- John 4:49-54
- John 4:49 (KJB)
- The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
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- Ere - Before
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- Here the nobleman had known that Jesus could heal his son but he did not
understand that time and distance was not something which affected the power
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The nobleman wanted Him to come to the house to
heal him before he died. In those days the fastest method of travel was by
horseback but Jesus would have had to go by foot and the nobleman knew this
and believed that Jesus needed to be there quickly.
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- John 4:50 (KJB)
- Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed
the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
- Here Jesus is testing the faith of the man by stating that the boy was
healed. Jesus tells him to go. The word “go” in the Greek is in the
Imperative mood which means that Jesus commanded him to back to his son.
This situation was like the ten lepers Jesus healed. They were healed as
they went and as the father of this boy went, the boy was healed. Just as
Jesus gave this man a faith test, He also gives us faith tests too.
(Heb 11:6 KJV) But without faith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that
he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
The man went his way because he believed the word of
Jesus. This man had a faith test and passed.
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- John 4:51 (KJB)
- And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him,
saying, Thy son liveth.
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- I am sure these servants were very excited because they did not wait
until the nobleman got home, instead they left the home to meet him and give
him the good news. This news was like the news of the prodigal son. He was
once dead and now he lives. Here the boy was almost dead but Jesus spoke the
word and he was made alive. Cana was situated in hill country so here is
confirmation that man had continued on his journey in faith that the word of
Jesus was good.
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- John 4:52 (KJB)
- Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And
they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
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- Amend - Better
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- Here we have the nobleman inquiring of the time which the boy became
healed. In this instance the seventh hour would be 1 pm in the afternoon.
The Greek word for “he began” is in the Aorist tense which would normally be
understood as a past action without reference to completeness or duration.
However, because this word is in the indicative mood, it becomes a
punctiliar verb, past tense. This means that time enters into the
understanding and that the healing that Jesus performed was a one time
action and not a progressive action. Jesus healed this boy at a certain time
and he was healed that very moment as if he was never sick.
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- John 4:53 (KJB)
- So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which
Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole
house.
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- The father knew exactly what time he had approached Jesus and what time
Jesus had spoken the words that his son was healed. This act of healing had
precipitated belief on Jesus on behalf of the whole family. We must be
careful here because we are not sure whether they believed because of the
miracle or because they were granted salvation.
(Luke 8:3 KJV) And Joanna the wife of Chuza
Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of
their substance. This nobleman may have been Chuza
who was Herod’s steward and if that was the case then Susanna may have
already planted the seed into the nobleman’s mind that Jesus was able to
heal the boy and maybe dispatched her husband to see Jesus for that matter.
If it was Chuza and Joanna, then they would have believed by reason of
salvation and they were acting upon the faith which God gave them.
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- John 4:54 (KJB)
- This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he
was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
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- This was the second journey of Jesus from Judaea into Galilee. The first
miracle was when Jesus changed the water into wine. In this short period of
time from chapter 2 to 4, Jesus had many different reactions and
interactions with different people. He changed the water into wine, He spoke
with Nicodemus, then the Samaritan women and then her fellow countrymen and
finally the nobleman had his son healed by Jesus.
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