Four Signs To Watch Out For
John 2:11-25
Sign, sign
Everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery
Breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that
Can't you read the sign?
And the sign said
"Long-haired freaky people
Need not apply"
So I tucked my hair up under my hat
And I went in to ask him why
He said, "You look like a fine upstandin' young man
I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat and said, "Imagine that
me workin' for you"
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign. That was back in 1971. Today, we still have signs everywhere. Our church has two.
Today’s sermon is about signs.
The “sign, sign, everywhere a sign” song didn’t like signs, but signs are not all bad. Without signs, we would not know what is where. Our church has signs so that people know that this is a church, that it is an American Baptist church, that it has services and when they are, and other information.
Can you imagine a city without signs? How would you know what a certain building is? You wouldn’t. How would you know what the streets are? What the addresses are? You wouldn’t.
God also has put up some signs. We will look at four types of signs that are in this chapter. Then we will make a few observations.
1. The Unexpected Sign
The first part of this chapter is the story of when Jesus turned the water into wine. I have skipped over reading it because we all know what happened. Jesus and His disciples were at a wedding in Cana. They ran out of wine. Jesus’ mother came to Jesus and told Him that they did not have any wine. Jesus told the servants to fill the water jars up with water and take them to the head waiter. When he tasted the water, it was wine.
John 2:11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
This was the first sign. What was this first sign showing? Just as our church sign shows that there is a church here, this sign showed something. What does it say here? It revealed Jesus’ glory. To look at Jesus, you would think that He is an ordinary person. These signs showed differently. They showed that He had glory. He had greatness. He had magnificence. He was more than a human being. When the water turned to wine, it showed this. Who else could have done this? Only God.
This was an unexpected sign. No one thought that the water would turn to wine. No one saw it coming. No one announced it ahead of time. There was no thunder, no lightning, as the water turned to wine. Jesus even acted like He wasn’t going to do it. This sign was unexpected.
God still gives us signs today, signs that point to Him. Some come unexpectedly. Wahlah. A miracle happens. Something that we didn’t ask for, something that we thought was not possible, no lightning, no thunder, it just happens.
It is easy to overlook these unexpected signs. It happened. It was nice. But was it just a coincidence? Maybe God was in it, but we didn’t ask for it. We didn’t expect it. Maybe God wasn’t in it. How many things has God done for you that were unexpected. Maybe you didn’t even see them. Maybe it was great when it happened, but now it is just everyday life. That’s the unexpected sign.
2. The Subtle Sign
John 2:13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
John 2:14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
John 2:15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
John 2:16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Nothing here says that this is a sign, but it is. It is subtle. Jesus is acting as if He is something more than a man. Who would go onto the temple grounds, a place where thousands of people are gathering, and kick out the sellers? Who would make a whip out of cords and start swinging it at people? Who would say that this place is His Father’s house? Only the Son of God. Only someone who is more than a man, someone who has glory.
Sometimes God sends us subtle signs, signs that point to Him without saying that they do. God brought the sun up this morning. A subtle sign. Your heart is beating, your lungs are breathing. A subtle sign. The birds are singing. A subtle sign. On and on, I could go. Subtle signs are all around us pointing to the glory of God.
We need to stop every once in a while and look around at the subtle signs that are all around us, signs pointing to God’s love and greatness. The subtle sign.
3. The Stated Sign
John 2:18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
John 2:20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”
John 2:21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
John 2:22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
The Jews are wanting a sign. Usually when someone wants a sign from God, it is because they have missed the signs that are there. Jesus had been doing signs (we have seen that in the previous points and we will see that in the next point), but they did not accept those signs. What sign would they accept? Probably none.
Nonetheless Jesus gave them a sign. Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. Part one of the sign, destroy this temple. Jesus will be killed. Jesus knew that the Jews were going to kill Him. He just told them. He wouldn’t die of natural causes. He would be destroyed. It is something, it is a sign, that He knew how He would die.
