"Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way" (John 4:50).
Once again we see the unbelief of the Jews illustrated in the Gospel of John. Having left Samaria, Jesus began His Galilean ministry, which lasted more than 16 months. The other gospels contain many examples of His work there, but John only records two events. One of those events is the healing of the nobleman’s son. This nobleman was probably someone in Herod’s court who had heard of Jesus’ power to perform miracles. Realizing that his son was about to die, the man hurried to find Jesus and asks Him to come to his son’s bedside to heal him.
In his request, the man underestimates the power of Christ’s word. He thought Jesus needed to touch the boy, or at least sec him. The nobleman, like so many others, was unaware of Jesus’ divinity and the power of His word. It is not surprising that John chose this incident to record. His emphasis in this gospel is Christ as the Word of God. He wants us to realize the power of the Word, through whom all things came into being. Jesus wanted the nobleman to realize the same thing.
Jesus rebuked the worrisome father for his lack of faith, for his need to see signs and miracles instead of trusting in His word. Jesus included all the people in this rebuke saying, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe” (John 4:48).
Jesus, however, was merciful, but not without making His own purposes clear. He healed the man’s son, but by His word. He did not go to the man’s house, instead he simply said, “Your son lives” (John 4:50). Thus, Jesus made the point to all present that they must not believe with their eyes, but trust in the power of the Word.
Like the great saints of Hebrews 11, the man believed without seeing the result of his request: “He believed the word that Jesus spoke to him.” The next day, his faith was confirmed as he received news that his son had been healed. Because of his faith, salvation came to his entire household. The purpose of Christ’s demonstration, of healing the boy, was to testify to His own power as the Word of God and to bring salvation to those who were lost.
Read today’s passage and then read Matt. 8:5–13. Why did Jesus praise the centurion for his faith and not the nobleman? What did the centurion realize about Jesus that the nobleman did not understand at first? How is the authority of Jesus’ word revealed in both these incidents? Pray that your faith will emulate that of the centurion.
