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John Segment 6

All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Before beginning this study, I suggest you pray and ask God to guide you through this study. I also suggest that you do you own study of this material in order to ensure its accuracy.
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The Lord here is the Lord Jesus. This would have enraged the scribes and Pharisees who opposed Jesus. They wanted John silenced and now that Jesus' disciples had baptized even more that John, they would have also tried to silence Jesus. So Jesus and his disciples left the land of Judea to avoid the Pharisees.

Samaria lay between Judea and Galilee so they had to pass through Samaria. They could have taken a circuitous route around Samaria, which added several days travel time. This would have been the route that Jews would take to Galilee, thus avoiding Samaria. Jesus knew that He would meet the woman at Jacob's well and this would require a trip to Samaria. This was also a growth experience for the disciples, who were Jews. They would learn that Jesus' teachings were for all people, even those hated by the Jews.

When Israel had split into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms after Solomon died, Samaria became the capital city of Israel in the north while Jerusalem was the capital of Judah in the south. The entire Northern Kingdom, known as Israel, also became known as Samaria. From the very beginning of the Northern Kingdom, idolatry had been the religion of the land. After Solomon's death, God divided the land into two kingdoms. He rent the kingdom out of the hands of Solomon and gave ten tribes to Jeroboam, a mighty man of valor in Solomon's court. He left the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, along with the landless Levites in the house of Solomon through his son Rehoboam. Under Rehoboam, worship continued in the Temple of Solomon, but the people were very sinful. Jeroboam made two calves and placed one in the city of Dan, the other in Bethel. He was afraid if he let the people go to Jerusalem regularly to worship that they would turn away from him and follow Rehoboam. So he took the calves and said, "behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." And the people worshipped those calves (and other religions) from the inception of the Northern Kingdom until its demise. The idolatry continued until Jesus' time.

Most of the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom were carried away from Samaria by the Assyrians around 721 BC. They had never returned. Instead, Assyria had imported another people. These peoples intermixed with the few Israelis who had been left in the land by the Assyrians and they also accepted the religion of the Israelites as their own. They practiced idolatry and the religion of Israel at the same time. Even later, the Greeks conquered the area and hellenized it, bringing with them their polytheistic religion which was also incorporated into the religious life of the Samaritans.

By the time of Jesus, the Samaritans worshipped only Yehovah. In fact, at one time, they had their own temple at Mount Gerazim. (The temple no longer stood at the time of Jesus.) Of course building such a Temple was a sin. But because of their questionable heritage, the Jews of Judah looked down upon them. And of course, the Jews recognized no other temple than the one at Jerusalem. The Jews would have considered the Samaritans abominable.

Shechem, where Abraham lived, was the original capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Later Tirzah became the capital, and then Omri purchased the hill called Samaria and made his residence there and it became the capital.

Sychar (see'-kar or shee'-kar) is a later name for Shechem, where Jacob's well resides. It was right next to Samaria. In Genesis 48:22, Jacob deeded this area to Joseph.

This the only place in the Bible where Jacob's well is mentioned. We certainly assume that Jacob dug a well on the property he bought at Shalem from the children of Hamor, son of Shechem, but it is mentioned nowhere in the Bible except in this chapter of John.

It was noon and time for Jesus and his disciples to stop and refresh themselves. Jesus stopped at Jacob's well for a purpose. I believe that Jesus knew exactly what was about to transpire and that is why He stopped. By the way, Jacob's well has been cleaned out and is now a producing well. It is a tourist attraction. It is a deep one—a hundred feet deep. The water is still potable today.

(John 4:7-8) There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. {8} (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

It was not a coincident that this happened. Jesus knew it was going to happen. He was alone and that was also a part of Jesus' plan. He would be able to talk with her without his disciples about. They would not have been alone for many went to the well to draw.

The woman was not surprised that Jesus wanted a woman to draw water. She was surprised that a Jew would ask a Samaritan to draw water. Let me quote Smith's Bible Dictionary on the Samaritans:

 (John 4:10) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Jesus skips the remarks about the Jews and as usual, goes right to the subject at hand. Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah and the woman eventually understands this.

