A Savior Who Heals
John 4:46–54
Introduction
The first half of John’s Gospel offers seven signs to provoke belief. The first sign was when he turned water to wine at Cana. Today’s text takes us back to Cana for the second sign. John is careful to remind us: these are not just random miracles, they are signs—works that point beyond themselves to who Jesus is. Jesus is met by a man with a desperate need, a personal request.
John 4:46–50 (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. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die. Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.” Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home."
The second sign reveals a Savior who heals—not only over distance, but on a deeper level, healing our faith, our sin-sickness.
1. The Healing of the Official’s Son
Driving 20 miles is not a big deal for us - but for this official, a great effort went into his finding Jesus. But he has a pressing motivation: his son is ill.
Most agree this man was a royal official, a man of high standing, perhaps connected to Herod’s court. He would be used to giving orders and being obeyed, a man of influence, wealth, and privilege. In this story, he is simply a father with a sick son.
He had some qualities we would all do well to follow:
-He was humble (46-47). An important court official asks a favor of a village carpenter. Swindoll notes it well: he lays aside influence and rank and comes as a begging father.
-He Was Persistent (vv. 48–49). Jesus’ first response sounds bleak: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The “you” is plural—aimed not only at the man, but at the sign-seeking crowd. Jesus is pressing the issue: Will people only believe if they get a constant stream of miracles, or will they trust who He is? The official does not argue or debate, he simply pleads, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” He will not be put off. He is persistent.
-He Took Jesus at His Word. No journey back with the man. No dramatic laying on of hands. No visible proof. Just a word.
John 4:51-54
While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus. This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea.
2. Ten Truths from the Healing Power of Jesus
-Jesus knows our human frailty. He became human, tired, limited, and vulnerable. He knows what a racing heartbeat and a sweating brow feel like.
-Jesus is moved by our suffering. The Gospels repeatedly show Him moved with compassion by illness, grief, and pain. He is not indifferent to an official’s sick son or our struggling bodies and minds
-Jesus has the power to heal. He is not bound by the severity of illness. “At the point of death” is not too far gone for Him. He is not bound by the distance. Twenty miles are nothing to Him. He speaks here; healing happens there. This power is not limited by geography.
-Jesus has both wisdom and foresight in healing. He sees the whole story. Sometimes He heals immediately;
sometimes He delays. Think of Lazarus—He purposely waits and then says, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God.”
-Jesus healed as a sign, not only to bless one person, but to reveal who He is. John is selective with the signs he records, explicitly saying he chose them “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” The greatest miracle is not only the boy’s recovery but the whole household’s faith. The sign does what signs in John are meant to do: it leads to believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
-Jesus has called us to have faith in Him, not just in miracles. Jesus’ word in verse 48 calls out a faith that is not
dependent on “signs and wonders.” Healing stories like this raise significant questions: Why isn’t everyone healed? Why aren’t our prayers always answered the way we plead? What do these stories mean for us today? They always point back to Jesus.
-Jesus heals many by bringing them into eternal life. Every believer who dies in Christ is, in the truest sense, healed—completely, permanently, gloriously. Earthly healing is temporary; resurrection healing is eternal. Jesus did not heal everyone in His day. There were many sick in Israel when He walked the earth. He passed some by. His mission was not to eliminate all earthly suffering in that moment but to deal with sin, death, and judgment once for all.
-Jesus’ ultimate healing is the sin-sickness only He can cure. By His wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). He forgives, cleanses, reconciles us to God. Physical healing without this would still leave us dying inside.
-Jesus is the Wounded Healer, healing out of His own pain. Henri Nouwen: “Jesus is God's wounded healer: through his wounds we are healed.” He healed by what He gave up to come to earth, what He endured as a -human, what He suffered at the cross, what He defeated in the resurrection, and what He promises at His return.
-These truths don’t answer every “why,” but they remind us who stands in front of us when we pray: a Savior who understands, who cares, who can, who chooses wisely, and who promises ultimate restoration.
Conclusion
This is, on its surface, a simple but powerful story of Jesus’ ability to heal over great distances. But it is so much more. It shows us Jesus as a healer for all our hurts and troubles.
-He heals in answer to prayer—sometimes as dramatically as this official’s son, sometimes slowly, sometimes in ways we only see in hindsight.
-He heals in the Gospel—cleansing us from sin, reconciling us to the Father, giving us new hearts.
-He heals through His Church—through our words, our actions, our forgiveness, and our burden-bearing.
2. These are the qualities we should have as we seek healing:
-Dependence – we admit healing is beyond our ability.
-Faith-filled persistence – we keep coming because we believe Jesus is able.
-Acceptance – we trust Him no matter the outcome.
3. So today, like that royal official, come humbly. Come persistently.
Take Him at His word.
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Discussion Questions for John 4:46-54
1. What are some reasons talking about healing can make us uncomfortable? What questions about healing and
unanswered prayer come up for you personally??
2. Jesus seems to address those gathered around him in 4:48 (the ‘you’ is plural in both instances). The Amplified Bible notes this: 48 AMP “Then Jesus said to him, Unless you see signs and miracles happen, you [people] never will believe (trust, have faith) at all.” Why do you think Jesus addresses the crowd when the official is begging (vs 47) him specifically for his help?
3. Jesus has both wisdom and foresight in healing. Why is this hard to accept when we feel God is not answering our prayers for healing?
4. In what way should we consider Jesus a ‘Wounded Healer’? Henri Nouwen said, “The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.” How do our wounds help us to become healers?
5. What do we learn about the official’s character from the way he approaches Jesus? How do humility and desperation show up in his actions???6. Verse 50 says, “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” What is significant about him believing before he sees any evidence? How does that speak to our own struggles with “I’ll believe it when I see it”?
7. The lesson presents ten truths about the healing power of Jesus. Which of those stood out to you as most important? Most challenging?
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Resources
Barclay, William. Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of John.
Ketepa, Michelle. https://spiritandtruthpublishing.com/blog/waiting-for-a-miracle-john-4
Manning, Brennan. The Furious Longing of God
Nouwen, Henri J. M. The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society. Doubleday, 1979.
Swindoll, Charles. Swindoll’s Living Insights: John.
Next: John 9
