"While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he & his whole household believed."

John 4:51-53

Like the Galileans, the royal official also sought a sign. What drove him to Jesus was not faith but despair over his dying son (vv. 46, 47). Yet, when Jesus declined to accompany him and simply instructed him to go home, assuring him that his son would live, ‘The man took Jesus at his word’ and obeyed (v. 50). When the sign materialized—and his son was healed—he was able to ‘realize’ the wonder of what Jesus had done (vv. 52, 53). For the Galilean crowds, signs were endpoints; but for the official, the sign was a starting point, a springboard to a deeper faith, one that he, like the Samaritan woman, also shared with those around him (v. 53).

Closing Prayer

Savior, help me to keep on seeking you with all my heart, understanding that you yourself are the most precious sign of all. Use me to point others to you (edited from Encounter with God).