Signs

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30-31)

When you see or hear the word “sign” what do you think of? Some of the responses might include: an advertising billboard on the side of the road, a marker on a street corner telling you the name of the street, a notice of a garage sale or lost dog on a telephone pole, and so on. For some “sign” would be what deaf people do to communicate with each other. For others it would refer to what you do when you write your name. And, of course, for some “sign” would refer to an action or event that serves as an indicator – a signal – of an intent or a desire. The bottom line for all uses of “sign” is simply: communication. A sign is a form of communication.

Jesus performed many signs. Some of them are recorded in the Scripture. According to John, most of them were not. Those recorded have a single intent: to communicate who Jesus is, so that people may believe that He is the promised Messiah of God, the Son of God, with the result that they may have eternal life through Him.

We tend to think of signs as miracles, as “stand-alone” events. For example, we think of the young girl raised from the dead and tend to see that event as an action of Jesus intended simply to restore the life of this young girl and her to her parents. Our tendency is to see miracles and signs in this way. What we need to see, however, is that all the signs and miracles Jesus did were intended primarily as announcements of who He is, and as an invitation to faith.
Next time you have an opportunity to share truth with someone, help them to see that the miracles and signs Jesus did are intended to help them understand who He is, so they may come to believe in Him and know Him.

Lord, May we serve today as effective communicators of your love and truth, that through us others may come to know You. Amen