Signs / The Gospel of John

 

Signs

Various passages April 23, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. Last week we began our red bus tour of the book of John. We took one

complete trip around the book with a map/chart in hand and a narrator/me

pointing out key areas to us!

1. Today we want to get off at our first point of interest that we want to

explore a bit more closely.

2. That is the area of signs.

B. Turn to John 20:30-31

1. We learned last week that John’s purpose in writing this book was very

clear – read v30-31

a) First, that we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God

b) Second, in believing we might have life through Jesus

2. But he also shows us in these verses the vehicle/means he uses to get us to

believe.

a) Look back again and read 30-31a - signs/these

b) It was signs that Jesus had performed.

C. So what is a sign?

1. If I am driving on an expressway and I see a sign that says Chicago this

way and Detroit that way, that sign points me in a specific direction.

a) The sign is not Chicago or Detroit, but the sign points me to Chicago

and Detroit

2. Turn to John 2 so we can see how John defines a sign. This is the section

where at the wedding Jesus does the miracle of turning the water into

wine. Read v2:11 –

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a) John is clearly equating Jesus’ miracles with being a sign.

b) Just l as we saw in John 20:30-31 this sign did what it was supposed to

do, it manifested Jesus’ glory and resulted in his disciples believing in

him. Read 2:23

• The miracle is the supernatural act itself. John, in this book, is using those

miracles as

II. Signs to prove who Jesus is

A. We learn in John 20:30-31 that John is using these miracles to point us to,

certify, convince, prove, validate, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

B. In John 3:2 Nicodemus confirms that the signs are doing exactly what they are

supposed to do –

1. Read John 3:1-2

2. Nicodemus said these signs confirm that God is with him.

C. Even Peter stated in his sermon on Pentecost that Jesus’ miracles were

designed to show and prove who he was. Read Acts 2:22

1. Attesting means to show that something is true, to prove it.

2. Peter says God was using the miracles to prove to them/us who Jesus was.

D. It is interesting to note the even when the apostles and their close associates

performed miracles it was to validate them as God’s messengers and the

message they were bringing.

1. Read 2 Corinthians 12:12 – it was a proof as to who the true apostles of

Jesus Christ were. So just like the miracles validate Jesus as the Messiah,

the miracles validated the apostles as messengers sent by God.

2. God also used the miracles as proof that their messages was from God read

Hebrews 2:1-4.

a) Jesus spoke a very important message, eternally significant message

from God. Those who heard Jesus speak it, the apostles took his

message to others

b) God was working right alongside the apostles as they delivered that

message testifying, that is validate confirming, endorsing and bearing

witness about their message by miracles.

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• So John used Jesus’ miracles to validate/prove who Jesus was and that his

message was “from” God. These miracles were signs to

III. Prove Jesus was the Christ the Son of God!

A. Jesus’ miracles were signs, proofs that he was who he said he was! We see

this repeatedly in the book of John.

1. In John 4, after Jesus supernaturally told the Samaritan woman at the well

all about her life without having met her beforehand. Listen to what she

told her friends. Read 4:29

2. In John 5, we saw on Easter after Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath who

had been lame for 38 years that Jews accused Jesus of making himself

equal with God by claiming God as his Father!

a) Jesus said it is true he is equal to God and stated that he does nothing

but what God does, he does everything God does and does it in the

same way.

b) Then he goes on to give others who give testimony to who he is. He

starts with John the Baptist

(1) Then he says this in 5:36 – read

(2) The works/miracles that he does testify about who he is.

3. After Jesus fed over 5000 people with just a few fish and loaves listen to

what the people said - read John 6:14

a) Shortly after this, Jesus goes into a long discourse using this miracle to

talk about himself as the true bread of God that has come down from

heaven to give life and many departed from him because his words

were hard to accept. Read 6:67-69

4. Listen to the crowd’s response when he was teaching at the Feast of

Booths. Read John 7:31

5. Chapter 10 where Jesus claims his oneness with the Father – essentially a

claim to be God!

