Verses 1-12. Jesus' first miracle. He doesn't just make wine, he makes the best wine. Jesus does all things well. He lives out the mandate of doing everything to God's glory. I have to laugh a little at verse 11: this was the first miracle the disciples saw him perform, and "they put their faith in him." Jesus miraculously provides 180 gallons of fine wine at a party, and the disciples are sold!
Verses 13-17. Beginning here, Jesus goes to Jerusalem every year for the Passover and does something important. We'll see it again in John 6, and chapters 11-20 all occur during the Passover, easily half of John's gospel. Jerusalem was the religious center of Israel, and the Passover was the time of heightened spiritual awareness. The Passover festival celebrated God's deliverance of the Jews from Pharoah in ancient Egypt. The word "passover" refers to God's provision during the tenth plague: Jewish households were instructed to put lamb's blood on their doorways: the Angel of Death "passed over" those households with lamb's blood and spared the lives of their firstborn. For me, as a follower of Christ, it's uncanny how every detail of the Passover Seder (the customary celebratory meal of Passover) points to Christ, and we'll see Jesus redefine this meal as his own memorial at the Last Supper. Jesus strategically chose this time and place as his stage. The entire festival was a celebration of history He wrote to foreshadow His own coming!
The whole Jewish world was focused on Jerusalem, and specifically the temple, at this time. So Jesus created a spectacle with himself in the center of it, wreaking havoc on the cottage industry of selling sacrificial animals to pilgrims who had traveled great distances to worship at the temple, and profiting from currency exchange for the same travelers. The outer courts, where this market was operating, was the only place in the temple where non-Jews were allowed to pray. So Jesus makes his first statement to the Jews about his mission: the spiritual lives of non-Jews, like me and probably you, are important to him.
Verses 18-22. He also makes his first reference to his own eventual death and resurrection which, of course, will also occur in Jerusalem during the Passover, 2-3 years later.
Wow. Today there is a lot of stuff in our chapter. Jesus turns over the water, he turns over the temple and he turns over religious expectations. Each of you will probably resonate with one story more than others, so let us know your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFor me the idea of "turnover" strikes me. My life is in the midst of this sort of turnover. As I look at Jesus I see someone who loves to spend time with people who seem to irritate me the most - the needy, the annoying, the outcast. He also has the toughest responses for the people that I seem to like the most - religious people who seem to have it all together.
I believe God loves ALL people, the religious and non-religious, and He is turning over my life so I am more loving of the people Jesus wanted to be around. In fact, I actually am liking the people Jesus liked more and more. He is also turning my attitude over to see that I am often one of the irritating and annoying.
I love that Jesus does his first miracle infront of the servants. It's like the shepherds in in the field at his birth. God is revealing himself to the common folks, the ones that no one thinks about. I think it's an important idea to hold onto and Cameron mentioned it Sunday- God accepts us as we are, not cleaned up or schooled in the Bible. He comes to us and shares His love no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the servants cracking up as they gather water from the "tub" to serve the master of the banquet. And I imagine many of them were changed that night also.
One of the things that we may miss the most often is that Jesus wasn't just revealing himself to the common folks...he was a common folk. Those weren't just the heavy drinkers left at the end of the party, but Jesus' little group was there. Why were they still there? My hunch is because they were a bunch of "common folk" who were not the best and the brightest all the time. Jesus has a way of gathering those kind of people, doesn't he?
ReplyDeleteFunny..... I'm drawn to and really like spending time with the outcast, and am not crazy about (and am a little wary of) religious people who seem to have it all together. I have been in both categories in my life, which probably explains my compassion for the outcast, and when I reflect on those times that I 'seemed to have it all together,' I realize just how desperately untrue that was. Now, I'm somewhere in between. Just me, and really, really okay with it. I guess I know now who I am, Whose I am, and don't have to hide behind 'KAYness' anymore.
ReplyDeleteI mean, truly, isn't it humility that allows us to reveal our honest struggles and humanness, and humility (by the blood of Jesus)that cleanses and heals, humility to which He challenges us?