Signs and Miracles

Sorry about the absence...been busy with work and school and family...worthy excuses if you ask me. Not that anyone did, but it's my blog and I can say that...so there. Here is a paper I have recently turned in for your reading enjoyment. It was a 6 page paper so please bear with me, it really is worth it.



Signs and Miracles of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John

Jesus is God. He was the active participant in creation and the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit that came down to dwell amongst men. In His supreme authority over all of creation He magnificently displayed His glory by way of signs and miracles. One who claims oneness with God would have to back up that claim with some pretty astonishing evidence that is not subject to prejudice or interpretation. Evidence that would make others take notice and ask themselves, “how did He do that?” Even we are skeptical when we see magic tricks. We see someone or something disappear and we are wondering where the secret passage or compartment is. We know better than to take something at face value and instantly believe that this man has some sort of power over nature so as to make someone disappear. So how do we know when to believe and when to dismiss? If we forget that the Bible offers clear guidance on what to do when people try to deceive us and simply look at the signs and miracles Jesus performed, I believe our instructions become spelled out for us.
In Cana Jesus attended a wedding with His mother and disciples. As they feasted and drank, the wine ran out. Jesus’ mother (who is not yet named and remains nameless until later in the scripture), as though she had some responsibility in the feast, approached Jesus to tell Him. Running out of wine would have meant great dishonor for the family and perhaps the end of the marriage ceremony even before it had begun. Jesus replied with a firm but respectful “My hour has not yet come.” Adam Clark puts it quite humorously in His own words as if speaking as Jesus to Mary, “we are not employed to provide the necessaries for this feast: this matter belongs to others, who should have made a proper and sufficient provision for the persons they had invited.” Though sufficiently rebuked Jesus’ mother seemed to have enough trust and faith in her son to know He would not disappoint, for the next thing she said was to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” The scriptures do not say “some time had passed” or “later”, it merely goes on to Jesus telling the servants to fill up the six stone water jars that were there to properly observe Jewish cleansing rituals. When Jesus commanded “Fill the jars with water” the servants obeyed and filled each one to the brim. Tasting the wine the master of the feast proclaimed “Everyone serves the good wine first…But you have kept the good wine until now.” To those busily eating and drinking this was a statement of the glory of the hosts. To those who had witnessed this sign, the feast master’s announcement was no less than an invitation to worship. Jesus had given a glimpse to His disciples of who He really was and even though the scriptures say “his disciples believed in him” I am doubtful they fully knew whom they had believed in. Even though their mouths cried Lord, Lord, and their hearts ached, I still wonder if they believed because they saw a sign or if they truly knew Him as God.
It is here in this biblical record of the wedding at Cana that we see a first glimpse of Jesus as God by His authority over mere inanimate objects. The Bible doesn’t say that Jesus touched the jars or even said a prayer. He spoke to the servants and just as Dr. Towns suggests, I believe it is in their obedience that the water turned into wine. No, God does not need our obedience to exercise His power but He does desire it. In fact that is the entire reason Jesus was there and ultimately did what He did: to emphasize God’s desire for our worship and fellowship and to provide a way for the sinful to even approach a Holy God. Jesus provides that cleansing and turns what is inside the clay jars (us) from what is common into something truly extraordinary.
Jesus had gone other places and done other things that lead Him back to Cana in Galilee via Sychar in Samaria where he talked with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. There in Cana once again He revealed His glory in much the same way. John 4:46b says “And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.” This high official, full of pride and nobility, humbled himself before Jesus on behalf of his son. How did he know Jesus could help? Did he hear gossip of Jesus’ miraculous healing power and if so, what did most people say about that? We are not given the answers to these questions. There are no answers because the questions don’t matter. The fact is that this official went to the God of the universe (the source) to solve his problem; scripture says he begged. Matthew Henry says in his commentary, “The greatest men, when they come to God, must become beggars.” In response we can see something perhaps surprising. Jesus seems frustrated. It seems that for a moment Jesus allows His flesh to influence Him ever so slightly. He says "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe." Even so, He heals the official’s son displaying His authority over even His own fleshly tendencies. The official asks Jesus to “come before my son dies,” you see he believed that Jesus could only heal his son in person. Jesus tells him “Go; your son will live.” I can imagine the conflict that must have taken place in his head. Sometimes the limits we put on Christ stand in the way of the greater reward. Although this man had underestimated Him, Jesus used this opportunity to show His glory once again. I am unsure whether it was the utterance of his son’s healing or the mere thought in Jesus’ mind that healed the boy, but the boy was healed that very moment by Jesus without physical contact.
This entire situation tells tremendous things about the character and deity of Jesus. He is not only Lord of His own feelings and flesh but He is Lord and has authority over each and every body. He gives healing to those who, like the rich official, seek and have faith. Though he doubted, Jesus knew the official had faith that He could at least help the child, if not heal him. Jesus’ character was revealed here as well. The very character of God was revealed. In His long-suffering Jesus still showed compassion, mercy, and grace. The official and his son never deserved to be healed. They certainly didn’t earn it. It was a free gift from God given to tear down the hearts of the proud and turn them to Jesus.
