It’s Not About the Sign
by Doy Moyer
A well-known restaurant chain, which shall remain nameless, recently was in the news for changing a long-standing sign and logo. The backlash was strong, and they ultimately reversed their decision. I’m not concerned about the particulars of that controversy, but I do want to note one thing. Some characterized the controversy as just being over a logo. However, it was never just the logo. People were reacting to what they thought was a deeper issue, and they felt that the change in the sign demonstrated a more systemic change that they were not happy with. You may agree or not with the outcome, but the point is to realize that a sign is never just a sign by itself. A sign points to something and represents a greater concept.
It won’t surprise you to know that the use of this illustration is not really about a restaurant. The principle works for greater matters, and this is about Jesus. Recall in John 6 that Jesus worked the sign of feeding the five thousand. Many were impressed, of course, and followed after Jesus. The words of Jesus must have hit hard when He rooted out why they were following Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal” (John 6:26-27).
They followed because He could feed them. They saw a brilliant sign, but that’s not what they were concerned about. They wanted the food, and Jesus could give it to them. Yet what Jesus taught in this great chapter is that His business in coming to the world was not about the food or the sign. The sign was the multiplication of the food, but the people could not see past it to what that sign truly represented, thereby missing the point of why Jesus was there. Jesus taught them the meaning.
He is the true food, the bread of life come down from heaven, and we must partake of Him. “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’” (John 6:32-35). The sign pointed to a much greater reality. By pointing to Jesus, the sign fulfilled its purpose. It was never meant to be left to itself. It was not just to feed people or to entertain. It was to point to Jesus Himself as the Bread of Life.
John noted the purpose of the recorded signs at the end of his work: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). Jesus worked the signs, but why? What did they mean? John tells us that the signs indicated that Jesus is the Son of God, and that by believing in Him we may have life. It was never just about the signs. It was about Jesus, who He is, and what He does beyond the physical actions accomplished through the signs.
This is not to say that signs are unimportant. They are important because they point to the meaning behind them. If we see a sign for a rest stop as we travel, then we reasonably expect there to be an actual rest stop when we pull over for it. The same would hold true of a sign we put on our building in which we meet. If we are going to put up a sign indicating that we are a church belonging to Christ, then we need to take that seriously so that when people see beyond the sign, they truly see people dedicated to Christ—otherwise, the sign points to something that isn’t really there.
When Jesus worked a sign, it was not a smokescreen or a magic trick. The power of the signs was that they represented the power of God and the authority that is always His. The signs were like the shadows of the true reality that lay behind them. When we study the signs and wonders of Jesus, then, we need to look not just at the sign, but at the greater reality that made the sign possible in the first place. Just as the disciples proclaimed after seeing Jesus walking on water, we also confess to our Lord, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33).
