Topics from the Gospel of John
Part II: The Meaning of the
Signs
Merrill C. Tenney
One of the peculiarities of the Fourth
Gospel is the fact that
its
author chose to hang its key by the back door. The purpose of
the
Gospel of John is not stated in the opening paragraph as in
Luke's
Gospel, but rather at the end. At the conclusion of chapter
20
John explains his motive and method of writing in these words:
"Many
other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence
of
the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have
been
written 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).
The first prominent word in this short
summary is signs
(shmei?a).1
This word (shmei?on) means (1) the
sign or distinguish-
ing mark by which something is
known; (2) a miracle, either of
divine
or demonic nature; (3) a portent of an impending catas-
trophe.2
It is used throughout the New Testament, chiefly in the
Gospels
and Acts. In the Gospel narratives shmei?on seems to carry
the
connotation of divine communication, usually a warning of
events
yet to come (Matt. 16:1, 3, 4; 24:3, 24, 30; Mark 13:4, 22;
1 Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. " shmei?on," by Karl
Heinrich
Rengstorf.
2 William F.
Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A
Greek-English Lexicon of
the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (
of
EDITOR'S
NOTE: This is the second in a series of four articles, first de-
livered
by the author as the Louis S. Bauman Memorial Lectures at Grace
Theological
Seminary,
145
146
/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
Luke
2:12; 21:7, 11, 25), or a special manifestation of divine
intervention
in history (Acts 2:22, 43; 4:16, 22, 30; 7:36). In
thirteen
instances, the larger number of which appear in Acts, the
word
shmei?on is coupled with
te<rata,
"wonders." Both refer to
miracles,
but shmei?on emphasizes the
significance or purpose of
these
unusual occurrences, while te<rata refers to the marvel or
wonder
they excite. Both imply some sort of supernatural event,
presumably
of great importance.
Shmei?on appears frequently in the Septuagint as
the translation
of
tOx
"sign," "pledge," or "token." It conveys the idea
of a land-
mark
(Gen. 1:14), a protecting identification (4:15), a pledge
(17:11),
a miracle (Exod. 7:3, 9), a memorial (13:9), a sample
of
divine power (Isa. 7:11), and a signal (Jer. 6:1). The mean-
ing of the two terms is almost
identical, and the concept is used
equally
in both the Old and New Testaments.
Within the Gospel of John shmei?on is used
seventeen times
and
in the American Standard Version is uniformly translated "sign."
It
does not occur in the Johannine Epistles, but in
Revelation it seems
to
have much the same meaning as in John. Its use in the Gospel is
closely
connected with the structure of the book, for the entire
narrative
section from John 1:20 to 12:50, comprising the public
ministry
of Jesus, is built around the signs. The author states
explicitly
that the purpose of his writing is expressed through these
signs
and that he has selected seven from a much larger number
known
to him as the core of the discussion of Jesus' words and
works.
They may be understood as the divine endorsement of His
authority
(2:18, 23), or as illustrations of the varied nature of His
word
(4:54; 20:30).
THE OCCURRENCES OF THE SIGNS
The distribution of the signs with
their related context is as
follows:
THE
INTRODUCTION OF JESUS TO HIS FIRST DISCIPLES (1:19-51)
The first meeting of Jesus with His
future disciples took place
in
ducting
his campaign. The narrative ends with a promise included in
the
dialogue with Philip that the disciples would see a revelation of
God
in Christ superior to that of the Old Testament. The figure of
the
angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man
recalls
vividly the dream of Jacob, who saw angels ascending and
descending
on a ladder extending up to heaven (Gen. 28:12).
The Meaning of
the Signs / 147
The
Son, greater than angels, would become the new Mediator of
the
revelation of God.
THE
SIGNS (2:1-11:53)
1. The
transformation of water into wine (2:1-11). John ob-
served
that this was the first of Jesus' miracles performed after He
had
returned to
knowledgement by John the
Baptist. He seemed reluctant to accede
to
His mother's suggestion and indicated that His action from that
time
onward would be regulated by His "hour" (2:4). He implied
that
He was living by a divine schedule that fixed the timing of all
His
activities and that He could not do something merely to fulfill a
request.
