Healing Word


John 4:43-54
43After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44(For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast. 46So 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. 47When 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. 48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52So 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.” 53The 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.

As we read yesterday, Jesus spends two days in the village of the woman He met at the well. The people of her village responded with enthusiastic faith to His teaching; a people who should have received Him with fear and mistrust. Now He heads back to Galilee where His message should be received with open arms. Such is not the case.

It would appear that the Galileans are happy to see Jesus and the reader almost assumes that this is good news for Jesus. They want to have faith too. But what they really wanted was to see a few more tricks. They weren’t interested in faith as much as they were interested in getting something or being entertained. Yes, Jesus is the miracle bringer. But He is so much more. The Samaritans and the Galileans are held up in stark contrast to one another. The Samaritans didn’t see any miracles (that we know of) and yet they believed. The Galileans saw more than one miracle and they were interested in a side show, not a Savior.

Then the official approaches Jesus with his request to heal his son. This is a desperate father. He wasn’t looking for a side show. He was looking for the life of his son to be spared. What opens his eyes to true faith is when he hears exactly when the healing took place. It was in the moment that Jesus spoke the words. Imagine his wonder and joy when he puts two and two together and comes up with the restored life of his child. His testimony then spreads to the entire household and a whole family is saved.

I’m troubled by people who seem to embrace the Lord only because He can respond to them with miracles. Faith is a relationship. My dad was (is) always very generous with me. But if our relationship was built only on the fact that he gives me stuff, it would be shallow and ultimately useless. I love him because he’s my dad. The fact that he’s wise and caring is an added bonus. Jesus is my Savior and Lord. I love Him because He loves me and grants my next breath. If the only reason I come to Him is for the occasional miracle, we’ve got nothing. I guess I would rather be like the Samaritans than the Galileans.

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