“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
“ye” (KJV) or “you people” (NIV) is plural. Jesus is not just speaking to the father of the sick boy.
“signs” = Again, the miracles of Jesus had meaning; they pointed men to God and attested that the One doing them was acting under the authority and by the power of God.
“wonders” are something beyond explanation which startled men and caused them to be amazed or astonished.
“Jesus wanted men to believe in him because of his self-evidencing character and words…But the people required to have their faith buttressed by miracles. There is a vast difference between believing in a man, and believing his credentials.” (McGarvey TFG 158)
Faith brought about by the observance of miracles is never despised in the Bible, but it is not the kind of faith which God wants us to have; it is a second-class form of faith and not the highest kind of faith. Jesus never rejected those who came only because of miracles, but He certainly desired more. We can almost hear His cry here and in these verses: (John 2:23-24, 10:38, 14:11).
John 2:23-24 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.
John 10:38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
John 14:11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
Jesus wanted men to believe what He said just because He said it; and so they should. How can we not believe He Who is the Truth? (John 14:6, 1:14, 17)
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
The real irony of this passage is that Jesus just came from Samaria where no sign was required for their faith except His word. The Jews, God’s people, needed a sign to believe, but the Samaritans believed just because Jesus said it was so. Their faith was based upon His character and His words and was a higher form of faith than that of the Jews.
We all want to see God’s miraculous intervention or hear His voice with our ears or feel His physical touch. This is not a bad thing, but it is also not a faith thing. Our faith is imperfect. Sometimes we pray that God will do a certain thing so that His name will be glorified. Part of the reason for praying that way is that others will see what He has done and put their faith in Him. We are wishing imperfect faith on others. But the other reason for that prayer is really for us. We want our faith reinforced by His signs and wonders. Is this wrong? No. But is it best? No. The kind of faith God wants us to have is not the kind of faith that steps forward because we can see where we are going. He wants us to blindly trust Him and step forward when we can’t see where we are going. Just step because He said to.
The question becomes: how much is your faith dependent upon His signs and wonders? Is your faith the most excellent faith of the Samaritans, which was based solely on His word or do you need God to prove to you that He is going to do what He said?