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Proverbs 8:25-36
25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the
hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the
fields, Or the primal dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on
the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above, When He
strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So
that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the
foundations of the earth,
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my
delight was with the sons of
men.
32 "Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise, And do not
disdain it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains
favor from the LORD;
36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own
soul; All those who hate me love death."
Father God, thank you for the good and the bad that happen
to us. Help us to always see, understand, and accept what happens in our lives.
In Jesus name
we pray, Amen!
Gospel of John 2:1-5 NKJV
This lesson about the wedding feast in
Cana holds some deep lying thoughts and valuable lessons for us concerning where
we should place our faith for salvation. Never really thought about why Jesus was
at this wedding, the exchange of words between Him and Mary, and the miracle Jesus
performed. I think you will find this lesson interesting.
1 On the
third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was
there.
On the third day; This speaks of the amount of time
which had lapsed since Jesus left the Wilderness of Temptation to begin His
public Ministry. These three days start at John 1:29 where John the Baptist sees Jesus
coming toward him and he says, "Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” and ends here at the
wedding feast in Cana. However, His Ministry began with the Holy Spirit
descending upon His Person after His baptism, which took place when John the
Baptist baptized Him in the Jordan. This would have been approximately
forty-three days earlier.
There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee;
Cana in that day was
a small town, probably about the size of Nazareth, and was situated about 15
miles northwest of Tiberias, and seven miles north of Nazareth. It was called
Cana of Galilee to distinguish it from Cana of Asher.
Weddings
in Jesus' day were week-long festivals. Banquets would be prepared for many
guests, and the week would be spent celebrating the new life of the married
couple. Often the whole town was invited, and everybody would come, it was
considered an insult to refuse an invitation to a wedding. To accommodate many
people, careful planning was needed. To run out of wine was more than
embarrassing; it broke the strong unwritten laws of hospitality.
And the mother of Jesus was there; the question here is, did Mary live in
the village at the time of this wedding to be invited? Was she related to the
couple being married? Most probable is that she was related which also explains
why Jesus was invited.
2 Now both
Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
As
mentioned above Jesus may have been a relative of the bride or groom or long
time friend. There is a twofold lesson in this verse for us.
First
Jesus had some of His future Apostles with Him, Peter, Andrew, John, Philip,
and Nathanael. They were not yet called to be apostles, but they believed that
he was the Messiah. The miracle performed here no doubt convinced them more
fully that he was the Christ.
The
second lesson is that Jesus ministry was to save the people of the world and
not condemn. In order to do this Jesus needed to be around people so that He
could teach them the Gospel. Actually, Jesus frequented all kinds of human
society. He dined with Pharisees and with Publicans, which are a world apart in
lifestyle and beliefs, but Jesus was impartial to sociability because His
mission was to save. So we need to believe and not keep ourselves hidden from
society, but mingle and spread the Gospel.
3 And when
they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no
wine."
And when they ran out of wine; Why did they run out of wine? Was it
the fault of the Wedding Planner? Was there many people showing up that wasn’t
expected or passing thru the village? We don’t really know, but what we do know
is this; wedding feasts lasted a week therefore the food and beverage were
expected by the guests. This shortage of wine no doubt was toward the end of
the week. The second possibility is that God orchestrated this shortage of wine
through His Spirit so that a miracle would take place by Jesus and really jump
start His ministry. God had his hand in this from start to finish and was in
complete control.
What
about the wine? Have you ever studied out this verse to get the true meaning of
the word, “wine” that is used here? Many or should I say the majority of people
interpret this as alcoholic wine. This illustration as given by John the
Beloved has been debated since it was written as to whether this was grape
juice or alcoholic wine.
I
believe it was grape juice and here’s why. If this wine is understood to be
intoxicating wine, our Lord is automatically placed in the position of
providing men who had already “well
drunk” (John 2:10)
with more alcoholic wine. If it was alcoholic wine, the Lord would have been
breaking His Own Law against drunkenness.
The
total amount of water turned to wine was approximately 150 gallons. If this had
been an intoxicating beverage, it would have served as an invitation to drink
one unconscious by the amount of wine Jesus created, which would therefore
contradict the Law of God concerning drunkenness. Yes there was alcoholic wine
in Jesus time because Jesus was accused of wine bibbing when He was with
Publicans, but that’s not the case here of this wine being alcoholic.
The
Greek word for wine, as used here, is “oinos”; it means either fermented or
unfermented, according to how it is used; every indication is it was
unfermented, i.e., “grape juice”. Dr. Ferrar Fenton, a Biblical translator (The
Holy Bible in Modern English), lists six different meanings for the word
“oinos”: A.) Grapes, as fresh fruit; B.) Raisins; C.) Thick grape syrup; D.) A
thick jam; E.) Fresh grape juice; and, F.) Fermented grape juice. The last type
will make one drunk.
Looking
ahead to verse ten where the master of the feast refers to this wine as good
wine, we ask, what is he referring to? This question we will analyze further
when we get to it, but for now how can it be considered good wine if it causes
drunkenness? Jesus does not promote evil but good!
To think this wine is of
the alcoholic nature would be the same as blaspheming God. To believe that the
first Miracle that Christ performed after being filled with the Holy Spirit (Mark
1:9–12; Luke
4:1) was an act of
creating intoxicating wine for a crowd of celebrants, that would render them
drunk, is absurd. This would be unthinkable! (Romans 13:13;
Galatians 5:21; 1 Peter 4:3)
Luke 21:34 "But take heed to
yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
Looking
at the entirety of the teaching of the Bible concerning “strong drink,” I think
it is obvious what the Holy Spirit is saying that this water Jesus miraculously
changed, did not become intoxicating beverage, but rather, sweet pure grape
juice.
