The Meaning of John 4:50 Explained

John 4:50

KJV: Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

YLT: Jesus saith to him, 'Be going on; thy son doth live.' And the man believed the word that Jesus said to him, and was going on,

Darby: Jesus says to him, Go, thy son lives. And the man believed the word which Jesus said to him, and went his way.

ASV: Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. The man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him, and he went his way.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Jesus  saith  unto him,  Go thy way;  thy  son  liveth.  And  the man  believed  the word  that  Jesus  had spoken  unto him,  and  he went his way. 

What does John 4:50 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus did not do what the father asked, but He gave him a promise instead: his son would live. The official seized the promise and departed for home alone demonstrating that he believed Jesus could heal from a distance. If he had refused to go home without Jesus, he would have been disbelieving Jesus" word. He chose not to insist on receiving evidence and exercised faith without tangible proof. Thus he believed in Jesus in a deeper sense than he had at first.
"The official became a model of what it means to believe apart from signs." [1]

Context Summary

John 4:46-54 - The Reward Of Trusting Jesus' Word
The particular interest of this beautiful incident is in John 4:50. The father had such faith in our Lord's promise that he started off at once on his homeward journey, needing no further assurance that all was well. It would appear, indeed, that he went to some inn or caravansary on his way back, because there would have been ample time between the seventh hour (one o'clock in the day) and nightfall to get from Cana down to Capernaum. Why should he hasten! The boy was living, doing well, since the Master had said so. He was sure of it and thanked God for it and gladly took the opportunity of a quiet night's rest, to sleep off the effects of long watching, intense anxiety, and the swift journey to Cana. When his servants met him with the news that the boy was healed, he inquired at what hour the change had taken place, merely to corroborate his own conclusions. What a happy family that was! This nobleman may have been Chuza, Herod's steward, Luke 8:3, or Manaen, Herod's foster-brother, Acts 13:1. Why should we not have the same simple faith in the word of God's promise! [source]

Chapter Summary: John 4

1  Jesus talks with a woman of Samaria, and reveals his identity to her
27  His disciples marvel
31  He declares to them his zeal for God's glory
39  Many Samaritans believe on him
43  He departs into Galilee, and heals the ruler's son that lay sick at Capernaum

Greek Commentary for John 4:50

Thy son liveth [ο υιος σου ζηι]
“Thy son is living,” and will not now die, Jesus means. Words too good and gracious to be true. His son is healed without Jesus even going to Capernaum, “absent treatment” so to speak, but without the cure being absent. Believed the word Instantaneous faith (aorist active indicative), trusted the word (dative case λογωι — logōi). Went his way Inchoative imperfect middle, “started on his way,” acted on his faith. [source]
Went his way [ἐπορεύετο]
But thus the force of the imperfect is lost, which harmonizes with the succeeding sentence: he was proceeding on his way, and as he was now going down, etc. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 4:50

John 4:51 As he was now going down [ηδη αυτου καταβαινοντος]
Genitive absolute inspite of the fact that αυτωι — autōi (associative instrumental case with υπηντησαν — hupēntēsan aorist active indicative of υπανταω — hupantaō) is near. That his son lived Present active indicative preserved in indirect discourse (cf. the words of Jesus in John 4:50). Note παις — pais here (only example in John), υιος — huios in John 4:50, παιδιον — paidion (diminutive of tenderness) in John 4:49. [source]
John 4:53 So the father knew [εγνω ουν ο πατηρ]
Second aorist active indicative of γινωσκω — ginōskō Inferential use of ουν — oun Himself believed Not just the word of Jesus (John 4:50), but complete faith in Jesus himself as the Messiah, absolute use of πιστευω — pisteuō as in John 1:7. And his whole house All his family, the first example of a whole family believing in Jesus like the later case of Crispus (Acts 18:8). [source]

What do the individual words in John 4:50 mean?

Says to him - Jesus Go the son of you lives Believed man the word that said and he went on his way
Λέγει αὐτῷ Ἰησοῦς Πορεύου υἱός σου ζῇ Ἐπίστευσεν ἄνθρωπος τῷ λόγῳ ὃν εἶπεν καὶ ἐπορεύετο

Λέγει  Says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
αὐτῷ  to  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
Πορεύου  Go 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Middle or Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.
υἱός  son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
σου  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ζῇ  lives 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ζάω  
Sense: to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead).
Ἐπίστευσεν  Believed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.
ἄνθρωπος  man 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄνθρωπος  
Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
λόγῳ  word 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: λόγος  
Sense: of speech.
ὃν  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
ἐπορεύετο  he  went  on  his  way 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.