LIFE THROUGH HIS NAME

SEVENTH SIGN. SISTERS' BROTHER RAISED (11:1-46).

`I have finished the work' (ergon).

`That the world may believe' (pisteuo) (11:47 to 20:31).

EIGHTH SIGN. DRAUGHT OF FISHES (21:1-14).

The eight `signs' alternate with six intervening sections, each of

which is characterized by a double reference to `works' and `belief',

except in the case of the healing of the nobleman's son, where `works'

are not mentioned. The eight signs are patently in correspondence, but

it will be useful to make sure that all see that the six intervening

sections are also carefully arranged and in perfect balance.  The

importance of this may not at the moment be obvious, but we trust that,

by the time we have finished our study, the working out of the

revelation given in the prologue will be evident. The following is the

structure of the intervening links:

A 2:13 to 4:42.  My meat is ... to finish His work.

B 4:53,54.

He believed.

C 5:16-47.

My Father worketh ... and I work.

C 6:26 to 8:59.

This is the work of God ... the works of your

father.

The works ... in My Father's name bear witness.

A 11:47 to 20:31. I have finished the work.

This important inter-relation gives us the Lord's own emphasis,

and the more of this we can see, the less we need the help of man.

Some may have already observed that the structure given of John's

Gospel is entirely different from any hitherto published. It would have

been easy to have adopted the structure already set out in The

Companion Bible, and hours of labour would have been saved, but this

would not have been living up to the title of The Berean Expositor.

We could not ignore John's own significant statement in chapter 20,

and a new structure was therefore necessary.