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John 4:54

in John 4

This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judæa into Galilee.

KJV

This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judea into Galilee.

This verse in John 4

Commentary

13 notes on this verse
The saying is ambiguous. On the one hand it means something like this: In coming from Judea into Galilee Jesus has performed two signs. The second sign is the one concerning the royal official's son. On the other hand it could mean something like this: While there are two signs that Jesus performed in Galilee, he did the second after he came from Judea to Galilee. The latter is the meaning to be accepted as correct.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 430.

proposed

(Tr. xvi. c. 3) The Samaritans believed on the strength of His words only: that whole house believed on the strength of the miracle which had been brought in it. The Evangelist adds, This is again the second miracle which Jesus did, when He was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 253.

proposed

The sentence is ambiguous. Taken one way, it means that Jesus after coming to Galilee, performed two miracles, of which that of healing the nobleman's son was the second: taken another, it means, that of the two miracles which Jesus performed in Galilee, the second was done after coming from Judæa into Galilee. The latter is the true and received meaning. Mystically, the two journeys of Christ into Galilee signify His two advents; (c. 56.). at the first of which He makes us His guest at supper, and gives us wine to drink; at the second, He raises up the nobleman's son who was at the point of death, i. e. the Jewish people, who, after the fulness of the Gentiles, attain themselves to salvation. For, as the great King of Kings is He, whom God hath seated upon His holy hill of Sion, so the lesser king is he, who saw his day, and was glad, i. e. Abrahame. And therefore his sick son is the Jewish people fallen from the true religion, and thrown into a fever in consequence by the fiery darts of the enemy. And we know that the saints of old, even when they had put off the covering of the flesh, made the people the object of their care: for we read in Maccabees, after the death of Jeremiah, This is Jeremias the prophet of the Lord, who prayeth much for the people. (2 Macc. 12) Abraham therefore prays to our Saviour to succour his diseased people. Again, the word of power, Thy son liveth, comes forth from Cana, i. e. the work of the Word, the healing of the nobleman's son, is done in Capernaum, i. e. the land of consolation. The nobleman's son signifies the class of believers who though diseased are yet not altogether destitute of fruits. The words, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe, are spoken of the Jewish people in general, or perhaps of the nobleman, i. e. Abraham himself, in a certain sense. […]

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on the Gospel of John 36 · Written before 407.

proposed

Consider, for instance, what the Evangelist in this place saith, "This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when He was come out of Judaea into Galilee." Even the word "second" he has added not without cause, but to exalt yet more the praise of the Samaritans, by showing that even when a second miracle had been wrought, they who beheld it had not yet reached as high as those who had not seen one.

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on John, Chapter 4 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

"This again is the second sign that Jesus performed: the second," namely with respect to the one that took place at the wedding: "when he had come from Judea into Galilee," so that, because they had not believed through the first, they might believe through …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on John · Written before 1107.

proposed

Why does the evangelist say that this was the second miracle Jesus performed in Cana? In order to show what praise the Samaritans deserve; for although, he says, this was the second miracle, nevertheless the Galileans did not reach the height of those who had …
7 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on John · Written before 1274.

proposed

Finally, this miracle is linked with the previous one, This was the second sign Jesus had performed on returning from Judea to Galilee. We can understand this in two ways. In one way, that our Lord performed two miracles during this one trip from Judea …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

This is again the second miracle that Jesus did,.... That is, in that place, in Cana of Galilee; for otherwise, in Jerusalem and Judea, he had done many miracles, between the former and this; see Joh 2:23; and so the following words explain it: when he was come out of Judea into Galilee; this was the first he wrought, after his coming out of Judea into Galilee, this time, and was the second that he wrought in Cana of Galilee; see Joh 2:11.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Christ's Journey into Galilee. 1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judæa, and departed again into Galilee. We read of Christ's coming into Judea ( ch. iii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

The Nineteenth Century4 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

This - second miracle - The first miracle which Christ performed was in this same city of Cana, just after his baptism; and this second took place after his arrival here from Jerusalem, whence, we have seen, he was driven by the persecution raised against him by the scribes and Pharisees. By construing the word παλιν, again, with ελθων, he came, that confusion which is evident in the common version is entirely removed.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.
Four great lessons stand out boldly on the face of this passage. Let us fix them in our memories, and use them continually as we journey through life. We learn, firstly, that the rich have afflictions as well as the poor. We read of a nobleman in deep anxiety because his son was sick. We need not doubt that every means of restoration was used that money could procure. But money is not almighty. The sickness increased, and the nobleman's son lay at the point of death.
Four great lessons stand out boldly on the face of this passage. Let us fix them in our memories, and use them continually as we journey through life. We learn, firstly, that the rich have afflictions as well as the poor. We read of a nobleman in deep anxiety because his son was sick. We need not doubt that every means of restoration was used that money could procure. But money is not almighty. The sickness increased, and the nobleman's son lay at the point of death. The lesson is one which needs to be constantly impressed on the minds of men. There is no more common, or more mischievous error, than to suppose that the rich have no cares. The rich are as liable to sickness as the poor; and have a hundred anxieties beside, of which the poor know nothing at all. Silks and satins often cover very heavy hearts. The dwellers in palaces often sleep more uneasily than the dwellers in poor cottages . Gold and silver can lift no man beyond the reach of trouble. They may shut out debt and rags, but they cannot shut out care, disease, and death. The higher the tree, the more it is shaken by storms. The broader its branches, the greater is the mark which it exposes to the tempest. David was a happier man when he kept his father's sheep at Bethlehem, than when he dwelt as a king at Jerusalem, and governed the twelve tribes of Israel. Let the servant of Christ beware of desiring riches. They are certain cares , and uncertain comforts . Let him pray for the rich, and not envy them. How hardly shall a rich man enter the kingdom of God! Above all, let him learn to be content with such things as he has. He only is truly rich, who has treasure in heaven. We learn, secondly, in this passage, that sickness and death come to the young as well as to the old. We read of a son sick unto death, and a father in trouble about him. We see the natural order of things inverted.

The words behind it

15 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    John 4:45

    Yet when He arrived, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all the great things He had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they had gone there as well.

    it leads to

    • John 2:23

      While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.

    • John 2:13–16

      When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

    • John 3:2

      He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were…

    • Luke 9:53

      But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.

    • Deuteronomy 16:16

      Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast…

Where this verse is studied

About John

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
Jesus and the Woman of Samaria — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 4; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 36; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.434-35; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.