Signs

John 2:18-25

¹⁸So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” ¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹But he was speaking about the temple of his body. ²²When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. ²³Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. ²⁴But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

In 2002, M. Night Shyamalan released the movie Signs starring Mel Gibson. Despite a few storyline problems, I really enjoyed this picture because of the ending. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it (in the last 13 years!) but suffice it to say, throughout the movie there were numerous signs that all come together to make a faith altering change for the lead character. The viewer is exposed to all of these signs without a real awareness that you’re going to need them in the end. That’s probably Shyamalan’s claim to fame in all of his films. If Shyamalan doesn’t claim Christianity, he might want to investigate it as he walks a pretty fine line with the content of this movie. Signs are important and our ability to gather them together to understand a concept is a great skill.

Jesus is asked for a sign by the Jews. I think that they aren’t asking because they want to develop a faith in Him as the Messiah. They are either looking for a side-show or a chance to make Him look foolish. Jesus, speaking rather cryptically, tells them that they will indeed get a sign which will be when He raises His body from the grave three days after they kill Him. Since that isn’t exactly how He says it, they don’t get it. Instead they sneer at Him and discuss how long it took to build the Temple they currently have. The ones who actually do receive these words as a sign are His disciples who hold those words in their hearts until it actually happens and they see His greatness in this fulfilled prophecy.

There are many others, along with the disciples, who come to faith in Jesus, based on the Words He speaks and the signs that He performs. This will happen throughout the book of John. Despite the best efforts of the Pharisees to keep people away, it doesn’t work. Jesus’ love and grace are just to compelling.