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.

Little faith had suddenly grown strong. In Jesus' presence, under the impact of the imperative word, and in the light of all he remembered from Jerusalem, he believed the word of Jesus. Having believed, he obeyed at once, returning to Capernaum as soon as he could. Later, it is stated that the healing of his son occurred at the seventh hour, equivalent to our seven o'clock; and, on the question of whether this was Roman or Jewish time and A.M. or P.M., the fact of the nobleman's not arriving home until the next day suggests seven o'clock in the evening. Otherwise, we would have to account for his not returning a distance of a mere sixteen miles immediately. If it was at 7:00 P.M., the nobleman would have delayed his departure until the morrow, due to the inevitable dangers of night travel in those times.

Why did not Jesus accept the nobleman's plea to go down to Capernaum and heal his son? The question becomes even more pointed when it is recalled that in another case, that of healing the centurion's servant, Jesus was invited to do what he did here, merely speak the word; but in that instance the Lord proposed personally to enter his home. As Trench commented:

Here, being entreated to come, he does not; but sends his healing word; there, being asked to speak at a distance the word of healing, he rather proposes himself to come; for here, as Chrysostom explains it well, a narrow and poor faith is enlarged and deepened; there a strong faith is crowned and rewarded. By not going, he increased the nobleman's faith; by offering to go, he brings out and honors that centurion's humility.[10]