The second sign that John records is the healing of the sick son of a royal official, a boy who was at the point of death. Jesus, located in Cana, was asked by a nobleman, to visit Capernaum to heal his son. From the narrative it appears that this father was an Herodian, not merely a servant of Herod but one devoted to his family out of principles of submission and conscience. The Greek work basilikos suggests a man of high standing in the court of Herod. The reply of the Messiah to the Herodian’s request was: “unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe” (John 4:48). In this response, he was levelling a charge that not only applied to the Jews generally, but to Herod’s court in particular. Luke tells us that Herod himself rejoiced when Pilate sent Jesus to him: “for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him” (Luke 23:8). The Herodian, now a distraught father, continued to plead: “Sir, come down before my child dies!” to which the Messiah responded, “Go your way; your son lives”. The word of the Lord was accepted, the son was healed from that very hour, and both the nobleman and those of his household became believers in Jesus the Messiah. There are those that would identify this man with Chuza, the steward of Herod, whose wife became one of them that ministered of their wealth to the needs of the Messiah. Whether or not that was so, the Messianic message entered Herod’s palace through this healing, and thus the sign accomplished its purpose for a family, although its effect on the court of Herod was minimal. The opposition of Herod and his followers was obdurate to the end. Mark recorded two later incidents. “The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him" (Mark 3:6), and “Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement” (Mark 12:13). The Pharisees used the enmity of Herod as a political weapon, when they raised the question of divorce while Jesus was in his area of jurisdiction. The answer to this question got Jesus’ forerunner John imprisoned.
Capernaum, the location of this “second” sign, was the place where Jesus made His home during the time of His public ministry. It was a place that saw many of His miracles, described by Jesus as “mighty works” (Matt.11:20), and a place that received much blessing from His presence. Besides the royal official’s son, He healed the centurion’s servant there, the paralytic who was carried by his four friends, and Peter’s mother-in-law. Capernaum was one of the places where He healed “all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed”. To emphasise the point Mark records the scene: “The whole city was gathered at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons” (Mark 1:32-34).
Yet, the people of Capernaum generally remained impenitent, and although privileged to see many mighty works of the Messiah, nevertheless rejected His Messianic claim. This failure to respond to His gracious ministry brought down upon them a heavy denunciation of judgement: “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you” (Matt.11:23,24). Signs and wonders do not guarantee faith in Jesus. The sign of the prophet Jonah will repeat this truth. In Capernaum, in miniature, was seen what would happen nationally. The generation to which Israel’s Messiah came, did not believe, in spite of the vast array of attesting signs, and as a result, suffered the judgement of God.
Jesus the Messiah, in His association with Capernaum, demonstrated His exceptional knowledge of the human heart when He knew, even at an early stage, that its citizens would reject Him. Their opposition was in spite of the great swathe of miracles He performed and in spite of this extraordinary sign that He effected for a leading citizen of the town, a miracle that He executed at a distance of some miles.
His prophetic utterance not only revealed great wisdom but also hinted that He would occupy the position of ‘Judge of all the earth’, and would have authority to bar obdurate unbelievers from heaven and consign them to Hades.
The Third of the Significant Miracles in John – Healing a Disabled Man
The third sign is the healing of a severely disabled man. It was in Jerusalem, the nation’s capital, and at the pool of Bethesda, near the sheep gate. It was at the time of an un-named feast. Whereas in the previous miracle those in need approached the Messiah, here with evident intent, He took the initiative. Out of the crowd at the poolside, He selected a physical wreck of a man, and asked him if he wished to be healed. The Bible tells us that the waters of Bethesda had healing virtue at certain seasons. The “certain seasons” (John 5:4) were probably feast times. So among the “multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and paralysed” (John 5:3) was this paralytic. He responded to the stranger’s invitation by saying that the only resource, the healing waters, were out of his reach during the short time they were blessed. Jesus permitted no further objections and healed him with the words, “take up your bed and walk”.
Not knowing the identity of his benefactor, the now healthy Israelite climbed the Temple mount for the first time in nearly four decades, there to give thanks and praise to God for His beneficence. The merciful Messiah had given yet another person a new start, both physically and spiritually. Later that day, the One who not only had the power to loose from sin, but also to bind, found the man still in the Temple, and warned him, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (John 5:14).
This sign, performed as it was in the nation’s capital, has somewhat of a national application. The Sanhedrin had not yet published their decision, so Jesus offers, in Jerusalem, a further fingerpost sign. The cure at the poolside demonstrated that the ‘miqweh’, ‘the immersion pool’, ‘the fountain of living waters’, ‘the Hope of Israel’ Himself, was present to heal. If they rejected Him they would be guilty of the same two sins as the generation that was taken into captivity: “they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jer.2:13).
The long-term invalid was a man whose condition was the result of obdurate sin. He had been chronically ill and disadvantaged for 38 years. This period of time reminds us of the generation which wandered in the wilderness for a further 38 years after God had found them guilty of ‘stiff-necked’ sin. If this sign is for the nation, then it must be a warning to those rebel leaders of the current generation. The warning to the newly invigorated man contained the pregnant phrase, “lest a worse thing come upon you”. Later, when Jesus was accused of being demon-possessed and formally rejected by the Sanhedrin, he told the leadership that a worse thing would come upon them. Their condition would deteriorate by a factor of seven because of their rejection of His Messianic claim.
The emphasis here is on the matter of sin. The principles are: “the invalid is not healed until his sins are forgiven” (cf.James 5:15), and: “who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21). At the pool of Bethesda, served by the fountain of Siloam, Jesus brings into focus the prophecy of Zechariah: “there shall be a fountain (wellspring) opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zech.13:1).
This healing took place on the Sabbath, and the reaction of those that had political power was to persecute Jesus and conspire to kill Him. Their Messiah indicated that He had had no alternative but to follow His mission, obey His Father, and heal the invalid: “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working” (John 5:17). The Sanhedrists were further incensed: “for this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18).