The gift of God is the Messiah and Jesus the Messiah was and is able to give living water. What is living water? First, the term living water refers to water in motion in nature, that is, naturally occurring running water. A river, stream, or waterfall is comprised of living water. But Jesus is talking about the spiritual significance of living water. Let's do a quick study of water. Obviously we all know what water (H₂O) is. In its normal physical form it is a clear liquid and it is the basic building block of almost all physical life on the earth. Most living things are mainly water. We humans are mostly water. Without water there would be no life on earth. Without water most living things would be a small amount of powder. Take the spice basil. I grow sweet basil in my garden. It is a wonderful spice. It has beautiful large green leaves. The aroma is heavenly. If you take the leaves and dry them and grind them you have a small amount of powder. The amount of powder is far less substantial than the green leaf was. The water is gone taking way a goodly amount of the bulk of the leaf. The same goes for plant matter placed in a compost heap. When you first place the green plant matter on the pile it is quite bulky. But after just a few days the pile becomes smaller. The water has gone out of the plant matter. The point of these examples is to illustrate just how important physical water is to us. A human can survive for a month or more without food, but only for a few days without water.

Jesus, knowing the importance of physical water speaks of the even greater spiritual water that He calls living water. Living water can refer to running water. But not here. Later in this chapter, in verse 14, we are told what living water is. It is water that quenches our thirst for everlasting life. John speaks again of living water in Revelation 21:1: "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." So living water gives everlasting life and proceeds out of God's throne.

Jesus is talking about salvation. He is talking about eternal life. How does one inherit eternal life? John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So, as Jesus tells this woman, He and only He can give her living water or eternal life.

She does not yet understand His statement. She is still thinking of physical water, that is the water from the well. The well is now 100 feet deep and was probably very deep in Jacob's day. Since Jews absolutely would not use the same utensils as the Samaritans, and Jesus had no tool to draw water, the woman knew He could not get the water out of the well. She knew as a Jew, He would not use her implements. She was beginning to catch on. The word translated greater means larger. It usually means older. Here the woman wants to know if Jesus is greater or better than Jacob because He could provide this living water without drawing it from the well.

(John 4:13-14) Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: {14} But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Jesus tells her that He is not referring to the water in the well that only temporarily quenches. He is talking about a well that never runs dry. It is a well that springs eternally and gives eternal life. It is not physical water. It is not running water; it is living water giving eternal life. Just as water is absolutely essential to physical life, living water is essential to eternal life.

So what is this living water? We know that this water springs up into everlasting life, that is, it causes one who has it to live eternally. What does that? The Gospel. The good news that Jesus died for our sins and we believe on Him and we have eternal life. Living water is salvation, plain and simple. There are quite a few OT verses concerning this matter. Here are a few:

Living water can also refer to the Spirit: "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:" (Isaiah 44:3). There are several verses where God says He will pour out His spirit on His people. One of the more well-known is Joel 2:28, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:"

A libation is a drink offering. One would take oil or wine and pour it out before the LORD as an offering. Paul said that he was ready to be offered (Greek: "poured out as a drink offering") in 2 Timothy 4:6. In Philippians 2:17 he said, " Philippians 2:17 "Yea, and if I be offered…" (Greek: "poured out as a drink offering"). Well, Jesus was poured out as a drink offering for our sins. He died on the cross. That was His libation for us.

The living water we receive is salvation. When saved we receive the Spirit, who was poured out upon us at Pentecost. We are saved because Jesus was poured out as a drink offering for our sins.

She wants everlasting life and asks for it. If you want eternal life, all you have to do is ask for it. If you repent from your sins and believe in Jesus, He will give you the living water.

(John 4:16) Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

Jesus was accomplishing two things by asking for her husband. First, since it would have been usual to talk to the man of the household instead of a woman, Jesus sent for him. However, Jesus knew that she had no husband but was cohabiting with a man who was not her husband. (The more things change, the more they remain the same. In Ecclesiastes 1:9, Solomon tells us "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." This practice of men and women living together out of wedlock is extremely common today.)

(John 4:18-19) For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. {19} The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

The only way Jesus could have known this was because He was Immanuel. The woman figured He must have been a prophet because only a prophet could see beyond the physical. He had never met her before but he knew all about her. Only a diviner or a prophet could have known this about her. But, as we shall see, she also knew that the Messiah would tell all things.

 "Ye" is the plural of "you." Here in the South, we would say "you all" or "yall." In the Northeast it would be "you-uns." This refers to the Jews. The law required that all should worship at the place chosen by God. Deuteronomy 12:13-14: "Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: {14} But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee." Hezekiah, enforcing this law, decreed that all should worship at Jerusalem. 2 Chr 32:12: "Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?" That law survived the captivity and returned with Ezra to Jerusalem and remained in effect until Jesus' day.

