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CHAPTER SIX

ROYAL OFFICER

THE ROYAL OFFICER: John 4:46-54

“Once more he [Jesus] 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. [20 miles away] 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. ‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, [as he was going down] his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 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.’ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and his entire household believed. This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.”

Verse 52 implies that this event took place in the month of February. In February it gets daylight at about 6:00 a.m. and dark about 6:00 p.m. The royal officer didn’t get home until the day after his son’s healing which implies that he had no horse. The boy was healed at the seventh hour or 1:00 p.m. If the man was with Jesus for only one hour, and then walked three miles per hour, he would be twelve miles toward home when the sun went down. Starting again the next morning at 6:00 a.m. he would have arrived in Capernaum at about 8:30 in the morning. Capernaum is a town which lays on the shore the Sea of Galilee. This area is like a bowl with a mountain ridge all the way around it, with the exception of the places the Jordan River enters and exits. In verse 51 we learn that the royal officer received the message of his son’s healing as he was “going down,” therefore, we know that he received the good news as he was making his descent into the valley and he was, at that time, two miles from Capernaum. He probably received the message at about 7:45 a.m.

This story shows great faith in Jesus’ healing power. If the royal officer had no faith he would have stayed at home. If he had only a little faith he would have sent a servant to get Jesus. It took more faith to walk 40 miles, round trip, and it took great faith to go home with only Jesus’ word that his son was healed.

The brief statement by Jesus, “Go your way; your son lives,” put the man in a huge dilemma. If he took Jesus at his word he did so with no assurance, beyond that word, that Jesus would do anything for him. If he refused to take Jesus at his word, he would insult the very man upon whom all his hopes depended and in doing so might forfeit whatever benefits Jesus would give. With short and simple commands Jesus put the royal officer in the position where he would be compelled to show real faith, if he had any to show. The brief simplicity of this account gives no inkling of the conflict which must have taken place in the royal officer’s mind at that moment. Should he turn back to Capernaum, or should he continue to beg Jesus to go with him and thereby obtain a tangible guarantee of Jesus’ willingness to heal? Perhaps, slowly but decisively, he took Jesus at his word, and he turned homeward. This act John called, “believing.” “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke unto him, and he went his way.” It should be noted that this test was not for Jesus’ benefit but was designed to build the man’s faith.

ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NO RECORDED VERBAL TESTIMONY from the royal officer, his actions conclusively show that he believed that Jesus was the one he claimed to be.

STUDY GUIDE

CHAPTER SIX

1. When Jesus visited Cana how did Jesus know that a boy was sick in Capernaum?

2. How far was it from Cana to Capernaum?

3. Who came to see Jesus at Cana?

4. What shows this man’s emotion?

5. What did the man say would happen to his son if Jesus didn’t come with him?

6. What else happened at the same time the boy began to get better?

7. How did the boy’s health affect his family?

8. What month did this healing probably occur?

9. What would lead us to believe that the royal officer was on foot?

10. If this man had no faith in Jesus what would he have done?