Bible Strands
John 6:30
So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The crowd addresses Jesus immediately after He defines the work of God as believing in the One He sent. They demand a visible miracle to validate His authority before they will trust Him.
The words — The Greek σημεῖον (sēmeion) literally means "sign," marking their demand for a visible demonstration. The verb ποιεῖς (poieis) translates as "do," emphasizing their focus on His actions over His identity.
The thread — This demand for proof mirrors the unbelief recorded in John 12:37 and John 6:36, where crowds witness Jesus yet refuse to trust Him. It also connects to John 10:38, which urges belief in the works themselves when verbal claims are rejected.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to confront the gap between demanding empirical proof and accepting spiritual truth. It places the burden of faith on the observer rather than the speaker.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Cross-references
- John 12:37 Although Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still did not believe in Him.
- John 6:36 But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe.
- John 10:38 But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:22 Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
- Exodus 4:8 And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second.
- 1 Kings 13:3 That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”
- 1 Kings 13:5 And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
- Isaiah 5:19 to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
- Isaiah 7:11 “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
- Matthew 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”