John 4:48

4:48 Jesus sharply criticized the Galileans who desired miraculous signs and wonders before they would believe (see 6:30).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 4:48. Ἐὰν μή, unless) Jesus implies, that He can give life to the nobleman’s son, even though the patient be absent: and He requires the nobleman to believe it, and not to require that Jesus should set out with him, as being himself about to see at the bedside of the sufferer the cure wrought on him.—ἴδητε, ye see) ch. Joh 20:29, [Jesus to Thomas] “Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”—οὐ μὴ πιστεύσητε, ye will not believe) i.e. A disease has fallen upon thy son, that an opportunity might be afforded Me for rendering miraculous aid, which, as ye have not seen, ye do not believe: comp. ch. Joh 11:4, [Jesus as to Lazarus] “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby,” wherein the address, ch. Joh 11:40, is given, somewhat in inverse order, as compared with that to the nobleman, [Jesus to Martha] “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” There was something of the Judaic feeling, which was eagerly intent on miracles, in the nobleman, who seems to have been a Jew. This is marked by the use of the second person plural. But at the same time a miracle is promised, and faith is also first required on the nobleman’s part; and whilst it is being required, it is awakened by Jesus: comp. ch. Joh 10:37, “If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not.” The reply, compounded of a kind of outward appearance of repulse, and a tacit promise of aid, is in consonance with the feeling of the suppliant, compounded as it was of faith and weakness.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Except ye see signs, &c.--He did believe, both as his coming and his urgent entreaty show; but how imperfectly we shall see; and our Lord would deepen his faith by such a blunt and seemingly rough answer as He made to Nicodemus.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 48. Except ye see signs and wonders, c.] Our Lord does not tell this man that he had no faith, but that he had not enough. If he had had none, he would not have come from Capernaum to Cana, to beg him to heal his son. If he had had enough, he would have been contented with recommending his son to our Lord, without entreating him to go to Capernaum to heal him which intimates that he did not believe our Lord could do it at a distance. But the words are not addressed to the nobleman alone, but to all the Galilean Jews in general; for our Lord uses the plural number, which he never does when addressing an individual. These people differed widely from the people of Sychar: they had neither a love of the truth, nor simplicity of heart; and would not believe any thing from heaven, unless forced on their minds by the most striking miracles. They were favoured with the ministry of John Baptist; but, as that was not accompanied with miracles, it was not generally credited. They require the miracles of Christ, in order that they may credit the advent of the Messiah. There are many like these Galileans still in the world: they deny that God can have any influence among men; and as to the operations of the Holy Spirit, they, in the genuine Galilean spirit, boldly assert that they will not credit any man who professes to be made a partaker of them, unless he work a miracle in proof of his pretensions! These persons should know that the grace of working miracles was very different from that by which a man is saved; and that the former might exist, even in the most astonishing measure, where the latter did not. See 1Co 13:2.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(48) Signs and wonders.—See Note on Joh_2:11. The words are here addressed to Jews, for there is no reason to think that the nobleman himself was not one. They are spoken to him, but the ye extends them to others standing near and to the class of persons whom he represents. It had been so with the Jews in Jerusalem (Joh_2:18; Joh_2:23), and it was so with the Jews in Galilee. (Comp. 1Co_1:22.) How different from this faith, which demanded a miracle, and therefore was not faith, but sight, was the acceptance by the Samaritans without a miracle, who believed for the woman’s word, and more fully when they heard the word of Christ Himself.