The fact that He performed the miracle indicated that it
accorded
with the purpose of God in sending Him into the world.
Its
nature revealed Him as the Creator and disclosed His power
over
the chemical processes of nature. By one word of command
He
accomplished the transformation that a vine requires several
months
to produce. The miracle was witnessed by a sufficient
number
of people to establish its reality.
2. The healing of the nobleman's son (4:46-54). The second
sign
also took place in
ministry
in
sibly a courtier of
Herod Antipas, who petitioned Him to intervene
on
behalf of his son, who lay seriously ill about twenty miles distant
in
see
signs and wonders, you simply will not believe" (4:48). He
virtually
accused the nobleman of being an idle curiosity-seeker.
The
genuine concern of the latter prompted Jesus' reply: "Go your
way;
your son lives" (4:50). Responding in faith, the nobleman
retraced
his steps to
been
healed. Jesus had transcended the nobleman's highest expecta-
tion; for although
He did not visit the sick child, He gave ample
proof
that distance was no obstacle to His power.
3. The
healing of the man at
sign
in John's narrative occurred in
performed
miracles in
demus referred to
"these signs that You do" (3:2). The language
implies
that Jesus had maintained a ministry of healing that was well
publicized.
In this instance, however, Jesus took the initiative and
148
/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
approached
a man who had been waiting at the Pool of Bethesda
for
thirty-eight years. Because of the belief that the first person who
stepped
into the pool as the water was troubled would receive heal-
ing, he had remained there year
after year, but there were always
others
better able than he to take advantage of the opportunity. Jesus
questioned
him gently in order to ascertain whether he really desired
healing.
It was a test of the man's will; and at Jesus' command he
stood
and walked. Despite the long period of helplessness, during
which
his muscles would have become atrophied, he was so com-
pletely healed that he
put his bedroll on his shoulder and walked
away.
Jesus demonstrated His power over the ravages of time; for
a
paralytic of thirty-eight years would normally be incurable.
This sign, however, had other
overtones as well. Because the
healing
occurred on the Sabbath, Jesus was instantly accused of
breaking
the law of Moses. John recounts that hostility between
Jesus
and the Jewish hierarchy had already begun because of His
boldness
in expelling the commercial concessions from the
courts.
Although the issue probably died down, it still smoldered
in
the minds of the Jewish officials, and according to Mark's account
it
became a tool of the false witnesses at Jesus' trial before the San-
hedrin (Mark
14:55-58). Controversy over the Sabbath arose
frequently
and from the very first was a main point of contention.
Jesus
took the occasion to assert His authority not only over the
power
of disease, but also over the ceremonial law.
The ensuing argument with the
religious leaders of
evoked
from Jesus a defense in which He claimed unmistakably
His
relation to the Father and His functions in that relation. On the
basis
of His competence to heal He asserted His spiritual authority.
The
third sign was performed in public and began the lengthy
period
of controversy that extended until the time of His death.
4. The
feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-15). The fourth
sign
chosen by John was the feeding of the five thousand. This
miracle,
mentioned in all four Gospels, was the watershed of
Jesus'
career. It marked the height of His popularity and, as far
as
the evidence of the Gospels goes, brought to Him the largest
audience
to which He ever spoke. Matthew states that those who
partook
of the food Jesus provided included five thousand men, to
say
nothing of women and children (Matt. 14:21). To assume that
He
had the responsibility for feeding ten thousand people would
not
strain one's imagination too greatly. Using a small boy's lunch
The Meaning of
the Signs / 149
which
one of the disciples located, Jesus multiplied the simple fare
of
unleavened barley cakes and pickled fish until everyone in the
vast
crowd was satisfied. Apparently Jesus simply kept breaking
the
bread and fish and distributing it through His disciples without
any
dramatic ceremony or ostentatious announcement. Quietly but
effectively
He enlisted the aid of the disciples in the enterprise so
that
they might realize the full extent of His powers.
