The Seven Signs in the Gospel of John

Episodes Thirty-six to Episode Thirty-nine in the AIC Bible Study Video series, New Testament: Gospels, are now linked from the Bible Study/New Testament pages. They are focused on the Seven “Signs” in the Gospel of John. In the series I explain a possible reason St. John called these seven incidents, five of which are unique to his Gospel, instead of the “miracle” preferred in other accounts.

The seven examples of signs reflect the spirituality of John the Evangelist and Theologian. It comes down to a simple question: What Do They Mean, or Signify? rather than what they are. All seven, the first five recorded only by St. John, are questionably miraculous. More importantly, what they signify, that is of what are they the sign, is the Divinity of Jesus Christ, for no man, no matter how gifted as a thaumaturg, the Greek term for one who heals by touch, could have turned water into wine, raised Lazarus from the Dead, or fed more than 5,000 people with a few few and loaves of bread.

The seven signs in the Gospel of John are, with those unique to the Gospel of John listed first and in order:

The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)
The Healing of the Nobleman’s Son (John 4:46-54)
The Healing of the Paralytic Man (John 5:1-15)
The Healing of the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)
The Raising of Lazarus (John 11:38-44)

Two events also mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels:
The Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-14)
Jesus Walking on the Sea (John 6:15-21)

These seven events are richly illustrated in The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, available using the Virtual Bookstore link on the Home page.

Episode Thirty-nine also includes the first of seven presentations on Unique Themes, Details and Events in the Gospel of John, beginning with three spiritual themes: Light vs. Darkness; Good vs. Evil (or Truth vs. Falsehood) and Life vs. Death (or Heaven vs. Earth). The remaining episodes will be discussed in blog posting tomorrw.

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!