Ye will not believe.—The negative is in its strongest form, Ye will by no means believe.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48. signs and wonders] Christ’s miracles are never mere ‘wonders’ to excite astonishment; they are ‘signs’ of heavenly truths as well, and this is their primary characteristic. Where these two words are joined together ‘signs’ always precedes, excepting four passages in the Acts, where we nave ‘wonders and signs.’ This is the only passage in which S. John uses ‘wonders’ at all. In Joh_2:11 the word translated ‘miracles’ is the same as the one here translated ‘signs.’ See below, Joh_4:54.

ye will not believe] In marked contrast to the ready belief of the Samaritans. The form of negation in the Greek is of the strong kind; ye will in no wise believe. See note on 1Co_1:22. Faith based on miracles is of a low type comparatively, but Christ does not reject it. Comp. Joh_10:38, Joh_14:11, Joh_20:29. This man’s faith is strengthened by being put to test. The words are evidently addressed to him and those about him, and they imply that those addressed are Jews.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then said Jesus unto him,.... With some degree of roughness in his speech, and severity in his countenance, in a way of reproof for his unbelief, as if he could not heal his son without going down to Capernaum along with him:

except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe. This was the cast of the Jews every where, both in Judea and Galilee; they required signs and miracles to be wrought, in confirmation of Christ's being the Messiah, and which indeed was but right; and Christ did perform them for that purpose: but their sin of unbelief lay in this, that they wanted still more and more signs; they could not be contented with what they had seen, but required more, being sluggish and backward to believe. Our Lord seems to say this chiefly for the sake of the Galilaeans, that were about him; who, though they might be acquainted with his former miracles, when among them, of turning water into wine, and had seen his wondrous works at the feast at Jerusalem, yet were very desirous of seeing more, and perhaps very pressing for this cure.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

Ver. 48. Except ye see signs, &c.] Our Saviour first chides him, and upon his well bearing of that, accommodates him. He saw the courtiers’ unbelief more dangerous to his soul than the disease could be to his son’s body.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Except ye see signs ... - This was spoken not to the nobleman only, but to the Galileans generally. The Samaritans had believed without any miracle. The Galileans, he said, were less disposed to believe him than even they were; and though he had performed miracles enough to convince them, yet, unless they continually saw them, they would not believe.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It may seem strange to such as do not well weigh all circumstances, that our Saviour, who at other times went without asking, showed himself so hard to be entreated by this courtier, and answereth him so roughly; but we must not take ourselves to be able to give a certain account of all Christ’s actions, and different dealings with persons, whose hearts he well enough knew. Thus much is certain, that our Saviour always preferred that faith which was given to his bare word, before that which waited for a miracle confirmative of that word, Joh 20:29. Our Saviour saw that this courtier came to him purely upon a natural account, for the recovery of his dying son, without a desire to be instructed in his heavenly doctrine; therefore (as it may be presumed) he checks this courtier; and not him alone, but the generality of the Jews, who were only struck with admiration of his works, and drawn from curiosity, or some temporal benefit, to follow him, without a due regard of his person, or the heavenly, saving truths preached by him.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

48. See signs—How totally unlike the Samaritans, from whom our Lord had so freshly come; who embraced the divinity of his teachings without demanding wonders. This nobleman came, purely absorbed in his dying son, anxious for the bodily miracle, but thoughtless of the divine claims of the Saviour of sinners. It is this selfishness of spirit that Jesus now rebukes. The words of this verse are, as it were, an ejaculation, a thinking aloud of Jesus. He sees that to awaken this man he must more than heal his son; he must to that sign add an additional wonder. He must so heal him as to arouse the man to reflection, and then may come a true faith.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then said Jesus to him as representing the whole class whose faith rested upon, and was nourished, by, the outward sign, with a certain amount of reproof if not of irony in the strength of his phraseExcept ye see (there is no special emphasis laid on the idhte , as distinct from the mere report or testimony of such things) signs and wonders, ye will by no means believe. This is the only occasion in John"s Gospel where these two terms are conjoined. They are frequently brought together in Acts, (Act_2:22, 43 4:30 5:12, etc.) and used in conjunction in Mat_24:24 Mar_13:22 Rom_15:19 2Co_12:12. John ordinarily uses (erga) "works" to denote those objective tangible facts which were "signs" (shmeia) of the Lord"s higher nature and claims. Here terata , a word meaning "portents," remarkable, inexplicable events out of the common order, accompanies "signs," to complete the notion. The craving for "signs and wonders" did absorb the higher life of Judaism. "The Jews require a sign", (1Co_1:22) and minds that are yet in the Jewish stage of partial discipline, for spiritual revelation, still do the same. There is still in many of us the weak faith which needs the stimulating diet of the "sign" before there is any full recognition of the Divine fulness of blessing. Christ does not condemn, though he mourns over, this spiritual babyhood; and while he says (Joh_10:38 Joh_14:11 Joh_15:24) that belief for the works" sake may lead up to true faith, yet the language addressed to Thomas, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed," reveals his deepest thought of their comparative worth. The demand for "signs and wonders" in Galilee contrasts with the ready reception which the Samaritans had given to his word. Many of the difficulties of these narratives arise from the obvious fact that they are so closely compressed. Weiss has a hard task to make what he calls this "harsh answer" tally with Matthew"s account of the reception of the centurion, and of the "great faith" which in his case preceded the miracle. A single sentence in the urgent request of the nobleman, implying that at Capernaum they needed the same kind of proof that had been given at Jerusalem of the Lord"s prophetic claims, would account for all the emphasis laid upon the imperfect faith of the Galilaeans. He who "knew what was in man" knew in what way to rouse in this suppliant an adequate recognition of the Divine in himself.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unless ye see signs and wonders - Although the Samaritans believed without them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

48. Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman, in his sore distress, had some faith, caused only by the fame of the “signs and wonders” wrought. His faith was still imperfect, far below the holy trust of the Samaritans. He is the type of a class whose belief depended on outward signs.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe

"Unless ... not believe" here is a double negative. In some languages it is more natural to translate this statement in a positive form. AT: "Only if you see a miracle will you believe" (See: Double Negatives)

believed the word

Here "word" is a metonym that refers to the message that Jesus spoke. AT: "believed the message" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

miracle

Jesus

believe

children

die

son

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

48. σημεῖα κ. τέρατα. Christ’s miracles are never mere τέρατα, wonders to excite astonishment; they are ‘signs’ of heavenly truths as well, and this is their primary characteristic. Where the two words are combined σημεῖα always precedes, excepting Act 2:22; Act 2:43; Act 6:8; Act 7:36. S. John nowhere else uses τέρατα: his words for miracles are σημεῖα and ἔργα.

οὐ μὴ πιστεύσητε. Strongest negation (Joh 4:14). Ye will in no wise believe: or interrogatively; Will ye in no wise believe? Comp. οὐ μὴ πίω; Joh 18:11. The words are addressed to him (πρὸς αὐτόν), but as the representative of the many who demanded a sign before believing (see on 1Co 1:22). Faith of this low type is not rejected (Joh 10:38, Joh 14:11, Joh 20:29); it may grow into something better, as here, by being tested and braced (Joh 4:50). But it may also go back into sheer unbelief, as with most of those who were won over by His miracles. The verse tells of the depressing change which Christ experienced in returning from Samaria to the land of Israel.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48.] This miracle is a notable instance of our Lord ‘not quenching the smoking flax:’ just as His reproof of the Samaritan woman was of His ‘not breaking the bruised reed.’ The little spark of faith in the breast of this nobleman is by Him lit up into a clear and enduring flame for the light and comfort of himself and his house.

καταβῇ] See on ch. 2:12.

The charge brought against them, ἐὰν μὴ κ.τ.λ., does not imply, as some (Raphel and Storr) think, that they would not believe signs and wonders heard of, but required to see them (thus laying the stress on ἴδητε)—for in this case the expression would certainly have been fuller, ἴδητε τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, or something similar;—and it would not accord with our Lord’s known low estimate of all mere miracle-faith, to find Him making so weighty a difference between faith from miracles seen and faith from miracles heard. The words imply the contrast between the Samaritans, who believed because of His word, and the Jews (the plural reckoning the βασιλικός among them), who would not believe but through signs and prodigies: see 1Co 1:22. And observe also that it is not implied that even when they had seen signs and wonders, they would believe:—the required these as a condition of their faith, but even these were rejected by them: see ch. 12:37.

