Jesus Heals the Official Son, John 4:43-54 - Copy
Second Miraculous Sign: Faith Beyond Signs: Trusting the Word of Jesus, John 4:43–54
Last week on Saturday, my daughter inserted a SIM card into her nostril. We rushed her to the hospital, but they could not remove it. They referred us to the national hospital. We rushed her there through the emergency entrance, and the only thing I wanted was for the doctor to see her. There were other people too, but finally we saw the nurse, and as she was giving us advice. Yet inside my heart I wanted her to finish. I just wanted to see the ENT doctor remove the SIM card. When we read John 4:43–54,
The second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, we see a royal official whose son had a fever and was about to die. The officer heard that Jesus was in Galilee, and he set off on the journey from Capernaum to Galilee to look for Him. He traveled over 30 km, about 8 hours, to find Jesus. Perhaps he had heard about Him or had seen Him performing miracles. When he found Jesus, he asked Him to come to Capernaum to heal his son. But Jesus rebuked him first and then gave him a word: his son would live and be healed.
So, he went back, and on his way, he met his servant, who told him that his son was healed. He paused for a moment and realized that the very time Jesus gave him the word was the same time the fever left his son. He believed Jesus, together with his household.As I said, the miracles in John are signs, and every sign communicates a message. Every sign that Jesus performed was to show the Jews that He was the Messiah. But unfortunately, they failed to believe in Him and recognize Him as such. I want us to highlight some points here so that we may understand what Jesus wants us to learn from this sign.
1. Welcomed but Not Honored
In verses 43–45, we are told that Jesus was welcomed in His hometown because of the signs He had performed. But let’s remember — they welcomed Him, but they did not honor Him. Read Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; and Luke 4:24. In each of these passages, the circumstances are the same. In Matthew 13:53–58, we read: "When Jesus had finished these parables, He moved on from there. Coming to His hometown, He began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. ‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?
Aren’t all His sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?’ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.’ And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." It seems they welcomed Jesus with joy and were amazed at His teaching, but it did not last long. They later wanted to kill Him because He told them that the gospel was also for the Gentiles — and the Gentiles believed in Him. We know the Jews hated the Gentiles. With this in mind, we now understand that when Jesus came back to His hometown, He did not want to perform another miraculous sign because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:53–58). He was avoiding popularity at this time.
2. Jesus Rebukes Sign-Seeking Faith
Now comes the royal officer, asking Jesus to go with him and heal his son. Jesus rebukes him and says: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe” (John 4:48).It sounds harsh, but the reason Jesus said this was because He didn’t want to perform a sign simply for the unbelieving people of His hometown. At this point, a large crowd was following Him. He said this not because He didn’t want to heal or was merciless, but because He wanted to disperse the crowd that followed Him only for signs. They were sign-seekers. If Jesus failed to perform a miracle, they would leave, because that is all they wanted from Him. Knowing this, Jesus told the official He would not go with him. If He had gone, the crowd would have followed Him to Capernaum. But when He told the official to go, saying, “Your son will live,” the crowd assumed He dismissed the man and refused to heal. This discouraged them and caused them to disperse. That is why Jesus said, “Go, your son will live.”
3. From Faith in Signs to Faith in the Word
The official believed the word of Jesus and headed back home. At this point, he had faith. But his faith grew more when he met his servants and received the good news that his boy was well. His faith grew even more when he realized that the exact time he spoke with Jesus was the same time his son was healed. He believed not only the words of Jesus, but he believed in Him as the Messiah, together with his household.
4. What We Learn from This Sign
From our story, we learn that Jesus did not want sign-seekers. The people from His town believed because of the miracles they saw Him perform. To them, faith was based on signs. But their faith in Him did not last long, because later, they rejected His words and did not accept Him as the Messiah. From this, we learn that “sign-faith” believers do not last long. It is like the seed that was choked (Matthew 13:20–22). Jesus does not want “sign-faith” believers. He is actually rebuking them.
Are you a sign-faith believer? Are you seeking a sign from God so that you may believe in Him? Do you want God to do something for you before you serve Him? That kind of faith will not last. If God fails to answer your prayer or perform a miracle, you will walk away. Or even if He does answer, your faith still won’t last long because you only received what you wanted. Jesus wants us to believe in His word. He wants us to have “word-faith. "Let’s go back to the previous chapters: in John 2, His disciples believed in Him after the first sign. Nicodemus believed the words of Jesus with no sign (John 3). The Samaritan woman believed His words (John 4:1–42), and the villagers also believed because of what He said. In John 4:39–42, many believed because of His word. God wants us to have faith in Him because of the Word He has given us.
He has given us the Bible — His Word. Let’s believe it. John 20:31 says: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. "John wants us to believe in Jesus not because of signs, but because of who He is. He was fully God and fully human (John 1:14). He is our God who came in the flesh and dwelt among us. He is the Messiah and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the I AM, the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). He is the only way to heaven. This is the kind of faith that Jesus wants us to have. We should not come to Him because we want something from Him. We should come to Him because He is our God, our King, and the source of life and salvation.
Only He can forgive our sins and make us righteous before God. Only He can change our minds and hearts. Let’s come to Him, because without Him, we have no life.The official’s faith grew, and he believed in Jesus as the Messiah. The same is true for us. If we are truly believers, our faith will grow as we continue to hear His Word. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Our faith will stand firm, because when we believe in Jesus, we can do everything through His strength (Philippians 4:13). He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Conclusion
The royal official came to Jesus with his own plan—he wanted Jesus to go with him to Capernaum to heal his son. But Jesus gave him something far greater: a word of life. This teaches us that we cannot come to God and expect Him to act according to our own ways. Many times, like the official, we want God to answer our prayers in the way we have imagined. But Jesus reminds us that His power is not limited to our expectations. He works according to His will and in His appointed time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The official learned to trust the word of Jesus, and so must we. Faith that clings to signs will fade, but faith that rests on God’s Word will endure. Let us learn to wait on the Lord, trust His promises, and believe that His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9).
The healing of the official’s son teaches us that true faith does not rest on signs but on the Word of Christ. Miracles may catch our attention, but only His Word can transform our hearts and sustain our walk with Him. The officer moved from desperation, to faith in Jesus’ word, to full belief in Him as Messiah — and that is the journey we are called to make as well. Today, the Lord is asking us: will you believe in Him because of who He is, even when you cannot see the miracle yet? If we trust His Word, we will find life, and our faith will grow unshakable, rooted not in signs, but in the Savior Himself.
