1. “John carefully
selects seven miracles out of the many that Christ accomplished (cf. John
21:25) in order to build a concise case for His deity. They are called signs because they symbolize
the life-changing results of belief in Jesus—(1) water to wine: the ritual of
law is replaced by the reality of grace (2:1-11); (2 )healing the nobleman’s
son: the gospel bring spiritual restoration (4:46-54); (3) healing the
paralytic: weakness is replaced by strength (5:1-16); (4) feeding the
multitude: Christ satisfies spiritual hunger (6:1-13); (5) walking on water:
the Lord transforms fear to faith (6:16-21); (6) sight to the man born blind:
Jesus overcomes darkness and brings in light (9:1-7); (7) raising of Lazarus:
the gospel brings people from death to life (11:1-44). These signs combine to show that Jesus is
indeed the Son of God.” (Talk Through
the Bible)
2. When Jesus called
Lazarus forth from the grave he came out still bound in the grave clothes, the
clothes that spoke and smelled of the corruption of death. Jesus orders them to “take off the grave
clothes and let him go.” Lazarus had
been given new physical life but had to be released from the grave clothes to
enjoy it. In the same way those who come
to faith in Christ pass from spiritual death to life. In order to enjoy this new life we must take
off the grave clothes of the old life and put on the new life. We can’t live the new life in the grave
clothes of the old, yet many Christians try to do just that. A constant theme of the New Testament is that
we must put off the old life and put on the new life (Romans 13:11-1 &
Colossians 3:1ff are just two examples).
