Charles Ellicott Commentary John 4:46

"He came therefore again unto Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum." — John 4:46 (ASV)

So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee.—He returned to the place where He had manifested His glory and united to Himself in closer union the first group of disciples. This thought was in the writer's mind as the reason why He went there. It was the place where He made the water wine.

And there was a certain nobleman.—The margin shows the difference of opinion among our translators as to what English word accurately represents the position of the person who is in the text called “nobleman.” The Greek word is an adjective formed from the word for “king,” and as a noun, appears nowhere else in the New Testament.

It appears frequently in Josephus, who uses it with our meaning of courtier, or for a civil or military officer, but not for one of the royal family. The king, whose “king’s man” is mentioned here, was almost certainly Herod Antipas, who was left the kingdom in his father’s first will, and is called “king” by Matthew (Matthew 14:9) and Mark (Mark 6:14).

The person named here may therefore be a “royalist” or “Herodian” (Mark 3:6), but in a domestic incident like this, the reference would be to his social position rather than to his political opinions. Perhaps “king’s officer” represents the vagueness of the original better than any other English term.

It is likely that this person was Chuza, and that his wife’s presence in the group of women who followed Christ (Luke 8:3) can be attributed to the restoration of her child. For the position of Capernaum, see Note on Matthew 4:13.