McGarvey observes that “One small sign and many converted in Samaria; two great miracles and one household converted in Galilee. Such is the record. Jesus doubtless had many other converts in Galilee, but it is often true that the greater brings the lesser harvest.”  (TFG 160)

The healing of the nobleman’s son is sometimes confused with the healing of the Centurion’s servant because of the distance similarity.  However, note the following differences as listed by Morris on page 288 of his commentary:

“There it is a centurion (probably a heathen), here an officer of Herod (probably a Jew); there a slave, here a son.  There Jesus speaks His word of power in Capernaum, here in Cana; there the centurion’s faith evokes Jesus’ praise, here the father’s faith is weak; there the centurion asks Jesus not to come to his home, here the father begs Him to come.  There the illness is paralysis, here a fever.  There the elders plead for the man, here he pleads in person. This story takes place just after Jesus’ return from Judea, that is evidently much later.”

This is the second of the miracles Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. The first was turning the water into wine at the wedding feast. As a result of the first, His glory was made visible and His disciples put their faith in Him (John 2:11). They had spent enough time with Him since then that their faith had become purer because it had become based upon the character and words of Christ Himself instead of upon the miracles He did. They, like this man, had been made to put their trust in the words of Jesus and step out in faith and do what Jesus told them to do. They left everything to follow Christ just because they believed He was Who He was, and as a result of the exercising of their faith, it had grown.

John 2:11  This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

The way to increase faith is to exercise faith. Jesus will give you ample opportunities to do so, just as He did for this father. He doesn’t expect you to have perfect faith. Trust Him as you can and He will give you so much more than you could ever have expected. He will never let you down. Look for His opportunities to grow your faith.

“believed” is to put total trust in the Person of Jesus, in the sense of becoming a Christian.  This is the first recorded instance of an entire family giving themselves over to Christ.

McGarvey shares that “We note here a growth in the faith of the nobleman. He first believed in the power of Jesus’ PRESENCE, then in the power of Jesus’ WORD, and finally he believed generally in Jesus, and his household shared his belief.” (TFG 159) and Matthew Henry observes that “Diligent comparing the works of Jesus with his word, will confirm our faith.” He also says that “…an experience of the power of one word of Christ, may settle the authority of Christ in the soul.”

The sickness of the child resulted in the salvation of the whole family. God takes that which is evil or bad in our lives and turns it around into great good. Can you trust Him to do this?

“got better” (NIV) or “began to amend” (KJV) when compared with “left” show that the father expected the fever to gradually leave but instead it had left totally at once. He got more than he expected from Jesus and so do we.

The boy was healed completely and the father’s faith was increased astronomically. When Jesus touches someone, He accomplishes what He wants to accomplish completely and fully, though it does not always happen at once.

This healing is an illustration for us today, too. Jesus is not physically present on earth and yet if we ask Him, He will send His word and accomplish that which we ask (Psalms 147:15).

Psalms 147:15  He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.

“yesterday at the seventh hour” would be about 1 p.m.  If the father and the servants had each started out shortly after 1 p.m. they would have met that afternoon, but they didn’t meet until the next day (which may be some time after sundown).  This indicates the level of belief the father had in the words of Jesus.  He who had been so concerned for the welfare of his son was so satisfied in his mind that his son was now healed that he did not hurry home that afternoon, but instead rested himself and probably his horse, took refreshment, and may have even spent the night in Cana before returning to Capernaum.  The servants probably did not leave until they were sure that the son had permanently recovered. What a change in the man’s faith!

The servants were probably sent to find and tell the father the good news as soon as the boy recovered.

As Morris points out, “Jesus’ words impose a stiff test.  He gives the man no sign.  The officer has nothing but Jesus’ bare word.  But this is enough.  He rises to the implied demand for faith.  He believes what Jesus says and goes his way.” (p. 291)

Alford says:

The miracle is a notable instance of our Savior not quenching the smoking flax, just as his reproof of the Samaritan woman was of his not breaking the bruised reed. The little spark of faith in the breast of this nobleman is lit up into a clear and enduring flame for the light and comfort of himself and his house.”  (qt’d in PNT)

Jesus answered this man’s request, but not the way he wanted or even expected it to be done. Jesus didn’t do it the man’s way because it would not have helped the man’s faith to grow. A similar example is the centurion who came to Jesus for his servant’s healing. Jesus offered to go with the centurion to his house to heal the man, because the centurion’s faith was great enough that he knew Christ had the authority to just say the word and he would be healed (Matthew 8:8). Jesus does the opposite of that here to grow the man’s faith and the official takes Christ at His word with the result that he gains a much wider view of Who Jesus is. Now he knows that Christ has authority to heal even if He is not present. Also, he who would not have believed had he not seen signs and wonders, now believes just on the words of Christ. Jesus made his faith grow.

