Monday of Week 4 of Lent – Gospel
43When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee 44(for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). 45When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival, for they, too, had gone to the festival.
46Then he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” 50Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. 51As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. 52So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” 53The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
Commentary on John 4:43-54
This week we begin a semi-continuous reading of John’s Gospel. Today, Jesus brings the promise of new life, now and in the future. Today’s Gospel follows immediately after the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. Jesus now goes back to Galilee from Samaria. In spite of what Jesus had said earlier about prophets not being welcomed in their own place, he was received well, because they had seen what Jesus had done in Jerusalem during his recent visit there.
He returns to Cana, where he had performed his first sign, changing water into wine. A high official comes to ask Jesus to cure his son who is dying. Jesus’ first reaction is negative; he complains of people just looking for miracles, signs and wonders. But the man ignores Jesus’ remarks and repeats his request for Jesus to come and heal his son before he dies. This, in itself, indicates the level of the man’s faith in Jesus. Having faith is always the basic requirement for healing to take place.
In the Synoptic Gospels, it is the centurion who tells Jesus it is not necessary to go to his house. That was because he was a Gentile and knew that Jesus should not go there (it is not clear as to whether John’s account today is another version of this same story, or if it is a different healing event). In today’s Gospel, Jesus simply says:
Go your son will live.
And in response:
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.
On his way home, the official’s servants meet him to tell him that his son is alive and well. Upon making further enquiries, the father learns that the fever subsided just at the moment when Jesus promised that the boy would live. It was also the moment when the man, trusting in Jesus’ word, began his journey home.
John tells us that this is the second of the seven “signs” that Jesus performed.* Its clear message is that Jesus brings life, eternal life that begins now. In John, eternal life begins as soon as we attach ourselves in total trust to Jesus and to his Way.
Lent is a good time for us to renew our pledge to walk along his Way and to ask for a deep level of faith to do so.
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*The seven signs in John’s Gospel are:
- The changing of water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana (2:1-11)
- The healing of the royal official’s son (4:46-54–today’s reading)
- The healing of a man who is crippled at the pool by the Sheep Gate (5:1-18)
- Feeding of the 5,000 (6:1-15)
- Jesus walking on the water (6:16-21)
- Healing of the man born blind (9:1-41)
- The raising of Lazarus (11:1-44)
