| The Messiah is Here |
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What type of book is John? Biographies help us to get to know the person
Freddie Flintoff
Winston Churchill
John’s Gospel as a biography of Jesus therefore historical. What is the purpose of John? 20:29-31 signs that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ (chosen one – Messiah), the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name
Signs – we do not stop at them and linger, rather they lead us somewhere, point us somewhere – e.g. there is no point sitting next to the sign to the school / church
7 signs within John – we are looking at the first one today. Chapter 1 – John gives lots of names for Jesus e.g. Lamb of God (29), calls Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael, unnamed disciple 1:35 (John?), there is the expectation that the Messiah is here! (vv. 41) Nathanael refers to Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel (vv. 49). End of chapter 1:49-51 conversation between Nathanael and Jesus ‘You will see greater things than these’ –> Chapter 2 = first sign. Background – OT with its laws and rituals (10 commandments, hundreds added by the Jewish people)
The Messiah is here
Replacement of the old water purifications by the wine of the Kingdom of God
First 5 verses set the scene for the amazing events in 6-10
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
vv.1+2 Setting the scene
Wedding – marriage intrinsic to creation – Jesus approval of marriage Jesus is not a hermit who sitting away from the crowds and the fun!
Jesus, mother of Jesus and disciples invited – relative or close family friend, was Mary responsible for the catering?
Disciples - Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael, unnamed disciple 1:35 (John?), 12 mentioned in 6:67, when the other 7 added?
Jesus avoids the unnamed bridegroom from serious social embarrassment. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." vv. 3 Weddings could last for a week and the financial responsibility lay with the groom (vv. 9-10)
Wine did not run out because Jesus and the disciples turned up unexpectedly!
Mary says ‘They have no wine’ – statement / request? It seems looking at verse 5 that Mary expected some action
Mary, possibly a widow my now, had learned to rely upon Jesus’ resourcefulness
4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
vv. 4 Jesus’ question sets some distance between himself and his mother so that she too might come to him as the promised Messiah not just as his mother. He is on his mission to fulfil his Father’s will no one else’s!!
‘My hour has not yet come.’ This refers to Jesus death on the cross and the exaltation bound up with it. This is by way of introduction to capture the readers interest to ask questions about a theme which is developed later.
5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
vv. 5 Mary shakes off the gentle rebuke and exemplifies the best kind of preserving faith.
2:3 – Mary approaches Jesus as his mother and is reproached
2:5 – Mary responses as a believer and her faith is honoured
Mary is still unsure what Jesus will do, but she has given it to him and trusts him.
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
vv. 6 Pots collectively hold 500 – 750 litres – a lot of water – our water butt is 190 litres!
Pots made of stone that did not contract uncleanness as it is impervious – used for ceremonial washing possibly of certain utensils and guests hands.
Broader scope of ceremonial washing – water represents the old order of Jewish law and custom, which Jesus was to replace with something better, himself.
7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so,
vv. 7+8 Did the servants know who Jesus was? Taking straws to decide who would do this mad thing?
Wine taken from the jars or from the well? Did the all the water turn to wine or just what was drawn?
If all the water in the jars is turned to wine it is symbolic of the lavish provision of the new age. The Prophets of the OT told of the messianic age as a time in which wine would flow liberally (Amos 9:13-14)
‘master of the banquet’ – chief steward or head waiter. 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
vv. 9-10 Jesus supplies superior wine just as the new messianic age Jesus is introducing is superior to the old age.
Did it really happen? Diluting the original wine? Just a parable? John 21:24 says he is an eye witness and if what he had written was not true then people would have discounted it at the time, they did not and we are left with the account today. 11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. vv.11 A bookend corresponding to the first verse ‘at Cana in Galilee.’
First = Primary = new dispensation of grace and fulfilment that Jesus is inaugurating
His full glory would be revealed fully later in his cross, resurrection and exaltation, but every step along the course of his ministry was a foreshadowing of that glory.
The glory was not visible to all who had seen the miracle;
The glory cannot be identified with the miraculous display. The servants saw the sign, but not the glory; The disciples by faith perceived Jesus glory behind the sign and they put their faith in him.
How does this sign reveal Jesus’ glory? How does this sign generate faith?
1. Fact - The sign is first and foremost fact – no-one but God could do something like this!
2. Nature – the prophets of the OT spoke to the people during a difficult period of a time in the future when things would be better. ‘That day’ as they described it was to be the messianic age and one of the marks of abundance would be new wine dripping from the mountains and flowing from all the hills. These promises had not yet been fulfilled. The water changed into wine at Cana gives a glimpse of the arrival of ‘that day’.
Yet in many ways the messianic age has come and yet is also not yet, for after a quick look around one can tell that everything is not as it should be. We find within John’s gospel Jesus stating that his time has not yet come, in one sense he points to the cross and his death and resurrection, but in another way he states that the completion of the messianic age will not be until he finally returns. Therefore we can look ahead to the time when Jesus will return and the messianic age will come to completion, looking ahead to that ‘hour’.
For the disciples they responded with growing faith (vv.11), putting their faith in God’s king who has come to usher in a whole new era. However, his coming is not quite as the Jews had expected, rather it challenges the status quo, it eventually leads to the temple being replaced by Jesus as he becomes the place of meeting God. Jesus is at the centre of the new era.
For us today we must discover who Jesus is and what he has come to do. He is not some genie who provides for our felt needs, but rather the King who has come to usher in a whole new era for God’s people. Secondly, his Messiah ship is challenging as it does not fit comfortably with our expectations. Will we be like the servants who just saw the sign but not the glory and therefore did not understand who Jesus was;
Or will we be like the disciples who by faith perceived Jesus glory behind the sign and who put their faith in him and believed in Jesus. Will we continue to grow in faith as we learn from this uncomfortable Messiah? And, are we prepared to repent under His exposure – He knows what is in us – and recognise Him as the central figure in this new age? |
Amen |
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