SECOND MIRACLE AT CANA

THE (Jn. 4:4654)

46
Therefore he came again to Cana of Galilee where he
had made the water wine. And there was a royal official
whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47When he heard that
Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him
and was imploring him to come down and heal his son; for
he was at the point of death. 48so Jesus said to him, unless
you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not
believe. 49The royal official said to him, sir, come down
before my child dies. 50Jesus said to him, Go; your son
lives. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him
and started off. 51As he was now going down, his slaves met
him, saying that his son was living. 52so he inquired of them
the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him,
Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53so the
father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to
him, Your son lives; and he himself believed and his
whole household. 54This is again a second sign that Jesus
performed when he had come out of Judea into Galilee.

Jesus began to perform miracles in Galilee as He had in

Judea. Luke 4:14a says that Jesus returned to Galilee in the
power of the Spirit. This refers to His exercising the power of
the Spirit by doing miracles. The first miracle after Jesus
return took place at Cana. As the phrase second sign in John
4:54 indicates, there had been a previous miracle in Galilee.
The first was turning water to wine (Jn. 2:11), and this was the
second. Of course, Jesus had done other signs/miracles while
in Judea (Jn. 2:23; 3:2).
 For some reason, Jesus made another visit to the place
where he had made the water wine (Jn. 4:46). Perhaps
Nathanael, who was from there (Jn. 21:2), had invited Him to
his home. In nearby Capernaum, a royal official (literally,
kings man, who was probably an oficer in Herods court)
had a son at the point of death (Jn. 4:46, 47). Learning that
Jesus was in Cana, he hurried to ask Him to heal his son.
Jesus initial response to the official is rather unusual:
unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will
not believe (Jn. 4:48). This was not a personal rebuke but an
indictment of mankind in general (the word you is plural in
the Greek). Per- haps Jesus was contrasting the Galileans with
the Samaritans, who believed because of His word (Jn. 4:41)
without the need for miracles. Perhaps the words were
intended to test the mans faith. At any rate, the words did not
deter the official, who did believe in Jesus. Christ told him,
Go; your son lives (Jn. 4:50). The man started home. When
he arrived, he learned that his son had recovered at the exact
time that Jesus said that he would live (Jn. 4:5053a). Deeply
impressed, the nobleman himself believed and his whole
household (Jn. 4:53b). The royal offi- cial presents a
commendable example of a man sharing his faith with his
household.
This is one of four known healings that Jesus performed
from a distance, including the healing of the centurions servant
in Mat- thew 8:513 and Luke 7:110; the healing of the
Syrophoenician womans daughter in Matthew 15:2228 and
mark 7:2530; and the healing of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11
37.
News of these miracles spread through all the
surrounding district (Lk. 4:14b). The name of Jesus was on
every tongue.

THE SHIFT TO CAPERNAUM IN GALILEE

(MT. 4:1316)
And leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in
13

Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of

Zebulun and Naphtali. 14This was to fulfill what was
spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali
15
 By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles
16
The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
upon them a light dawned.

One of Jesus first acts in Galilee was to establish Capernaum as His base of operations.
Jesus had earlier visited Capernaum (see Jn. 2:12). Matthew wrote that Jesus withdrew into
Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea
(Mt. 4:12b, 13a). Capernaum was located in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali (Mt. 4:13b),
the general area allotted to those two tribes when the Israelites entered Canaan (Josh. 19).
Matthew informed his readers that Jesus move fulfilled part of a familiar Messianic prophecy
(Mt. 4:1416; see Is. 9:1, 2).
Jesus never owned a home in Capernaum (Mt. 8:20), but some of His disciples did (mk.
1:21, 29). From this time on, during His Galilean ministry, Christ would never be gone long
from Capernaum. He would leave from that city on tours, and then He would return there
(see mk. 1:21, 29, 38, 39; 2:1).
Most harmonies insert Luke 4:1630 at this point, to explain why Jesus made the switch
from Nazareth to Capernaum. It is not included here for two reasons: First, the passage
refers to what had been done at Capernaum (Lk. 4:23), but at this point in our harmony,
nothing had been done at Capernaum. Second, the extreme nature of the rejection seems to
fit better the latter part of Jesus ministry in Galilee.

APPLICATION:
THE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP (LK. 5:111)
One of the most commonly used terms in the Bible for a follower of Jesus is disciple (Mt.
5:1; 8:21, 23; 9:19; Acts 6:1, 2, 7; 9:1). Disciple is a translation of the Greek word
(mathetes) that means learner. In the fullest sense, a disciple was one who followed a
teacher (Mt. 16:24), learned from the teacher (Mt. 11:29), and then followed the dictates of
that teacher (Jn. 8:31). A close teacher/disciple relationship existed. A true disciple became
like his teacher (Mt. 10:25a). Our text is Luke 5:111, which tells of the occasion when Jesus
called Peter and his friends. During the study, we will discover some of the requirements of
discipleship.