1 Samuel 1:1-23; John 4:46-54; Psalms 105:27-36; Proverbs 23:1-3
NT: “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. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to him and pleaded with him to come down and heal his son, since he was about to die. Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my boy dies.” “Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed. While he was still going down, his servants met him saying that his boy was alive. He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him,” they answered. The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was also the second sign Jesus performed after he came from Judea to Galilee.” (John 4:46-54 CSB)
The first sign that John highlighted to prove Jesus’ divinity was turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. By turning plain water into fine wine, Jesus demonstrated that He was not limited by molecular constructs, nor by time. Not only did Jesus turn water into grape juice – in a moment that grape juice went through the fermenting and aging process that normally takes months to years to complete. After returning from Jerusalem, Jesus made His way back to Cana, which provided the opportunity for the second sign. While Jesus was in Cana, he was approached by a distraught and desperate high-ranking official from the town of Capernaum (about 16 miles away). We don’t know anything about the leader – whether he was a Jew or Gentile – only that his son was dying and he believed that Jesus could heal him. The leader approached Jesus and pleaded with Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son. Interestingly, Jesus lamented out loud about the people’s need to see a sign before they could believe, but He didn’t perform a visual sign. He didn’t go to Capernaum and do something physically that everyone could see. Instead, Jesus spoke a word… and the royal official believed the word, and went on his way. The fact that the official was satisfied with Jesus’ words instead of Jesus’ presence is pretty amazing in itself. What faith! And as the Capernaum official soon found out, his son was healed by the power and authority of Jesus word. With this second sign, Jesus demonstrated that He was not limited by space or distance, and that His word alone carried the power of life.
Jamie Hicks 