Seven Sign of the Kingdom
What do you
think of when you hear the word “sign”?
It indicates something which should have a clear meaning. Some sign are more important than
others. There are all sorts of
signs. If you remember when you took the
test for you driving licence there were signs that you had to recognize as they
were important. If you didn’t know what
they meant you would probably not get your licence. When you did begin to drive they were very
important to proper driving. Some road
signs are recommendations like suggested speeds and some are cautionary like
slow moving vehicle signs. Others are
requirements like speed limits which people more or less observe—rather
honoured in the breech—like speed limits which you can usually fudge a bit
without getting into trouble. I usually
drive 10 km over the speed limit when road and traffic and weather conditions
allow and am pretty sure I won’t get a ticket.
Some are ones you should always obey like traffic lights—red means stop
and a stop sign means stop.
There are
some signs which are not as clear in their meaning. You have some figures of people which
represent which is the washroom for men and which are for women. They are useful and fairly important to
recognize. It has the potential to be
embarrassing if you get them wrong.
Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between them and I find
myself stopping and comparing the two figures to make sure I get the right
one. So some signs are mandatory and
some are optional and some are inconvenient and some can lead to consequences
that could be embarrassing but not serious.
However, there are many signs in this world and the world would be a
very different place without them.
Today’s
Gospel reading is from John. Now John’s
Gospel is very different from the other three.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are sometimes called the Synoptic Gospels as they
are very similar and seem to be drawing water from the same well. Indeed Mark is thought to be the earliest
and Matthew and Luke drew extensively from Mark as well as other sources. However, John’s Gospel is a different kettle
of fish. It is thought to be the latest
– probably written about 90 CE. There, I
have just given you the first lesson in the introduction to the New Testament
Bible study. Don’t worry there won’t be
a test at the end.
There are
many significant differences between John and the Synoptic Gospels. One of the major differences is that John
speaks of signs. These are in some cases
things Jesus does that are usually considered to me miracles. There are seven important signs that John
identifies:
- Water to wine (2:1-12)
- Healing of the official’s son (4:43-54)
- Healing a paralyzed man (5:1-15)
- Feeding 5000 (6:1-15)
- Walking on water (6:16-24)
- Healing a man born blind (9:1-12)
- Raising Lazarus from the dead (11:1-44)
N.T. Wright describes the meaning of Signs in the gospel of John like
this,
The whole
point of signs is that they are moments when heaven and earth intersect with
each other. (That’s what the Jews believed happened in the Temple.) The point
is not that they are stories which couldn’t have happened in real life, but
which point away from earth to a heavenly reality. – N.T. Wright John for Everyone, 21.
N. T. Wright is the retired
Bishop of Durham England and a world famous theologian. He will be delivering
the R. T. Orr lecture at Huron College this Wednesday. However, I don’t completely agree with him on
this.
I believe that the signs which
John records are pointing to a different reality on earth and not just away
from earth to a heavenly reality. A few
weeks ago I spoke about biblical miracles and noted that how to understand
biblical miracles is a challenge for many modern Christians and it is a
challenge that I have struggled with for many years as part of my faith
journey. My approach at this point in my
journey is not to be concerned about the literal facts. What is important for me is the truth that is
contained in the event and not the truth of the events. How are we to understand the truth of the
message that is contained in the scripture passage?
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells
Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world,
my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’
This world that Jesus speaks of is the way this world understand a
kingdom. This world’s kings and Emperors
were absolute and used ther power to control and conquer people by means of
force. Jesus’ kingdom is ruled by love.
The seven signs of John’s
Gospel point to that kingdom. The first
sign is a celebration of a marriage which has run out of wine which was central
to that celebration. The marriage is a
sign of the union of two people which enables them or at least helps them to
live out God’s intended purpose. It is a
beginning of what is possible in the kingdom.
The next two signs are healing; one of a man’s son and the other of a
paralytic. The man’s son was restored to
life pointing to the life that is possible even though it may seem like our
lives are dead and meaningless. The
paralytic man was brought out of a life in which he was not able to engage with
life. The next sign is the feeding of
the five thousand. Through Jesus we will
be fed with the spiritual food that feeds our spirits and our souls. In the next sign Jesus walks on water. This is a somewhat different account than in
the Synoptic accounts. Here the
disciples are afraid when they see Jesus approaching but when he engaged them
they were no longer afraid and were willing to take him into their boat. We need to be able to put aside all our
reservations and welcome Jesus into our lives fully. The next sign is the healing of the man born
blind. Jesus will enable us to see the
truth of the kingdom which is based on love.
Love is more powerful than hate and will enable us to overcome the fear
that we have and our need for absolute security. The final sign is the raising of
Lazarus. As I noted in my sermon on this
sign the key for me is the last statement of Jesus, “Unbind him, and let him
go.” This is exactly what Jesus is
saying to each of us. We are to unbind
ourselves from the things which bind us hand and foot and prevent us from
living the full life that Jesus calls us to.
John has given us hints of
what the kingdom of God can be like. It
can point to a kingdom which is ruled by love and not power. It point to a kingdom in which we love God
with all our hearts and souls and minds and strength and our neighbours and
ourselves. Thanks be to God.
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