St. John does not focus on the miracles of Jesus. He only records a few and calls them “signs.” It is not the miracle (the show of divine power) that interests the evangelist but a deeper spiritual meaning in the event. The healing of the “royal official’s” son is reported by Matthew and Luke as well. (They refer to the petitioner as a centurion.) All three evangelists use the occasion to highlight the faith that gentiles are capable of. But for St. John the greatest of the “signs” that Jesus performed was the triumph of the cross. It was Jesus’ complete surrender to the will of his Heavenly Father on Calvary that the fourth evangelist holds up as more powerful than any healing miracle.
