The main point: In his first sign, changing water into wine, Jesus was announcing the joy of the Kingdom that was coming through him. In this sign, he is announcing the new life of the Kingdom that was coming through him.
In John 4:46 the connection between the wedding at Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine, and this sign of healing is made clear. Cana in Galilee is where Jesus performed the first sign, and it is also where he will perform the second sign. This then is the continuation of his Messianic work, and we should be on the lookout for what this sign tells us about the identity of Jesus and the nature of what he has come to do.
In Cana, Jesus encounters a nobleman or official whose son was sick. We don’t know who this man was, though he was probably not the centurion from the healing stories in Luke and Matthew. There is some speculation that he was one of Herod’s officials. The man had heard that Jesus could perform miracles, and he had an urgent request: his son was dying, and he needed the help of this proven wonder-worker. It may have been an act of desperation, but it was nevertheless an act of faith.
But Jesus does not answer this request with a miracle right away. Instead, he seems to give a rebuke, either to the man, or more generally to people who were asking miracles from him. If this official was a member of Herod’s court, it is possible that Jesus was referring to Herod and all his officials, who were after him to perform signs and wonders simply for the sake of signs and wonders, or to test him in some way. Jesus also may simply have been speaking about Israel in general, who wanted signs and wonders done just as Moses performed at the Exodus. Jesus had just encountered such a request for a sign in Jerusalem (John 2:18), and he responded by saying the sign would be the destruction of the Temple, and its being rebuilt in three days, (referring to his own death and resurrection). The one other time the phrase “signs and wonders” is used in the gospels is in Matthew 24:24, when Jesus is warning about false Christs and prophets who will deceive even the elect with their signs and wonders. Jesus’ signs are not being done to impress a sceptical crowd; they are identifying who he really is, and pointing towards the fulfillment of his Messianic task, his death on the cross.
The response of the official showed that he was not just testing Jesus, however. He was simply begging Jesus to help, or his child would die. At this Jesus responds with his healing miracle. This miracle brings instant healing to the sick child, and relief to the desperate father. It also serves as a sign. At the wedding in Cana, Jesus’ sign of changing water into wine pointed to the fact that he had come to bring the overwhelming joy of the Kingdom, even though that joy would cost him his life. In this sign, Jesus shows that he is the one who has power to give life to those who are dying. This is in line with the expectations for the Messiah, who was meant to lift his people up from their grief, bring healing from all kinds of diseases, and translate mourning into rejoicing. These two signs have now identified Jesus as joy-bringer and life-giver.
But both of these signs were also accompanied by obedience. In the first sign, Mary instructs the servants to do whatever Jesus says, and they do. Perhaps not so big a deal, considering that it was their job to serve. More impressively, when Jesus here directs the man to return home because his child has already been healed, the official does so immediately, without questioning. Jesus is the only true source for the joy of the Kingdom of God, the only true source for the healing and life of the Kingdom of God. No human effort, no religious system, can bring about the joy and life that Jesus has brought. Obedience to the commands of Jesus allowed the people in these two stories to experience the miracles he brought about. And in both cases the miracles resulted in people putting their faith in Jesus.
Finally, these signs were performed in Cana, and not Judea, at least in part because Jesus had not been received in Judea. When he went to Jerusalem signs were demanded, and some had believed in his name when they saw his miracles, but Jesus did not commit himself to them, knowing that they had not understood or accepted what his signs were pointing to (John 2:23-25). Jerusalem, the very place where the Messiah should have felt at home, had not received him. Cana in Galilee, considered unimportant in the grand scheme of things, was prepared to welcome Jesus at this point.
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