John Calvin Commentary John 4:50

"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." — John 4:50 (ASV)

Thy son liveth. The first thing that strikes us here is the astonishing kindness and condescension of Christ: He bears with the man’s ignorance and extends His power beyond what had been expected. He requested that Christ would come to the place and cure his son. He thought it possible that his son could be freed from sickness and disease, but not that he could be raised up after he was dead. Therefore, he urges Christ to hurry, so that his son's death would not prevent his recovery.

Accordingly, when Christ pardons both, we may conclude from it how highly He values even a small measure of faith. It is noteworthy that Christ, while He does not comply with the man's desire, grants much more than he had requested, for He testifies to the present health of his son.

Thus it frequently happens that our Heavenly Father, while He does not comply with our wishes in every detail, relieves us by unexpected methods, so that we may learn not to prescribe to Him in anything. When He says, Thy son liveth, He means that the son has been rescued from the danger of death.

The man believed the word which Jesus had spoken to him. Having come with the conviction that Christ was a prophet of God, he was, on that account, so disposed to believe that as soon as he heard a single word, he seized it and fixed it in his heart.

Though he did not have all the respect that he ought to have had for the power of Christ, yet a short promise suddenly awakened new confidence in his mind, so that he believed the life of his son to be contained in a single word of Christ. And such is the promptness with which we ought to receive the word of God, but it is very far from always producing such an immediate effect on the hearers.

For how many will you find who profit as much from many sermons as this man, who was half a heathen, profited from hearing a single word? All the more, then, we ought to labor with zeal to rouse ourselves from our sluggishness and, above all, to pray that God would touch our hearts in such a way that we may not be less willing to believe than He is ready and gracious to promise.