouted it to their master.
4:52
Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.
The official inquired about the timing of his son’s healing.
And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
The slaves answered the official that his son was healed at the “seventh hour.” This Jewish time was about 1 P.M. This was the exact time Jesus spoke the words to the official.
4:53
So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.”
The official verified that the healing of his son was the very time the Lord said he was healed.
And he himself believed,
The official’s faith deepened beyond what is was when he had talked to Jesus. His faith was confirmed.
and his whole household.
Each member of the official’s household believed as well.
4:53
This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
The words “second sign” does not convey the idea that this was only the second sign that Jesus ever performed (Jn 2:23; 3:2). The idea is simply the second miracle He performed in Cana.
PRINCIPLE:
Miracles demonstrate the authority of Jesus’ message.
APPLICATION:
Jesus manifested His glory by turning water into wine and healing the official’s son in Galilee. This shows His sovereignty over creation. Both situations demonstrate Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. Signs and wonders point to Christ; they reveal His glory (Jn 2:11).
