Friday, November 18, 2011
Beauty & Brokenness
Last night around 8:00 pm I got landed in Jackson, MS after spending 4 days and 3 nights in Haiti (Ganthier to be exact). I was invited to go along with a group from First Baptist Church of Jackson to check out the work that is being done over there by a group call But God Ministries (www.butgodministries.com). During my brief time there I saw more poverty and devastation than I could ever imagine. The people of this country work themselves nearly to death each day just to survive. Now, when I use the survive, I don't mean it in the same sense that we think of as surviving here in America. We think we can't survive if we can't buy material extras and take vacations. The people of Haiti commute for hours, work long days in blistering sun, and do it all for the equivalent of $5 per day (and this is a good wage in Haiti). I could type pages upon pages about Haiti, this particular ministry, and the various missionaries and agencies that I encountered during my time there, but you can find much of that information on your own. What I want to ask all of you who come across this blog to do is to pray for these people. Pray that God continues to provide for this group in Haiti and for all Haitians. Pray for But God Ministries as they continue to work towards establishing basic life needs in areas that don't have them. Pray for the Logan family (Thomas, Dainelle, Cameron, and Caden) as they work through Thrist No More to oversee the construction of this missionary village. Pray that God will work in your heart and lead you to an opportunity where you may worry help those who are truly struggling to survive.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
John 2:1-11 "A Joyful Sign"
Here for us, in the second chapter of John’s gospel, we have an account from a wedding festival. A wedding reception. A celebration of an ordinance instituted by God during creation. A truly wonderful event. This particular wedding comes at the end of an eventful 7 days in the earthly ministry of Jesus. The first was the day on which John the Baptist confronted the Jewish delegation from Jerusalem. Follow that with the day on which John identified Jesus for the first time as “the Lamb of God.” The third day has Andrew and an unnamed disciple (most likely Simon) called to follow Jesus. The next day, Andrew calls his brother Peter to follow Jesus as well. The fifth day Jesus called Nathanael. Then there was an entire day spent traveling. On this seventh day, Jesus arrives in Cana and is invited, along with his disciples, to a wedding.
This seventh day, however, is much more than a wedding day. It is much more than the end of an eventful week in the life of Jesus. This day, this account, this wedding, is the official beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Not the wedding itself, but something that happens during the festival following the wedding. Before we look more closely at the events of this occasion and their significance, I want to focus in on the setting for a brief moment. You see, we are told very clearly in the text that Jesus was welcomed at the wedding. He was an invited guest and was gladly present. Jesus is enjoying himself amongst those who are celebrating and having a joyful time. Many Christians today would be well served if they kept this thought in mind. In fact, throughout Scripture, it is quite common for Jesus to be present at events like this and to be enjoying himself. You see, Jesus is giving us a great example for evangelism here. Jesus is enjoying himself amongst those who are gathered together for a good time. He doesn’t pass just judgment on them, but instead, as we will examine next, he points them to himself. He uses this opportunity to point people to him while not lecturing them or doing it in a condemning way.
As the evening continued and as the crowd gathered together to celebrate this wedding, a problem arises. The wine that the bridegroom is serving runs out. Now, the significance of this problem is a little lost on us in this day-and-age. Even though running out of something is never desired by a host, if we are at a wedding reception or some other type of party and supplies of any kind are running low we either send someone to go get more in advance of running out or we simply tell folks that we’re out and they will just have to deal with it. But you see, in Jesus’ day these 2 options were out of the realm of consideration. It was a serious thing to have a shortage of something at a party. It was a total embarrassment to the host, and in some cases there could even be some type of criminal charges brought against the host for his lack of preparation. The fact that the shortage is of wine is of particular significance. Wine was especially high on this list of important items as it was thought of as a symbol of joy. Many of the rabbis would say, “Without wine there is no joy.” So to run out of wine was almost like the newly married couple admitting that neither they nor their guests were happy.
