Signs and I am sayings (The Person of Jesus) Flashcards
Miracle
An event that cannot be explained by science or logic.
Miracles usually lead to belief. Author has selected signs so that his readers may believe (20:31).
The Miracles are set in the context of human need from lack of wine to death of a friend, showing compassion and concern.
The signs coincide with their meaning and all lead to the death of Jesus for mankind.
Sign
Is indicative. Has a meaning greater than what it literally is.
Tenney (Links to Authorship)
-Each sign was followed by a conversation between Jesus and those involved. Jesus wanted to encourage faith in him (similar to use of parables in synoptics).
-Signs revealed something new about Jesus, encouraging trust in him and showing his glory as God
Schnackenburg
The signs manifest the majesty and saving power given to Jesus
The Wedding at Cana (The Signs)
-Isaiah 54, Israel depicted as an unfaithful bride, Jesus is symbolically showing that he is the bridegroom
-Psalm 104:15 Wine is the bringer of life and strength
-Russell argues that the 6 stone jars and Mary being called woman links with creation
-Wine symbolic of Jesus’ blood and three days could represent the time Jesus spent in the tomb.
-2:11, leads the disciples to faith
-Jesus’ provision is more than adequate, it surpasses the need (the wine being the best they had had)
-The water of Judaism is inadequate for salvation but the wine or blood of Jesus is the path to eternal life
Healing of the official’s son (The Signs)
-By the word of Jesus, life is given
-The son represents the work that Jesus came to do- death is followed by life.
-The official is almost certainly a gentile and is willing to show faith in Jesus more than the Jews were. Shows universality in Jesus’ message “other sheep that are not of this sheep pen”(10:16)
-In the OT, healing is a picture of salvation from sin
-This confirms that there is life in Jesus, as was written in the Prologue (1:4)
The Healing at the Bethesda Pool (The Signs)
-Bethesda pool, had 5 covered collonades
-They hoped to be healed when the waters stirred. They believed this to be done by an angel of the Lord. John included this to show how people trust in superstitious things rather than trusting in Jesus.
-38 years, the same length of time that Israel wandered in the desert.
-“Do you want to get well?”
-He told him to pick up his mat and walk
-The man had carried something on the Sabbath, which was against Jewish law. They may have also considered Jesus’ healing to be a form of work. Then, Jesus claims that God is his Father, making himself equal to him. He disregards the old covenant and provides a new one. Jesus’ authority is higher than that of the law.
-Jesus said that his Father always works on that day, so he too will work.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand (The Signs)
-took place at passover, creating a new people like in the Exodus story. Passover shows that Jesus came to die
-Psalm 23, “God leads us by green pastures”, the crowd are told to sit on the grass
-Jesus asks Philip a question to test his faith, links to faith and 20:31
-Jesus gives thanks to his father
-the cost would have been significant
-12 baskets full of food left over, linking to 12 tribes, Jesus has come to create a new people
-Five loaves said to symbolise. books of Moses and the two fish the tablets. Shows Jesus as greater than the old law. Bread->Jesus, Jesus is the new life.
-The crowd wanted to make Jesus a king but didn’t understand the kind of king he was meant to be, linking again to passover.
Walking on Water (not always called a sign)
-immediately after the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples sail across the lake to Capernaum. Jesus stayed behind. The waters grew rough by night, but the disciples saw Jesus (not recognising him at first, like with the resurrection) walking towards them on the water. He told them not to be afraid. They reached shore the next day.
-Jesus had direct power over nature. What he did broke laws of physics but the properties of the water did not change and natural laws were not broken, showing that this was only an exercise of stronger power.
-Psalm 107:29-30: God stilled the storm to a whisper, the waves of the sea were hushed.”
Healing the Blind Man (The Signs)
-Jesus found a blind man, put mud on his eyes, and told him to go and wash it off. When he did, he could see. The pharisees tried to discredit the man (arguing that this as done on the sabbath and was therefore a sin) who shamed them for not believing. They threw him out, and Jesus found him again and introduced himself.
