John 4:49 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

NIV: The royal official said, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.'

NASB: The royal official *said to Him, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.'

CSB: "Sir," the official said to him, "come down before my boy dies."

NLT: The official pleaded, 'Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.'

KJV: The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

NKJV: The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”

It's easy to sympathize with the man's approach to Jesus. As limited people, we often find ourselves only able to focus on one thing at a time. Jesus is making a theological point (John 4:48), but the man is in no condition to debate. His child is nearly dead (John 4:47), so all he can think of is getting Jesus to come back to Capernaum for healing. Jesus' purpose in making these statements is not to dismiss the man's need, but to test his faith.

Biblical "faith" is not simply mental knowledge. It's an act of trust: choosing to rely on those things we do know in spite of the things we don't know. Apparently, this man already had some level of belief—intellectual knowledge—that Jesus could heal his son. This might have been a last, desperate attempt when all other medicine had failed. Clearly, he hopes that Jesus can do something, or he would not have come all the way to Cana. The real question is how much faith the man has in Christ.

In other words, hoping and wishing that Jesus can heal is not the same as faith—trust—that He can heal, or will heal. The next verse will show Jesus putting this challenge to the man directly, and his response.

John 4:46–54 records the second of Jesus' seven miracles in the gospel of John. The primary point of this miracle is the importance of biblical ''faith,'' which is really ''trust.'' Jesus suggests that some people won’t believe—won’t actually ''trust'' in Christ—without seeing some miraculous event. Jesus then asks a miracle-seeker to act in trusting faith, by leaving without any 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. Jesus both confronts her about her sin, and comforts her with the truth of the gospel. In particular, He explains that 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, have to be 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 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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.