Johannes 4:46 Kommentar

It was, more than any thing else, the glory of the land of Israel, that it was Emmanuel's land (Isa 8:8), not only the place of his birth, but the scene of his preaching and miracles. This land in our Saviour's time was divided into three parts: Judea in the south, Galilee in the north, and Samaria lying between them. Now, in this chapter, we have Christ in each of these three parts of that land. I. Departing out of Judea (Joh 4:1-3). II. Passing through Samaria, which, though a visit in transitu, here takes up most room. 1. His coming into Samaria (Joh 4:4-6). 2. His discourse with the Samaritan woman at a well (v. 7-26). 3. The notice which the woman gave of him to the city (Joh 4:27-30). 4. Christ's talk with his disciples in the meantime (Joh 4:31-38). 5. The good effect of this among the Samaritans (Joh 4:39-42). III. We find him residing for some time in Galilee (Joh 4:43-46), and his curing a nobleman's son there, that was at death's door (Joh 4:46-54).

When therefore our Lord knew,.... Or Jesus, as some copies, as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read; who is Lord of all, Lord of lords, the one and only Lord of saints: and who knew all things as God; every man, and what is in man; who would believe in him, and who not, and who would betray him; he knew his adversaries, what they thought, said, or did; what was told them, and how it operated in them; and what were the secret motions of their hearts, and their most private counsels and designs; for this is not merely to be understood of his knowledge as man, which he might have by private intelligence from others; though what is here said, might be true also in this sense: how the Pharisees; the inveterate and implacable enemies of Christ, and particularly those that dwelt at Jerusalem, and were of the great sanhedrim, or council of the nation: had heard; either by their spies, which they constantly kept about Christ; or by John s disciples, who, through envy, might apply to the sanhedrim, to put a stop to, or check upon the baptism and ministry of Christ; or by common fame: that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John; see Joh 3:26. The method Christ took was, he first made men disciples, and then baptized them; and the same he directed his apostles to, saying, "go and teach", or "disciple all nations, baptizing them", &c. And this should be a rule of conduct to us, to baptize only such, who appear to have been made the disciples of Christ: now a disciple of Christ, is one that has learned of Christ, and has learned Christ; the way of life, righteousness, and salvation by him; who is a believer in him; who has seen a beauty, glory, fulness, and suitableness in him, as a Saviour; and is come to him, and has ventured on him, and trusted in him; and who has been taught to deny himself, sinful self, and righteous self; to part with his sins, and to renounce his own righteousness, and all dependence on it, for justification before God; and who has been made willing to leave and forsake all worldly things and advantages, and to bear all reproach, indignities, and persecutions, for Christ's sake: and such who are Christ's disciples in this sense, are the only proper persons to be baptized; these are they, that ought to put on this badge, and wear Christ's livery: nor can baptism be of any use to any others; for such only are baptized into him, and into his death, and partake of the saving benefits of it; for whatsoever is not of faith, is sin; and without it also, it is impossible to please God.

So Jesus came again unto Cana of Galilee,.... Where he had been once before; see Joh 2:1. The Syriac version here, as there, calls it "Kotne" of Galilee; and the Persic version, "Catneh" of Galilee: where he made the water wine; see Joh 2:9; there was a certain nobleman; the Vulgate Latin renders it, "a petty king"; the Arabic version, and Nonnus, call him, "a royal man"; and the Syriac version renders it, "a king's servant"; with which agrees the Ethiopic, calling him "a minister, a steward, the king's domestic". The Persic version makes it to be his name, reading it, "there was a great man, whose name was Abdolmelic", which signifies a king's servant: from the whole he seems to be one that belonged to the palace of Herod Antipas, and was one of his courtiers; who, though he was but tetrarch of Galilee, yet is sometimes called a king, Mar 6:14; whose son was sick at Capernaum; some versions, as the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic, read the phrase, "in Capernaum", with the former clause, "there was a nobleman in Capernaum": and others, as we do with this; and both may be true; for he might be an inhabitant of Capernaum, and his house be there where his son lay sick. Some think this nobleman was either Chuza, Herod's steward, Luk 8:3, or Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod, Act 13:1.

