THE EIGHT SIGNS OF JOHN'S GOSPEL
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A long interval comes between the seventh and eighth signs. The great High-Priestly prayer of John 17, where
come the words, `glorify Thy Son', still sustains the theme. Even the choice of Barabbas emphasizes it, for the
name means `son of a father'. When Pilate declared that he found no fault in Christ, the Jews answered him:
`We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God' (19:7).
Thomas's belated but full confession immediately precedes the final sign -'My Lord and my God'.
Such is the setting of these signs. May every reader experience the joy of faith as we behold this wondrous
record of the Father, and increasingly seek to honour the Son as we honour the Father, for He is worthy.
(2)
The Marriage in Cana
John 2:1-11
We have seen that the signs selected by John have as their common object `That ye may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His Name'. Our task is therefore simplified.
Instead of seeking in each sign to find out its purport, we have only to seek the peculiar part it plays in the
illumination of this double purpose. The first sign is recorded in chapter 2:1-11, and took place at Cana of Galilee.
We have already observed that the eight signs are in the form of an introversion, the first corresponding with the
eighth. There are many items that correspond, but of chief importance are the confessions of Nathanael: `Thou art
the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel', and of Thomas: `My Lord and my God'.
The place in both signs is Galilee. There is also a reference to the `third' day and the `third' time. Wine is
provided in the one case, and food in the other. In the first sign we read, `They have no wine'; in the last they had
`caught nothing', and had `no meat'.
In the first we have six water pots; in the eighth 153 fishes. In both there is a command, `Fill the water pots',
`Cast the net', which is obeyed in each case. The verb `to bring' or `to bear' (phero) occurs in both signs: `And they
bear it'; `Bring of the fish'. The verb `to manifest' (phaneroo) also occurs in both signs. In the first His glory is
manifested; in the last Himself. The value of such details is that they emphasize for us the important part of the
sign, and indicate what part of the incident constitutes the `sign', and what the accidental setting.
The title of Christ which immediately precedes the record of the first sign is `The Son of man'. Nathanael had
confessed Him, `The Son of God'. The Lord Himself refers to Himself as the `Son of man'. This title carries with it
the idea of rule and dominion forfeited by the first man. The title occurs twelve times in the Gospel, which is
suggestive of its association with Israel.
If we read the narrative of this sign without reference to the preceding chapter, we shall begin talking about the
`third' day, and its type, resurrection. If, however, we pause to ask what the primary meaning of the words of 2:1
may be, light will be thrown upon its true typical character. The words, `And the third day', indicate a continuance
of reckoning. In chapter 1 we read of four successive days, which link up the waning ministry of John the Baptist
with the opening ministry of the Lord.
`The day following' (1:43); `The next day' (1:35); `The next day' (1:29). Now, as 1:29 says, `The next day',
1:19-28 must include the day previous. This gives us four days in all. The first day is the day of John's confession,
when he took no honour to himself but ascribed greatness to the coming Messiah. The second day John sees Jesus
and says, `Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world', and also contrasts his baptism with
that of the Lord's. He concludes this second day's testimony with the words, `I saw, and bare record that this is the
Son of God' . The third day John again says of Christ, `Behold the Lamb of God'. This results in two of his
disciples following the Lord. One of these proves to be Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, who first found his own
brother Simon, and said, `We have found the Messiah, that is, the Christ'. The fourth day the Lord goes into Galilee
and calls Philip; Philip finds Nathanael, and Nathanael confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, and King of Israel.