What was Israel's spiritual condition at the time of the nobleman's son?
Israel was spiritually sick. The nation was not dead, but it was gravely sick. This condition paralleled the nobleman's son, who was sick and near death but not dead. Israel needed the healing and miraculous signs that would cement faith in Jesus as the one He claimed to be.
Les explains that at the time of the nobleman's son, Israel's spiritual condition was sick—not dead, but oh, so sick. The nobleman's son himself was sick and at the point of death, not dead. The nobleman heard Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, went to Him, and begged Him to come to Capernaum to heal his son. This was the second sign. The first sign, turning water into wine at Cana, showed that when Jesus brings joy to Israel, it will be full. Even the disciples needed miracles to cement their faith that Jesus was who He said He was, and Israel likewise needed such signs.