Some think that this was an officer of King Herod's; others, that he was one of Cæsar's household, then employed on some commission in Judæa. It is not said that He was a Jew. His rank appears in the fact of his servants meeting him: And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

The sentence is ambiguous. Taken one way, it means that Jesus after coming to Galilee, performed two miracles, of which that of healing the nobleman's son was the second: taken another, it means, that of the two miracles which Jesus performed in Galilee, the second was done after coming from Judæa into Galilee. The latter is the true and received meaning. Mystically, the two journeys of Christ into Galilee signify His two advents; (c. 56.). at the first of which He makes us His guest at supper, and gives us wine to drink; at the second, He raises up the nobleman's son who was at the point of death, i. e. the Jewish people, who, after the fulness of the Gentiles, attain themselves to salvation. For, as the great King of Kings is He, whom God hath seated upon His holy hill of Sion, so the lesser king is he, who saw his day, and was glad, i. e. Abrahame. And therefore his sick son is the Jewish people fallen from the true religion, and thrown into a fever in consequence by the fiery darts of the enemy. And we know that the saints of old, even when they had put off the covering of the flesh, made the people the object of their care: for we read in Maccabees, after the death of Jeremiah, This is Jeremias the prophet of the Lord, who prayeth much for the people. (2 Macc. 12) Abraham therefore prays to our Saviour to succour his diseased people. Again, the word of power, Thy son liveth, comes forth from Cana, i. e. the work of the Word, the healing of the nobleman's son, is done in Capernaum, i. e. the land of consolation. The nobleman's son signifies the class of believers who though diseased are yet not altogether destitute of fruits. The words, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe, are spoken of the Jewish people in general, or perhaps of the nobleman, i. e. Abraham himself, in a certain sense. For as John waited for a sign; on Whom thou shall see the Spirit descending; so too the Saints who died before the coming of Christ in the flesh, expected Him to manifest Himself by signs and wonders. And this nobleman too had servants as well as a son; which servants stand for the lower and weaker class of believers. Nor is it chance that the fever leaves the son at the seventh hour; for seven is the number of rest.

There may be an allusion in the two journeys to the two advents of Christ in the soul, the first supplying a spiritual banquet of wine, the second taking away all remains of weakness and death.

The Evangelist reminds the hearer of the miracle to exalt the praise of the Samaritans. The men of Cana received Him by reason of the miracles which He had done in Jerusalem and in that place; but not so the Samaritans, they received Him through His teaching alone. That He came then "to Cana," the Evangelist has said, but he has not added the cause why He came. Into Galilee He had come because of the envy of the Jews; but wherefore to Cana? At first He came, being invited to a marriage; but wherefore now? Methinks to confirm by His presence the faith which had been implanted by His miracle, and to draw them to Him the more by coming to them self-invited, by leaving His own country, and by preferring them.

This person certainly was of royal race, or possessed some dignity from his office, to which the title "noble" was attached. Some indeed think that this is the man mentioned by Matthew (Matt. viii. 5), but he is shown to be a different person, not only from his dignity, but also from his faith. That other, even when Christ was willing to go to him, entreats Him to tarry; this one, when He had made no such offer, draws Him to his house. The one saith, "I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof"; but this other even urges Him, saying, "Come down ere my son die." In that instance He came down from the mountain, and entered into Capernaum; but here, as He came from Samaria, and went not into Capernaum but into Cana, this person met Him. The servant of the other was possessed by the palsy, this one's son by a fever.

(Tr. xvi. c. 3) There, we are told, His disciples believed on Him. Though the house was crowded with guests, the only persons who believed in consequence of this great miracle, were His disciples. He therefore visits the city again, in order to try a second time to convert them. He is called a nobleman, (basilikos) either as being of the royal family, or as having some office of government.

Look back to the passage, or recall in memory the lesson and the discourse of yesterday. He came into Samaria, where at first He had been preached by that woman with whom He had spoken great mysteries at Jacob's well. After they had seen and heard Him, the Samaritans believed on Him because of the woman's word, and believed more firmly because of His own word, even many more believed: thus it is written. After passing two days there (in which number of days is mystically indicated the number of the two precepts on which hang the whole law and the prophets, as you remember we intimated to you yesterday), He goes into Galilee, and comes to the city Cana of Galilee, where He made the water wine. And there, when He turned the water into wine, as John himself writes, His disciples believed on Him; but, of course, the house was full with a crowd of guests. So great a miracle was wrought, and yet only His disciples believed on Him.