(1) Read 10:30-33

(2) In response to this, Jesus claims to be the Son of God and it is his

works miracles as proof that he is God the Son and is one with the

Father. Read 10:36-39

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(3) We see the same idea that his miracles are a witness or proof that

he is God.

6. Listen to chapter 11 with the raising of Lazarus from the dead

a) Mary had sent word to Jesus that her brother Lazarus was dead. Listen

to what Jesus said to his disciples after hearing this. Read 11:14-15;

b) Listen to the response of the people after Jesus did raise Lazarus from

the dead! Read 11:41-45,

B. While Jesus’ miracles were designed to be proof of who he was so that they

would believe at the same time, it drove those who opposed him into deeper

unbelief and resistance against him.

1. Note the response of the Jewish leaders – read 11:47-48; 53,57; 12:10-11,

12: 37-38

C. The key reason why these miracles prove that Jesus is the Christ is because

the miracles that Jesus did were samplings of the miracles that will take place

in the Messiah’s future kingdom….

1. Turn to Matthew 11:2. Read v2-6

a) Are you the expected one? The Messiah? The Christ?

b) Jesus answered not by saying go tell him that I am but rather by an

even stronger argument than words, tell him about the miracles I have

done.

(1) Heard of show and tell? This is the show portion of that.

c) This is why Jesus answered that way. Turn and read Isaiah 35:3-4

(1) V4 is that time in the future when Jesus will come and judge the

nations and then set up his earthly kingdom!

d) Now listen to v5-6

(1) Jesus was saying tell him that I am doing, the very miracles that

Isaiah said the Messiah would do.

2. Turn to Matthew 12:22-23, the crowds of common folk associated the

miracles Jesus did with the Messiah who is also called the “Son of David”

D. Jesus’ miracles, the supernatural acts that God did through him, were meant to

be signs to prove to them that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God so that they

could believe in him and have eternal life!

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1. If you read through the gospel of John with this in mind you will see it

popping out repeatedly in the book and will deepen your conviction

regarding who Jesus is and how a person receives his life!

• You cannot talk about miracles today without raising in people’s minds the

question

IV. Do miracles still happen today?

A. My answer is yes but you need to walk with discernment because not all

miracles come from God

1. When you study miracles, you will see that people who did not know

Jesus, false prophets, the antichrist, the false prophet of the antichrist, and

even demons did miracles.

2. Read Matthew 24:24.

3. Revelation tells us that miracles are what the false prophet will use as signs

to deceive people into following the antichrist. Read Revelation 19:20

4. Therefore, we need discernment when it comes to miracles in our day.

B. God still does miracles today. Read Galatians 3:5

C. When we read the rest of the New Testament after getting through the

historical books of the gospels and Acts, we learn that the emphasis of the

miracles is on miracles of the heart!

1. The miracle of salvation, the miracle of a transformed life, and the miracle

of the Spirit of Christ living his life through us moment by moment - day

by day producing in us a life that has no explanation except God.

D. Actually, if you properly understand the Christian life you know that it is not

a difficult life to live, rather it is impossible. The whole Christian life is a

miracle. Every moment of the Christian life is designed to be supernatural

and life changing but not necessarily “externally spectacular.”

E. However, God does not just do internal miracles. Let me tell you about two

different woman here at MVC, who had verified cancer by medical testing.

1. Sandy – one came and asked the elders to anoint her with oil and pray that

God would heal her. The next time she went back to doctors, they

validated through medical testing that her cancer was gone.

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2. Rose – another woman had the same story but it was during a worship

portion of our service as she was worshipping God that she had a strange

sensation come over her. Next time to the doctor, the cancer was gone.

F. I cannot think of a better way to close than to thank God for the great miracles

he does for us out of his lovingkindness! Read Psalm 136:3-4