The multitude whom He had been
teaching and whom He had
fed
realized that He possessed unusual resources. Their initial
reaction
was to make Him their king, for they assumed that He
could
utilize His supernatural abilities to free them from Roman
rule
and to feed them. Jesus, of course, would not accept any such
proposal,
since it would be founded on an allegiance prompted by
material
rather than by spiritual motives. His refusal alienated the
people,
and the explanation of His mission that He gave immediately
afterward
in the synagogue at
pletely. The discourse
on the Bread of Life spoke of spiritual not
material
sustenance, and His emphasis on the resurrection at the
last
day (John 6:54) must have seemed totally irrelevant to them.
Furthermore,
His declaration, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of
Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in yourselves" (6:53),
mystified
them. Even many of His disciples left Him because they
could
not understand the meaning of His words. The interpretation
of
the sign which had been given to demonstrate His sufficiency
for
human need proved to be an insurmountable obstacle to their
faith.
Some glimmering of His meaning must
have penetrated the
consciousness
of the Twelve, however. When Jesus challenged them
by
saying, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" (6:67),
Simon
Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go?' You have
words
of eternal life" (6:68). "Life" or "live" occur five
times
in
the short paragraph which closes Jesus' preceding discourse, and
evidently
Peter's mention of eternal life refers to this context. Having
participated
in the action at the miracle, and having listened to the
explanation
of Jesus afterward, he was ready to stake his future on
Jesus'
mysterious promise rather than to abandon Him completely.
For
him and for his colleagues this sign became a turning point in
their
decision. They were unsure of the road ahead, but they would
follow
Jesus anyway.
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/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
5.
The walking on the water (John 6:16-21). Closely con-
nected with the
feeding of the five thousand was the sign of walking
on
the water. It is not labeled as a sign but was equally as miraculous
as
those that preceded it. In this event only the disciples were in-
volved; it was not
witnessed by the multitude. Jesus had dismissed
the
disciples and had sent them back to
the
northwest corner of the
evening,
the winds pour down from the western heights to the sur-
face
of the lake, which is about six hundred feet below sea level,
and
create a rough sea, rolling from west to east. The disciples
were
struggling to maintain headway on their homeward voyage
and
were making little if any progress. As they rowed with their
backs
to the wind, they suddenly noticed a human figure approach-
ing them across the lake. As it
gained on them they were terrified
and
cried out in fear, thinking that they were pursued by a ghost.
When
Jesus approached them, He said, "It is I; do not be afraid"
(6:20).
Their fears were allayed, and they were shortly at the land.
Although little explanation
accompanies this episode, it seems
to
have been given as a reassurance to the disciples who were facing
danger.
Ahead of them loomed greater dangers than that of the
storm:
the rising enmity of the Jewish hierarchy; the doubts and
fears
engendered by misunderstanding; the collapse of their expecta-
tions of an immediate
kingdom; and the bewilderment that would
accompany
Jesus' departure from them. He wanted them to learn
that
He was Master of the forces of nature and that He could avert
what
seemed to be inevitable peril. His presence would be the
permanent
guarantee of their safety.
6. The
healing of the blind man (John 9:1-41). The afflic-
tion of the man born
blind was not a casual illness that suddenly
became
acute, nor an ailment contracted in youth after some years
of
good health. He was congenitally blind, which rendered his
condition
hopeless. The real import of this sign, however, does not
concern
his physical condition so much as it does his inward spiri-
tual consciousness.
John devotes a larger amount of text to the
episode
than to any other of the signs except the raising of Lazarus.
The
healing took place in
still
lingered because of His previous healing on the Sabbath — an
offense
which the healing of the blind man repeated. There was
direct
conflict between Jesus and the ecclesiastical authorities on this
question,
and Jesus' entire work was challenged. The Pharisees
The Meaning of
the Signs / 151
questioned
the identity of the Healer, His authority, His method,
His
ethics, and His origin. Their attitude is the perfect illustration of
a
closed mind that can accept nothing that does not coincide with
its
own presuppositions.