As we saw in verse 9, after the Assyrians deported the Israelites from the Northern Kingdom, they resettled both Israelites and foreigners in the land. The foreigners intermarried with the Israelites, which resulted in the infiltration of pagan religious influences. This was unbearable to the Jews. The people of Samaria worshipped Jehovah and built a temple to worship in on Mount Gerizim. Jacob's well is at the foot of this mountain. The temple on Gerizim was destroyed by John Hyrcannus of the Macabean revolt in 128 BC. Since the temple was destroyed, the Samaritans had worshipped God on the spot where the temple once stood.

John 4:21 "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father."

The coming time is the time of the New Covenant. Through Jesus we don't need a temple or a high priest. Jesus is our high priest and we have direct access to the Father through Him. When He died on the cross, the curtain in front of the Most Holy Place in the temple split revealing the previously unseen contents of the Holy of Holies. This showed that the old human priesthood and sacerdotal system was done a way with. To bolster that point, God had Titus Vespasian come in 70 AD and completely destroy the Temple which has never been rebuilt since. Many Jews perished in Jerusalem, but history records that not one Christian died there at that time. They had all left the city by then. Sacrifice and oblation has not been practiced since that time. Only the synagogue system remains.

John 4:22 "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews."

Though they thought they worshipped Jehovah, they actually didn't know Him. They knew of Him but they did not know Him. God wants to have a personal relationship with us. You cannot have a personal relationship with someone you do not know. Let me use an example of the President of the United States. Most of us know of the President. We could pick him out of a lineup or any group of people and say, "Yep that's him!" But would he know most of us? No. We know who the President is, but we do not know him personally. It was the same with the Samaritans. They knew about God but they did not know Him personally. The Jews supposedly knew Him. Some did; many did not. But salvation came to the world through the Jews. The Salvation that came through the Jews is Jesus. He was of the tribe of Judah and therefore he was a Jew. He is the Savior so the Savior, or Salvation, is of the Jews. By believing in His Son, we may know Him personally. His Son made a way for us to come to God. He took our sin from us, the sin that once stood between us and God is now removed by His Son. Our belief in His Son allows that sin to be removed. When Jesus spoke to this woman, His sacrifice had not yet been made. The next verse tells about that coming time.

John 4:23-24 "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. {24} God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

The hour that "cometh" was the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon all believers. That was when true worshippers became able to worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Worship is not just religious activity, as it had become in Temple worship. You can go into church and sing all the hymns, stand up and sit down when told, kneel, pray, read scripture, raise your hands, give an offering, and go through all the motions and appear to be worshipping. But if your heart is not in it, it is just religion and not worship. In order to worship, you must allow your spirit to become involved, and not just your body. If you are worshipping with your whole being, you are worshipping in spirit.

Jesus is the Word of God and the Word of God is the truth. Make sure you are worshipping God and not something or someone else. That is the only true way to worship. Worship with your entire being and worship God. This is worshipping in truth. Worshiping in spirit and truth is real worship. Anything else is just religion, and religion cannot save you. God doesn't even want religion. He wants our love. God said in Hosea 6:6, "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Jesus quoted this in Matthew 9:13 & 12:7). In other words, God wants our love not our religion.

The woman at the well was told that there was a time coming for true worship. Again, it was the time of the New Covenant.

Since the Samaritans rejected all scripture but the Pentateuch (See Smith's Bible Dictionary), the only prophecies of the Messiah that they had access to were limited to the first five books of the Bible. The woman seems to be referring to Deuteronomy 18:18, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him." She seems not to have known the scripture very well. Perhaps the people with whom she associated only knew the scripture this well. It appears that she left out something important. The Messiah was not to have told them all things, rather He was to have told them all things His Father commanded Him. But even though she got the scripture wrong, God got the glory after all, for she and many in her town were saved that day. Her quotation fit what Jesus did. He told her everything about herself. She correctly took this to mean He was the Messiah.

John 4:26 "Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he."

Let me give a literal Greek translation here. "Says to her Jesus, I AM, He speaking to you." The Greek is Egó eimí, I AM, the Name of God (Exodus 3:14). Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah but, more importantly, He is claiming to be Yehovah as well.

I have read and heard many (so-called) scholars claim that Jesus never claimed that He was the Messiah. They say that he allowed the High Priest to say that of Him, but He never said it of Himself. It just proves that some scholarship is not. Those who claim that Jesus is not Messiah and point to the Bible and say He never made that claim, have somehow missed this discourse between Jesus and the woman at Jacob's Well. Here it is plainly stated. She says the Messiah will tell her all things and Jesus says "I AM He". It is that simple. Jesus could be speaking of no one except Messiah, whom He was. She had said, "I know the Messiah is coming." He replied, "I that speak to you am He." She said Messiah was coming; He said He was Messiah. It can be cut no other way.

