Book of Signs

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Main article: Gospel of John#Structure and content

There is a widespread scholarly view that the Gospel of John can be broken into four parts: a prologue (John 1:1–18), the Book of Signs (1:19 to 12:50), the Book of Glory (or Exaltation; 13:1 to 20:31) and an epilogue (chapter 21). It is this indication by the author of the gospel that the signs are selected, which leads to the examination of them as a sequence of seven.

Seven Signs

The seven signs are:

1. Changing water into wine at Cana in John 2:1–11 – described as "the first of the signs" in John 2:11.
2. Healing the royal official's son in Capernaum in John 4:46–54
3. Healing the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1–15
4. Feeding the 5000 in John 6:5–14
5. Jesus walking on water in John 6:16–24
6. Healing the man blind from birth in John 9:1–7
7. The raising of Lazarus in John 11:1–45.

The seven signs are seen by some scholars and theologians as evidence of new creation theology in the Gospel of John, the resurrection of Jesus being the implied eighth sign, indicating a week of creation and then a new creation beginning with the resurrection.

Other lists of seven signs

Some writers disagree with this list of seven signs. John Marsh and Stephen Smalley, amongst others, have suggested six initial signs (seeing the walking on the water as part of feeding the 5000, rather than a separate sign in itself), and that the seventh sign is the crucifixion of Jesus and the post-resurrection appearance to Thomas (John 20:26–29).

Anthony T. Selvaggio replaces the walking on water with the cleansing of the Temple, because John 2:18 also includes the word "sign".

Eighth sign

Others, such as John Hutchinson and E. W. Bullinger, have emphasized a sequence of eight signs, concluding with the miraculous catch of fish in John 21:1–14.

References

References

1. Köstenberger, Andreas J.. (2009). "The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament". B&H.
2. {{bibleverse. John. 20:30-31. NASB1995: [[New American Standard Bible]], 1995 update
3. 0-88207-812-7, p. 269]
4. von Dehsen, Christian D.. "The Gospel of John". Oxford University Press.
5. {{bibleverse. John. 2:11. NIV: [[New International Version]]
6. Rob Bell, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L__HYo1mZFY Beginning in the Beginning, Poets Prophets & Preachers]
7. John Marsh, ''Saint John'' (Pelican New Testament Commentary, 1968) p. 65
8. Stephen Smalley, in ''The Oxford Companion to the Bible'', (OUP, 1993) p. 373
9. Anthony T. Selvaggio, [https://www.heritagebooks.org/content/sevensignssample.pdf ''The Seven Signs: Seeing the Glory of Christ in the Gospel of John''] (''sample chapter'') (Reformation Heritage Books, 2010) pp. 5–6.
10. John Hutchison, ''Our Lord's Signs in St. John's Gospel: Discussions Chiefly Exegetical and Doctrinal on the Eight Miracles in the Fourth Gospel'' (printed Edinburgh, 1892)
11. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_JsCZaKRqmoC&pg=RA1-PA193 Bullinger Companion Bible ''Eight Signs in the Gospel of John'']