John 2- Andy's thoughts

Signs
In an age of Google and Wikipedia, we are overwhelmed with an abundance of information. When we have questions about what to believe, the challenge is not in finding information, it is in finding credible sources. I just googled “god” and found 2.2 billion results. 2.2 billion! What am I supposed to do with that? I don’t just want information; I want to find people and sources that I can trust.

Even in Jesus’ day, there were lots of people claiming to have knowledge about God. There were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the teachers of the Law, Stoic philosophers, Epicurean philosophers, Gnostics, disciples of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and so many more. God used signs to validate his messengers so that they could be identified as something more than all of these earthly teachers.

I believe that God is still validating his messengers by enabling us to do the extraordinary- not simply for the sake of show or immediate gratification. God is enabling us so that we can show the world that we are His messengers as we tell the world about Jesus.

At the end of the gospel, John states that his purpose for writing was, “so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (20:31). It seems that John chooses particular accounts of Jesus’ life and teaching in order to help his readers to believe in Jesus. Throughout the gospel, he includes a series of signs that are supposed to help us believe in Jesus.

When we see signs or miracles in the Bible we should look to see the reason why they are given. Signs are not given just to show off or to benefit the audience. Signs empowered by God are given to validate the authority of the messenger and the importance of the message. I think that, at times, we look for miracles as an end unto themselves. To do this would be to miss the greater context in which Biblical miracles take place. When we see signs, we should see them as something connected to a message.

At the wedding in Cana we come across the first sign.

I see that in the comments on this chapter there were a few thoughts and questions about some of the significance of what happens during this first miraculous sign. I agree with Jared in that the primary significance is that Jesus is sparing the host the shame that would come from failing to supply sufficient wine for his guests.

I think that there are few lessons that we can learn from this sign. The first is that Jesus cares about people in a very practical way. He sees that someone has a need and he meets it. He does not give a discourse about the ethics of alcohol. He does not berate the groom for being unprepared. He very subtly sees a need and takes care of it.

Second, we see that Jesus is attentive to our needs and has the power to meet them. He doesn’t just go out and buy some more wine. He uses what is at hand and transforms it into something not only sufficient but lavishly delicious. I think that Jesus does this not only with things but also with people. He uses ordinary people and transforms them into extraordinary people equipped to fulfill the mission of God.

Third, we see that Jesus is identifying himself as an approved messenger of God. When Moses first went to the Pharaoh in Egypt, he performed a sign in order to show that he was not just some schlep saying a bunch of stuff. He performed a sign to validate his message. His first sign was to turn water into blood. Jesus’ first sign was to turn water into wine.

While there are definitely more lessons that we could take away from this story, I want us at least to consider these three. Jesus cares for us, he has the power to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and he is revealing his divine authority.

Kim, you asked about the significance of using the ceremonial jars of water. I was reading a few commentaries about that (I’m mostly using a commentary by D.A. Carson on John and I like it a lot). They say that the use of stone jars probably shows that these types of jars were less susceptible to defilement than jars made of clay or other materials. There may also be some veiled significance to Jesus disregard of ceremony in exchange for celebration. (This would be something similar to Jesus not performing ceremonial cleansing before eating because he is the Sabbath is for him and not he for the Sabbath.)

Sanctuary
The word sanctuary means a holy place or a place set apart for the Lord. When we read the word sanctified in the Bible it is in reference to those who are set apart for God in holiness. When Jesus sees the temple area being treated as unholy, he takes action. This is not the sheepish “nice guy” Jesus that has permeated our culture. This is the true Jesus who gets angry and passionate. How dare these people defile his Father’s house?

Pete, I really appreciate the humility of your comments about CD’s at the service. I understand the practicality of making them available on Sundays and that you are always really careful to not “sell” them. I don’t think it comes across as anything defiling. You set a good example of how to help people in worship without being commercial.

Belief
In verse 11, we see that the disciples believed in Jesus. The Greek reads something like “they placed their faith into him.”I think the feel of the language makes me imagine Jesus as a bank into which the disciples placed their savings. (Though the language is not financial, that’s just my weird brain making connections).

In verse 22, we see that after the resurrection, the disciples believed the Scriptures and what Jesus had said. In verse 23, we see that the crowds started to put their trust in Jesus but that he didn’t trust their faith. What is the significance of all this believing going on?

I think that we are beginning to see that belief can vary. When I first started to develop my theology and for many years afterwards, I tended to try to make fixed definitions and conceptions for all of my theological terms and phrases. I wanted a firm definition for what belief meant. I wanted a one-size-fits-all portrait of conversion and salvation. As I continue to read the Bible and meditate on it, I realize that I have to loosen up on that desire.

While the Bible does define some things very explicitly, it seems to describe other things very broadly. I think that belief is one of them. It seems that John records the disciples as repeatedly coming to faith in Jesus. It’s a bit frustrating to read this because I want to think of belief as a one-time action. But if I am going to take the Bible as it is, then I have to conform my theology to the Bible and not the Bible to my theology.

So what I am learning about faith is this- for some people faith is instantaneous and permanent. For others, it is progressive. Some people learn a little about Jesus and believe in that, but later they learn more and believe in him more fully. The language that we use to describe this may be a bit more flexible than we might like. It is also interesting to note that Jesus is instantly able to identify who truly believes and who doesn’t.

Application:
• Do we believe that Jesus cares for us and knows what we need?
• Do we believe that Jesus has the power to transform us into extraordinary people?
• Are we seeking his transformation so that we can better proclaim the gospel?