John 2–11 · The Book of Signs · Featured Study
The Seven Signs
John never calls Jesus' miracles “wonders.” His word is sēmeion: a sign: a mighty work that points past itself to the One who does it. He selected exactly seven, from the first at Cana to the raising of Lazarus, each building the case, and each answered by a discourse that names the gift the sign pictures. They are given, John says, “that ye may believe.”
Summary
This page lays out John's seven chosen signs in order, from Cana to Lazarus, and pairs each one with the discourse that explains it. It also names the Cana-to-Cana bracket and the eighth, resurrection-morning sign that closes the book.
- Seven signs, each with its place, its Scripture note, and the discourse it opens.
- The two Cana signs bracket the start of Jesus' ministry.
- Each sign points past the miracle itself to who Jesus is.
- An eighth sign, the catch of 153 fish, comes after the resurrection.
The Seven, in Order
— sign → what it reveals → the discourse it opens
1Doré, The Marriage at Cana (1866, public domain)Water into Wine
Cana · John 2“This beginning of his signs did Jesus in Cana... and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”
2Doré, Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (1866, public domain)The Official's Son
Cana → Capernaum · John 4Healed by a word spoken miles away: “thy son liveth.” The second Cana sign brackets back to the first.
3Doré, Jesus Heals the Sick (1866, public domain)The Paralytic at Bethesda
Jerusalem · John 5Thirty-eight years helpless: “Wouldest thou be made whole?”: healed on the Sabbath, igniting the conflict.
4Doré, Jesus Feeds the Multitude (1866, public domain)Feeding the Five Thousand
Sea of Galilee · John 6Five loaves, five thousand fed, twelve baskets over: the only sign in all four Gospels.
5Doré, Jesus Walks on the Sea (1866, public domain)Walking on the Sea
Sea of Galilee · John 6“It is I (egō eimi); be not afraid”: the divine self-naming spoken over a storm (cf. Job 9:8).
6Doré, The Woman Taken in Adultery (1866, public domain)The Man Born Blind
Jerusalem (Siloam) · John 9Sent to wash in Siloam (“Sent”); “one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
7Doré, Jesus with Mary and Martha at Bethany (1866, public domain)The Raising of Lazarus
Bethany · John 11Four days dead: “Lazarus, come forth.” The sign so great it seals the plot to kill Him (11:53).
Each plate is Gustave Doré's own engraving of that sign's scene, and opens with the passage it belongs to.
The Cana-to-Cana Bracket
— John's own frame around the first signsJohn flags it himself: the water-to-wine is “This beginning of his signs” (2:11), and the healing of the official's son is “the second sign” (4:54), both at Cana. The two Cana signs form a deliberate bracket around the opening of Jesus' ministry, moving from a sign that rewards faith already present to one that asks faith in a bare word.
The Eighth: the Sign of the Epilogue
After the resurrection, John adds one more wonder: the miraculous catch of 153 fish (21:1–14), a resurrection-morning echo of the call by the same sea, and the setting for Peter's threefold restoration. Seven signs to build belief; an eighth, on the far side of the empty tomb, to send the believers out.
Where it leads
Featured studies8
Built on the same Scripture3
On Stories10
- The Passion & Resurrection, John 18–21 | MannaFest
- The Messianic Miracles
- The Resurrection Chapter — 1 Corinthians 15
- The Canticles — the Four Songs of Luke 1–2
- The Floating Axe Head — 2 Kings 6
- The Forerunner and the Refiner — Malachi 3:1; 4:5–6
- The Great Commission — Matthew 28:18–20
- The Sign of Jonah
- The Upper Room & the Farewell — John 13–17
- Everything on Stories
On The Gospels56
- Abide in Me
- Acts: The Acts of the Holy Spirit. MannaFest
- Anger and Murder of the Heart
- Ask, Seek, Knock
- The Beatitudes
- Acts
- Born of the Spirit
- The Bronze Serpent
- Count the Cost, MannaFest
- Divorce: What Jesus Said, MannaFest
- Do Not Worry
- Fasting, What Jesus Taught, MannaFest
- Why Four Gospels
- The Genealogies of Christ
- The Genealogy of Jesus: Matthew's 3×14 · MannaFest
- Giving in Secret · MannaFest
- Luke (the Savior of All)
- Mark: the Study Guide
- Jesus on Discipleship
- Jesus on Money and Possessions
- Jesus on Prayer
- Jesus on the Father
- Jesus on the Holy Spirit
- Jesus on the Kingdom
- Jesus on the Scriptures | MannaFest
- The Prologue, the Word Made Flesh, John 1:1–18 | MannaFest
- Judge Not
- The Kingdom of Heaven: Matthew's Great Subject | MannaFest
- Known by Their Fruit
- The Lord's Prayer
- Love Your Enemies
- Luke the Historian, the Acts Reliability Ledger, MannaFest
- Lust and Adultery of the Heart
- Matthew: the Study Guide
- Oaths. Let Your Yes Be Yes
- Parables of Jesus
- The Kingdom Parables
- Why Jesus Spoke in Parables
- Pearls Before Swine
- Prayer in Luke — Jesus at Every Hinge
- Praying in Secret
- Salt and Light
- The Sermon on the Mount
- Take Up Your Cross
- The Eye as the Lamp of the Body
- The Foot-Washing
- The Golden Rule
- The Great Reversal — the Ledger of Luke
- The Law Fulfilled
- The Narrow Gate
- The Paraclete
- The Two Builders
- Treasure in Heaven
- Turn the Other Cheek
- Two Masters and Mammon
- Everything on The Gospels
On Jesus28
- The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22), MannaFest
- Christ Our Wisdom: Proverbs 8 and the Wisdom of God. MannaFest
- Gomer, Bought Back — Hosea 1–3
- Jacob's Ladder: Genesis 28, MannaFest
- Jesus on Himself
- Jesus: Titles & Roles
- Joseph, Genesis 37–50 | MannaFest
- The Kinsman-Redeemer: Boaz and the Shadow of Christ (Ruth 2–4) | MannaFest
- Melchizedek: the King-Priest of Salem
- Messianic Prophecy
- The Messianic Psalms
- The Messianic Secret: Mark
- The Scarlet Thread: MannaFest
- The Seed Promise
- The Son of Man — Daniel 7:13–14
- The Suffering Servant
- The Branch and the King — the Four Plantings of Tsemach
- The Exodus — Redemption's Master-Type
- The Incarnation
- The Lamb — Revelation's Christology
- The Mind of Christ — Philippians 2:5–11
- The Mystery of Godliness — 1 Timothy 3:16
- The Servant Songs — Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 53
- The Seventy Weeks — Daniel 9:24–27
- The Supremacy of Christ — Colossians 1:15-20
- Trees — Eden, Cross, New Jerusalem
- Types of Christ
- Everything on Jesus
Word studies1
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Where this happened2