They marveled mostly that He would stoop to talk to a Samaritan and they marveled that He would speak with a woman without her husband around. Remember that the disciples had been into town purchasing food. They may have marveled in their hearts, but they already knew better than to question Jesus about this. They understood that this stop at the well was important to Jesus. As you recall, they "must needs go through Samaria." They wondered about it but they wisely held their peace.

She was so excited having found the Messiah that she dropped what she was doing leaving even the pot and ran into town to tell others. She said He told her all she ever did. Again, we reminisce of Deuteronomy 18:18. Her statements whetted the curiosity of the townsmen well enough to bring them out to the well.

John 4:31-33 "In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. {32} But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. {33} Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?"

Do not get annoyed with the disciples and do not get yourself puffed up. Had you or I been there we would have been just as dense. They implored Him to eat. But He had more important things at hand just then. We know that Jesus was speaking of spiritual food, the Bread of life, but the disciples were intent on temporal things. It was noonish and they were hungry. Not thinking metaphysically, they simply assumed He had received food from elsewhere. They were about the business of nourishing their bodies and not about the business of nourishment for their souls. That is a natural thing. At lunchtime we are only interested in the natural (eating) instead of the supernatural. Jesus was of course speaking of the supernatural.

John 4:34 "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

This is our meat, too. We each have spiritual gifts and we each have a job to do. There are many uses of the word meat in the King James Version. In the Old Testament several words are translated meat. These include bread, flesh, provender, feast, eating, and food in general. The New Testament has fewer words translated meat, but there are several. Exampes are nourishment and wages, eating, food, and ration. The word here in this verse is brõma, meaning simple food. But there are figurative meanings (just like in English), one of which is labor. Our good labor is to do the will of God. Jesus was to finish the work for which he was sent--to die on the cross as an atoning sacrifice, once for all.

John 4:35 "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

Some people do not feel the need to witness assuming that others will do it. Some assume that when the harvest (the return of Jesus for His people) comes then men will be saved. They will wait for the harvest. At the time they were at the well, it was still four months before harvest time. The harvest here is a metaphor. Jesus is talking about harvest of men. We don't really know when the harvest will occur. My family and I live in the Cotton Belt and we live on a small farm upon which suburbia is encroaching. My travels take me out into the country daily and at the time of this writing (in the autumn) the cotton fields in the countryside nearby are indeed white for harvest. This puts Jesus' statement in perspective for me. As I gaze upon field after field of white cotton ready for harvest and see very few houses and even fewer people out in the fields harvesting the cotton, I get a feel for how few the workers really are and how much harvest there actually is in the world. One forty-acre field of cotton would be an intimidating task for one harvester.

In a typical local church, most Christians come on Sunday mornings and feel (mistakenly) that they have somehow met the obligation God has put upon them. But assembling together for worship is only one of the activities God wishes us to participate in. (Hebrews 10:25). He also expects us to participate in the spreading of the Gospel. We are to be His witnesses both locally and worldwide. When it comes to being a worker in the harvest, a large majority of regular worshippers simply will not turn out to do it. Our church is somewhat special. About 30% of our regular attendees turn out regularly during the week to go out into the fields and participate in the harvest. Most churches realize less that ten percent. I used to belong to a church that had 130 regular worshippers and usually the pastor, another brother, and I went out to spread the Gospel. That is a whopping 2%! This is probably average. The fields are indeed white for harvest and the workers are indeed few.

Of course modern farmers have access to huge harvesting equipment. One operator can harvest several fields of cotton in a day. But the same metaphor still applies. Today with satellite technology and TV, radio, and the Internet, we too have modern harvesting equipment. Now, one evangelist can reach many more people at once than many people could a century ago. But that does not absolve us from individually taking part in the spreading of the Gospel.

John 4:36 "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together."

The fruit that is harvested is eternal life for those harvested and a great reward is in store for both the sower and the reaper. We rejoice together because of the harvest. See the Parable of the Sower. (Matthew 13)

John 4:37-38 "And herein is that saying true,

One soweth, and another reapeth. {38} I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours."