From one who was rich and proud we now see a man who is outcast and destitute. Some time had passed and in His travels, at the pool of Bethesda Jesus came across a man who had been cripple for thirty-eight years. When asked if he would like to get well the invalid told how he could not get into the pool when the water was stirred (a superstitious belief that the first in would be healed). In this man’s answer was an attitude of hopelessness and defeat. To contrast the rich official who had hope and prosperity in his high position, it is plain to see that this man did not even have his health. This man had such little hope that he was no longer looking to be healed. From the hopeful yet needy, to the hopelessly lost and downtrodden, all are made equal in Christ. With all power Jesus commands this man “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” The inflection is wonderfully spelled out for us in the use of an exclamation point. Jesus gave this man a command in quite the same manner as an Officer would command his troops. There was no question what was expected and Jesus gave no room for interpretation. Once more we see no physical contact in the exercise of Jesus’ mission. The words of life spoken by Jesus have all that is needed to heal by virtue of the one speaking them, for by those same words He gave birth to all that is.
Now this healing was done on a Sabbath and it is here that we see yet another quality of Jesus’ Lordship over all. The Jewish leaders wanted to stop the man from carrying his mat through the temple. It is easy to miss the miraculous here. When this “unclean” man was confronted by the Jewish authorities to not carry his mat he responded with “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’” When asked, the man couldn’t tell them the name of who it was that healed him. He didn’t know. The miraculous thing is that even though this man was confronted by the Jews in authority over him, he knew he had just been healed by one with even more authority though he did not even know His name. The Bible does not say that he put down his mat and continued on. It seems to be that he kept it and continued walking, not in defiance of the Jewish authorities but in obedience to Jesus who had commanded him. The Jews would have it that nothing is done on the Sabbath, that according to the law the Sabbath day is kept Holy, for they are in subjection to the law. Jesus shows us by this miraculous healing that He is Lord of even the Sabbath day and in-fact all time. Jesus claims this authority by insisting, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Later we find Jesus at the Sea of Galilee. It was Passover and a large crowd had been following Jesus when he sat down with His disciples. Seeing how many had come to follow Him Jesus’ asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” With a simple question Jesus’ initiates an opportunity to show His followers more about who He really is. He knew that doubt was still in their hearts and that they did not fully understand who it was they were following. Though the Bible says this was a test for Philip, Jesus never does anything that merely has first order effects, so I believe this was intended for a greater purpose then to merely test Philip. We see the second and third order effects start to align when Andrew brings to Jesus a boy with “five barley loaves and two fish.” Jesus tells everyone to sit down, and after the giving of thanks Jesus has His disciples serve the bread and fish to all who are seated. Once everyone had enough, Jesus commands “Gather up the left over fragments, that nothing may be lost.” What started out probably in one or two baskets now fully occupied twelve. Through a simple test of Philips faith Andrew was given an opportunity to put his faith into action, and all were fed. Even more importantly, Jesus displayed who He was for all to see, so that God might be glorified.
Feeding the entire crowd Jesus spoke to the heart of Philip, Andrew, the other disciples, and the entire crowd. He tore down the doubt of Philip by showing Himself to be enough for even the crowd. He encouraged Andrew by honoring his faith. He so thoroughly tore down the hard hearts of the crowd that they wanted to make Him king right then and there, but Jesus slipped away to be alone. You see His time still had not yet come and He would not be robbed of, or forced into the task He came to perform. By feeding the crowd Jesus proclaimed His authority over creation. He was telling Philip and all who were there to see that even though they might need money, He needs nothing. From Him come all things, and nothing that is seen exists without Him. I think that after He gave thanks He created the bread, fish and baskets in much the same way He created everything else in this world: by speaking it into existence. Even Peter testified, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter knew that Jesus’ words gave life.
After Jesus had gone to be alone, the disciples continued on their way crossing the Sea of Galilee. In the dark, a storm had risen on the water and His disciples were busily fighting to keep the boat together. Jesus had not yet joined them. Walking on water Jesus came to them in what must have been the most dramatic experience of their time with Jesus so far. Jesus came walking on water and the scriptures say they were terrified, but Jesus reassured them saying "It is I; don't be afraid." When they heard this they let Him in the boat and immediately set out once again for where they were headed. In the storm the disciples only saw trouble and perhaps destruction as they fought to survive. Without Jesus our troubles and situations seem so much worse than they would if we would just let Jesus in the boat with us. Once the disciples let Him in the boat they were then able to continue on. The Bible doesn’t say if the storm ceased but given the slow progress of the boat before Jesus boarded I would think that it had. If it hadn’t stopped then it would follow that the mere presence of Jesus in the vessel gave them new vitality, either way it seems they made much more than “three or three and a half miles” progress. Once again showing His glory in spectacular splendor, walking on water showed in no uncertain terms His Lordship over nature.