The narrative is given in detail
because it concerns a problem
deeper
than the blindness. The inability of the man to enjoy the
external
world and to participate in the ordinary activities of life
raised
the question of purpose. Why should this calamity have
happened
to him? Why was he cut off from the joys and achieve-
ments which might
otherwise have been his? The disciples of Jesus
implied
this by their question, "Who sinned, this man, or his parents,
that
he should be born blind?" (9:2) .
Jesus pointed out that the blindness
was not a punitive judg-
ment for any particular
sin by the man or by his parents. He did
not
explain what caused it but rather asserted that it provided an
opportunity
for God to intervene with creative power. His state-
ment, "We must
work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as
it
is day; night is coming, when no man can work" (9:4), parallels
the
utterance recorded in John 5: "My Father is working until now,
and
I Myself am working" (5:17). The divine attitude toward men
is
positive, not negative; human misery is divine opportunity. Jesus
proceeded
immediately to cure the man, using such means as He
had
to evoke the man's cooperation in faith.
Jesus' contact in this fashion
illustrates a second principle:
that
He wanted to produce not only an instant faith adequate for
response
to His immediate challenge, but also a progressive faith
that
would lead to acceptance of Himself. The application of this
principle
may be seen in the blind man's reaction to Jesus. When
the
blind man was questioned by Jesus' incredulous enemies con-
cerning the manner of
the healing, which was undeniable, he replied,
"The
man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes,
and
said to me, ‘Go to Siloam, and wash’; so I went away and
washed,
and I received sight" (9:11). The use of the definite
article
with the name of Jesus (o[
]Ihsou?j) implies that Jesus was
already
well known in
Him
as only one of the general multitude. Perhaps the blind man
thought
of Him as a healer whose reputation was widespread and
who
had happened to visit the city.
Further argument and probing by his
interrogators elicited the
opinion
that Jesus must be a prophet. There had been numerous
prophets
in the history of
152
/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
authority,
and some of whom, like Elijah and Elisha, had performed,
miracles
of healing (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:8-37). By analogy,
therefore,
he reasoned that Jesus must be a prophet, or else He
would
be unable to perform such a deed.
The opposition, however, were not
satisfied. Adhering firmly
to
the principle that anyone who worked on the Sabbath had trans-
gressed the Law, they
declared that Jesus was a sinner and called
on
the blind man to repudiate Him by giving glory to God alone.
Exasperated
by this obstinacy, the man strengthened his previous
confession
by affirming that Jesus must come from God because
otherwise
He could accomplish nothing (9:33). In disgust the eccle-
siastical authorities
excommunicated him and thus cut him off
from
the fellowship of his friends and from the hope that his faith
could
give him. Excommunication from the synagogue was a serious
matter,
for expulsion from the covenant people meant the loss of
salvation
to a Jew and consequent despair.
Learning of this misfortune, Jesus
undertook to find the man,
presumably
to comfort him. His challenge, "Do you believe in the
Son
of Man?" (9:35),3 was designed to bring his growing belief
to
a final focus. The immediate affirmative reaction indicates that
there
had been a dawning realization of Jesus' divine authority which
brought
him to an ultimate confession of belief. This "sign" is thus
a
pattern of growing faith and illustrates Jesus' power to change
human
destiny as He continues the Father's work. Not only could
He
restore sight to the body, but He could also evoke spiritual per-
ception within a man
who seemed to be the victim of an unjust fate.
7. The
raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-44). The last of the
signs
in the sevenfold series is the raising of Lazarus. It occurred
shortly
before Jesus' death; in fact, it was one of the contributing
factors
to His arrest and subsequent condemnation. It involved
many
factors which do not appear in the other signs: the seriousness
of
the occasion, for death is normally final and irreversible; the
emotional
interest of Jesus in a personal friend; the seemingly ir-
rational
delay; the remarkable prayer at the graveside; and its rela-
tion to the faith of
Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, who present
3 Reading a]nqrw<pou with P66,75,
x,
B, D, W, Syrs, et al., Metzger com-
ments that "the
external support for a]nqrw<pou
is so weighty, and the
improbability
of qeou?
being altered to a]nqrw<pou
is so great, that the Com-
mittee regarded the
reading adopted . . . as virtually certain" (Bruce M.
