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Proverbs 9:1-9
1 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out
her seven pillars;
2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed
her wine, She has also furnished her table.
3 She has sent out her maidens, She cries out
from the highest places of the city,
4 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
5 "Come, eat of my bread And drink of the
wine I have mixed.
6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the
way of understanding.
7 "He who corrects a scoffer gets shame
for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man
only harms himself.
8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will
love you.
9 Give instruction
to a wise man, and he will be
still wiser; Teach a just man,
and he will increase in learning.
Father God, I ask that you touch the hearts of people to know,
understand, and live the truth of your Holy Word. Expose the truth of twisted scripture
to people so they will change their ways. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Gospel of John 2:6-12 NKJV
With this lesson we study the first
miracle that Jesus performed in public. It was a miracle to show his divine
power over creation, to strengthen the faith of the first of the disciples that
were with Him, to touch the hearts of those that didn’t know who He was, and to
start His ministry.
6 Now there
were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification
of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
Now there were set there six waterpots
of stone; Do you
suppose there is a reason the water containers were mention especially “six”
and “stone”? Why didn’t John just say water containers? In studying this phrase
out here is what I found. The number “six” represents the number of man,
and man always falls short of perfection. Seven is called God’s number, and
represents perfection. God finished making the Universe on the seventh day and
rested. The Universe was perfect at that time, but man corrupted the Earth with
the fall of Adam.
The
stone water pots signify the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments which man cannot
keep, and the water in the pots represent the Jews tradition of washing.
So
how does this all tie together you ask? It all started on stone, God’s Law.
Before Moses could present the first tablets of stone the Israelites fell into
sin by making and worshipping a golden calf, which proves no matter how hard we
try we fall short of God’s glory. We always take things into our own hands instead
of turning to Jesus. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. As a result of the stone tablets came
ceremonial laws produced by man. So with six representing corrupt mankind, the
stone jars representing God’s Laws that we can’t keep on our own, and the water
was used symbolically by the Jews to wash away the corruptness of the world you
ask, how does this relate to the wedding feast, it doesn’t it is all about what
the Israelites had their faith in, law and not God.
All the laws of the OT was to point the Israelites
in the right direction toward God, but they got so involved with trying to keep
the laws they failed in placing their faith in God. This is still true today,
some denominations teach that if you do this and that you are right with God
and will go to Heaven which is false teachings. It is only through faith in
Jesus Christ and why He died on the Cross for us is what counts.
According to the manner of
purification of the Jews, Containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece; The six stone water jars were normally
used for ceremonial washing. According to the Jews' ceremonial law, people
became symbolically unclean by touching objects of everyday life. Before
eating, the Jews would pour water over their hands to cleanse themselves of any
bad influences associated with what they had touched. Matthew 15:2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the
tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat
bread." Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said to
him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the
cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.
Mark 7:3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do
not eat unless they wash their
hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.
So,
if the True Law of Moses could not save, how did these little insignificant
man-devised religious laws, symbolized by the water pots, pertain to salvation?
7 Jesus
said to them, "Fill the waterpots with
water." And they filled them up to the brim.
Jesus said to them, "Fill the
waterpots with water."; Why
didn’t Jesus and His disciples fill the water pots with water? It was so there
would be no deception. The filling was done by the servants employed at the
feast. It was done by “them,” so that there might be no opportunity of saying
that the disciples of Jesus had filled them with wine to produce the
“appearance” of a miracle. In this case there could be no deception. The
quantity was very considerable. The servants would know whether the “wine” or
“water” had been put in these vessels.
And they filled them up to the brim; Here again they were filled to the
brim to avoid any accusations of something other than water being put in them, so
full that no wine could be poured in to give the appearance of a mixture. These
water vessels were used for this miracle in particular because no wine had been
kept in them. These pots were never used to put wine in, but simply to keep
water in for the purpose of the Jewish ritual of washing. A large number was
used on this occasion, because there were many guests.
8 And He
said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it
to the master of the feast." And they took it.
And He said to them, "Draw some
out now; This
command was given to the servants immediately showing the miracle had already
taken place. As soon as they were filled the servants were directed to take a sample
to the master of the feast. Jesus made no spectacle about it, and it does not
even appear that he approached the water pots and performed some kind of prayer
or motion over the pots. He willed it, and it was done just like He created the
Universe. This was a clear exertion of divine power, and made in such a manner
as to leave no doubt of its reality.
And take it to the master of the feast."
And they took it; The Master of the Feast was the one
who presided over the occasion. He would be the one standing at the head or
upper end of the table. He was in charge of the entertainment, provided the
food, and gave directions to the servants, etc.
9 When the
master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know
where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master
of the feast called the bridegroom.
With
what we have learned so far can we assume that the Master of the Feast knew
they were going to run out of wine? I think we can because he was in charge of
the occasion. It is very possible that he had sent a servant out to secure some
more wine from the bridegroom’s inventory. This is why the servant brought a
sample to the Master to taste it and see if it was worthy to give to the
guests. The Master of the Feast had a lot at stake here; his future as a feast
master and also great embarrassment to the bridegroom.
This
verse and the next one support last week’s lesson that the wine being referred
to here is high quality grape juice and not intoxicating wine.
We
have all tasted grape juice and know there is a vast difference in the taste. Take
Welch’s Grape juice compared to other brands of grape juice. My preference is
Welch’s because of its rich sweet taste and that is what Jesus made a rich
smooth sweet wine like it was fresh off the vine.
10 And he
said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when
the guests have well drunk,
then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!"
