Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and
happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people
to be a delight. Isaiah 65:17-18
Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and
wonders, you will not believe.” The
royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will
live.” The man believed what Jesus said
to him and left. John 4:48-50
Piety
I will praise you, LORD,
for you have rescued me. You did not let
my mundane personal problems consume me.
When I cried out help, you sent your Son to heal me. Now, in the spirit
of thanksgiving after the crisis, let me continue to act on this faith for the
rest of my days. (Based upon Psalm 30:2-4)
Study
Jesus steps up his game in
this second miracle of Galilee. On his
first visit, he attended a now infamous wedding with his mother (although he
certainly overshadowed the bride and groom).
There, when the host ran out of wine, the water – in the presence of its
Creator’s son – turned into the finest wine.
Not only do miraculous signs unite this scene with today’s miraculous
cure of the Roman official’s son, it also holds important lessons that reveal some
lessons about “son-ship.”
First, at the early stage
of his public ministry, Jesus took the relatively small step of creating a
physical sign that did not change the course of anyone’s life or death. The host might have been embarrassed running
out of wine at his daughter’s wedding. The
worst that might have occurred is that the crowd would have disbursed when they
party ended. No one except the wine
steward and the workers had to know what was happening. Mary knew that she could intervene and her
son could introduce a solution. The only
way to accomplish that was through listening and acting and believing. “Do what he tells you.”
In our second miracle, we
also see a sign performed based upon listening and believing in Jesus. This time, the sign was the difference
between the sickness and health of the royal official’s son. It was truly a case of life-or-death. This new sign serves to continue to bring
more people into the circle of believers.
However, at first Jesus
seems to send the royal official home with nothing to show for his outreach. The people demand a visible sign but the Lord
is not there to perform like some carnival sideshow. When he heard Jesus was back in Cana, the official traveled for a full day or more on primitive trails to trek from the north end
of the Sea of Galilee to Cana in central Palestine. After rushing (most likely on foot) about 20
miles from Capernaum to Cana, the official expected Jesus to come with him to
cure the son in person. What a shocking and
disappointing revelation it must have been for this official when he realized
that Jesus had no intention to return with the official to Capernaum.
However, when he the
official gets back home (another long day’s journey), he finds that his son was
healed through the mystery of faith even though there was not any outward physical
sign or action. There was no pasting his
body with mud, no ritual washing away of leprosy sores, or any other physical
connection. Just by the mere fact that the official went all this way to reach Jesus,
listened and obeyed when he was dismissed, that act of faith was enough.
Just as the sign functions
on a higher level, so too do the words Jesus speaks. Just as the words Jesus spoke may have unsettled
the official, the unsettling statement (to me) is when Jesus remarks, “Your son
will live.” This is not only a statement
of fact about the current situation. It
stands in stark contrast to two realities that will be revealed. First, Jesus of Nazareth, the human son of
Mary, will not live much longer. In a short
time, he will hang from a cross with nails in his hands and feet until he
bleeds to death in agony. Second, it
also reveals that once Jesus endures such death, he too will live. Addressing the father through the Father, we
also learn, “Your Son will live.”
Action
Are we sign-seekers or
true believers? Are we part of the maddening
crowd or are we individuals who seek a real relationship with the Lord?
The point is that the crisis
was just a starting point to grow into a mature relationship in faith. Yes…the son was cured. However, the real conclusion is that the official
and his whole household came to believe and enter into a mature faith
experience. When the pressure is on, we might find it easy to turn to the Lord. However, when the pressure is off, how do we
react?
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