Jesus Healed the Official's Son (Jn. 4:46-54)

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev Dr Stephen Tong on 28 February 2010 in True Way Presbyterian Church. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: John 4:46-54

When Jesus entered Cana in Galilee, a Roman official came and begged Him to go to his house to heal his son who was about to die. The fact that he went to Jesus instead of to a doctor, despite his high status, indicated that he believed in Jesus. In non-believers’ circle, there are still people who have faith in God.

The Lord Jesus’ life was clearly guided by God. He was very sensitive to the guidance of God. The gospel of Matthew and Luke recorded that it was the Holy Spirit who led Jesus to the desert to be tempted by the devil. Did the Holy Spirit guide people to the devil? But the Bible recorded so. In typical Chinese concept, God will always guide to better and richer places. But this is not true according to biblical principles.

Many western missionaries left the best and most advanced culture to the most backward places. But Chinese often only consider the guidance of God in reverse direction. May God recover us from this illness.

Jesus Christ went wherever He was guided by the Spirit. He was obedient to the guidance of God. When led to the desert to be tempted by the devil, He went. When led to Samaria to preach to the Samaritan woman, He went. When led to Galilee, He went. When not led to the house of the Roman official, He would not go. Do not think that Jesus would definitely come if invited.

Jesus rebuked the official first, saying they would never believe if they do not see miraculous signs. It is addressed not only to unbelievers, but to the Jews as well. He was exposing the common error of the generation. Jesus asked the official to go back as the son was now healed. In this, Christ showed that He is the Lord that transcends time and space.

This official was a believer because he came to Jesus for help. He was not angry when Jesus asked him to go back and refused to go to his house. In contrast many of us today constrain God by our so-called faith. We claim to believe in God’s sovereign will but our action betrays us. Most of us just learn academically and do not obey God in practice.

Jesus used His sovereignty to heal the son but not using the method the man expected. On his way back, the servant reported the son was healed. When he asked for the time his son was healed, he found out that it was exactly at the hour Jesus spoke. Instead of just assuming the son got well naturally, he wanted to check when the son was healed to see if Jesus was right. This Gentile is closer to God than many Israelites. He met Jesus the day before when the son recovered. It means he had to travel a long way to see Jesus. The son’s recovery brought him and his household to believe in Jesus. Jesus transcends social status, boundaries of space and time. He performed miracles for both Jews and Romans. He can heal when you are near and when you are far away. The divinity of Jesus transcends all boundaries.

Some people would only visit the rich, not the poor. A lot of churches have gone astray in this way. They are controlled by the rich and are afraid to offend them. The servants of God should not bow down to the rich. It is most difficult to transform the entire generation from this trap of love of wealth.

The last verse says this was the second miraculous sign Jesus performed in Galilee. The first was turning water into wine in a wedding. The second one is a miracle of resurrection. The Lord placed emphasis on good marital relationship and is willing to give life to a person who is dying.

In chapter 5, Jesus started to talk about His death. It is the beginning of His journey to Golgotha. We will learn to see how Christ is obedient to God step by step to the cross.