43 After the two days Jesus went out from there and went into Galilee. 44 For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when he came into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast, for they also went to the feast. 46 Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.”

49 The nobleman said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 As he was now going down, his servants met him and reported, saying “Your child lives!” 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” He believed, as did his whole house. 54 This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judea into Galilee.

John 4:43-54 - World English Bible

Scholars divide the Gospel of John into the Book of Signs (1:1-12:50) and the Book of Glory (13:1-20:31); the passages above represent the second sign in the gospel. Notice the emphasis on “sign” instead of miracle or healing. Implicit in the term was its source. The populace insisted on a “sign” from God, an indication that the divine was at work in the world, otherwise they would not believe (4:48).

Jesus,did work signs that showed the source of his power, but not as great public displays; instead, he addressed them to individuals or small groups. John 4:45-46 detailed his first sign in Cana, but only his disciples and the wine steward realized the true nature of the event. Now, he healed the child of a royal official (a Gentile?) through the mere power of his word. He performed this second sign from a distance, commanding the demon causing the sickness to leave the boy (in the minds of the Lord's contemporaries). Yet, the sign was personal, between Jesus and the man. When, the official realized the time Jesus spoke to him was the same time the fever broke, he and his family became followers (4:53).

As a final note, John's gospel had a different geographic thrust that the Synoptics. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus began his work in Galilee, then traveled to Jerusalem as a climax to his ministry. In John's gospel, Jesus left the environs of Judea around Jerusalem because of scepticism (44:43-44) and set up his ministry in Galilee, since the people there were more receptive to his message and power (4:54b). Not only did John see the power of Jesus as an intimate sign from the Father, he saw the ministry of Jesus flowing from a base in Jerusalem towards Galilee, not the other way around.

Do you ask for signs of God in your life? Have you experienced such signs in an intimate way?