John: The Seven Major Signs Of John

the sake of truth. We can see that John is a good man deep down, who

"It appears, that of all the apostle John was especially favoured with our Lord's regard and confidence, so as to be called the

The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of

John presents a very different Jesus compared to the synoptic gospels. It is clear that for John Jesus has many complex elements to his personality and without all of these the picture is not complete. The above quote by Käsemann suggests that in the gospel of John Jesus’ divinity is definite and his presence is felt on the entire world through his words and actions. This allows for the human Jesus but implies the divine Jesus is imperative.

Jesus performs many miracles throughout the Gospels. Comparing how he presents these wonders among different books can help display the author’s themes and goals in these Gospels. Jesus’ first miracle, turning water into wine, is only mentioned in the book of John. This story is called “The Wedding at Cana” (John 2:1-12). Jesus and his disciples attend a wedding and Jesus’ mother is concerned that there is no wine left. He asks the servants to fill their jars with water, but when the steward tasted the water it had become wine. Another interesting miracle story is Jesus walking on water (Mark 6:45-52). In this story, Jesus’ disciples leave on a boat, while he stays back to pray. He then walks on water towards their boat, and the disciples were afraid when they saw him. Each of these stories involve water and display Jesus’ great power, but their differences are even more significant.

The ideals of Christianity founded many of the principles that John followed and believed in from a young age. He describes at the age of five reading a bible that his uncle gave to him and a verse striking him deeply even without the comprehension “Behold the

Throughout the Gospel of John the term “belief” is used in multiple ways for different reasons. Belief is employed as a means to give the reader motivation to believe in Jesus and God which will bring them to eternal glory and happiness. This belief can be rewarded with eternal life, as well as a personal connection to Jesus Christ. God can also be seen and believed in if one only believes in Jesus and allows for a wholesome connection to the Father and Son. In addition to beginning to understand the use of “belief” in the Gospel of John, one must correctly infer from his words and deduce their meaning.

The next sign miracle was another demonstration of his ability to heal. Jesus healed a man born blind. This healing prompted a similar reaction from the Pharisees and the Jews that healing the lame man did; although, in this instance it was not done in violation of the Sabbath day. This was the first time Jesus had admitted openly that illness or affliction have been placed on someone for the sole purpose of revealing God’s glory.

Themes of John’s gospel 1. Light vs. Darkness a. The dual between light which is Christ and his ways and darkness which is Satan and the ways of the world is one of the more obvious themes in the Gospel of John. 2. Water/Life a. Water is one of the most significant elements in sustaining life.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the first books of the New Testament within the Bible, The Gospels as they are so called. The words of the Gospels tell of the teachings of Jesus and his disciples and they bring the word of God to others through the land. Now, the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called synoptic gospels as they are all very similar as to the way the stories are structured, worded, and similarity in context. As for the book of John, this book differs a bit with its structure being different than the 3 before and also its perception, or depiction, of Christ.

In the Book of John, there are eight detailed signs of Jesus’ power. Each one showed a progression toward a greater revelation. John used eight specific events to establish his argument that proclaims Jesus’s deity. Some commentators and historians only identified seven signs because the miraculous catch of fish in chapter 21 falls outside of Jesus’s ministry. However, it did point out Jesus control over nature. Therefore, it should be included in the overall number. Jesus Himself stated that the works that He performed proved that He was from the Father setting Him apart from all of mankind. These wonders exhibited how Jesus used these actions to manifest His glory and portrayed a heavenly image. By evaluating each sign and reviewing

The second sign that Jesus performed in the book of John is the healing of the nobleman’s son (4:46¬–54). This sign is more easily found because Jesus here calls out the nobleman, saying that unless he sees “signs and miracles,” he simply won’t believe (v.48). In this passage, an official comes to Jesus asking him to heal his son. However, the official wants Jesus to go to his house. Jesus decides to answer his request but in a different way. Instead of going to the man’s house, Jesus simply told him that if he believed and went home, his son would be healed. The official did as told, and his son was healed. Jesus performed another miracle, but how is his deity displayed. Jesus shows his deity here by healing the official’s son by simply speaking and not seeing nor touching. During this time, just like every other time in history, there have been doctors. If Jesus went to the official’s house and healed the boy, it could be possible that Jesus would be viewed as such. However, since Jesus did the miracle just by spoken word, his power must be great. In fact, He must be God.

Johannine literature truly portrays Jesus as God, with the theme of His deity interwoven throughout numerous passages. In this respect, John’s style differs from the other four gospels, as Bickel & Jantz (1998) point out that the other three had been written prior to John’s gospel, therefore, “he wasn’t interested in just retelling the events” (p. 222). Since Jesus is the focal point of Scripture, a scholar of the New Testament with uncertainty concerning Jesus’ oneness with God will fail to perceive the crux of Christianity. Therefore, in spite of its importance, John does not focus on Jesus’ entrance into the

This essay will show contrasts in views on the Gospel of John regarding authorship,dates, and the relationship between John's Gospel and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Some comparison of thought, concerning composition and life setting, will also be presented.

Additionally, John indicates most of Jesus works in Galilee and Jerusalem while synoptic gospels place it in Galilee and Judea. Jesus’ teachings in the four gospels were mainly in parables and there is account of Jesus speaking with any figure. In contrast gospel of John accounts that Jesus used philosophical speeches in his teachings and interacted with figures like Nicodemus. Another event that distance gospel of