And he said to him, Every man at the
beginning sets out the good wine; This
was a custom of a wedding feast to set out the good wine first. This was to
show the guests that nothing but the best for the occasion of celebrating such
an occasion as a wedding and new life. The best was always given first and if
more was needed, the second best will be provided, that is if available. The Master
was amazed because this rule did not seem to have been followed. But of course
he was wrong, it was followed.
And when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior; The words, “well drunk,” simply mean
they had “drank freely,” and not that they were drunk, as some supposed. It
means when they have drunk sufficient to glut or to satisfy to the fullest; or
have drunk and eaten so much as to destroy the keenness of their taste, so that
they could not readily distinguish the good from that which was worse.
For
example we all have experienced at Holiday time that state of overeating like
Thanksgiving. The first plate full tastes so wonderful we want more and go back
for a second plateful only to discover it is not as tasty as the first, and
this is what the Master of the Feast is referring to.
There
is no evidence that our Saviour, the sacred writer of this Gospel, nor the feast
speaker here expresses any approval of intemperance, nor is there the least
evidence that anything of the kind occurred here. As stated last week Jesus and
the Apostles would be contradicting themselves if this wine Jesus made was fermented
wine, and contributed in any way, shape, or form of drunkenness.
You have kept the good wine until
now!; This “good wine”
of excellent quality can also be a representation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
which goes to the sinner (Taste and see the goodness of the Lord). An unsaved
person has little understanding pertaining to salvation and, above all, the
Miracle that will take place in their lives when they partake of the Wine of
Salvation. In fact, every Salvation experience is a Miracle, and undoubtedly the
greatest Miracle of all. Psalms
34:8 Oh, taste and see that the
LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Just
as the wine Jesus made was the “good wine”, so life in him is better than life
on our own. Why wait until everything else runs out before trying God? Why save
the best until last?
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of
Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
This beginning of signs Jesus did in
Cana of Galilee; This
miracle was an exertion of divine power, producing a change of the substance of
water into wine, which no human power could do. This miracle showed His power
over nature. This was the first of many that Jesus performed.
Miracles
are not merely superhuman events, but events that demonstrate God's power.
Almost every miracle Jesus did was a renewal of fallen creation; restoring
sight, making the lame walk, even restoring life to the dead. Believe in Christ
not because he is a superman but because he is the God who continues his
creation, even in those of us who are poor, weak, crippled, orphaned, blind,
deaf, or with some other desperate need.
And manifested His glory; Meaning this miracle showed or
exhibited His divine power over creation. This is shown to be a real miracle by the following considerations: (1) Real water was placed in the vessels.
This the servants saw and believed, there was no possibility of deception. (2) The
water was placed where it was not customary to keep wine. It could not be
pretended that it was merely a mixture of water and wine. (3) It was judged to
be wine without knowing where it came from. There was no agreement between
Jesus and the Master of the feast deceive the guests. (4) It was a change which
nothing but divine power could achieve. He that can change water into a
substance like the juice of the grape must be clothed with divine power.
And His disciples believed in Him; This does not mean that they did not believe in Him beforehand, but that
their faith was confirmed or strengthened. They saw a miracle, and it satisfied
them that He was the Messiah. “Before this” they “believed” on the testimony of
John, and from conversation with Jesus John 1:35-51; now they saw that he was invested with almighty
power, and their faith was established.
12 After
this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His
disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
After
this He went down to Capernaum;
Capernaum became Jesus' home base during his ministry in Galilee. Located on a
major trade route, it was an important city in the region, with a Roman
garrison and a customs station. At Capernaum, Matthew was called to be a
disciple (Matthew 9:9). The city was also the home of several
other disciples (Matthew 4:13-19) and a high-ranking government official (John 4:46).
It had at least one major synagogue. Although Jesus made this city his base of
operations in Galilee, he condemned it for the people's unbelief (Matthew 11:23; Luke
10:15).
He,
His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; Here it mentions Jesus mother and brothers but no mention
of His sisters or Joseph. Probably at this time His sisters were married and
with their husbands, and Joseph was deceased.
And
they did not stay there many days;
The reason their stay was short was because the Passover was soon to start, and
they went up to Jerusalem to attend it.
These verses are disputed often of
whether the wine Jesus created was grape juice or fermented wine. As stated
last week wine comes in many different forms not just alcoholic wine, it is
your prerogative to choose what you want to believe in, but before you make that
decision, think about what Jesus would do, promote drunkenness or sobriety? Here
are some Bible verses referring to the many forms of wine: Genesis 49:11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's
colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the
blood of grapes. Isaiah 16:10 Gladness is taken
away, And joy from the plentiful field; In the vineyards there will be no
singing, Nor will there be shouting; No treaders will tread out wine in the
presses; I have made their shouting cease. Isaiah 24:7
The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. The
new wine languisheth - The new wine (תירושׁ tı̂yrôsh), denotes properly must, or wine that was newly
expressed from the grape, and that was not fermented, usually translated ‘new
wine,’ or ‘sweet wine.’ The expression here is poetic. The wine languishes or
mourns because there are none to drink it; it is represented as grieved because
it does not perform its usual office of exhilarating the heart, and the figure
is thus an image of the desolation of the land. Isaiah
27:2 In that day sing to her, "A vineyard of red wine! Isaiah 65:8 Thus says the LORD: "As the new wine
is found in the cluster, And one
says, 'Do not destroy it, For a blessing is
in it,' So will I do for My servants' sake, That I may not destroy them all.
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)
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