John 7 Signs Signs
SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE A SIGN (The Five Man Electrical Band 1971)
“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2 and both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. 5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him” (John 2:1-11).
The Gospel of John is a collection of signs. This is most obviously true in the first twelve chapters. There are traditionally seven signs in the Gospel of John, although I'd argue the death and resurrection of Jesus is the 8th and culmination of all the others.
As John says, in addition to the resurrection, there were "many other signs Jesus also performed... which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31).
John carefully chose a collection of signs intended to persuade the reader to believe. When you read through John, remember to associate the word "sign" with the word "believe." That is their stated purpose.
Some of the signs are specifically detailed in the story (John 2:11; 4:54; 6:14; etc.), while others are briefly referenced in passing:
"a large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick" (John 6:2), and "many believed in His name, observing the signs which He was doing" (John 2:23).
These signs caused Nicodemus to come up to Jesus at night saying, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him" (John 3:2).
What signs did Nicodemus see? We're not told. We just know after cleansing the temple, Jesus highlighted many signs in Jerusalem during Passover (John 2:18, 23). Nicodemus apparently saw these and arrived at some vital conclusions about Jesus, though the specific signs aren't detailed. As John says, if every sign were recorded, "the world itself could not contain the books" (John 21:25).
What is a Sign?
At this point, let us step back and talk about what a sign actually is. If you think it's a miracle, there's a good chance you are missing the point. The King James Version does not help us when it translates the word "sign" as "miracle" in the Gospel of John. In the same way people misunderstand Jesus' teachings, they also misunderstand Jesus' signs.
Jesus would often say physical things, but the true meaning was found on a deeper, heavenly level. To only hear the physical was to miss it entirely. To think Jesus was talking only about the physical temple (John 2:19-21), or physical birth (John 3:3-4), or physical water from a well (John 4:10-15), or physical bread (John 6:27), or physical sleep (John 11:11-13) is to miss His true point. This is also true of the signs.
A sign is a physical display that points to something else. A sign pointing to California is not California. It's just a sign, but following it leads you to California.
That's why it's important to distinguish between a sign and a miracle. The word sign does not fit our modern definition of a miracle. In fact, no word in the New Testament means "a suspension of natural law" or "a supernatural act from God."
The words translated as a miracle in your Bible are literally the words for "sign," "power," or "wonder.”
4591/92 – Semaino (sign); 1411 – Dunamis (miracle); 2285 Thambos (wonder). Each of these sometimes refers to supernatural events we call miracles, but they can also refer to events that are not miracles.
The New Testament doesn't really use a word that exactly correlates to the modern English idea of "miracle." Any great act of God, whether miraculous or not, is a power or a wonder. Any symbolic demonstration to teach you something, whether miraculous or not, is a sign.
A sign is a symbolic demonstration that might or might not be miraculous. In John it usually is miraculous, but the physical miracle is intended to teach you a heavenly reality.
There is a rich history of signs in the Old Testament. The rainbow after the flood was a sign or token (226 owth) (Genesis 9:12-13). It was a physical demonstration of a truth from heaven. Circumcision was a sign (Genesis 17:11). Sabbath observance was a sign (Ezekiel 20:20). Isaiah walked naked for three years as a sign (Isaiah 20:1-3). Ezekiel reclined on his left side for 390 days and on his right side for 40 days as a "sign" (Ezekiel 4:1-8).
Signs are an important part of the Hebrew Bible, and to say Jesus performed signs places Him within this great prophetic tradition. When Jesus cleansed the temple, He was asked what the meaning of the sign was (John 2:18). They saw the physical demonstration, but they wanted to know what it meant. That's like seeing Isaiah walk around naked and wondering, "Why? What does it mean?" Jesus' signs mean something.
Signs That Teach
Remember the question they asked, "When the Christ appears, will He do more miracles (signs) than this man has done?" (John 7:31). When they saw the signs, they realized Jesus was a prophet, perhaps like Elijah. He did so many they started questioning if even the Christ (Messiah) would do as many. It hadn't yet become clear that Jesus was the Christ.
Shortly after, "Some of the people...were saying, 'This certainly is the Prophet.' Others were saying, 'This is the Christ'" (John 7:40-41). The signs were teaching people the true identity of Jesus.
When you are reading about a sign, don't just look at the physical action of Jesus. As amazing as it may be, don't just marvel at the miracle. Instead, search for the spiritual meaning of it. Where is the sign pointing? What does it tell you about the identity of Jesus? This is where things get interesting and fun.
Sometimes, the text will hint strongly at what the spiritual meaning of the sign is. Healing the blind man clearly illustrates how Jesus, as the Light of the World, gives spiritual sight, but those who reject Jesus, even though they may see physically, are blind to the things of God (John 9).
But some signs do not explicitly tell you what the spiritual meaning is. They leave textual clues that make you wonder. It is into those signs we are challenged to dig a little deeper, to use our Scriptural imaginations and search for what God has left buried for us. This will admittedly be a little more subjective, but I think it's a wonderful exercise in "seeing the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
When you read the signs in John, don't miss the spiritual substance. Think about them, pray about them, ponder them, meditate on them, and look for clues. Read them over and over again, and see what you find. That's what we'll be doing together in this next section.