Once more he 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. 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. John 4:46-47
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This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee. John 4:54
A friend of mine gave me some yarrow plants for my back yard. They are an interesting flowering plant because they follow a different timeline than most flowers. In the spring all the other flowers we plant burst forth with color quickly, and they disappear quickly under the heat of the summer sun. The yarrow takes forever to flower. In late late May or early June, we see that the bright yellow blossoms have come in. One of the reasons my friend gave us this particular plant is that it has longevity in Colorado. Once the really warm months arrive, it thrives all summer long. It is vivid yellow until it starts getting cold again.
The yarrow plant reminds me of the passage we are looking at today. True faith is often like the yarrow plant, it takes time to grow. Go back and read
John 2:1-12 and then read the full story in this passage from John 4:43-54. In John’s opening to this section he explicitly connects this story with the first by referencing that this is the same area where Jesus turned the water into wine. He further connects them by calling the first story “the first sign” and the second story “the second sign”. These two stories bookend a section of John’s gospel where he teaches about faith and how it grows.
First Jesus performs a miracle while being physically present. In the second instance he performs a miracle while being physically distant. This first account provokes his disciples to believe in him. And the second sign leads the entire household of this official to believe. In the first, he does a sign to promote belief, but in the second story he challenges the official to believe without seeing. By the way, the official passes the test, and takes Jesus at his word. The result is a deeper faith. The people of Cana are beginning to believe at a truer level in the person of Jesus. All this is in contrast to how people in Jerusalem have resisted him.
Finally, notice how in both stories a person comes to Jesus with their need. In the first story it is Jesus’ mother; her request seems to change Jesus’ entire ministry timeline. In the second story, this man comes to Jesus with his need and discovers the faith to walk away from Jesus, while trusting his word alone.
Jesus is the right place to bring your concerns. How is your faith? Is it taking longer to blossom than you’d like? Be patient with yourself, but keep bringing your concerns to Jesus and ask him for the faith to believe that he can heal. It may take more time than you like, but if you continue to go to Jesus, your faith blossoms and will have greater longevity in the long run.
by Aaron Bjorklund
