In both the gospels of Mark and John, the writers show that Jesus far surpassed the Messianic expectations of the Jewish people. In John's gospel this is shown in the following ways:

(i) Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, 1 :45, 5 :39.

(ii) The cleansing of the Temple is a Messianic act at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, 2:1 -22.

(iii) Jesus was the 'prophet like Moses' (7:40--43) predicted in Deuteronomy 18: 15.

(iv) He healed the lame and the blind (chapter 5 and 9) as was predicted in Isaiah 35:5-6.

(v) He is the light of the world, 1:5, 9,8:12,12:46, fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 9:2, 60:1-3.

(vi) He is the fountain of living water, chapter 4 and 7 :37-38, reflecting the prophecy of Ezekiel 47 about the life-giving river that will flow from Jerusalem.

(vii) He is the true Shepherd (chapter 10), fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel 34.

(viii) He restores life to the dead, 11:1-44.

John presents seven miracles of Jesus as signs which lead to belief that Jesus is the Messiah and are an essential part of God's saving activity in Jesus Christ. There is emphasis on the symbolic meaning of these miracles. Jesus' own word for miracle in John's gospel is 'work' and he uses it to describe either what he does or what his Father does. It is used eighteen times. The seven signs are:

-changing water into wine, 2:1-12

-healing of an official's son, 4 :46-54

-healing at the Pool of Bethzatha, 5 :1-18

-feeding of the crowd, 6: 1-15

-walking on the water, 6: 1-6-21

- healing of a blind man, 9: 1-41

-raising of Lazarus from death, 11 :1-54

The seven signs point towards the ultimate sign of who Jesus is, the Resurrection (chapters 20,21). The signs deepen belief in those who accept Jesus (2:11, 3:2) but are not understood by his opponents (12:37,15:24).

The Jewish leaders are portrayed as the enemies of Jesus the Messiah and there are sixty-six references to their hostility.

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