John 4:46 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.

NIV: Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.

NASB: Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.

CSB: He went again to Cana of Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum.

NLT: As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick.

KJV: So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

NKJV: So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.

Jesus left Jerusalem to avoid a conflict with the Pharisees. The time was not yet right for a confrontation, so He planned to return to Galilee. Instead of avoiding Samaria, as most Jews would, Jesus followed the will of God and passed through the town on Sychar (John 4:1–4). As a result, He was able to preach the gospel to a Samaritan woman (John 4:7–26), who brought many others to meet Christ (John 4:39). The disciples were given a living lesson in evangelism, and Jesus wound up staying there for a few days (John 4:35–38, 40).

Jesus' first miracle, and the first of seven recorded in the gospel of John, was turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:11). Capernaum is a town on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, about twenty-five miles east of Cana. For news to get to Capernaum, and someone to travel back, Jesus had to have been in Cana for the better part of a day, if not longer.

The Bible does not explain exactly who this man is. The Greek refers to him using only the word basilikos, which implies the idea of a nobleman, court officer, or other politically connected person. He might have been Jewish, or a Gentile, but the text does not specify. All we know is that his son is sick; coming to Jesus is more than likely not the first thing he's tried to do for his child.

John 4:46–54 records the second of Jesus' seven miracles in the gospel of John. The primary lesson of this miracle is the importance of biblical ''faith,'' which is really ''trust.'' Some people won't believe—won't actually ''trust'' in Christ—without seeing a miraculous event. Jesus then asks the miracle-seeker to act in trusting faith: to leave without any hard proof that his request has been granted. As it turns out, the man has actual, trusting belief, and obeys. He finds his faith has already been rewarded on his way home. This also demonstrates the fact that God may sometimes answer our prayers long before we know He's done so.

Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman who is drawing water from a well. He confronts her about sin, yet He also comforts her with the truth of the gospel. Even though He knows her sins, He still seeks after her, and those like her. The woman returns to town, eventually bringing many people to meet Jesus. The disciples, meanwhile, are reminded of the purpose of their mission. Jesus also heals the son of a government official in a way that demonstrates the importance of trusting faith, rather than reliance on spectacle.

John chapter 4 continues the use of contrast. Jesus goes from conversing with an educated, powerful, prestigious man (John 3:1–2) to talking to an outcast, unlearned, self-conscious woman. The combination of this passage, along with Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, makes an important spiritual point: the gospel is for all people, in all places, and all times. Christ can reach each person exactly where he or she needs to be reached.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.