All Things Seen & Unseen

Like just about everything to do with the Scriptures, debate occurs about what the 'signs' in the fourth gospel account (FGA) 1 are and even how many there might be.  I've decided that it's better to adopt a seven-sign approach (see next paragraph) and understand them as beginning with the water into wine, then the nobleman's servant, the paralytic man at Bethesda, the feeding of the 5000, Jesus walking on water, the man born blind healed, and the raising of Lazarus. And why be restricted to seven you might be asking? Seven (7) is a highly significant number in the scriptures  as in Genesis 1, the Pentateuch, the prophets, the Book of the Revelation here , and in the FGA, here .  Let's look at the beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee.

I've been intrigued by Jn 2.11 where it is said that after seeing the sign of water into wine and the manifestation of Christ's glory, 'his disciples believed [put their faith, NIV] in him'. What's intriguing about that you might ask? Well, the text doesn't comment for example on the belief or otherwise of anyone else. Not the servants who filled the stone jars or the 'master of the banquet' (NIV)--all of these knew about the miraculous sign--but the active faith of the disciples. The gospel writer is sophisticated and chooses his words and themes carefully and as responsible readers we must do that same. That this observation above is not just happenstance is seen in the fact that in the same chapter after Jesus has driven out the money changers out of the temple precincts, a similar statement is made (Jn 2.22). And in this statement, the author projects us into the post-resurrection period when the disciples 'recalled what he had said [about h...

I know I've already spoken about this theme in reference to first part of John ch2. But the same three interwoven strands of SIGN-GLORY-BELIEF appear again in the pericope of the Cleansing of the Temple (Jn 2.13-22). This occurrence invites a further look at this triad. The sign is less obvious but it's still there because the Jews ask Jesus 'what sign do you show [us] given that you're doing these things [driving out the money changers from the temple]?' Jesus gives them the sign of his resurrection: 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up' (Jn 2.19). They don't understand and significantly neither do the disciples! The disciples only understand after Jesus is resurrected and the text says that the disciples remembered what He had said on this occasion, they believed the scripture and they believed the word which Jesus had said (Jn 2.22). In this case, some 3 years elapsed before the disciples became more mature belie...