But even with such inadequate conception and conditions of faith, our Lord receives the nobleman, and works the sign rather than dismiss him. It was otherwise in Mat 16:1 ff.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48. εἶπεν ὁ Ἰ. πρὸς αὐτόν. For the constr. of λέγειν here and at v. 49, see on 2:3.

The answer of Jesus was neither “Yes” nor “No.” It almost conveys a feeling of disappointment that the working of “signs” should be expected of Him. The Samaritan villagers had accepted Him because of His words alone, without any signs (4:41, 42).

The collocation σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα does not occur again in Jn., but it is frequent in the Greek Bible (Exo 7:3, Isa 8:18, Isa 20:3, Dan 4:2, Dan 4:3, Dan 4:6:27, Mat 24:24, Mar 13:22, Act 2:19, Act 2:22, Act 2:43, Act 2:4:30, Act 2:5:12, Act 2:6:8, Act 2:7:36, Act 2:14:3, Act 2:15:12, Rom 15:19, 2Co 12:12, 2Th 2:9, Heb 2:4). τέρας, “a prodigy,” never occurs in the N.T. except in conjunction with σημεῖον. No doubt a σημεῖον need not be miraculous, but the Jews, like all the peoples of early ages, were more ready to see the Divine power in what seemed to be “supernatural” than in the “natural” order; and it is not likely that they would have distinguished sharply a σημεῖον from a τέρας. Jn. is specially prone to use the word σημεῖον when speaking of the “works” of Jesus (see Introd., p. clxxvi, and also on 2:11, where the relation between faith and “signs” in the Fourth Gospel is considered).

οὐ μὴ πιστεύσητε. This might be interrogative: “Will you not believe without signs?” But more probably it is categorical: “You will not believe, etc.” That the Jews “seek signs” (1Co 1:22) was as true at Cana as in Jerusalem. The plural πιστεύσητε may indicate that the words, although addressed to an individual, include in their reference a whole class of people to which the nobleman belonged.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 48. “Jesus therefore said to him: Unless ye see signs and wonders ye will in no wise believe.”

This reply of Jesus is perplexing; for it seems to suppose that this man asked for the miracle to the end of believing, which is certainly not the case. But the difficulty is explained by the plurals, ye see, ye will believe, which prove that this expression is not the reply to the father’s request, but a reflection which He makes on occasion of that request. It is true, He addresses the remark to the man who is the occasion of it (πρὸς αὐτόν), but He speaks thus, with reference to all the Galilean people, whose moral tendency this man represents, to His view, at this moment. Indeed, the disposition which Jesus thus meets at the moment when He sets foot again on Israelitish soil, is the tendency to see in Him only a thaumaturge (worker of miracles); and He is so much the more painfully affected since He has just passed two days in Samaria, in contact with an altogether opposite spirit. There, it was as the Saviour of souls that He was welcomed. Here, it is bodily cures which are immediately asked of Him. He seems to be fit for nothing but to heal. And He is obliged to confess—such is the true meaning of His word— that if He refuses to play this part, there is reason to fear that no one will believe, or rather, according to the slightly ironical turn of expression of which He makes use (οὐ μή), “that it is not to be feared that any one will believe.”

There is likewise the expression of a painful feeling in the accumulation of the two nearly synonymous terms σημεῖα and τέρατα, signs and wonders.The first designates the miracle as related to the fact of the invisible world which it manifests; the second characterizes it as related to external nature, whose laws it sets at defiance. The latter term, therefore, brings out with more force the sensible character of the supernatural manifestation. The meaning, therefore, is: “You must have signs; and you are not satisfied unless these signs have the character of wonders.” Some have found in ἴδητε, ye see, an allusion to the request which is addressed to Him to go personally to the sick person, which proves, it is said, that the father wishes to see the healing with his own eyes. But in that case ἴδητε ought to stand at the beginning; and the meaning is forced.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.