Have you ever been in a setting where everyone was there more out of obligation and no one was having a good time; not even the hosts of the event? One of the very fist Christmas’ that Amy and I spent together was quite awkward. We had just gotten engaged right after Thanksgiving of that year and so we decided that we would attend at least a portion of the family festivities of the other’s family. I drove to her grandparent’s house in Seminary, MS about an hour away from my parent’s house in Meridian. I knocked on the door, walked in, and found everyone sitting in stone-cold silence. Siblings were sitting across the room from one another, no one was making eye-contact, nothing! So, in my infinite wisdom, I walked in and blurted out, “What’s wrong, somebody get into a fight our something?” Immediately every eye in the room turned and stared at me with that look that doesn’t even require words to convey how badly I have messed up. You see, there was a fight. One of Amy’s uncle’s has a dog named Josie, and she had bitten her younger cousin Scotty. This caused some tension between Josie’s owner and Scotty’s daddy. The entire Christmas atmosphere that is usually filled with laughter, enjoyment, and quality family time, was now filled with a sense of “can we just hurry up and get this over with.” You see, for this wedding to run out of wine would have given the joyous celebration a much different feel; a feel very similar to that which I experienced during that particular Christmas season.
We may want to laugh at this notion and think about wine in the sense of libations and good times. But you see, John, the writer of this gospel, always sees the spiritual meaning in the most ordinary of events. Think back to last week, to last Sunday. Whether you were here or worshipping with another congregation, there is a good chance that you partook in the Lord’s Supper. The elements of the bread and the wine hold significant meaning. For the purposes of this account today think specifically of the wine. While distributing the wine to the people, it is common for the pastor to remind us of the significance that particular element. “This cup is the new covenant of my blood, which is shed for the remission of sins. Drink all of it.” Think back to the words of the rabbis, “Without wine there is no joy.” Without Christ’s blood, there is no joy. Without Christ, there is no joy. There may be temporary gratification, but without Jesus Christ there is no real, lasting joy.
After being informed by his mother that the wine was gone and consequently that a sense of embarrassment would soon overtake the current feeling of joy, Jesus responds to her by saying, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Now first off, this term “Woman” is meant as no disrespect to Mary. In our modern context if I were to call my mom or my wife “Woman” instead of using their name they might just haul off and hit me. But here, it is meant as a sign of respect. This was the equivalent of referring to her as a lady. It was the same way that he spoke to her from the cross when he committed her into John’s care. This discourse shows that Jesus is aware that it is not time for his greatest act. The time of his crucifixion has not yet come. You see, as you read John’s gospel you continuously see Jesus referencing his coming hour again and again.
But despite this gentle rebuke that he makes towards Mary and despite the fact that he clearly states that his hour has not yet come, Jesus steps in. We see Mary tell the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. (Once again, John’s words are much more far-reaching than the immediate context of the story. How well would they be served to obey those simple words for all their lives?) Instead of condemning the people for their over-indulgence at this point, Jesus acts to allow the celebration to continue. He is going to solve the problem of no wine. We need to take note of the fact that this act of turning water into wine was not done with an audience around him. It wasn’t done with someone gathering people around Jesus so that they could witness what he was about to do. No, Jesus goes off with the servants to six pots that were filled with water. And these weren’t just any six pots. These pots weren’t the typical or usual pots made out of mud that were common during this day. These pots were made out of stone. The reason being that since they were used for purification, being made out of stone would keep all dirt from penetrating into them and contaminating the water.
So these servants follow Jesus to the pots and he tells them to fill them up, and they do. They fill them up to the brim. After filling them, Jesus tells them to take some water out and take it to the master of the feast. This person would have been like a best man or master of ceremonies type of figure. He samples the water and immediately realizes that it is not water at all, but it’s in fact wine. And not just any wine, but good wine, really good wine. In fact, it’s the best wine he’s tasted all night. A practice that would have been the opposite of the day. Normally the best wine was served earliest and the cheaper stuff brought out after everyone had had their fill.
But don’t just think of the quality of this wine; think of the quantity as well. As it is given to us here in the text, the total amount of water that the 6 pots would have held is somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of water since they were filled to the brim. Now, one gallon of wine is about 5 standard sized bottles of wine by today’s measure. Doing the math, that comes out to be somewhere between 600 and 900 bottles of wine. There is a good chance that this would have been even more than was originally present for all of the guests, and not just by a little bit. It is very probable that amount of water that Jesus turned into wine greatly exceeds the amount of wine purchased for this wedding festival.
