The Cross at the Beginning

As I've been reading and studying about the first miracle, I've found that this is so much more than Jesus simply saving a young couple from the embarrassment of running out of wine.

The water into wine is an incredible miracle. Initially I thought it was simple gesture of grace to save a young couple from the embarrassment of failing to plan for a wedding celebration. But this is Jesus we are talking about, when does His life ever stop at a simple gesture of grace? This miracle goes so much deeper, and it points to Him as the Lord and Savior of mankind.

The six ceremonial jars were there for cleansing, according to Jewish law. The water in them was to fulfill the Old Covenant. The Jews had to wash their hands before eating, and to be really clean, in between each course of the meal. The water was there to keep the law. Jesus takes that water that would be used in repetitive washing for continuous cleansing, and He transforms it into the wine that satisfies and allows the celebration to continue.

"Old covenant water became new covenant wine. Jesus came to exchange the Mosaic law for the higher law of love. He takes the ceremonial water that enslaved the people to the legalism of the law, and turns it to wine allowing them to celebrate the grace and power of God. Jesus’ cleansing blood is the wine that satisfies forever. Christ fulfills the requirements of the law, He shed His blood to free us from the law, so that we may live lives not concerned with following the rules, but lives focused on glorifying God. 'Christ transformed temple-cleansing water into eternal-saving wine.'” (Holman New Testament Commentary)

This miracle, this simple act of grace, points to the greatest act of grace that has ever been demonstrated. As Jesus stood in the corner watching the trusting servant hand a glass of water, (remember the text tells us the servant drew out some of the water and handed it to the head waiter, and then it became the wine) He probably reflected on the purpose of His presence on earth. There at the very beginning of His ministry He is confronted with His mission. Here at the beginning He is reminded of the death that He will die in three years. He has come not go abolish the law, but to fulfill it so that the people could be freed from the condemnation of the law. The only way to do this was the cross. There at the very beginning, He saw it, and He continues knowing that this path lead to Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem, to Calvary. The cross was there at the beginning.

This is the mindset He goes into His earthly ministry with, knowing that He would face death. But at the same time He sees the joy of the celebration that the wine has provided by allowing the celebration to continue. And in this I think there was encouragement, His death, His shed blood, the wine of the New Covenant, would bring about the greatest celebration that the universe has ever known.

Peace be with you

To the Brim

We're working through the Gospel of John, this week I'm not preaching due to getting married, so I'm trying to take advantage of the time and get a week ahead on sermon prep. Each week the sermon writing process begins with repetitive reading of the text, and writing down things I notice, questions I have, insights that God gives me. My mentor told me, "Don't make the mistake of consulting commentaries too soon. Once you look at one, you don't know what is you and what is someone else."

The next text I'm working with is John 2.1-12, the first miracle of water into wine. It takes place at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, fitting for my current life situation. Reading the text several times I noticed the three words at the end of verse 7.

"Jesus said to them, 'Fill the water pots with water.' So they filled them up to the brim."

Mary, it's thought that she was possibly the wedding coordinator since she is handling the issue of no more wine, tells Jesus of the issue. She then tells the servants to do whatever He says. There are six stone water pots that each hold twenty to thirty gallons of water. And then Jesus says, fill them with water. They do, they fill them to the brim. They put as much water into these jars as they can. They give Jesus as much as they can for Him to work with.

They had no idea what Jesus would do, John 2.11 tells us that this is the first miracle Jesus has ever performed. Three years later they would have expected something like this, but not now. Now He is just a simple carpenter from Nazareth. He hasn't fed the 5,000 yet; He hasn't healed a leper or restored the sight of a blind man. He hasn't driven out a demon or given a dead man back his life, right now He is just a man who said, "Fill these with water."

The servants didn't hold back, they filled them to the brim. Getting water wouldn't have been easy, they would have had to either take the water pots to a well, or get water from the well in a smaller jar and carry it back several times to fill these pots. Regardless, it's a lot of work. But they don't slack off, they don't hold back. They put as much water as these pots will hold in them.

How often do we go to the brim? With our time, how often do we make God a priority and truly focus on Him during our prayer and devotional time? With our money, do we give exactly what God requires to the cent,($231.73 an example), or do we fill it to the brim?

God always does His best. We read that the wine Jesus makes is the best wine. We see this with every miracle. Jesus always does the best. People who receive healing and healed fully. When Jesus makes food to feed the multitude, there is extra left over to provide for His followers. Jesus went to the cross and died there. He took the beating, carried the cross, and hung on it for hours. Jesus always fills the water pot to the brim. Why don't we? Why do we hold back form the one who has given us so much?

When Jesus says "Fill this pot" fill it to the brim. Give Him your best, He deserves it because He always gives us His best.

Peace be with you