Air Date: 09 03 21

John 5:36  Each of Jesus miracles demonstrated Jesus’ power in a different area of human experience. They are called “signs” (sēmeia) because they point to something beyond themselves. Their significance does not lie in their extraordinary character but in the fact that Jesus was able to meet the emergencies of life directly and satisfactorily. It is noteworthy that they were generally followed by a confession of belief on the part of many of the spectators (2:11; 4:53; 6:66, 69; 9:38; 11:45).

The Johannine use of this term “works” (erga) refers to those deeds that revealed Jesus’ divine nature. As the quality of a man’s deeds show his moral standards, skill, and personal competence, so Jesus’ works marked him as superhuman in both his compassion and his power (cf. 3:19–21). He said later to those who questioned him, “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me” (10:25). In his final discourse to the disciples he asked them to believe him “on the evidence of the miracles [works] themselves” (14:11). Although he never performed miracles for the purpose of drawing attention to himself, he regarded them as valid proofs of his claims.

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