Limitless Word
Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.
John 4:50 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
  • 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.
  • BSB “Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed.
  • NKJV Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
  • NASB Jesus *said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus said the boy would live, and the man believed his word and went home. This is the heart of the story: faith that takes Christ at his word.

Overview

Without going to Capernaum, Jesus heals by his word alone, and the father trusts that word and departs. This is precisely the faith Jesus called for, believing without first seeing. It pictures the gospel response God seeks: resting on the bare promise of Christ, whose word carries divine power and authority.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Matt 8:13Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.
  • Rom 4:20–21Yet, looking to the promise of God, he didn’t waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to God,
  • Mark 7:29–30He said to her, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
  • Luke 17:14When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.
  • Heb 11:19concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.
  • Acts 14:9–10He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole,
  • Mark 9:23–24Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
  • John 11:40Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
  • 1 Kgs 17:13–15Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 4:50YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 4:50 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.