So think about this for a second, Jesus produced the best wine of the evening and a much greater amount of wine than one could imagine. When we think of wine in the terms that we have already mentioned and substitute joy for wine, then we see things in a whole new light. The joy that we have in Jesus is so much greater than any joy that we can hope to experience in our lifetime. The amount of joy that we have in Christ is so much greater than we could ever imagine. Do not think that if you come to Jesus, if you accept him as your Lord and Savior, that there will ever come a day when you will find yourself empty of joy. If that is ever the case, it is because you have drawn away from him and not because he has failed you. Without a doubt, the Christ who produced the abundance of good wine, who we know to have oversupplied the crowd with loaves and fish, who said, “He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” certainly such a Christ is able to supply all we need.
As this wedding festival account comes to an end we find the words of verse 11, which reads, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” I think the correct translation here is to use the word “signs” and not “miracles”. Although this is a miracle performed by Jesus, the notion of this being a sign is much more descriptive of what is taking place here and what John is wanting to convey. This sign is pointing to something much greater than the event itself. It points to Jesus himself as the One. It’s pointing to Christ as the One who spoke the word of truth. This sign represents God’s acknowledging that Jesus is sent from Him. There truly is no person, place, or thing that we can look to for greater joy than that which we have in Jesus Christ. Any life that is devoid of Christ, is a life that is lacking any real and lasting joy.
This seventh day, however, is much more than a wedding day. It is much more than the end of an eventful week in the life of Jesus. This day, this account, this wedding, is the official beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Not the wedding itself, but something that happens during the festival following the wedding. Before we look more closely at the events of this occasion and their significance, I want to focus in on the setting for a brief moment. You see, we are told very clearly in the text that Jesus was welcomed at the wedding. He was an invited guest and was gladly present. Jesus is enjoying himself amongst those who are celebrating and having a joyful time. Many Christians today would be well served if they kept this thought in mind. In fact, throughout Scripture, it is quite common for Jesus to be present at events like this and to be enjoying himself. You see, Jesus is giving us a great example for evangelism here. Jesus is enjoying himself amongst those who are gathered together for a good time. He doesn’t pass just judgment on them, but instead, as we will examine next, he points them to himself. He uses this opportunity to point people to him while not lecturing them or doing it in a condemning way.
As the evening continued and as the crowd gathered together to celebrate this wedding, a problem arises. The wine that the bridegroom is serving runs out. Now, the significance of this problem is a little lost on us in this day-and-age. Even though running out of something is never desired by a host, if we are at a wedding reception or some other type of party and supplies of any kind are running low we either send someone to go get more in advance of running out or we simply tell folks that we’re out and they will just have to deal with it. But you see, in Jesus’ day these 2 options were out of the realm of consideration. It was a serious thing to have a shortage of something at a party. It was a total embarrassment to the host, and in some cases there could even be some type of criminal charges brought against the host for his lack of preparation. The fact that the shortage is of wine is of particular significance. Wine was especially high on this list of important items as it was thought of as a symbol of joy. Many of the rabbis would say, “Without wine there is no joy.” So to run out of wine was almost like the newly married couple admitting that neither they nor their guests were happy.
Have you ever been in a setting where everyone was there more out of obligation and no one was having a good time; not even the hosts of the event? One of the very fist Christmas’ that Amy and I spent together was quite awkward. We had just gotten engaged right after Thanksgiving of that year and so we decided that we would attend at least a portion of the family festivities of the other’s family. I drove to her grandparent’s house in Seminary, MS about an hour away from my parent’s house in Meridian. I knocked on the door, walked in, and found everyone sitting in stone-cold silence. Siblings were sitting across the room from one another, no one was making eye-contact, nothing! So, in my infinite wisdom, I walked in and blurted out, “What’s wrong, somebody get into a fight our something?” Immediately every eye in the room turned and stared at me with that look that doesn’t even require words to convey how badly I have messed up. You see, there was a fight. One of Amy’s uncle’s has a dog named Josie, and she had bitten her younger cousin Scotty. This caused some tension between Josie’s owner and Scotty’s daddy. The entire Christmas atmosphere that is usually filled with laughter, enjoyment, and quality family time, was now filled with a sense of “can we just hurry up and get this over with.” You see, for this wedding to run out of wine would have given the joyous celebration a much different feel; a feel very similar to that which I experienced during that particular Christmas season.