The next miracle Jesus performed was the healing of a man who had been blind from birth. As He and His disciples came across this man some of the disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Obviously they lacked the perspective Jesus had and still needed guidance, for Jesus corrected their thinking by explaining to them that neither this man’s sin nor his parents caused his blindness. John 9:3 says, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” What a statement! This man was created blind at the beginning of time, purpose built as a conduit for the manifestation of God’s glory. I am certain the blind man didn’t know this. He didn’t need to. His existence was all that was required for Jesus to reveal his magnificence. This passage has always spoken to me because of the beautiful relationship represented here between God, Jesus, and the blind man. We are not told of this blind man’s faith or even if he had faith but Jesus “saved” him anyway. There was no act of belief or telling situations revealing this man’s heart. All we are told about is his affliction; in-fact the most acute attribute of this person. I think this was the one thing keeping him from believing. Jesus took away all that defined him as a person. He was not known as so-and-so’s son, or the man who did such-and-such; he was merely the blind beggar. Jesus did not care. It is not the world which determines your identity, but God. The world knew the blind man as nobody, but Jesus knew him as one who would call attention His glory to the world. This is how Jesus revealed Himself to be Lord of everyone’s life. Though this man may have had plans, or an idea of what he might do with the future Jesus had other plans because He was Lord over the blind man’s life. He was the one who created him and made him for this purpose, and despite all that was going on Jesus took control of the blind man’s life as only one with authority can. In His weakness the blind man did not resist, but even if he was perfectly healthy, how could he. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.”
Though I said that walking on water was Jesus’ most dramatic miracle since calling His disciples, this next miracle arguably holds to be a close second. Jesus was given word that the brother of the one who poured oil on his feet and dried them with her hair was sick. Though Lazarus was sick Jesus decided to stay where He was for two more days, saying “This sickness will not end in death.” In what seems to be a contradiction Jesus then tells them in plain words that Lazarus is dead, but also that He will go and “wake him up.” Upon Jesus’ arrival there were many who were still mourning Lazarus’ death. Deeply moved, Jesus cried alongside those He loved, as if to say, “I wish I had been here with you;” He had other things in mind though because earlier He said to His disciples, “…for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe…” We tend to think that death is the end of everything and we mourn just as Lazarus’ friends and family. Jesus had already said that death was not the end and He did not disappoint. Faced with minor doubt from Martha, Jesus rebuked her and had His command to remove the stone carried out. Just as Jesus exercised His authority over life and after giving thanks to God, Jesus gives another command saying, "Lazarus, come out!" Just like His command to the cripple to “pick up your bed and walk,” Jesus gives no room for mistakes or confusion. He was telling the dead to rise and live; at the same time His words called the spiritually dead witnessing this miracle to believe what they were seeing and live by the words of Christ. Jesus: Lord of even death. Everyone there had very few clues that Jesus was in fact preparing them for what they were about to see. Next to come was the willing sacrifice of no less than Jesus, Himself. By this time they had seen so much and come to understand Jesus’ claims to be indeed God. He had shown them so much, even raising the dead in the hopes that they would understand what He was sent for and about to do. Now He would complete His work and fulfill His purpose in obedience to His Father.
After Jesus had been crucified and resurrected we find Him waiting to catch the attention of His disciples at the shores of the Sea of Tiberias (The Sea of Galilee) where He had filled the baskets and fed the crowd earlier in His ministry. It is fitting that the disciples had gone back to fishing, for even when they were with Jesus they were told they would be fishers of men. Now they had returned back to the only thing they knew, as though nothing had happened and Jesus was hopelessly still in the tomb. Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were in the boat all night and had caught nothing when we see Jesus enter the scene. Jesus calls to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” Remember that it was the small boy who brought Him the bread and fish at that very same spot years before. Jesus tells these experienced fishermen who had been fishing for hours to cast their net on the other side of the boat. You could imagine the annoyance Simon Peter must have felt as this person told them to just cast on the other side of the boat to find the fish that had eluded them all night. Once again I believe it is in their obedience that the fish appeared, or swarmed in that area. The Bible says their catch was so abundant that they could not haul it up onto the boat and had to resort to dragging it behind until they made land. At the sight of the astonishing catch and the affirmation of another disciple, Simon Peter leapt into the water and swam to shore even before the boat. When they found Peter and Jesus on the beach there was a fire with some bread and fish already cooking. They ate there on the beach with Jesus where He gave Peter his commission to feed and tend his sheep. This one and final miracle has characteristics of other miracles Jesus had performed. I suppose this is how the disciples recognized it was Him. Just as He had for the crowd, Jesus had provided for them, being their portion when there was none. He called them Children maybe as a reminder that He would give them the gift of being called sons of God. He spoke to their still nagging doubts when He advised them to throw their nets on the other side. Jesus had risen. He had conquered death as He did by raising Lazarus but this time He had died and raised Himself from death into life.
Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Indeed He is the way to be near to a Holy, and entirely set apart God. Indeed He is the truth of all creation, shedding light upon all His hands have touched. Indeed He is the life that infects my soul and causes me to be completely other than I would on my own. Better. Complete. Purpose built to Glorify God in all the earth. We can now see the instructions so clearly spelled out for us when we are faced with the question of when to believe and when to dismiss. If Jesus said it, it’s true. If Jesus did it, it’s real. “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Deuteronomy 8:3. All else may be dismissed.