-the disciples would have thought that the man was born blind because either he or his parents had sinned. Jesus said that, “…this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him…I am the light of the world”
-The man’s parents said: “we know he is our son…and we know he was born blind…Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.”
-The Pharisees called Jesus a sinner because he healed on the sabbath
-“Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 9:25
-The man asked them if they wanted to become Jesus’ disciples but they claimed that they were disciples of Moses
-shows the blind beggar having more spiritual discernment than the officials
-(Jesus to the Pharisees): “If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” 9:39-41
The Raising of Lazarus (The Signs)
-Mary, Martha and Lazarus were Jesus’ close friends. Jesus knew Lazarus was sick and waited until he was dead and buried before responding to his sister’s call for help. Jesus then called Lazarus from the grave and restored him from death to life.
-If Jesus went to Jerusalem, he would be killed. The disciples knew this because the last time that they were there, people tried to stone him.
-Shows the fulfilment of the promise to all who believe in God, that they’d be restored from death to life (eternal life in his name). Jesus made it clear that he was walking in the path that the Father had set out for him.
-Thomas showed faith: he wanted to go to Jerusalem to die with Jesus.
-Martha was angry at Jesus for not arriving sooner while Mary was despairing.
-(Jesus to Martha)“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will ever die. Do you believe this?” 11:25-26
-The Pharisees refused to have faith. The high priest predicted that it would be better for Jesus to die in the place of the people
-Prepares readers for the death of Jesus and teaches us that resurrection is through Jesus
Continuity between the father and the son (Includes a quote from Barrett)
Jesus accomplishes the Father’s work because he is the obedient Son and the power of God is manifested in him. The signs of Jesus bear witness to God.
-“The works make visible both the character and the power of God, and at the same time that Christ is active in a unique way” (Barrett)
Miracles as signs that lead to faith (Kysar)
Kysar: “The signs are works of God, wonders or expressions of the power of God that produce faith.”
The signs show the beginning of a new age, with Judaism being replaced by Christianity
Signs causing controversy
-To those who do not believe, any number of signs will not convince them (12:37)
-The signs often lead to controversy, conflict and condemnation (chp5 and 9)
-Jesus healed on theSabbath and claimed to be equal to God. Being accused of blasphemy led to his death
-Jesus criticised the Jews (5:42)
-Healing of the blind man caused controversy and condemnation over issue of sin and disability. Those who accepted Jesus of being as the Christ were excommunicated from the Synagogue. 9:41
-claiming to be equal to God was very controversial
-Walking on water: use of ‘I am’ shows direct link with God and OT (God walking through waters and leaving footprints)
Semeion
Greek for sign. The purpose of the signs is Christological, revealing the nature, personality and character of Jesus. The miracles are manifestations of God’s glory and point towards God. They are one of the means by which man is given access to God and by which people come to believe in him
Significance of the signs (Barett)
“The Miracles, once grasped in their true meaning lead immediately to the christology since they are a manifestation of the glory of Christ”
Exodus 3: The Burning Bush
-Moses is tending to his father-in-law’s flock when he sees a burning bush
-he investigates and the bush (the angel of the Lord within) calls out to him
-“I am the God of your father…Abraham…Isaac…Jacob”
-“I am who I am”
-“I am has sent me to you”
-God uses, “I am” when referring to himself, like Jesus would later. God uses I am sayings before saving his people, as Jesus does
Exodus 1-18 Summary
400 years after the sons of Jacob migrated to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan, the Pharaoh commanded that the young boys of Israel be killed. One Jewish mother puts her son in a basket and floats him down the river. He is found by the Pharaoh’s daughter and is raised among Egyptian royalty. God later reveals himself to Moses as a burning bush and promises that he will use Moses to free Israel. God sends plagues so that Israel would be freed. After the tenth, Pharaoh decides to free them, but changes his mind, chases them into the Red Sea as it is parted but the waters come back together and crash down on his army.