Matthew 8:8  The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

What if the father had not trusted the words of Jesus? Would the boy have lived? Would the household have been saved? It’s critically important to believe what Jesus says to us and then act upon it.

“child” was a term denoting affection; “my little boy” would be another way of translating it

The father’s concern is totally for his child; he does not argue or try to defend himself against the strong words of Jesus; he just respectfully repeats his request for Jesus to heal his son. His faith is not perfect, but he does have faith. What he knows, he knows. He knows he has a need and he knows that Jesus can meet that need. He asked Jesus for help and Jesus delayed him by His response, so the father respectfully and persistently asks again.

When you go to Christ with your needs and there is a delay, what do you do? What you should do is to ask again, just like this man. See also the words of Jesus in Luke 18:1.

Luke 18:1  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

Note again that the father’s faith was such that he thought Jesus could only heal if He were present with the child and only if the child were still living. His knowledge of Christ was very limited and thus his request was, too.

How do you limit God in answering your requests?  Do you tell Him how to answer you? Do you hear Him when He tells you something different from what you asked?

“ye” (KJV) or “you people” (NIV) is plural. Jesus is not just speaking to the father of the sick boy.

“signs” = Again, the miracles of Jesus had meaning; they pointed men to God and attested that the One doing them was acting under the authority and by the power of God.

“wonders” are something beyond explanation which startled men and caused them to be amazed or astonished.

“Jesus wanted men to believe in him because of his self-evidencing character and words…But the people required to have their faith buttressed by miracles. There is a vast difference between believing in a man, and believing his credentials.” (McGarvey TFG 158)

Faith brought about by the observance of miracles is never despised in the Bible, but it is not the kind of faith which God wants us to have; it is a second-class form of faith and not the highest kind of faith.  Jesus never rejected those who came only because of miracles, but He certainly desired more. We can almost hear His cry here and in these verses: (John 2:23-24, 10:38, 14:11).

John 2:23-24  Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.

John 10:38  But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

John 14:11  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

Jesus wanted men to believe what He said just because He said it; and so they should. How can we not believe He Who is the Truth? (John 14:6, 1:14, 17)

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.

John 1:14  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:17  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The real irony of this passage is that Jesus just came from Samaria where no sign was required for their faith except His word. The Jews, God’s people, needed a sign to believe, but the Samaritans believed just because Jesus said it was so. Their faith was based upon His character and His words and was a higher form of faith than that of the Jews.

We all want to see God’s miraculous intervention or hear His voice with our ears or feel His physical touch. This is not a bad thing, but it is also not a faith thing. Our faith is imperfect. Sometimes we pray that God will do a certain thing so that His name will be glorified. Part of the reason for praying that way is that others will see what He has done and put their faith in Him. We are wishing imperfect faith on others. But the other reason for that prayer is really for us. We want our faith reinforced by His signs and wonders. Is this wrong? No. But is it best? No. The kind of faith God wants us to have is not the kind of faith that steps forward because we can see where we are going. He wants us to blindly trust Him and step forward when we can’t see where we are going. Just step because He said to.

The question becomes: how much is your faith dependent upon His signs and wonders?  Is your faith the most excellent faith of the Samaritans, which was based solely on His word or do you need God to prove to you that He is going to do what He said?

“went” = the trip from Capernaum to Cana is about 16 miles as the crow flies or about 20 miles by road.  The father was in a hurry to get there and probably rode a horse.  The verb is literally “went away unto him” and indicates a reluctance of the father to leave the presence of his dying son.

“The greatest men must go themselves to God, must become beggars.” (Matthew Henry)

“down” (KJV) Capernaum was on the coast of the Sea of Galilee and a lower elevation than Cana. 

In reference to the father’s faith, the People’s New Testament states the following, “Note that: (1) The nobleman has already “faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Matt 17:20, Luke 17:6) in Jesus; (2) that faith moves him to seek the aid of Jesus; (3) to make sure of his help he comes in person, instead of sending servants; (4) while he thought he could heal his son, he did not comprehend that it could be done unless Jesus came to where he was; (5) he thought it would be too late if the son died before his coming. His faith was very imperfect.”

Matthew 17:20  He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Luke 17:6  He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

“nobleman” (KJV) or “royal officer” (NIV) was an official attached to Herod’s court.  We are not told, but it could be Manean in Acts 13:1 or Chuzas referred to in Luke 8:3.

Acts 13:1  In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.

Luke 8:3  Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

“all that he had done” (see John 2:23) The miracles He had wrought in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover had impressed the Galileans who were in attendance and made them predisposed to offer Jesus hospitality.

John 2:23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.