We may want to laugh at this notion and think about wine in the sense of libations and good times. But you see, John, the writer of this gospel, always sees the spiritual meaning in the most ordinary of events. Think back to last week, to last Sunday. Whether you were here or worshipping with another congregation, there is a good chance that you partook in the Lord’s Supper. The elements of the bread and the wine hold significant meaning. For the purposes of this account today think specifically of the wine. While distributing the wine to the people, it is common for the pastor to remind us of the significance that particular element. “This cup is the new covenant of my blood, which is shed for the remission of sins. Drink all of it.” Think back to the words of the rabbis, “Without wine there is no joy.” Without Christ’s blood, there is no joy. Without Christ, there is no joy. There may be temporary gratification, but without Jesus Christ there is no real, lasting joy.
After being informed by his mother that the wine was gone and consequently that a sense of embarrassment would soon overtake the current feeling of joy, Jesus responds to her by saying, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Now first off, this term “Woman” is meant as no disrespect to Mary. In our modern context if I were to call my mom or my wife “Woman” instead of using their name they might just haul off and hit me. But here, it is meant as a sign of respect. This was the equivalent of referring to her as a lady. It was the same way that he spoke to her from the cross when he committed her into John’s care. This discourse shows that Jesus is aware that it is not time for his greatest act. The time of his crucifixion has not yet come. You see, as you read John’s gospel you continuously see Jesus referencing his coming hour again and again.
But despite this gentle rebuke that he makes towards Mary and despite the fact that he clearly states that his hour has not yet come, Jesus steps in. We see Mary tell the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. (Once again, John’s words are much more far-reaching than the immediate context of the story. How well would they be served to obey those simple words for all their lives?) Instead of condemning the people for their over-indulgence at this point, Jesus acts to allow the celebration to continue. He is going to solve the problem of no wine. We need to take note of the fact that this act of turning water into wine was not done with an audience around him. It wasn’t done with someone gathering people around Jesus so that they could witness what he was about to do. No, Jesus goes off with the servants to six pots that were filled with water. And these weren’t just any six pots. These pots weren’t the typical or usual pots made out of mud that were common during this day. These pots were made out of stone. The reason being that since they were used for purification, being made out of stone would keep all dirt from penetrating into them and contaminating the water.
So these servants follow Jesus to the pots and he tells them to fill them up, and they do. They fill them up to the brim. After filling them, Jesus tells them to take some water out and take it to the master of the feast. This person would have been like a best man or master of ceremonies type of figure. He samples the water and immediately realizes that it is not water at all, but it’s in fact wine. And not just any wine, but good wine, really good wine. In fact, it’s the best wine he’s tasted all night. A practice that would have been the opposite of the day. Normally the best wine was served earliest and the cheaper stuff brought out after everyone had had their fill.
But don’t just think of the quality of this wine; think of the quantity as well. As it is given to us here in the text, the total amount of water that the 6 pots would have held is somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of water since they were filled to the brim. Now, one gallon of wine is about 5 standard sized bottles of wine by today’s measure. Doing the math, that comes out to be somewhere between 600 and 900 bottles of wine. There is a good chance that this would have been even more than was originally present for all of the guests, and not just by a little bit. It is very probable that amount of water that Jesus turned into wine greatly exceeds the amount of wine purchased for this wedding festival.
So think about this for a second, Jesus produced the best wine of the evening and a much greater amount of wine than one could imagine. When we think of wine in the terms that we have already mentioned and substitute joy for wine, then we see things in a whole new light. The joy that we have in Jesus is so much greater than any joy that we can hope to experience in our lifetime. The amount of joy that we have in Christ is so much greater than we could ever imagine. Do not think that if you come to Jesus, if you accept him as your Lord and Savior, that there will ever come a day when you will find yourself empty of joy. If that is ever the case, it is because you have drawn away from him and not because he has failed you. Without a doubt, the Christ who produced the abundance of good wine, who we know to have oversupplied the crowd with loaves and fish, who said, “He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” certainly such a Christ is able to supply all we need.
As this wedding festival account comes to an end we find the words of verse 11, which reads, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” I think the correct translation here is to use the word “signs” and not “miracles”. Although this is a miracle performed by Jesus, the notion of this being a sign is much more descriptive of what is taking place here and what John is wanting to convey. This sign is pointing to something much greater than the event itself. It points to Jesus himself as the One. It’s pointing to Christ as the One who spoke the word of truth. This sign represents God’s acknowledging that Jesus is sent from Him. There truly is no person, place, or thing that we can look to for greater joy than that which we have in Jesus Christ. Any life that is devoid of Christ, is a life that is lacking any real and lasting joy.
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