The Purpose of Signs in John's Gospel Pt 1 of 4

The purpose and the means

Unlike the synoptic Gospel of Luke where he states his purpose in writing an orderly account begins his Gospel, John gives his clear purpose for writing towards the end of his Gospel as a climax to which everything prior leads. Primarily, John didn’t set out to add anything to the synoptic accounts, neither is it a critique against the Cerinthian heresy nor a polemic against Gnosticism.

Yes, the Son of Zebedee’s book speaks to secondary issues, but he gives his primary purpose for writing in John 20:30-31, ‘Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of

the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.’

John’s purpose can be stated in two parts: 1) he wants to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is who he claims to be: the divine Son of God, and 2) he desires for people to believe (expressing faith), and by believing, enjoy the fullness of life through communion with Jesus. That is to say that he wants people to experience the abundant life now and the eternal life that is to come. For John, believing is the means of attaining life. An alternative reading in the NIV (pisteusete) reflects an aorist tense expressing a “decisive act of believing”. This reading makes John’s

purpose an evangelistic one: that by believing one might be brought from death to life. However, the alternative present tense reading (pisteuete) better translates as “these are written so that those who believe may go on believing”, emphasizing a purpose of discipleship. Though the latter reading is preferred, John’s Gospel purpose can clearly be seen for both the Christian and the non-Christian. Belief is the key to unlocking the experience of the born again life as well the faith empowered life of every Christ follower.

The means John employs for his readers to believe and attain life through communion with Christ are two fold as well: 1) seven recorded signs performed by Jesus, and 2) the subsequent discourses which explain the signs and disclose Jesus to be the Son of God. The seven signs play a significant role not only in John’s purpose but also in the literary structure of the Gospel. The signs are recorded from 1:19 – 12:50, a portion of John’s Gospel commonly called the Book of Signs. If John’s purpose is to evoke belief in Jesus for the attainment of life, than the purpose of the signs are to serve as the means to accomplish that purpose.