Reading Plan Text for March 12: John 4:43-54
Two days later, Jesus finally leaves Samaria and heads back into Galilee. Back to Cana where he started this little trip. News must be spreading, because a royal official (one assumes someone employed by Herod, which Burridge confirms) runs up to Jesus and begs that his son be healed. Once again, John turns this into another opportunity for Jesus to address the crowd (and therefore, John's audience) with another "you won't believe without proof" lecture. The official, however, will not be put off. He tells Jesus to come before his son dies.
Here we have a new twist. Jesus does not play the role of a seer in this situation. He does not tell the official things that only the official would know, as he did with Nathanael and the Samaritan woman. Instead, he tells the official to return home, his son has been healed. The official must trust that all is as Jesus says, because he goes. On the way home to Capernaum (some 20 or more miles from Cana, Burridge tells us), he meets up with some of his servants who have come to tell him that his son has recovered. A sign is given, and the official believes, along with his entire household. John's audience cannot see the the "signs and wonders" first hand, but they are able to view them through John's eyes. This is the second of the signs of Jesus that John gives us so that we might also believe.
Like the first sign at the wedding in Cana, persistence is the key to getting Jesus to act. His mother refuses to let up at the wedding, and the official refuses to give up any chance to save his son. We have seen this similar courses of action told in the other Gospels. Obviously, this is an important theme. If we persist in asking, Jesus will act.
Peace,
Jeffri
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