Read: John 4:46-54
Your son will live. (v. 50)
Any parent with a child in peril can relate to this father’s desperate love as he sought out Jesus to heal his son. The road inland from Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee to Cana was a day’s journey (25 miles, 1,000 feet in elevation). This man “ran” an uphill marathon to meet Jesus! Simply hearing the words, “Your son will live” (John 4:50) must have given great hope. And to hear on his way home that his son was healed at that exact time certainly lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders.
While this “second sign” (v. 54) by Jesus brought about genuine faith in the father’s life, something more would have been seen by the disciples. The man was an “official” (v. 46), which likely made him an agent of Herod’s oppressive reign and possibly not even Jewish. If so, he was an outsider. Even more, the episode comes on the heels of other “outsiders,” the Samaritans of John 4:42, who testified after spending two days with Jesus, “We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” This healing would reinforce for the disciples that the hope of Jesus was good news for all people in all places across all boundaries.
And it’s good news for us. Regardless of who we are or what we’ve done, God is a loving Father who would go to the extreme to save his children. And that’s what he did at the cross: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). —Jon Opgenorth
As you pray, thank God for his amazing love.
About the Author
Rev. Jon Opgenorth serves as president of Words of Hope. Previously, he served for 18 years as senior pastor at Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. In preparation for ministry, he received a BA in Religion from Northwestern College, and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary.