Metzger,
A Textual Commentary on the Greek New
Testament [
United
Bible Societies, 1971], pp. 228-29).
The Meaning of
the Signs / 153
two
different types of human reaction to the last great critical
problem
that confronts mankind.
The opening statement in the narrative
of Lazarus' resuscita-
tion is that
"Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus"
(11:5).
Jesus had shown compassion to the blind man, who was
presumably
an utter stranger to Him, because He was doing His
Father's
work and so shared God's attitude to men. In this case
He
had a personal attachment for the family, who had on previous
occasions
entertained Him and whose fellowship He prized. The
death
of Lazarus was unquestionably a personal grief to Him.
Because of this fact His delay in
returning to
inexplicable.
To be sure, the Jewish priesthood had already set a
price
on His head (7:30; 10:39; 11:53), and He knew that if He
appeared
in the environs of Jerusalem He might be seized and
executed.
This threat, however, does not seem to have been the
reason
for His delay although the disciples recognized the peril
(11:8).
As on a previous occasion, He was awaiting the time God
had
set for Him to complete the purpose of the divine will. The enig-
matic statement,
"Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone
walks
in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of
this
world" (11:9), indicates that Jesus felt assured of safety while
pursuing
the course defined for Him by the will of God.
The avowed purpose of the apparently
unreasonable delay
was
the development of the faith of the disciples, including Mary
and
Martha. To witness another healing would be no novelty; they
had
undoubtedly seen many such miracles. There had also been two
occasions
on which Jesus had restored the dead to life: Jairus'
daughter,
who had been dead only a short time (Matt. 9:18-26;
Mark
5:22-43; Luke 8:40-42, 49-56); and the son of a widow at
Nain
(Luke 7:1-17). Both of these were persons who had expired
only
hours before Jesus came; Lazarus had been dead for four days
when
the miracle occurred. The raising of Lazarus would, therefore,
have
been much more convincing to those who observed it.
The reactions of the two sisters to
this calamity are diametri-
cally opposed. Martha
was aggressive, angry, and reproachful. She
rebuked
Jesus by saying, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother
would
not have died" (John 11:21). Mary used the same words,
but
with a different emphasis. She was paralyzed with grief and
reluctant
to leave the house. Martha was defensive; Mary was
crushed.
154
/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
Nevertheless both had retained faith
in Jesus. Martha had
qualified
her reproach by saying, "Even now I know that whatever
You
ask of God, God will give You" (11:22). They had summoned
Him
because they were sure that He could avert death; now they
await
His command.
Jesus' reaction is summed up in the
well-known words, "Jesus
wept"
(11:35). He risked His life by returning to
distressed
by the sorrow which death had caused (11:50); and
He
shared in the grief of the family. His tears may seem incongru-
ous with His obvious intention to
raise Lazarus, but He could not
suppress
His human feelings even though He exercised divine power.
John
makes plain throughout the Gospel that Jesus was truly man
and
also truly God.
The prayer at the graveside was
revelatory of Jesus' relation
to
the Father. He did not frantically implore divine intervention but
rather
calmly offered thanks for what He considered to be a com-
pleted fact. He took
for granted that God had already done what
He
had requested and so commanded Lazarus to come out of the
tomb.
His demand that the disciples believe (11:15, 25-26, 40) was
reinforced
by the example of His own assurance that God had
already
answered prayer in spite of contrary appearances. That faith
was
justified by the sudden appearance of Lazarus from the under-
ground
tomb, brought back to life by the dynamic energy of
divine
power.
This sign concludes the series
intended to demonstrate the
divine
attitude and power manifested in Jesus. It declares Him to
be
the Master of man's last and most implacable enemy, death. By
presenting
Jesus' readiness to intervene on behalf of man at His
own
peril, by unveiling His unfeigned emotion evoked by sympathy
with
the bereaved family, and by illustrating the meaning of His
declaration,
"I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes
in
Me shall live even if he dies" (John 11:25), it creates new hope
for
men who must face the inevitable terminus which death brings
to
all their present hopes and achievements.
