(John 6: 22, 23), and healing a man, and the carrying of his bed by the healed man, were

in full harmony with the gracious intention of the sabbath.

Space will not here permit of an examination of this vexed question of the sabbath, but

when we have reached John 9: we must devote a complete article to it. For the moment

let it suffice that we perceive that the attitude of our Lord to the traditional sabbath day

observance awoke the first murderous opposition recorded by John.

The fourfold division of the structure of this sign, (given on page 218) throws into

prominence the words "be made whole". This word hugies, "whole", that gives us

"hygiene", occurs seven times in John's Gospel, viz., John 5: 4, 6, 9, 11, 15; 7: 23.  It

will be observed that every reference has to do with this third sign.

John 5: 14

associates the impotent man's condition with sin; "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come

upon thee".

The first sign made up a deficiency, and ministered to a people's joy. The second

ministered life, "Thy son liveth", and is the thrice-repeated key to the structure. The third

sign ministered health, and by the fact that it was given on the sabbath indicated that a

greater than Moses had come. Each sign reflects some one phase of our Lord's

many-sided fullness, and each contributed its quota of evidence to the fact that this was

indeed the Christ, the Son of God, and that life results from faith in His name.