εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”
“ ... “What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days
I will raise it up.” ...
While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
many began to believe in His Name
when they saw the signs (τὰ σημεῖα, ta semeia)
He was doing...”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days
I will raise it up.” ...
While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
many began to believe in His Name
when they saw the signs (τὰ σημεῖα, ta semeia)
He was doing...”
John 2:13-25
Third Sunday of Lent
Third Sunday of Lent
θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)
σημεῖον (semeion), translated into English by the word sign, is an important aspect of the The Gospel according to Saint John. Many scripture scholars note the divison of this Gospel into the ‘Book of Signs’ and ‘the Book of Glory.’ Some of Jesus’ actions are recorded as signs, for example: water to wine at Cana (chapter 2, the event that preceded Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple), healing of the man born blind (chapter 9) and the calling forth of Lazarus (chapter 11). Other actions of Jesus are structurally similar to signs but are not explicitly termed such, for example: healing at the Pool of Bethesda (chapter 5) and Jesus walking on water (chapter 6). While scholarly purests debate the actual signs and their number, in the Fourth Gospel the actions of Jesus from John 1:19 though the end of chapter 12 have a number of common elements.
Signs are ‘of the senses’ in other words, there is something touchable, tangible visible, etc... (might one even say sacramental?) about Jesus’ actions. Secondly, these signs satisfy or provide a remedy for a particular and immediate need. In the Jewish World of Jesus’ day, people would have understood this as ysh (yesha often translated into English by the word salvation), that is, providing some element of the created world necessary for living. Thirdly, signs - as done by Jesus (an important point!) - ‘carry’ within them the means ‘to look’ beyond the immediate and ‘see’ or experience a deeper reality. This requires a graced choice by the recipient of the sign.
Use a stop sign as a comparison. The physical reality of the octagonal red sign or word painted on the road surface calls a driver attention at an intersection. A driver must choose to halt progress. The stop sign or painted word has no power within itself to cause a driver to stop. There is no hook that springs from the sign, grabs an axle and prohibits vehicular movement until the road is clear. In order for the automobile to stap, a driver must make a choice to do so and complete that choice by applying the brake pedal. Jesus’ signs differ. While one must make a choice, the way He performs the sign embues the sign with power, a power initially to establish a connection - should she or he choose - with the Jesus. For Jesus, His signs are intended to spark a relationship with Him, what the Scriptures (especially Saint John’s Gospel) term believing. The concreteness of a given sign ordered initially to remedying a particular emptiness is intended ultimately to draw one into communion with the Person Jesus Who alone satisfies all the hungers of the human heart.
Signs are ‘of the senses’ in other words, there is something touchable, tangible visible, etc... (might one even say sacramental?) about Jesus’ actions. Secondly, these signs satisfy or provide a remedy for a particular and immediate need. In the Jewish World of Jesus’ day, people would have understood this as ysh (yesha often translated into English by the word salvation), that is, providing some element of the created world necessary for living. Thirdly, signs - as done by Jesus (an important point!) - ‘carry’ within them the means ‘to look’ beyond the immediate and ‘see’ or experience a deeper reality. This requires a graced choice by the recipient of the sign.
Use a stop sign as a comparison. The physical reality of the octagonal red sign or word painted on the road surface calls a driver attention at an intersection. A driver must choose to halt progress. The stop sign or painted word has no power within itself to cause a driver to stop. There is no hook that springs from the sign, grabs an axle and prohibits vehicular movement until the road is clear. In order for the automobile to stap, a driver must make a choice to do so and complete that choice by applying the brake pedal. Jesus’ signs differ. While one must make a choice, the way He performs the sign embues the sign with power, a power initially to establish a connection - should she or he choose - with the Jesus. For Jesus, His signs are intended to spark a relationship with Him, what the Scriptures (especially Saint John’s Gospel) term believing. The concreteness of a given sign ordered initially to remedying a particular emptiness is intended ultimately to draw one into communion with the Person Jesus Who alone satisfies all the hungers of the human heart.
