John 4:51-54 51Now, as he was going down, his servants met him saying that his son was living. 52Then he inquired from them the hour in which he had gotten better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53Then the father, knowing that in that hour in which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” he himself also believed and all his household. 54This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
These verses give the “rest of the story” of what happened to the official. John gives a hint timeframe for the man’s return home, which also gives a clue about the man’s faith. The location of the man’s home is not given, but it was down from where Jesus had been. The Sea of Galilee is located 700 feet below sea level, so everything around Galilee goes down. The man had been traveling for at least part of a day to get back home, which suggests that he made a significant effort to find Jesus. No specific time is given when he got back, but his servant was waiting with the good news.
The servant reported the exact time the official’s son began to recuperate from a fever as the seventh hour, which would be 1 pm in our clock. A fever indicates some kind of infection. Before modern medicine, a fever could be life-threatening, such as in this situation. The significant surprise of the story comes in verse 53 with the father piecing the puzzle together and realizing that he was speaking to Jesus at that same moment. The unstated assumption is that Jesus healed the son from far away. He did not need to touch the child or be near. His soveriegnty and power to heal convinced the man that Jesus was worthy of his faith.
The verse does not say what the man believed. We need to look at the context and conclude that the man’s faith was in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. The man did not need to have his Christology and theology all figured out. Simple faith in Jesus was enough. This was the second sign Jesus had done in Galilee, with the first being turning water into wine. The reader must determine what the sign represents since John does not say here. The context of chapters 1-4 has made it clear who Jesus was. Those who saw him were able to see and experience him in person while the readers must believe based on the signs recorded by John. The evidence should be convincing enough, but John has other signs to write about.
For older posts, click here.