Healing of the Official's Son

Hello everyone!

Thanks for a good conversation on Sunday, working through John 4:43 ff, Jesus' healing of a desperate father's son.

Some good basic questions came up about this story -- here's a shot at some answers.

First, who or what exactly was the "court official", the father in the story? It didn't seem clear if he was a Jew or a Roman, a soldier or a courtier. Well I looked this up in my Interpreter's Bible Commentary. This source explains that it is probably safe to assume the man was an official in King Herod's service, and that it would not be inconsistent to assume that he was a centurion, a commander of a hundred soldiers. I think IBC makes this connection because this story is a variation on a story told in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10, where the man in question is clearly identified as a military officer.

Second, doesn't this story sound familiar? Aren't there similar stories in the synoptic (Matthew, Mark, Luke) gospels? The answer is yes, there are similar stories. As I was doing a quick scan in my own mind on Sunday morning I thought of one where Jesus did actually attend to a father's sick daughter -- this is the account of the healing of Jairus' daughter in Mark 5/Luke 8. But memory failed me a bit in thinking Jairus was a Roman -- he was in fact a Jewish leader and official. Eric was correct in thinking, in the other accounts of the healing of a Roman official's charge, that Jesus did not accompany the man, but gave the order from a distance, which was accepted.

If you read the accounts in Matthew and Luke, one of the assumptions we floated is made explicit: that the man in question is so used to giving orders, and receiving them, that he readily accepts Jesus' authority. This also lends credence to the assumption that he served in the military in some fashion. The Matthew and Luke versions differ in a couple of ways from John's account -- in both of those Jesus offers to go with the officer, but the soldier explains that it is not necessary, for the reasons just stated. To this Jesus declares he hasn't found that kind of faith in all of Israel. Also, the sick person in Matthew and Luke is not the officer's son, but a boy, or a servant.

Well, we continued our discussion and shared some interesting insights about how we might expect God to heal. That Jesus kept a low profile, even to the point of anonymity, may be a unique perspective presented in John's gospel. In the synoptics, by contrast, Jesus performs miracles and healings publicly and in person. John makes the point that Jesus does have miraculous power, but it is more important to recognize who he is -- and Jesus does not trust people to gain this insight if they are looking for the spectacle of miracles. So in both of the first "signs" in John, Jesus acts in such a way that only those who are really paying attention, and have an inclination to recognize and believe in him, will see. We discussed this in light of the psychology of presenting healing as spectacle -- that it might seem more authentic if healing is put in the context of obvious rituals, fervent prayers, and stoking the fires of emotion in other ways. Interesting that John doesn't go there. So the challenge is to know Jesus, and experience miracles as a function of having a real relationship with him. In other words, the relationship comes first; if faith is based on witnessing or experiencing a miracle, the foundation is by nature weak. Since John is my favorite gospel I tend to agree. What do you think?

For next week, Laura will be your facilitator, as I will be away in Portland on Conference business. Laura would like to move into small group discussion of last week's text, John 4:43 - end of chapter, concerning the healing of the official's son. So give some thought to our four questions and be ready for small group phase, answering four questions:

1. What does this story tell me about me?
2. What does this story tell me about God?
3. What does this story tell me about my relationship with God?
4. What will I do?

God bless you all & see you soon!

Dan & Laura