Signs in the Gospel of John Part 1
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Signs of Authority Part 1
Jesus is the branch. In Matthew, he’s the King, in Mark, he’s the Servant, in Luke, he’s the Man, in John, he’s the Son of God. There’s a key to the gospel of John.
John 20:30 APNT:
Now Jesus did many other signs before his disciples that are not written in this book.
The ones that are written in this book must be important.
John 20:31 APNT:
But even these [things] were written that you would believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and [that] when you believe, you would have eternal life through his name.
Download a PDF of Life Through His Name: Being an Exposition of the Gospel of John
There are several words translated as “miracles.” One is dunamis, meaning mighty works. Another is teras, meaning “wonder.” The one that interests us here is semeion, which is usually translated as “signs.” It’s Strongs Number 4592.
From James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon:
4592 σημεῖον [semeion /say·mi·on/] n n. From a presumed derivative of the base of 4591; TDNT 7:200; TDNTA 1015; GK 4956; 77 occurrences; AV translates as “sign” 50 times, “miracle” 23 times, “wonder” three times, and “token” once. 1 a sign, mark, token. 1a that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known. 1b a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature. 1b1 of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen. 1b2 of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s
What is a “sign?” A sign points to something other than itself. In the ancient Eastern culture, an event was a sign but still had the idea of pointing to something else.
One of the definitions of semeion in Thayer’s is:
b. of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s: Mt. 12:38 sq.; 16:1, 4; Mk. 8:11 sq.; 16:17, 20; Lk. 11:16, 29; 23:8; Jn. 2:11, 18, 23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14:26, 30; 7:31; 9:16; 10:41; 11:47: 12:18, 37; 20:30; Acts 2:22, 43; 8:6; 1 Co. 1:22;
— Joseph Henry Thayer, in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Being Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti (New York: Harper & Brothers., 1889), 573–574.
Another definition is that signs point to deeds, which symbolize spiritual truth.
There are eight signs in John. We will ask, what are the truths that they point to? The specific signs/miracles provide the evidence that Jesus Christ really was the Son of God and that God was His Father.
You can study this more in Appendix 176 in E. W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible.
John 1:14 ESV:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
King James says “only begotten son.” The Greek means that Jesus was “the unique one.” That phrase is also used in verse 18.
The only begotten Son of God is who has declared God as a Father.
The signs in John also show Jesus’s authority as the Messiah. Because we have Christ in us, the signs also point to our authority as sons of God, too.
Turning Water Into Wine
John 2:1–11 ESV:
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
Why would Mary go to Jesus to tell him about the wine? In that culture, it was a big deal to run out of wine at a wedding feast. Mary knows that Jesus is beginning his ministry as the Messiah. Perhaps, reading between the lines, she was thinking, “Why not turn this into the marriage supper of the lamb? Just declare your messiahship to the world.” That would explain why he says to her, “My hour has not yet come.” He new that all of that had to happen on God’s timing, and other things had to happen first.
Neither the couple getting married nor the parents know about all this behind-the-scenes activity. Only the servants and the disciples saw the miracle. And the disciples had just started to follow Jesus about three days before this.
I think part of the reason for this miracle was to show the disciples that this is what was going to be commonplace going forward—miracles will follow.
Using the purification jars and the water that was supposed to purify them, and turning it to wine, which later represents Jesus’s blood, looked ahead to when the purification rituals would be replaced by something much greater.
As for authority, this event shows his authority over timing. Jesus is going to live by the Father’s schedule, never doing anything outside of the Father’s will. One of the keys—for us—to walking by the Spirit is that timing is crucial.
Ecclesiastes 8:5–6 KJV:
5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
Miracles are outside the realm of the natural. Another way this shows Jesus’s authority is that this shows his authority over something that’s natural.
Another thing this shows is that Jesus is the Son of Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides. And making the wine didn’t take months like it normally would have.
Another thing worth noting is that Jesus was so focused on doing His Father’s will that he wasn’t influenced even by those closest to him, like his mother.
I encourage you to read each of the discourses for yourself because after each sign, there are lessons to be learned. The first lesson is in John Chapter 3 when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus. Jesus is able to change people’s hearts.
Believing and having eternal life is a very big theme in John.
The next lesson is a few days later with John the Baptist, also in John Chapter 3.
John 3:34–36 ESV:
34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
He is telling the people that Jesus is the Son of God.
The last discourse is with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus tells her that there’s a different kind of water that, if you drink it, you’ll never be thirsty again.
Jesus’s authority as the Messiah was over time and over nature.
What we need to remember from this session is that Jesus is the Son of God, the unique, only begotten Son of God.
See Also
Download a PDF chart of the Eight Signs of Authority in John
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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