SUGGESTED MEANINGS OF THE SIGNS
These signs which John has listed
possess major importance for
interpretation.
From the literary standpoint, they are
regarded by some as
vestiges
of a source or sources that the hypothetical editor used in
composing
the Gospel. Brown regards John 1:19-12:50 as "The
The Meaning of
the Signs / 155
Book
of Signs,"4 and quotes Bultmann as
suggesting that these signs
were
excerpted from a larger collection attributed to John.5 The in-
dication of borrowing is
from a source found in the allusion to various
signs
in 12:37 and 20:30. The latter passage states that Jesus
performed
many signs not written in the Gospel. Bultmann thinks
that
the story of the call of the disciples in John 1:35-49 may have
constituted
the introduction to the "sign source."
This thesis has been developed in
detail by a number of others,
most
fully in recent years by Fortna6 and Nicol.7 Both agree
that
the
Fourth Gospel incorporated a large segment of material con-
sisting of these signs,
to which the Johannine comments, discourses,
and
account of the Passion and Resurrection were later added.
Fortna attempts a
reconstruction of the text of the "source," in
which
he includes John 1:6, 7, 19-34 (with some lacunae), 3:23,
24;
1:35-50, and the accounts of the miracles with the excision of
what
he considers to be Johannine comments. He indulges in
considerable
reorganization of the text, such as inserting the inter-
view
with the Samaritan woman into the narrative of the raising
of
Lazarus. Despite his meticulous labor and thorough documenta-
tion, one feels that
his effort is more ingenious than convincing.
Nicol, while
relying equally on criteria of style for his identifi-
cation of the
"source," does not attempt a reconstruction but isolates
the
sign-segments as "sources" by a relative absence of the "Johan-
nine
characteristics" appearing in them. He is somewhat less dog-
matic about the
precise content of the hypothetical source or
sources.
Both of these authors have done a service in tabulating
and
analyzing literary phenomena in the Fourth Gospel related
to
these signs, but the speculative character of their hypotheses
makes
their conclusions very uncertain.
It is, of course, not impossible that
sources of one kind or
another
may have been used by the writer of this Gospel. Luke
states
plainly in his introduction that "many have undertaken to
4 Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John, vol. 29,
The Anchor
Bible
(Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1966), pp. cxxxviii,
xxix.
5 Ibid., p.
xxxix. See R. Bultmann, The Gospel of John: A Commentary,
trans.
G. R. Beasley-Murray, R. W. N. Hoare, and J. K. Ricker (Phila-
delphia:
6 Robert Tomson Fortna, The Gospel of Signs: A Reconstruction of the
Narrative Source
Underlying the Fourth Gospel (
versity Press, 1970),
pp. xiii, 275, esp. 235-45.
7 W. Nicol, The Sources in
the Fourth Gospel: Tradition and Reaction
(London:
E. T. Brill, 1972), pp. x, 155.
156
/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
compile
an account of the things accomplished among us" (Luke
1:1)
and implies that he had read them, but he continues by
stating
that they were derived from eyewitnesses who became
ministers
of what they knew. The contention that the Book of John,
or
any other Gospel for that matter, is simply a random mosaic of
more
or less legendary tales fitted together to give authority to the
opinions
current at some stage of the subapostolic church does
not
do
justice to the facts. Brown, who himself is not averse to some
free
exercise of biblical criticism, quotes Pierson Parker as saying,
"It
looks as though, if the author of the Fourth Gospel used docu-
mentary sources, he
wrote them all himself," and adds, "There are
really
no convincing parallels in antiquity for the types of sources
that
Bultmann has postulated. . .."8
The best explanation is the simplest:
that the author was
himself
a witness of these events and that from his memories of
Jesus'
works he selected those which would best illustrate Jesus'
career
and character. There are no stylistic idiosyncracies
in any
of
these "signs" that would mark them as borrowed from other
sources,
and each of them could have been witnessed by John the
son
of Zebedee.
If, then, these are actual occurrences
related from personal
memory,
they would be vivid pictures of Jesus' response to human
situations
that typify various aspects of need. If their "sources"
originate
in the author's own experience directly or indirectly, they
would
have peculiar meaning for him and would be especially con-
vincing as he narrated
them.
The fact that two are numbered, the
miracle at
beginning
of His signs" (2:11) and the healing of the nobleman's
son
as the "second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out
of
Judea into
impressed
by Jesus' works in His own home territory. He performed
miracles
in
prior
to the second, which are mentioned in John 2:23. After
mentioning
the second, John does not indicate any particular
numbered
order for each one, probably because he has little to say
of
the Galilean ministry recorded by the Synoptics. In
that ministry
was
included the feeding of the five thousand, which was climactic
8 Brown, The Gospel According to John, pp.
xxxi-xxxii.
The Meaning of
the Signs / 157
in
Jesus' career and recorded for that reason. It was preceded and
followed
by numerous healings and other miracles that would make
it
difficult to number.
Coincident with each of these "signs"
was a personal interview
of
some sort, sometimes brief, sometimes protracted, sometimes with
an
individual, sometimes with a group. The first sign involved a
conversation
with Jesus' mother (2:4); the second, with the father
of
the boy who was healed (4:48-49); the third, by a challenge to
the
paralytic and a subsequent warning (5:6-8, 14), and a longer
discourse
to His opponents who challenged His right to heal on the
Sabbath
(5:10-47); the fourth, a consultation with Andrew and
Philip
about the best method of feeding the crowd (6:5-9) and a
long
discourse the next day in the synagogue of
59);
the fifth, a word of encouragement to the frightened disciples
(6:20);
the sixth, the instruction of the disciples and the blind man
(9:2-5,
35-38); and the seventh, the word of teaching to the dis-
ciples (11:8-16,
20-27, 39-43). The disciples are mentioned in
all
of these instances except the second and third, and it is possible
that
they were present on these occasions. Where they are men-
tioned, it is evident
that Jesus was endeavoring to develop their
faith
by testing it and by using the situation for teaching.
The miracle at
created
by the initial interview recorded in the first chapter of John.
It
cemented the disciples' attachment to Jesus after they had joined
Him
on recommendation of John the Baptist (1:35-37). As noted
above,
no conclusions can be drawn directly from the second and
third
signs, but at the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus challenged
His
followers directly. The differing responses from Andrew and
Philip
revealed not only the minds of the men, but also the opposing
attitudes
current among them. Philip's was negative; he produced
statistics
to prove what they could not do because they did not have
enough
money to buy bread. Andrew's response was positive, but
tentative.
He could obtain a boy's lunch, but that seemed ridicu-
lously small in
comparison with the crowd. Both men needed to
realize
the sufficiency of Jesus for the emergency. The outcome
evidently
brought a positive response from the disciples as a group,
when,
after the discourse on the Bread of Life and the ensuing
bewilderment
of many in the audience, Peter declared Jesus to be
"the
Holy One of God" (6:69).
158
/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
The last three signs taught the
disciples Jesus' power over.
danger,
despair, and death. He rescued them from the storm; He
demonstrated
His power to reverse the fate of the blind man; and
He
was able to restore Lazarus to his grieving family. By these
miracles
He increased their confidence in Him.
The signs, then, were revelatory in
character. Each one dis-
closed
some new interest and power on the part of Jesus. They illus-
trated successively
His mastery of quality, distance, time, quantity,
natural
law, fate, and death the very
things that human beings
cannot
change or create. He is superior to accident and misfortune
and
can use them to further His own purpose. John presents these
signs
as an introduction to the Passion that he may prepare his
readers
for the last great sign, Jesus' own resurrection, which He
announced
in the very beginning of the narrative: "Destroy this
temple,
and in three days I will raise it up" (2:19). John adds
that
when the prediction was fulfilled, "His disciples remembered
that
He said this; and they believed the Scripture, and the word
which
Jesus had spoken" (2:22).
Each of these signs had a definite
connection with faith. After
the
first, Jesus' disciples "believed in Him" (2:11). The second
produced
a working faith in the nobleman, who committed himself
to
Jesus with his entire household (4:53). The third caused the
man
who was healed to walk when he had not attempted to do so
for
thirty-eight years. The fourth illustrated the power of a tentative
faith.
Jesus accepted Andrew's timorous suggestion, and more than
justified
his hopes. When the disciples welcomed Jesus into the
boat,
although they had first feared that He was a ghost, they found
themselves
at land. The healing of the blind man answered their
theological
dilemma, as well as brought the man himself to a
genuine
commitment. Finally, the raising of Lazarus transformed the
sisters'
theoretical belief in a resurrection into a practical trust
in
the Lord who is the resurrection and the life. The signs make a
tremendous
contribution to the growth of belief as depicted in the
Gospel
of John.
The signs, however, are not cited
merely as wonders to arouse
a
temporary and superficial faith. At the beginning of the Gospel
the
author indicates that Jesus performed numerous signs in Jeru-
trusting
Himself to the "believers" (2:23-24). He hesitated to grant
the
nobleman's petition because He did not want a faith founded
only
on "signs and wonders" (4:48). He openly criticized the
The Meaning of
the Signs / 159
crowd
at
saying,
"You seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because ye
ate
of the loaves, and were filled" (6:26), and added later in the
synagogue
discourse, "You have seen Me, and yet do not believe"
(6:36).
The emphasis which He gave to the healing of the blind
man
was not so much a reaction to the miracle itself as to the
man's
relation to Him (9:35-38). He told the Pharisees that they
were
blind, not only because they had denied the miracle, which
was
understandable, but because they had failed to apprehend His
identity
(9:41). Even at the raising of Lazarus, where the family
were
predisposed in His favor, Jesus endeavored to fix Martha's
faith
not on an abstract concept of resurrection, but on Himself
(11:25-27).
These signs, like the interviews which were frequently
connected
with them, are intended to evoke a personal belief in
Christ
which will link the believer to His person rather than merely
an
assent to the actuality of the miracles.
Another emphasis in the signs connects
them with the concept
of
glory. The first personal footnote in the Gospel says, "We beheld
His
glory, glory as of the only begotten [Son] from the Father, full
of
grace and truth" (1:14). The effect of the first sign, according
to
the author, is that Jesus "manifested His glory, and His disciples
believed
in Him" (2:11). The sign manifested His glory because
it
revealed His power, His attitude of compassion, and His accredi-
tation by the Father.
The last sign, the raising of Lazarus, is likewise
interpreted:
"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of
God,
that the Son of God may be glorified by it" (11:4). After this
event
Jesus said, "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see
the
glory of God?" (11:40). The "glory" of which He spoke was
the
honor and dignity that pertained to His deity. Although He
appeared
as a human being and lived subject to human limitations,
His
works revealed His real nature and were a foretaste of the ulti-
mate
glory to which He expected to attain when His work was
completed
(17:5). Jesus' final prayer included the petition that the
manifestation
which had been partial and imperfectly apprehended
might
in the future become clear to the disciples whom He had
destined
for eternal life.
CONCLUSION
The signs are thus an integral part of
John's Gospel. They con-
tribute
illustrative evidence concerning Jesus' person and position
as
the Incarnate Word. They prepare the mind of the reader for the
160
/ Bibliotheca Sacra — April 1975
final
section on the Passion by showing that Jesus has shared every
aspect
of human life: its joys in the wedding, its anguish when
disease
strikes a life, its helplessness when paralysis immobilizes
action,
its hunger when food is scarce, its fears when exposed to the
uncontrolled
elements of nature, its hopelessness when facing a
future
of poverty and frustration, and its confusion when con-
fronted
by the irrationality and sorrow of death. Jesus suffered all
of
these, and His final victory over them was the greatest sign of
all
— the resurrection. These signs are samples of what He can do
for
those who trust Him and of the life that He confers on those
who
believe on His name.
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