onths. Realizing that the people of Nazareth, the town in which
He had been brought up, would be probably loath to acknowledge Him as
other than the carpenter, or, as He stated, knowing that "a prophet hath
no honour in his own country,"[385] He went first to Cana. The people of
that section, and indeed the Galileans generally, received Him gladly;
for many of them had attended the last Passover and probably had been
personal witnesses of the wonders He had wrought in Judea. While at Cana
He was visited by a nobleman, most likely a high official of the
province, who entreated Him to proceed to Capernaum and heal his son,
who was then lying at the point of death. With the probable design of
showing the man the true condition of his mind, for we cannot doubt that
Jesus could read his thoughts, our Lord said to him: "Except ye see
signs and wonders, ye will not believe."[386] As observed in earlier
instances, notably in the refusal of Jesus to commit Himself to the
professing believers at Jerusalem, whose belief rested solely on their
wonder at the things He did,[387] our Lord would not regard miracles,
though wrought by Himself, as a sufficient and secure foundation for
faith. The entreating nobleman, in anguish over the precarious state of
his son, in no way resented the rebuke such as a captious mind may have
found in the Lord's reply; but with sincere humility, which showed his
belief that Jesus could heal the boy, he renewed and emphasized his
plea: "Sir, come down ere my child die."

Probably the man had never paused to reason as to the direct means or
process by which death might be averted and healing be insured through
the words of any being; but in his heart he believed in Christ's power,
and with pathetic earnestness besought our Lord to intervene in behalf
of his dying son. He seemed to consider it necessary that the Healer be
present, and his great fear was that the boy would not live until Jesus
could arrive. "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the
man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his
way." The genuineness of the man's trust is shown by his grateful
acceptance of the Lord's assurance, and by the contentment that he
forthwith manifested. Capernaum, where his son lay, was about twenty
miles away; had he been still solicitous and doubtful he would probably
have tried to return home that day, for it was one o'clock in the
afternoon when Jesus spoke the words that