The Woman at the Well
This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee. John 4:54 · Berean Standard Bible
The Gospel writer notes that this was the second miraculous sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee. The first was turning water into wine in this same town.
John is carefully tracking these signs, showing that each one reveals something more about who Jesus is. The first showed His power over nature; the second showed His power over sickness and distance.
The Gospel writer steps back to give you the bigger picture, connecting this miracle to the first one and showing the pattern of revelation.
Two signs in Cana, and each one takes your understanding of Jesus deeper. He is not just powerful in person; His word carries the same authority across miles. That is the kind of Savior you are dealing with.
The narrator identifies this as the 'second sign' (deuteron sēmeion) performed after coming from Judea to Galilee, creating a literary bookend with the first Cana sign (2:11, water to wine). The enumeration emphasizes the progressive revelation of Jesus' glory through signs.
By numbering only these two signs (while many others occur between them), John creates an inclusio that frames the Cana-to-Cana narrative arc, highlighting the progression from sign-faith to word-faith.
The narrator provides an editorial summary, numbering this miracle as the second sign and connecting it to the first Cana miracle.
John brackets Jesus' early ministry with two Cana miracles: the first transformed water into wine, the second healed a boy through a spoken word. Together they reveal a Jesus whose power operates through both presence and word, across both proximity and distance.
52So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”
53Then the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and all his household believed.
54This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee.
Read all of John 4 — A Samaritan woman comes to draw water at noon and leaves having encountered the Messiah. Social barriers shatter in a single conversation.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad