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.”

Reveals: The Giver of the better wine of the kingdomDiscourse: The wedding joy → the new order He brings

2Doré, Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (1866, public domain)

The Official's Son

Cana → Capernaum · John 4

Healed by a word spoken miles away: “thy son liveth.” The second Cana sign brackets back to the first.

Reveals: Authority unbounded by distance; faith in His bare wordDiscourse: Living water & true worship (ch 4)

3Doré, Jesus Heals the Sick (1866, public domain)

The Paralytic at Bethesda

Jerusalem · John 5

Thirty-eight years helpless: “Wouldest thou be made whole?”: healed on the Sabbath, igniting the conflict.

Reveals: The Son who works as the Father works: Lord of the SabbathDiscourse: The Son and the Father; life and judgment (5:19–47)

4Doré, Jesus Feeds the Multitude (1866, public domain)

Feeding the Five Thousand

Sea of Galilee · John 6

Five loaves, five thousand fed, twelve baskets over: the only sign in all four Gospels.

Reveals: The true bread from heaven: greater than the mannaDiscourse: “I am the bread of life” (6:35–58)

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).

Reveals: The One who treads the waves and stills fear: egō eimiDiscourse: Continues the bread discourse (6:16–21)

6Doré, The Woman Taken in Adultery (1866, public domain)

The Man Born Blind

Jerusalem (Siloam) · John 9

Sent to wash in Siloam (“Sent”); “one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

Reveals: The Light of the world, opening eyes that never sawDiscourse: “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5) & the Good Shepherd (10)

7Doré, Jesus with Mary and Martha at Bethany (1866, public domain)

The Raising of Lazarus

Bethany · John 11

Four days dead: “Lazarus, come forth.” The sign so great it seals the plot to kill Him (11:53).

Reveals: The Resurrection and the Life: Lord over death itselfDiscourse: “I am the resurrection, and the life” (11:25)

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 signs

John 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.