NOTES for Joh 4:46-54
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.