NOTES for Joh 4:43-54

The healing of the court official's son was the first in the series of healings performed by Christ, and without taking this into account we cannot assess the faith of the boy's father, bordering on prophetic insight. The Capernaum official risked turning to Jesus with a request for healing when no one yet knew whether He was capable of such a thing.

The words addressed to the official sound severe and accusatory, for he has to listen to a reproach for wanting to see a spectacular sight. One could say that the official received this rebuke undeservedly, if we did not know that Jesus, who sees what is in each heart, accuses no one unjustly. He comes to help wherever there is real need, and He immediately helped the official as well; but Christ warns both him and all those around him, and therefore us, that the pursuit of miracles and signs is inadmissible. Recognition of the reality of the spiritual world, which is partly opened through miracles, can become an important step on the path to God, but the pursuit of miracles must not obscure the Giver of miracles.

A certain important man, a royal official, comes to ask Jesus to heal his son. Jesus answers with words that, at first glance, carry a negative attitude toward what is happening; He said something similar to the Pharisees who tested Him (see Mark 8:12). But the royal official is moved by concern for his son, by the desire that his life continue. Jesus simply states a sad fact: without a miracle, it is hard to believe. And yet the Lord came to earth so that people would believe in Him.

The Lord's heart responds to the grief of a man who is losing his son, and He heals the young man. Not wanting to turn the healing into a loud, noisy event, Jesus sends the royal official home with only words about his son's recovery. And for the father He leaves room for spiritual growth - in faith. The royal official had to believe the Teacher's words and go home, even with the fear of finding his son already dead.

He also took the most important step on this path: he did not "steal" this miracle from the Lord. It would have been easy to think that the young man had finally taken a turn for the better. That is, after all, what the servants thought when they went to tell their master. It is sometimes easier for us to think that way too.

What does a person need in order to come to faith? Faith is one of the central concepts of the Gospel of John, for it was "written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31). Therefore almost all the episodes we read in these days connect the words and deeds of the Lord Jesus with our faith. Miracles and signs are always marked by comments such as, "And His disciples believed in Him."

But how does the Lord Himself regard this connection? What stands behind His words, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe": an acknowledgment that a miracle is necessary in order to believe, or a rebuke for a lack of faith that cannot do without a miracle? If the first, then what is the faith of those who did not see miracles worth? And if the second, then what is faith based on miracles worth?

It is impossible to believe with no grounds at all, but it is just as impossible to prove anything or interpret it unambiguously. Faith is a state of spirit that allows us to walk in half-darkness, to remain faithful when signs are lacking, and to discern the signs that point the way.

This Gospel story takes place in the very place where Jesus began His public ministry, in Cana of Galilee, where He turned water into wine at a wedding. It was a place that was His own, where He could feel that He was "in His own country." But here He is now received differently, in view of the miracles He performed in Jerusalem. He is no longer just an ordinary Galilean. He is a prophet or healer from whom something special is expected.

After making the twenty-hour journey from Capernaum, a royal official comes to Him and asks Him to heal his son. He is not interested in Jesus' words when Jesus speaks to him about faith and visible miracles; at that moment he is concerned only with his son's deadly illness. He hurries the Lord: "Come down before my son dies." He understands that he must bring the healer home at all costs so that He can touch the boy. And in answer he hears, "Go; your son is well." These words, absurd from the point of view of magic, proved so convincing to him that he immediately went home, confident that his son was healed. The father received the news that his son was well after he had gone far from the city, and none of those who were present during Jesus' conversation with the royal official learned about it then.

This second miracle performed by Jesus in Galilee is the birth of faith. It is an event less obvious than signs and wonders, but no less significant than turning water into wine.

It is interesting: why, in response to a certain royal official's request to heal his son, does Jesus reproach the one asking for unbelief? And whom does He mean when He says "you" in the plural? The circle of people to which the man who came to Him belonged? Was he one of those close to Herod the Tetrarch, the ruler of Galilee, people who in general were not known for either faith or piety? That is why Jesus spoke to him about miracles and signs, which such people need as proof of a wonderworker's power.

But the man asking did not demand any proof. He asked for only one thing: help for his sick son. He calls Jesus to his house, but Jesus does not even go to the one asking; He heals his son from a distance. The transition is unexpected and, at first glance, somewhat strange: just now Jesus questions the faith of the one asking, and now comes such a healing, a healing that presupposes precisely a living and deep faith. As we can see, the decisive role here was played by the royal official's reaction to that general accusation of unbelief that sounded from the Savior's lips. The one asking, as we can see, does not try to justify himself at all. He does not assure Jesus of his faith; he says nothing at all in answer to His reproach, as though the reproach did not concern him at all. He only repeats his request again and again. It is as though he answers Jesus: say what You want; it makes no difference to me. I trust You. I ask You to help my son. I have no concern for what others think about You, even if they are people of my circle. Whatever anyone thinks or says, I have come to You and I am asking You for help.

At first glance, such persistence can appear somewhat disrespectful: the one asking, in essence, ignores the words of the One to whom he is making his request. But Jesus Himself, as we can see, does not regard it this way. The royal official's answer fully satisfies Him, and He grants his request. And no wonder: in this case the point is precisely complete trust, the kind of trust in which the person one is speaking with is allowed any reproaches and the harshest words. The relationship is too clear and too deep for harsh but truthful words to darken it. Such are the relationships that bind those who live in the Kingdom. And here any healing is already possible.