Introduction To The 7 Signs Of The Gospel Of John

(This is the first in a blog post series highlighting the seven signs of the Gospel of John.)

The Holy Spirit gave to the Apostle John the words of his Gospel account surrounding the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

JOHN’S GOSPEL CONSTRUCTED AROUND SEVEN MIRACLES

One of the ways John constructed his Gospel is around seven signs (or miracles) that our Lord performed.

Here are a few verses that draw this out:

This, the first of his signs (water turned to wine), Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:11)

This was now the second sign that Jesus did (the healing of the son near death) when he had come from Judea to Galilee. (John 4:54)

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs (seven in particular highlighted in the Gospel of John – this statement of the Pharisees made immediately following the seventh sign).” (John 11:47)

SEVEN SIGNS OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

Now the seven signs of the Gospel of John include:

1. Water Turned to Wine (John 2:1-11)
2. Healing of the (Nobleman’s) Son Near Death (John 4:46-54)
3. Healing of the Lame Man at the Pool (John 5:1-17)
4. Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6:1-15)
5. Walking on the Water (John 6:16-21)
6. Healing of the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)
7. Raising of Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-47)

PURPOSE OF THE SEVEN SIGNS OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

And the purpose of John for highlighting these seven signs is actually given by John in chapter 20:30-31 where he writes:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these (the seven signs of the Gospel of John) are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

And so we have the purpose of the seven signs of the Gospel of John:

They are written so that you (the reader) may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

This is the purpose of the seven signs of the Gospel of John.

It is also safe to say that this is the purpose for the writing of the entirety of the Gospel of John itself.

It is also safe to say that this is the purpose for the writing of the entirety of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

And then now finally, it is also safe to say that this is the purpose for the writing of the entirety of the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments:

They are written so that you (the reader) may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

(Watch for the next installment of the 7 Signs Of The Gospel Of John Series to come soon.)

(John 1 via wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0)