Part two of the sign: I will raise it again in three days. Jesus would be killed and in three days He would raise Himself back up. Take all of the people who have ever lived on this earth and apply this sign to them. How many have been killed and in three days came back to life. Only one. That One is the one who has the authority of God. That One is the one to whom belongs glory. This sign showed that. This is a stated sign that is definitive and solid. This sign points to Jesus. We all can see it.
4. Other Signs
John 2:23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.
The Passover Festival lasted for seven or eight days. Jesus was in Jerusalem during this time performing signs. It doesn’t tell us what the signs were. Was it Jesus teaching? We know that Jesus taught on the temple grounds. Maybe His teachings were signs.
Was it Jesus healing people? Making the lame to walk? Causing the blind to see? Clearing lepers up? Casting out demons? We know Jesus did all of these things. It doesn’t say that He did them here.
Could it be Jesus, just telling someone that He is the Son of God? That would be a sign. Could it be Jesus showing them in some way, maybe by His love, by His responses, that He is the Son of God. You see, a sign doesn’t have to be a miracle. It just has to show who He is.
We don’t know what these other signs were.
Jesus performed many signs. These all revealed the glory of Jesus. They showed that He was someone who could be trusted. Which brings us to our next point:
5. Signs Evoke Trust
Looking back in this passage we can see this. Signs evoke trust.
In verse 11 it says that after the first sign in Cana, His disciples believed in Him. They trusted Jesus. Signs evoke trust.
In verse 22, it says that after Jesus rose from the dead, they remembered His stated sign and they believed. Again the sign evoked trust.
Then in verse 23, it says that many people saw the signs and believed in His name. Signs evoke trust.
This is why we need to be looking for signs from God. Whether they are unexpected signs, whether they are subtle signs, whether they are stated signs, or whether they are any other kind of sign, they strengthen our trust of God. Signs evoke trust. Signs evoke trust but:
6. Jesus Did Not Trust Himself To Them
The previous verse ended by saying that they believed. Then here it says:
John 2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.
John 2:25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
See the word “entrust” here in verse 24. “Jesus would not entrust Himself to them.” The Greek word behind this word is pisteuo. This is the same Greek word for believe. Believe and entrust are the same thing. The NIV has been saying believe. Now it says entrust. It should have been consistent, entrust here, trust all the other times where it says believe. Believe in the Bible is trust.
All these people because of the signs that Jesus had done, they trusted Jesus, but Jesus did not trust Himself to them. Why? Because, as it says here, He knew them. He knew that they were only human, and He knew what humans were like. He did not trust Himself to any city or group of people. He kept moving on to more people. He didn’t organize all of these people who were trusting in Him into an army that could destroy His enemies. He didn’t trust Himself to them. He didn’t ask the Jewish leaders what He should do. He didn’t trust Himself to them. He was trusting Himself to the Father. He knew that it was the Father who would provide for Him. It was the Father who would guide Him. It was the Father would would protect Him. No one could do these things but the Father. So Jesus did not entrust Himself to them.
We also need to stop trusting other people, other things, and trust God.
So there you have it, four types of signs: the unexpected sign, the subtle sign, the stated sign, and other signs. Signs evoke trust. But Jesus did not trust Himself to anyone but the Father.
[Make up a sign that says, “JESUS IS GREATER THAN THAT”]
A couple of Sundays ago, I introduced you to Jesus. Last Sunday I told you that Jesus wants to tell you something, “Follow Me.” Today I want to show you a sign. There, now you have seen it. Jesus is greater than that. Isn’t this what all of the signs that God shows us say? Jesus is greater than that. When problems come, remember this sign. Jesus is greater than that. When Satan comes and entices you to do something wrong. Jesus is greater than that. When you see faults in other people. Jesus is greater than that. When you worry about what might be. Jesus is greater than that. When you don’t think you can make it another day. Jesus is greater than that.
This is a sign. If you look around, look in your past, look in the Bible, you will see many more signs. They show how great Jesus is. Trust them. Trust Jesus. Throw out the other things that you are trusting and lean on Jesus. Trust Him. Signs should evoke trust.
Sign. Sign. Everywhere a sign. Can’t you read the sign?
