Upon Jesus telling a royal official that his sick son would live, and apparently sending him back home, we find confirmation of Jesus’ words:
“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.
John 4:50-53 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.4.50-53.NIV
Note that this official had asked for help in the way that he expected Jesus to be able to heal his son (see John 4:47-49). I suspect that this man was used to doctors making house calls and helping sick people in person, and maybe he associated other signs and wonders that Jesus had performed with Jesus’ physical presence. Also (as suggested by commentators Bryant & Krause, p.139), the man may not have fully appreciated that Jesus could also raise people from the dead, similar to Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died (see John 11:1-44).
However, when Jesus gave the official a command, I think that it is to his credit that he followed Jesus’ instruction. He trusted Jesus’ statement that his son would live, and took off. I think that this is a good example of faith in action. If the man had said that he trusted Jesus, but still insisted that Jesus had to join him at his house “just in case”, I’m not sure if we would believe that the man actually had faith. The Bible confirms that the man trusted Jesus, though, and the man’s actions confirmed this for those around him (perhaps including John the apostle, the author of this gospel). Remember that Capernaum was a ways away from Cana. This meant that the man’s faith was going to have to hold up for a while, while he traveled to his son.
And, sure enough, the son was healed at the same time that Jesus spoke it. (The significant distance between the cities is further confirmed through the observation that, by the time servants and father meet up, having started out in the early afternoon on one day, it is the next day.)
I’m pretty sure that the father was overjoyed, and that there was a happy reunion when he got home. He showed faith both in leaving his son to ask Jesus for help, and in heading home without bringing Jesus with him.
There’s something else here, though:
Given the distance (and perhaps some empathy for the fact that this father had been separated from his son on a journey to go get help), when the son is healed, messengers set out from Capernaum to meet the father and give him the good news, rather than waiting for him to arrive. That seems considerate on the part of those who traveled (or those who sent them) with the message.
In light of this, if we know the good news of salvation through Jesus, consider the fact that there are people around us who are living in their sins, without the joy of knowing Jesus and without hope. We might be waiting for the “right time” to share this good news (perhaps when our friends are nearing the end of their lives, when we think that they are “ready”, or simply a nebulous “later”), but it’s more compassionate to help someone find the abundant life that Jesus offers immediately when the Holy Spirit provides us the opportunity and words to do so, rather than letting them remain in their sins and hopelessness year after year.
In the same way, if those with the good news about Jesus never “leave the church building” (whether literally, or by not reaching out to others outside of their church family), and expect others to come to them to find hope, a lot of lost people are going to be left waiting – perhaps until it is too late. Sometimes, we must be like rescue workers and ambulance drivers, providing spiritual aid wherever people are hurt and dying. Don’t hesitate to meet people where they are, so that they can hear the good news sooner!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 11, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, February 11, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – John, by Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 