John 4:48

48 So Jesus said to him, "Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you will never believe!"

John 4:48 Meaning and Commentary

John 4:48

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 4:48 In-Context

46 Now he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And [there] was at Capernaum a certain royal official whose son was sick.

47 This man, [when he] heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, went to him and asked that he come down and heal his son, for he was about to die.

48 So Jesus said to him, "Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you will never believe!"

49 The royal official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"

50 Jesus said to him, "Go, your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he departed.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[people]" is supplied in the translation because the Greek verb ("see") is plural