The Seven Sign of John
The first of the seven signs mentioned by John is the changing of water to wine at the
marriage in Cana. (John 2:1-11) While this sign may not have seemed to be the majestic entry
that some may have expected, John states that Jesus did this that He might for the first time in
His ministry, “reveal His glory”. (John 2:11) It was here that Jesus begins to show Himself for
who He was and bring people into belief. Fulton Sheen states that His interaction with His
mother is a fitting echo of the Protoevangelium, marking the commencement of His redemptive
ministry as the seed that would crush the serpent’s head.2
The second miracle is the healing of the official’s son in the city of Capernaum. (John
4:46-54) This miracle is like the marriage in Cana, in that to purpose of showing His glory, and
gaining belief. Jesus was not acting upon command, but He was doing performing that people
would believe, while never doing things to persuade the skeptic.3 It is worth noting that this man did not have to see to believe but His belief is based on who Jesus claimed to be, which is the
intent of John’s writing.
The healing of the paralytic man is the third sign that John records in his gospel. (John
5:1-15) This healing took place in Bethesda and brings to the forefront another points of Jesus’
identity. The healing of the paralyzed man takes place on the Sabbath which brings to light the
newness of Jesus’ ministry over the deadness of the old forms of Judaism.4 Another important
aspect of this sign is its proof that He was indeed the Christ that had been prophesied. We can
see this clearly because Jesus takes upon Himself to first forgive the man’s sin before healing
him physically. This would indeed be a key factor leading into the feeding of the five thousand.
After passing over the halfway point in the signs of Christ, John displays for us a miracle
that is most clearly coupled with the teaching that follows it. Jesus’ multiplication, or creation of
the loaves and fishes clearly indicates, as in Cana His power to create, but He leads directly into
the discourse on the Bread of Life.5 This teaching is also marked by a decrease in those that
followed Him for the sake of His miracles but rejected them as a sign of Who He really was. In
chapter 6, John conveys to the reader that there are no true seekers, but Him that came to seek.
(John 6:44)
The account of the feeding of the five thousand in at Galilee, very quickly leads into the
narrative that John gives of sign number five. Jesus directs His disciples to cross over the sea of
Galilee but does not follow them into the boat that they are taking. He does however follow them
on foot, literally waling on the waters. (John 6:16-24) It seems that John again is seeking to show
the reader that Christ is the fulfilment of the Jewish religion. John is conveying that the crossing
of the Sea of Galilee is a symbolic fulfillment of the Exodus narrative. Jesus as the greater Moses, as he has already told us both explicitly (John 1:16–17) and implicitly (Moses could only
draw water from the rock, while Jesus could draw wine from the rock, the stone jars).6 In this
instance, Jesus not only splits the waters but walks upon them.
The sixth sign of Jesus is another point that is recorded to show that even the events that
transpired prior to the actual sign were put in place by God to show the glory of the Son. The
healing of the man blind from birth opens with the question of why the man was blind to begin
with. Th disciple directly ask whether it was his sin or the sin of hos parent, to which Jesus
respond that it is neither but so God may be glorified. (John 9:1-7) Jesus turns this again into a
way to convey to those around Him that He is the light of the world and will bring spiritual sight
in His wake.
The last, and most lengthy narrative of a sign in John’s gospel is the raising of the four-day dead body of Lazarus in Bethany. (Luke 11:1-45) John uses this last miracle, link again with
the “I AM” sayings of Christ to show forth that He was not only able to raise the dead, but He
was Himself the “resurrection and the life”. (John 11:25)
The summary of the message of Jesus as recorded by the apostle John, is that He was who He
claimed to be. Jesus was able use the signs and miracles that He performed to bring a spotlight to
the core of His message, and that message was the He was God dwelling among His people.
These signs were given to both the believer and the unbeliever, to either strengthen their belief,
or judge their unbelief. It has been said that the same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay, and
this is indeed what the light of the signs from the Son of God do in the hearts of men. The signs were performed, the glory was show, the teaching was given, and this was always successful. His
word never came back void, but did what it was intended to do, whether in assuring belief, or
handing in judgment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Blomberg, Craig L., Jesus, and the Gospels (B&H Publishing Group, 1993). Pg. 184.
2 Sheen, Fulton J., The Marriage Feast at Cana, (The World's First Love 1952).
3 Blomberg, Craig L., Jesus, and the Gospels (B&H Publishing Group, 1993). Pg. 189.
4 Ibid., pg. 189.
5 Ibid., pg. 185.
6 Ponder, Doug. "Why did Jesus Walk in Water?" (Tabletalk, March 2020)
Comments
Post a Comment