"43 After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honour in his own home town.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servantsmet him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee."
John 4:43-54
Our Lord's lament in 48 was due to the fact that even in his urgent consciousness of need, the man was looking to him as to a wonder-worker, with the perhaps unconsciousness but nevertheless clearly defined attitude, 'Come on, heal my boy; that is what You are for'. And, therefore, in the first instance, it was more important to deal with the man's faith than with his son. In this respect, the story is a parallel to that of the SyroPhoenician woman in Matthew 15:21ff. The fact is that often, when we go to Christ with some pressing need, the first answer we receive is a revelation of the unworthiness and imperfection of our faith. Here, Christ refused to go to the nobleman's home, and this refusal was a strengthening to faith. One recalls what the centurion said to Jesus, in a similar situation, in Luke 7:6, 7, 'Lord, trouble not Thyself.... But say in a word, and my servant shall be healed'. This is precisely what Jesus did do in this instance - He said in a word, 'Go thy way, thy son liveth' (50), to teach the man. Has not this something to teach us about prayer and hearing the word? How slow we are to go out and believe the word He has spoken to us. It is a feeble faith that requires the support of something visible to make it effectual, and our Lord is intent on weaning us from this kind of weakness and dependence on visible, even sensuous tokens. The all-important point in the story is the nobleman's response to what must undoubtedly be regarded as a tremendous challenge (50). Jesus said, 'Go thy way, thy son liveth' – i.e. leave your worry, your burden here, and take assurance with you, resting on My word. And, we are told, the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him. This is faith, and it is to this that Jesus wants to bring us all. Well would it be for us if we could simply take Him at His word, nothing doubting.