Thoughts About "Signs"

Signs in John's Gospel

Miracles have as their object the material, created world. They are events in which natural laws, the laws of physics or chemistry that we find so apparent and inviolate are in fact suspended, abrogated, or ignored entirely. During these suspended moments a materially impossible event becomes possible and becomes part of ordinary life. Once effected, the result is as "natural" had natural processes somehow brought the same event.

Some have noted that any sufficiently advanced technology may perform an action that seems to suspend natural laws, but in fact is well in keeping with nature's way. In contrast to this, Scripture does not present its miracles as very cool parlor tricks. Rather, they are presented as intrusions of the supernatural into the ordinary passing of time.

If these miracles took great energy, concentration, and inordinate mental anguish for Jesus, we find no evidence in John for this, nor in the rest of the gospels either. John presents us a man able to bypass the laws of nature by virtue of his own nature whenever he so desires, such as the famous walking-on-water event.

Yet, one might find it remarkable that, if indeed Jesus had such power beyond the natural, he should have been so sparing of it. But Jesus appears to have little interest in the undoing of nature for convenience's sake. (After all, if one receives the prologue to the gospel, nature - the created order of things - was his doing!) He bypasses nature to demonstrate compassion and to give evidence concerning his person.

Compassion, however, does not require supernatural ability; rather, it requires the will of a person to act outside one's own personal convenience. In keeping with this, the major reason for Jesus' miracles tells of his connection to power well beyond nature, beyond this created order.

The Gospel of John refers to Jesus’ miraculous deeds not as “miracles” or “wonders”, but always uses the term “sign”. (On one occasion, in 4:48, Jesus uses both terms “signs and wonders” in a general sense, but not of any one particular miracle.) Of all the things Jesus did, which John assures us could not be contained in all the world’s books, John tells us he chose particular ones to elicit in his readers faith in Jesus as the Christ of God.

Overall, the New Testament uses the term “sign” some four dozen times or so. The term draws attention to an identifying aspect of a thing that makes an event unique or recognizable in some manner. And, the New Testament's interest regarding “signs” tells of identifying characteristics to make evident God’s sending of Jesus.

So, John tells of nine specific extraordinary, miraculous events; two are not explicitly identified as signs (6:16-21, walking on water; 21:6, haul of fish), leaving seven signs proper in keeping with John’s interests.

Why does not John refer to those other two miracles as signs? He does not say. Perhaps what he has in mind is that since these were more private, and not public matters, they were not consequently subject to public scrutiny as the others were. Or perhaps he wrote with less scrutinizing of the matter than we're reading it. In any case, it appears that John chooses his signs as those events for which considerable numbers of people stand as eye witnesses.

Sign and Citation
Changes water into wine - 2:9, 11
Heals a child - 4:51, 54
Heals paralyzed man - 5:9; 7:31
Multiplying food - 6:11, 14
Gives sight to a man blind - 9:7, 16
Gives life to a dead man - 11:44, 12:18
Comes back to life himself - 21:14; 2:18-19

Six of these miracles are identified immediately as “signs.” John identifies the seventh and culminating event likewise as a sign, the resurrection of Jesus, but one must keep in mind the early part of the gospel in order to make the explicit connection as a sign.

There is a progression of depth and power to the signs that are given. From a lighthearted wedding feast to the raising of Lazarus from the dead, John offers us a slow revealing of Jesus’ supernatural power. Water to wine, healing a deathly sick child, healing a man paralyzed for 38 years, multiplying food to feed 5000, giving a man born blind sight, calling a man dead and buried four days back to life, raising him from the dead.

Why does John call these signs? A sign points to something. These signs point to what? They point to the inevitable conclusion that the only person who could effect such events must be one with God. Events that nature, the creation, cannot bring about, must draw from the divine, from the Creator, from beyond nature. Human beings, without aid, cannot do these things. These signs point to Jesus as one in intimate and unique relationship with God, through which relationship God acts powerfully to change nature’s events.

And if this be so, that Jesus has such relationship with God that he may act outside natural flow of events, then what he says must also have the same source for authority and power. If he can feed bread to 5000 people starting with 5 loaves, then when he says, “I am the bread of life,” it must be so. If he can give sight to a man born blind, then when he says, “I am the light of the world,” it must be so. If he can raise a dead man to life, then when he says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” it must be so.

And if God raises Jesus from the dead, then when Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me,” it must be so.

And this brings us to John’s use of the miracles as signs: the signs point to what Jesus said. They are the exclamation points of Jesus' words. These signs give testimony to his relationship with God. Just so, Jesus calls us on more than one occasion to consider his works, if we cannot stomach his words. 5:36; 10:25; 14:11.

"If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 10:37-38

The signs point to the authority in his commands: "And this is his commandment, that we love one another as he loved us."

Other uses of the term “sign” in John speak generically either of other unidentified miracles Jesus performed, or are further discussion of the ones we have mentioned already.

1. 2:23 Many believed when they saw the signs he did
2. 3:2 Nicodemus acknowledges the signs Jesus does as evidence of God’s presence
3. 4:48 Unless you see “signs and wonders” you will not believe
4. 6:2 In Galilee/Tiberias Jesus worked “signs on the diseased”
5. 6:26 You do not seek because you saw signs, but because of food
6. 6:30 What sign do you do to elicit belief in you?
7. 7:31 Will the true Messiah do more signs than Jesus?
8. 10:14 John did no signs, but what he said of Jesus is true
9. 12:37 Jesus did “many signs” but the people did not believe
10. 20:30 Jesus did “many other signs” but not written down

So the demonstration of Jesus' power outside of nature points to the authority of his person: that his words speak the will and desire of none less than God. "Hear ye him!" exclaims the Lord God of creation.

Yes, Lord, we hear. Help us hear.