The Healing Of A Royal Official’s Son Series

The Healing of a Royal Official’s Son John 4:43-54

Often skeptics and critics of the Bible say that there are contradictions in God’s Word and I believe the main reason they do this is to attempt to discredit Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord. Last we saw that many Samaritans believed Jesus’ Word: some believed the testimony of the woman at the well, but MANY believed Jesus’ Words and they believed that He was the Savior of the World: That’s because it is only Jesus who saves.

One of those supposed examples are found in our scripture today as we look at John 4:43-54:

“After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there. 46 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. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." 53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed. 54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.”

Skeptics and supposed Biblical “Contradictions”

Like I said Often skeptics and critics of the Bible say that there are contradictions in God’s Word in order to discredit Jesus as Messiah and Lord. This of course is utter nonsense because God Himself, His Word, the Lord Jesus, His very own Spirit and the very universe in which we live, validates who He is. The overwhelming evidence proves that the God of the Bible IS the only true God and so His Word must be absolutely trusted. If we as mere finite broken and fallible human beings find what SEEMS to be a contradiction in God’s Holy Word, then we must be at fault in our understanding and interpretation, but IT IS NOT GOD”S WORD which is incorrect.

Some skeptics and critics use verses 43-44 as an example of a Biblical contradiction: Look at those verses again: John 4:43: “After the two days he left for Galilee.” {Remember that the Samaritans to whom the woman at the well testified came to Jesus and that MANY believed His Word and they asked Him to stay, and so He stayed and taught them for 2 days. What an absolutely beautiful thought: to be taught face to face by Jesus.} 44 “Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

Some see a contradiction in these verses but there are NO Contradictions in God’s Word. Answering supposed Biblical contradictions correctly is difficult! In the contexts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the saying about a prophet being without acceptance in his own country refers to Jesus and Nazareth, which was in Galilee. Jesus was NOT accepted in Galilee or Judea as the Messiah. Israel was His country, He belonged to the Jewish nation, and generally He wasn’t accepted there, and eventually who killed Him? The Jews did, so Jesus wasn’t accepted in Israel. He was born Bethlehem in Judea. (also part of Israel) but they rejected Him as Messiah and Savior, as did Israel generally.

Where did Jesus Grow up? Nazareth. Nazareth was his hometown; it is where He grew up, and IT was in Galilee, which was also part of Israel, BUT Verse 45 says “When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him.” When I read this I thought, “That sounds contradictory.” He was not accepted in “his own country” (this Greek word “patris”, is most often translated “country”, but could also mean “hometown” or a region within a country.)

You have to go to verse 48 to find clarity: "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." The people in Galilee and in Nazareth, and in Israel, in general DID NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS AS SAVIOR AND MESSIAH. Jesus was accepted as Messiah to many in Samaria to whom He spoke, but was sought for “signs and wonders” by those in Galilee…and we will examine more on that in a few minutes.