Commentaries:
The distance between Capernaum and Cana is over twenty miles, yet by the exercise of His will, Jesus healed the dying boy by His word alone. The nobleman may have expected his son to recover gradually and progressively, but the cure was immediate and complete. The Gospels show that Jesus had no set formula for performing His miracles except to glorify the Father by them, yet His miracles were not done haphazardly. He sometimes commanded the sick to be brought to Him, but at other times, He healed without seeing them. He could heal by either word or touch. Sometimes He asked probing questions, but occasionally, He would act without discussion. In these many different scenarios, we can learn a variety of lessons.
The nobleman's grief contained a bud of faith, but he revealed its limits when he mentally limited the Christ's power to His immediate presence. The desperate father had just enough faith to believe that wherever Jesus was present, disease could be cured. So, fearing the loss of his son, he implored Jesus, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" (verse 49). He did not realize and understand that He could heal just as easily from a distance as on the spot. Jesus' observation, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe" (verse 48), is thus a mild rebuke. The nobleman fell short of truly believing the assurance of Psalm 107:20: "He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."
Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing a Nobleman's Son
The healing of the nobleman's son (John 4:46-54) is thought to be Jesus' first-recorded miracle of healing. In Jerusalem, He had accomplished some extraordinary miracles, which, though not documented, must have produced significant results, for the apostle writes that "many believed in His name when they saw the signs [or miracles] which He did" (John 2:23). Christ's miraculous ministry no doubt caused a stir among every level of society.
In this miracle, a nobleman from Capernaum asks for Jesus' intervention on behalf of his dying son. This worried father journeys to Cana to seek the help of a proven performer of miracles whose fame was rapidly spreading, and Jesus obliged him, seeing his faith. Only John notes this occasion, indicating how particular he was in what he chose to record of Jesus' life and work. He probably selected his material based on the valuable spiritual lessons they provide for Christian development.
Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing a Nobleman's Son
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing John 4:51:
Matthew 8:5-13
Luke 7:1-10
John 4:46-54