1) The Nobleman came to Jesus for a miracle, probably because heard about Jesus and was desperate to save his son. Note he sought to dictate the terms of how the miracle would manifest. The noble man was seeking to impose the terms of the healing and the overall relationship with Jesus. As Christians we should take great care to not try to dictate how God should move in our situations.  Although we recognize God’s power, we should be careful not to try to impose our will over God’s will.

2) Jesus’ response to the Government official is “unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”  The connection between “Seeing and Believing” is central to the text. Depending upon seeing “certain things” as a condition of our faith is not only a challenge, but suggests spiritual immaturity.  While the Apostle James counsels (believers) to connect our faith with our works, God is calling us to develop our faith not on just on “signs and wonders” but on the Word. God should not have to perform a miracle in order for us to believe.

3) The Nobleman’s “crisis faith” developed into “confirmed faith.”  Jesus tells the Nobleman to “go, thy way, thy son is healed.”  He goes back to his house believing the “Word” of Jesus.  We must work to develop more than crisis faith (call on the Lord in desperation), and move to trusting in God’s Word as a matter of practice (not based on what we immediately see).  The end result will not only bless us. But as the text indicates, our whole household shall be blessed.