Signs in John's Gospel, A Study About the Structure of and Purpose for John's Gospel by Arlen L Chitwood and published by Classics.
According to John 20:30 & 31, Jesus performed numerous signs during His earthly ministry (far more than the thirty-six recorded in the four gospels). And the Spirit of God singled out eight signs from among the numerous signs which Christ had performed and moved John to record them in his gospel, for a stated purpose: “…that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (v. 31b). Thus, the Spirit of God, after He had moved John to record these eight signs, then moved John to provide the reason why this had been done – something stated in such a manner that it should not be missed by anyone.
These eight signs were originally performed and later recorded in order that those requiring a sign, the Jewish people (I Cor. 1:22), might “believe that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah, the One Who was to rule and reign], the Son of God [God’s Firstborn Son, the One Whom God recognized as possessing the rights of primogeniture].” And through believing the preceding, resulting from the manifested signs, the Jewish people “might have life through his name [not eternal life (which they already possessed) but life in keeping with that to which the signs pointed – life in the proffered kingdom].”