Christ loveth to dwell among those that are well disposed, and to those who more readily advance unto the perception and knowledge of benefits done them, He poureth forth supplies of greater goods. He cometh then to work miracles in Cana, thinking it fit to confer an additional benefit on those therein, in that He had through His signs already wrought there, the idea previously implanted in their minds, that He could do all things.

The little king stands for man generally; man not only deriving his soul from the King of the universe, but having Himself dominion over all things. His son, i. e. his mind, labours under a fever of evil passion and desires. He goes to Jesus and entreats Him to come down; i. e. to exercise the condescension of His pity, and pardon his sins, before it is too late. Our Lord answers; Go thy way, i. e. advance in holiness, and then thy son will live; but if thou stop short in thy course, thou wilt destroy the power of understanding and doing right.

The Evangelist reminds us of the miracle at Cana, where water was turned into wine, first of all, in order to more clearly set forth the merit of the Samaritans. "The Galileans," he says, "received the Lord on account of the signs performed in Jerusalem and among them, but the Samaritans — on the sole testimony of a woman and on the teaching of the Lord Himself." Secondly, in order to show us that from the miracle at Cana the royal official also received a certain good, though not entirely worthy, understanding of Christ. He calls him "royal" either because he was of royal lineage, or because he held some dignity of authority bearing that title. Someone might say: "Is this royal official not one and the same as the centurion mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 8:5–15)? For he too was in Capernaum." I think that it is not the same person, but another. That one, when Christ wants to come, holds Him back, saying: "I am not worthy that You should come under my roof" (Matt. 8:8). But this one earnestly calls Jesus to his house. That one had a servant suffering from paralysis, that is, a slave, while this one had a son — with a fever. There the Lord came to Capernaum after descending from the mountain, but now He comes from Samaria, and not to Capernaum, but to Cana. In every respect that one is a centurion, and this one is a nobleman by rank.

The Evangelist reminds us of the miracle in order to express the praise due to the Samaritansd. For the Galileans in receiving Him were influenced as well by the miracle He had wrought with them, as by those they had seen at Jerusalem. The nobleman certainly believed in consequence of the miracle performed at Cana, though he did not yet understand Christ's full greatness; And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.

Then he says, He therefore went to Cana in Galilee. According to Chrysostom, this is given as a conclusion from what went before; it is as though he were saying: Christ did not go to Capernaum because he was not held in honor there. But he was under an obligation to go to Cana in Galilee: for on the first occasion he had been invited to the wedding, and now he goes again without being invited. The two trips to Cana are mentioned by the Evangelist to show their hardness of heart: for at the first miracle of the wine, only his disciples believed in Christ; and at the second miracle, only the official and his household believed. On the other hand, the Samaritans believed on Christ's words alone. In the mystical sense, the two visits to Cana signify the effect of God's words on our minds. First of all they cause delight, because they who hear the word "receive the word with joy" (Mt 13:20). This is signified in the miracle of the wine, which as the Psalm (103:15) says, "gladdens the heart of man." Secondly, the word of God heals: "It was neither a herb nor a poultice that healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all things" (Wis 16:12). And this is signified by the curing of the sick son. Further, these two visits to Cana indicate the two comings of the Son of God. The first coming was in all gentleness to bring joy: "Rejoice and give praise, people of Zion, for he is great who is in your midst, the Holy One of Israel" (Is 12:6). So the angel said to the shepherds: "I bring you good news of great joy... this day a Savior has been born to you" (Lk 2:10). This is signified by the wine. His second coming into the world will be in majesty, when he will come to take away our weaknesses and our punishments, and to make us like his radiant body. And this is signified in the cure of the sick son. Having told us the place of this miracle, the Evangelist now describes the miracle itself: telling us of the person who was ill; the one who interceded for him; and the one who healed him. The one who was ill was the son of the official; his father interceded for him; and it was Christ who was to heal him. About the person who was ill, he first tells us of his status, a son of an official; secondly, where he was, at Capernaum; thirdly, his illness, a fever. He says about the first, There happened to be a certain official, whose son lay sick. Now one can be called an official for a variety of reasons. For example, if one is in charge of a small territory. This is not its meaning here for at this time there was no king in Judea: "We have no king but Caesar" (below 19:15). One is also called an official, as Chrysostom says, because he is from a royal family; and this is also not its meaning here. In a third way, an official is some officer of a king or ruler; and this is its meaning here. Some think, as Chrysostom reports, that this official is the same as the centurion mentioned by Matthew (8:5). This is not so, for they differ in four ways. First, because the illness was not the same in each. The centurion was concerned with a paralytic, "My servant is lying paralyzed at home" (Mt 8:6); while this official's son is suffering from a fever, yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. Secondly, those who are sick are not the same. In the first case, it was a servant, "my servant"; but now we have a son, as it says, whose son. Thirdly, what is requested is different. For when Christ wanted to go to the home of the centurion, the centurion discouraged him, and said: "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word and my servant will be healed" (Mt 8:8). But this official asked Christ to come to his house, Lord, come down before my child dies. Fourthly, the places are different. For the first healing took place at Capernaum, while this one is at Cana in Galilee. So this official is not the same as the centurion, but was from the household of Herod the Tetrarch, or some kind of a herald, or an official of the Emperor. In its allegorical sense, this official is Abraham or one of the fathers of the Old Testament, in so far as he adheres by faith to the king, that is, to Christ, about which we read, "I was made king by him over Zion" (Ps 2:6). Abraham adhered to him, for as is said below (8:56): "Abraham, your father, rejoiced that he might see my day." The son of this official is the Jewish people: "We are the descendants of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any one" (below 8:33). But they are sick from evil pleasures and incorrect doctrines. They are sick at Capernaum, i.e., in the abundance of goods which caused them to leave their God, according to, "The beloved grew fat and rebellious... he deserted the God who made him, and left God his Savior" (Dt 32:15). In the moral sense, in the kingdom of the soul, the king is reason itself: "The king, who sits on his throne of judgment" (Prv 20:8). But why is reason called the king? Because man's entire body is ruled by it: his affections are directed and informed by it, and the other powers of the soul follow it. But sometimes it is called an official, that is, when its knowledge is obscured, with the result that it follows inordinate passions and does not resist them: "They live with their foolish ideas, their understanding obscured by darkness" (Eph 4:17). Consequently, the son of this official, i.e., the affections, are sick, that is, they deviate from good and decline to what is evil. If reason were the king, that is, strong, its son would not be sick; but being only an official, its son is sick. This happens at Capernaum because a great many temporal goods are the cause of spiritual sickness: "This was the crime of your sister Sodom: richness, satiety in food, and idleness" (Ez 16:49).

