There are eight great signs in the book of John. A sign is a message that has meaning. Jesus uses signs to show His power that we might believe on Him. Jesus resurrection shows His power to resurrect us. Our gospel is based on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Lord does many signs, even now, demonstrating His Power and Mercy and filling us with His life and His power.
The first sign – water into wine
Joh 2:1-11 RV
(1) And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
(2) and Jesus also was bidden, and his disciples, to the marriage.
(3) And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
(4) And 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) Now there were six waterpots of stone set there after the Jews’ manner of purifying, 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 ruler of the feast. And they bare it.
(9) And when the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants which had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast calleth the bridegroom,
(10) and saith unto him, Every man setteth on first the good wine; and when men have drunk freely, then that which is worse: thou hast kept the good wine until now.
(11) This beginning of his signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Water into Wine, the wedding celebration.
| Waterpots of Stone | The Word of God (the Law) |
| Wine | Holy Spirit |
| wedding celebration | wedding of the Bride and Christ |
Second sign – Healing the Nobleman’s son
Joh 4:46-54 RV
(46) He came therefore again unto Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
(47) When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
(48) Jesus therefore said unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe.
(49) The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
(50) Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. The man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him, and he went his way.
(51) And as he was now going down, his servants met him, saying, that his son lived.
(52) So he inquired of them the hour when he began to amend. They said therefore unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
(53) So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
(54) This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judaea into Galilee.
Healing the Nobleman’s son, an example of Healing and Faith.
Third Sign – Healing at the Pool of Bethesda
Joh 5:2-9 RV
(2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porches.
(3) In these lay a multitude of them that were sick, blind, halt, withered.
(5) And a certain man was there, which had been thirty and eight years in his infirmity.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wouldest thou be made whole?
(7) The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
(8) Jesus saith unto him, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk.
(9) And straightway the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked. Now it was the sabbath on that day.
Healing at the Pool of Bethesda. Jesus uses this sign to challenge the Sabbath keeping traditions of the Jews religion.
Fourth Sign – Feeding of the 5,000
Joh 6:5-14 RV
(5) Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude cometh unto him, saith unto Philip, Whence are we to buy bread, that these may eat?
(6) And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
(7) Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little.
(8) One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
(9) There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two fishes: but what are these among so many?
(10) Jesus said, Make the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
(11) Jesus therefore took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down; likewise also of the fishes as much as they would.
(12) And when they were filled, he saith unto his disciples, Gather up the broken pieces which remain over, that nothing be lost.
(13) So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which remained over unto them that had eaten.
(14) When therefore the people saw the sign which he did, they said, This is of a truth the prophet that cometh into the world.
| Bread | Teachings of Jesus, the Word |
| Five barley loaves | Fivefold Ministry (Eph 4:11) |
| Two Fishes | Father and Son |
| Twelve Baskets | 12 disciples & by extension whole congregation |
| Broken Pieces | The grace and knowledge of God that is given to every believer. |
Fifth Sign – Walking on the Sea
Joh 6:16-21 RV
(16) And when evening came, his disciples went down unto the sea;
(17) and they entered into a boat, and were going over the sea unto Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
(18) And the sea was rising by reason of a great wind that blew.
(19) When therefore they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they behold Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the boat: and they were afraid.
(20) But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
(21) They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat: and straightway the boat was at the land whither they were going.
| Ship on the Sea | Local church, congregation or an individual |
| Great Wind | Trials and Tribulations |
Sixth Sign – Healing the Blind Man
Joh 9:1-7 RV
(1) And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
(2) And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?
(3) Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
(4) We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
(5) When I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
(6) When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed his eyes with the clay,
(7) and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent). He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
Jesus uses this sign to challenge the traditions of the Jews religion.
| Blindness | Ignorance |
| Night | Dark Ages |
| Light | Knowledge and Glory of God |
| Seeing | Understanding |
| Pool of Siloam (water) | Word of God |
Seventh Sign – Roused Lazarus from Death
Joh 11:35-44 RV
(35) Jesus wept.
(36) The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him!
(37) But some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die?
(38) Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
(39) Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
(40) Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
(41) So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me.
(42) And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the multitude which standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me.
(43) And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
(44) He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Jesus uses this sign to show His resurrection power that we might believe on Him.
Eighth Sign – Jesus resurrection
Joh 20:11-17 RV
(11) But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping: so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;
(12) and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
(13) And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
(14) When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
(15) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
(16) Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself, and saith unto him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
(17) Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.
More Signs
Joh 20:30-31 RV
(30) Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book:
(31) but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.
- Image from Austin Chan on Unsplash unsplash-logo
Austin Chan
Nothing in the word of God is without reason. The eight signs that Richard has expounded on are there to give us the events of Israel and the church both present and future.
In addition to these signs being a confirmation to the legitimacy of Jesus being the Messiah, they are also synchronous with the present and future events.
In brief, when Jesus raised Lazarus, He intentionally waited until Lazarus had been dead for four days. He told Martha “I am the resurrection”. The word of God tells us that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Jesus came to the earth in the fourth thousandth year, or in the fourth day. This was the seventh sign. In the seventh thousandth year (which is now our time) Lazarus (a type of Israel) will be spiritually raised from their dead state and have their grave clothes removed (all the traditions of Judaism they have been wrapped up in) and indeed it is happening today.
The stone water pots tell us that the wedding celebration was Pharisaic because of the statement “after the Jew’s manner of purifying.” A student of the bible knows that there was no commandment given to have a purifying ritual with water pots. It was a “tradition” of the Pharisees. Had the ruler of the feast known where the wine came from when Jesus had the water made into wine delivered, he would have been livid, because, Christ, again traditionally, contaminated the pots. I have to appreciate the Lord’s sense of humor in this. He was constantly breaking their traditions.
This event synchronizes with the six days or six thousand years of the Jews traditional laws that the Lord will transform into that of the Holy Spirit, as Richard has already presented.
Th harmony of God’s word never ceases to amaze me.