StoneBridge Community Church
Senior Pastor Jon Saur
In Revealed: God at Work, we will be looking to the signs that Jesus performs in the Gospel of John. "Signs" are more than just miracles - they point to deeper truths about God's work in the world and what God's eternal life offers us. Join us, so that you can see God's work in your life more clearly!
John 5:1-9 NRSV
John 5:10-18 NRSV
"Signs" in the Bible
New Testament scholar Marianne Meye Thompson writes about "signs" in the Old Testament and what they signified, so that we can better understand the context of Jesus' "signs." Thompson writes:
The term "'Signs,' often linked with 'wonders,' occurs frequently in the Old Testament to refer to plagues and others acts accompanying God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt. But many other things are also called 'signs': the rainbow; circumcision; the lamb's blood on the doorposts; the Sabbath; the words of God to be bound on one's hand, forehead and doorposts; the birth of a child; the fertility of crops in the land; and heavenly portents. Such things are "signs" because they are indicators of God's work in the world. Whether extraordinary (portents in the heaven) or ordinary (the slaying of the lamb; the circumcision of a baby), these things are 'signs' because they are not ends in themselves; signs function primarily to point to to God's work."
Moses and God's Debate
Below is the passage from Exodus that Pastor Jon mentioned. Many have debated the meaning of this passage and argued that Moses didn't really change God's mind. If we take the text at face value, though, Moses is able to persuade God to do something differently. This can be a difficult text to line up with our theology. How do you interpret this passage?
Exodus 32:11-14 NRSV
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Are you familiar with the story of Jesus' third sign in the Gospel of John? How have you interpreted this man's story? Is Pastor Jon's interpretation the same, similar or different? How so?
2. How do you interpret the man's response to Jesus? Is it positive? Negative? Ambiguous?
3. After the man is healed, he shows little to no curiosity about Jesus. Do you see people responding to God's work in their lives similarly? Do you ever respond to God's work in your life similarly? Why or why not?
4. God isn't here to be our genie and fulfill our every desire. But, that doesn't we mean should stop bringing our desires to Jesus in prayer. What is the appropriate balance between letting Jesus know our desires and trying to control God? How can Christians best strike that balance?
5. Does your relationship with Jesus raise more questions about God's work in the world, or fewer questions?
QUESTIONS FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
1. Has someone ever done something nice for you? What was it?
2. How did you respond to that person? Did it make you more or less curious about who they were and why they were nice?
3. When Jesus does something good in our lives, it should make us more curious about who he is. What are some questions you wonder about Jesus?