Jesus, finding that the Pharisees took offense at his making many disciples, leaves Judea to pass into Galilee, Joh 4:1-3. And passing through Samaria comes to Sychar, and rests at Jacob's well, Joh 4:4-6. While his disciples were gone to the city to buy meat, a woman of Samaria comes to draw water, with whom our Lord discourses at large on the spiritual nature of his religion, the perfection of the Divine nature, and the purity of his worship, vv. 7-24. On his informing her that he was the Messiah, she leaves her pitcher, and goes to inform her townsmen, Joh 4:25-30. His discourse with his disciples in her absence, Joh 4:31-38. Many of the Samaritans believe on him, Joh 4:39-42; He stays two days with them, and goes into Galilee, Joh 4:43-45. He comes to Cana, and heals the son of a nobleman, in consequence of which he believes on him, with his whole family, Joh 4:46-54.

Where he made the water wine - See the notes on Joh 2:1, etc. Cana was on the road from Nazareth to Capernaum and the Sea of Tiberias. A certain nobleman - An officer of the king's court: for this is the meaning of the original word, βασιλικος, which the Vulgate translates regulus, a little king. This officer belonged to Herod Antipas, who was then tetrarch of Galilee. Jerome calls him Palatinus, and says he was an officer of the king's palace. Others think it was Chuza, mentioned Luk 8:3; and others think it was Manaen, spoken of Act 13:1. One of these opinions may be true, but all solid proof is wanting. This officer, whoever he was, appears to have had his ordinary abode at Capernaum, and hearing that Christ was at Cana, he came express from Capernaum thither, to entreat him to heal his child.

CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA--THE SAMARITANS OF SYCHAR. (John 4:1-42) the Lord knew--not by report, but in the sense of Joh 2:25, for which reason He is here styled "the Lord."

nobleman--courtier, king's servant, or one connected with a royal household; such as Chuza (Luk 8:3), or Manaen (Act 13:1). heard that Jesus was come out of Judea--"where he had doubtless seen or heard what things Jesus had done at Jerusalem" (Joh 4:45), [BENGEL]. come down--for Capernaum was down on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.