As sowers, we are to broadcast seed and allow the Holy Spirit to grow the seed for others to harvest. There are times when we reap the harvest of seed we have sown, but the opposite is more the norm. Usually others have sown the seed we reap. They are people like pastors, teachers, writers, speakers, parents, relatives, etc., etc. We can also include the writers of the Bible, the prophets and others who have gone before. When we reap, the seed has usually been sown by others and watered by even others. Many times when our witness leads another to Christ, we have not put in all the labor that went into that change of heart. Others have already provided most of the labor.

Now we get back to the woman. She had already gone and told others what she had witnessed. Her testimony convinced many that Jesus was Messiah. I believe this woman will hear these words at judgment: "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven." (Mat 5:12). Jesus stayed with them two days and taught them Himself. Those who believed did so truly. They believed in Him and they received eternal life. They were part of the true church. As we study the Word of God, let us not do so only for the sake of the learning. Let us remember that the message of the Word is Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world and the only way to salvation. Jesus said so Himself: "No man cometh to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6). Sometimes when we get deep into study we loose sight of the Messiah. Let us try not to do so.

Having grown up in Nazareth and Capernaum in Galilee, Jesus returned to his heritage. Here is the testimony spoken of in this verse: Mark 6:2-4 "And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? {3} Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. {4} But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." In other words, there was such unbelief in His own country that He offended them (Mark 6:3). Mark also tells us in 6:5-6, that, because of their unbelief, Jesus could do no mighty works there with the exception of healing a few people.

This time, however, He was received well because of the miracles they had seen Him perform at Passover in Jerusalem. John gives us this information to complement verse 48.

This nobleman was either a peer of the realm (and possibly a royal) or a royal courtier. The court would have been that of Herod Antipas (AKA Herod the Tetrarch), King of Galilee, son of Herod the Great, and brother of Archelaus, King of Judea. Remember that Antipas had thought that Jesus was John the Baptist reincarnate (Mat 14:1). This is the same Herod that had John the Baptist beheaded. This nobleman had obviously heard of the miracles and asked Jesus to heal his son. Who would not have?

John 4:48 "Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."

Again, "ye" is the plural of you and refers to all who followed Jesus only because of the miracles. Yet, when the going got rough, many of them deserted Him. Jesus was speaking to the same Galileans who in verse 45 believed in Him now because they had earlier seen His signs and miracles in Jerusalem. They were also the same Galileans that rejected Him when He began His ministry in Galilee. They believed because of the signs they saw in Jerusalem, and not because of the testimony of Christ Himself. Now, with the coming of this noble, they were obviously relishing the chance to see some more of those signs. While He addressed His comment to the noble, he spoke to all that were in earshot. They all wanted yet another sign.

This man's greatest concern was just to get his son healed. He calmly accepted Jesus' rebuke and continued on his mission to get his son healed. Now it seems that the noble had faith enough to believe that Jesus could heal his son, but his faith was not strong enough to believe that Jesus could heal the lad without being present with him.

Belief, or, rather, lack of belief is a common malady among us. We fear many things that we should not simply because we do not believe God is able, or willing to care for us. We take actions into our own hands because we do not trust the Father enough to allow Him to act for us or to manage the situation in His way and time. That was the nobleman's problem and that is why Jesus spoke to him directly.

John 4:50 "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way."

It is commendable of the noble to believe Jesus after He spoke this. The man believed the Word of Christ. Should we not believe the Word of Christ? We have that Word. We are studying it now. Understand this. We can trust God in ALL THINGS. Do you trust Him to get you through the day? The night? Do you trust Him to care for you and your family? Even if His caring for a loved one means that He mnust take that loved one away from you?

I pray every night before sleeping for God to take care of me and my family. I used to worry that even though He was caring for us that He might still allow one of us to die. After all, that has happened before. Read the story of David and the child he had by Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12. That was a very real concern for me. But I have come to know that He has promised to care for us and He always will, even if one of us dies. If I loose a loved one after praying for God to care for that loved one, I know that even though that one dies, God is still caring for that one. I no longer worry about it. I trust God more now that I did before. That is the situation here. The noble trusted Jesus enough to go home no matter what he might find when he got there. But he rightly expected to see his child alive. That is faith.

John 4:51-53 "And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. {52} Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. {53} So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house."

It is about seventeen miles from Cana to Capernaum, just under a day's journey on foot. The nobleman probably rode a horse, but his entourage most likely walked. This would explain it being the next day when the nobleman heard the news that his son was well. I believe that they became Christians that day. The nobleman believed and his witness probably caused others to believe.

 The first miracle was also at Cana at the wedding where the water was changed into the best wine.

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