Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.”
Parallel Translations
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Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.”
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Then sayde Iesus vnto him: excepte ye se signes and wodres ye cannot beleve.
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Then saide Iesus vnto him, Except ye see signes and wonders, ye will not beleeue.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
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Cross-references (28)
Passages linked to John 4:48 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:22 For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,
- Hebrews 2:4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
- Daniel 4:2 It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked toward me.
- John 12:37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
- Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
- Romans 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God’s Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;
- Matthew 24:24 For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
- Mark 13:22 For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
- Luke 16:31 “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’ ”
- Acts 14:3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
- 2 Corinthians 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were worked among you in all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty works.
- Numbers 14:11 Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have worked among them?
- Luke 10:18 He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.
- John 2:18 The Jews therefore answered him, “What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?”
- John 4:41-42 Many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of your speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
- John 15:24 If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father.
- Acts 2:43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
- Acts 4:30 while you stretch out your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.”
- Acts 7:36 This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.
- Daniel 6:27 He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
- Matthew 16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
- Matthew 27:42 “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.
- Acts 2:19 I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
- Acts 5:12 By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. They were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.
- Acts 6:8 Stephen, full of faith and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.
- Acts 15:12 All the multitude kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting what signs and wonders God had done among the nations through them.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see…
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain It may seem strange to such as do not…
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.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then said Jesus unto him,.... With some degree of…
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.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Unless ye see signs and wonders - Although the…
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.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 48. Except ye see signs and wonders, c.]…
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.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Except ye see signs ... - This was spoken…
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.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Except ye see signs, &c.--He did believe, both as…
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.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 48. See signs—How totally unlike the Samaritans, from whom…
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.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 48. signs and wonders] Christ’s miracles are never mere…
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (48) Signs and wonders.—See Note on Joh_2:11. The words…
(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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Then said Jesus to him as representing the whole…
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.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 48. Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will…
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.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not…
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)
Read full note →
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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:48 Jesus sharply criticized the Galileans who desired miraculous…
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.