By His Wounds

One thing we see is that Jesus responded to the royal official’s plea in spite of him being a Gentile & not a Jew. Gentiles were viewed as being undeserving of blessings or other divine assistance, even in the most dire circumstances. That is what the culture would expect. Yet here we see that Jesus responds to the man’s desperate plea in spite of that. He showed that anyone can bring their needs to Him, no matter their background, nationality, race, or social status. Jesus’ grace & healing is for all people!

We must also ask the question if Jesus can heal someone who isn’t in His immediate presence.

What do you think? Can He?

Here, Jesus would demonstrate His power over sickness without being in the person’s presence. This would require a power that those around Him had not seen before. In the Old Testament are similar situations but the healing would later be confirmed by other people’s accounts. The people had only heard about things like this happening; not seen it for themselves.

Now we can look at the faith of the official. Was Jesus going to accept the faith of a Gentile the same as He would a Jew? Up to this point, people performed religious ceremonies to demonstrate their faith in God. Here we see a person who is putting their faith entirely in the Person of Jesus Christ! As it should be.

Let’s look at the next verses in this passage. Verses 48-50 say, “48 Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” 49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my boy dies.” 50 “Go,” Jesus told him, “Your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed.”

What do we see happening here?

One thing is that Jesus’ response challenges the official’s beliefs. Did he believe Jesus was able to bring healing to his son even though He wasn’t near him? The official heard what he needed to hear & he believed; he displayed total faith in the words & works of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. He took Jesus at His word & immediately left showing his total faith in what Jesus said.

Scrolling on down through the Scripture we read verses 51-53 which tell us, “51 While he was still going down, his servants met him saying that his boy was alive. 52 He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him,” they answered. 53 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.”

What jumps out at you in this passage?

We read here that the miracle of healing of the official’s son was performed & the boy would live. The miracle happened exactly as Jesus said it would. While the royal official’s faith in Jesus & the healing of his son began the moment of being present with Jesus, his faith grew stronger by the news that the power of God was working in the life of his son to restore his health.

Let’s look at one more thing in this passage. When did the healing of the official’s son happen? Verse 53 tells us, “The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.”