This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

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.