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THE KING’S BUSINESS
marked that the household knew the very hour when it occurred. The father indi cates by the form of his question that he had not expected so sudden and complete a cure. Thé fever had completely left the boy at the very moment Jesus had spoken the word, “He spake and it was done,” He sent His Word and healed him” (cf. Ps. 33:9; 107:20). Surely the One Who had such power was the Son of God, and no wonder it is written that the king’s officer “himself believed and his whole house.” How could he do otherwise if he were an honest man, and how can any honest man read what is recorded here, and in various chapters o f John, without being convinced that the stories related are true and that the chief actor in them ‘‘is the Christ ,1 thé Son of God.” The growth of this courtier’s faith is an interesting and suggestive study. In v. 47 we see him believing in Jesus’ power to the extent that he thought it likely that if Jesus came down He might be able to heal his son;',in v, 50. we see him'believing in Jesus’ Word; and in v./ 53 we see him believing in Jestis Himself. The belief in v. 50 is simply belief in a specific promise ; the belief in v. 53 is belief in a Person. It was substantially belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, (see ch. 20:31) though it is doubtful if the courtier himself would have phrased it in that way at that time. But not only did the man himself believe, “his whole house believed.” This is the first of many cases recorded in the New Testament of whole families believing together with the head of the family (see e.g., Acts 16:31, 32). The religion of our Lord Jesus; is a household religion, not merely for individual members of the house, but for the whole house, though sadly enough in many cases the individual believer has to stand alone. v. 54. " This is again the second miracle (sign) that Jesus did, when He was come out (having come out) of Judea into Gali lee.” The meaning of this is not that this was the second miracle of all Jesus had wrought. He had wrought many miracles in Jerusalem (v. 45) and elsewhere. But
v. 51. “And as he was now going down, his servants met him, saying, Thy son liveth (that his son lived).’’ As Jesus had said “Thy son liveth,” at seven o’clock in the evening (vs. 52,' 53) and the man had started at once (v. 50), he must have travelled all night. In the meantime, as the son had recovered the servants had started at once to meet their master with the glad tidings that the boy was alive. The son is described in this brief passage by three dif ferent words: (1) .The word meaning “son” (v. 47); (2) the word meaning “little boy” used by' the father in his pathetic plea for the Lord to come at once (v. 49) ; (3) the word meaning “boy” used by the servants in v. 51. The circumstances under which Jeach was used is significant and this all marks the minute verbal accu racy of John’s account. The Bible is accurate down to the smallest word or part of a word; (The words used in v. 49 and v. 51 differ from one another only in the closing letters). Jesus had said, “Thy son liveth” (v. 50), the servants s^id that “his boy lived.” Everything had turned out just as Jesus said it would, and everything will turn out every time just as Jesus says it will (cf. Acts'27:25; Joshua 23:14). vs. 52, 53. “Then inquired he (So he inquired) of them the hour when he began to amend: and they (. They) said (add, therefore) unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same (that) hour, in the (omit, the) which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth, and himself believed, and his whole house." The words translated “began to. amend” are peculiar and striking. It is difficult to translate them literally. As near as we can put it it would be, “he had more elegantly (or finely, or nicely),” much as we would say one is “doing nicely,” or as the Germans say, “he finds himself pretty,” or “it goes prettily with him.” It is evident that the cure was immediate and sudden. He did not merely “begin to amend,” but “the fever left him,” departed from him altogether, forsook him utterly. The change was so sudden and
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