Personally
I believe that God doesn’t condone intoxicating drinks of any kind based on the
true meaning of His Word and what happened to me when I was saved in 2008. At
that time I had a spiritual message when I was heading to get a six pack of
beer that stated, “Bill, you don’t need that anymore!” From that moment the
craving of liquor left me and I haven’t had a drop of beer, alcohol, (whiskey,
vodka, gin, rum, etc.) or wine since. This was a miracle!
The mother of Jesus said to Him,
"They have no wine."; Why
did Mary go to Jesus with this problem of no more wine? Did she overhear the
servants talking? Was she asked to go to Jesus and if so why, Jesus hadn’t
performed any miracles yet. Some believe Mary is a co-redeemer for salvation,
and if that is the case then why didn’t Mary change the water to wine herself?
I don’t ever remember reading in the Bible anyplace where Mary had miraculous
powers therefore she stepped aside from between these needy people and Jesus that
provides every good and perfect gift, telling the servants to turn from her to
Him. Jesus then spoke directly to them and in a moment the water was wine! So
long as she stood between Jesus and these needy sinners there was no wine! This
was all the workings of the Holy Spirit as a lesson for us to give all our
worries to Jesus and only Jesus because He is the giver of life, eternal life. Even
when Mary was alive, the thief on the Cross coming down to his last dying
moments, ignored her, even though she was only a few yards away, and turned
rather to Jesus directly (Luke 23:39–43). He was rewarded with Paradise, but
would have received nothing had he appealed to Mary.
Whether
these people that day at the Marriage Feast of Cana learned the lesson
permanently that the Lord Jesus is to be appealed to directly and not through
an intermediary, is more than doubtful (Williams).
Now don’t get me wrong
here, I admire and respect the lesson Mary gave us to be a true and faithful
servant of God. She was obedient to the message Gabriel gave her and fulfilled
scripture. We need to use her as an example of faithfulness and obedience as a servant
of God just like Abraham, Job, etc., but this lesson John the Beloved is giving
us is that we need to give it all to Jesus and only Jesus for He is the true
mediator between us and God. Anyone or anything else between us and Jesus is
false hope. I will only put my faith, hope, and prayers in Jesus because He is
the one that forgives our sins and grants that free gift of Grace that opens
the doors of Heaven for us. 1
Timothy 2:5 For there
is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
4 Jesus
said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have
to do with Me? My hour has not yet come."
Jesus said to her, "Woman; Woman
as used here, seems to imply rebuke, as if she was interfering in something
that shouldn’t concern her; but it is evident that no such reproof or
disrespect was intended by the use of the term “woman” instead of “mother.” The
term “Woman” was used in Jesus day and was basically the same as our present
use of “Madam”. It is the same term by which He tenderly addressed Mary
Magdalene after His resurrection John 20:15,
and His mother when He
was on the cross, John 19:26. Compare also Matthew 15:28; John
4:21; 1 Corinthians 7:16.
What does your concern have
to do with Me?; This
expression can be used to denote indignation or disrespect. But it is not
probable that it denoted either in this place; if it did, it was a mild rebuke
of Mary for attempting to control or direct him in his ministry and power of
working miracles. However, while there is no disrespect, there is definitely a
line drawn as to Whom He obeys, and it is not her, but rather His Heavenly
Father (John 5:19–20).
The language implies that the period of subjection to Joseph and Mary was now
at an end. He is now “The Servant of Jehovah,” and His Work as the Messiah has
at last begun.
Another
view point which points to Jesus Ministry starting and who He listens to from
then forward was to calm the anxiety of Mary, and to prevent her from being
concerned about the lack of wine. Jesus maybe expressing: “My mother, be not
anxious. To you and to Me this should not be a matter of concern. The proper
time of My interfering has not yet come. When the time comes I will furnish a
supply, and in the meantime neither you nor I should be concerned.” Therefore
it is far from being a “harsh reproof,” but a mild exhortation for her to
dismiss her fears and to put proper trust in Him.
My hour has not yet
come."; What
this phrase is referring to is that Jesus hadn’t yet been told what to do from
His Heavenly Father. It is possible that the wine hadn’t been entirely used up
and the time was not right yet. If there was some wine still remaining
accusations could be made somehow that no miracle was performed. So it does not
mean that the appropriate time for His working a miracle, or entering in His
public work hadn’t arrived, but that the proper time for Him to perform the
miracle hadn’t arrived.
Take
note that throughout the four Gospels, with only a few exceptions, everything
said to Jesus by other men and women was contrary to the Will of God. Jesus
came to do the Will of the Father, which is evident in everything He did, and
is proclaimed strongly even at the beginning of His Ministry as we have seen
here in these verses.
Jesus
pleased the Father in all that He did and our goal shall be to please the
Father also.
5 His
mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
With
this verse we see that Mary submitted to Jesus way of doing things. She
recognized via the influence of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was more than her
human son; He was the Son of God. When we bring our problems to Christ, we may
think we know how he should take care of them. But He may have a completely
different plan. Like Mary, we should submit and allow Jesus to deal with the
problem as He sees best.
I believe this is the hardest thing for
Christians to do because of our human nature; I know I struggle with this. As humans
we tend to always know what is best and it is very difficult to submit ourselves
to Jesus. If we could be submissive each day of our life to Jesus, which would also
show humility, then we would please Jesus greatly.
Colossians
1:16
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for
Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most
assuredly, I say to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe
it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord
Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my
sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a
sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians
2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10)
(Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:3-7)
