Tag Archives: John 2

Signs

February 20, 2024 Tom Vander Well 2 Comments

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:11 (NIV)

As I read a chapter in the quiet each morning, I try very hard to approach the text without any expectations. Even when it’s a passage I have read countless times over the years, I do my best to make both my head and my heart a clean slate. The question my spirit silently begs God’s Spirit is “What have you got for me today?”

As I read, I take note of little things that capture my attention. I might catch a detail I hadn’t noticed before. Sometimes, I’ll notice repetition in the text and start circling the repeated word or phrase. This might lead me to meditate on the word or phrase, digging deeper into what the repeated use might mean.

So it was this morning as I noticed John’s repeated use of the word “sign” in reference to Jesus’ miracles:

2:11: What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

2:18: The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

2:23: Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.

As I dug deeper, I discovered the fact that John repeatedly used the word “signs” when referencing Jesus’ miracles. I think the choice of words is deliberate. Jesus’ miracles were intended as “signs” to point people to who Jesus is. There was a purpose in His performing of miracles. In addition, while the other three accounts of Jesus’ story report 18-20 miracles each, John chooses just seven miracles Jesus performed during his ministry to share with us, his readers. He then adds a bonus miracle in the epilogue after Jesus’ resurrection. This is not an accident.

Seven has significant meaning in the Great Story. It is the number that signifies “completeness” or “perfection.” As I mentioned in yesterday’s post/podcast, John writes his version of Jesus’ story, not in a journalistic reporting style, but in a thematic style. He carefully chooses seven miracles to share with us. It’s also interesting to note that five of the miraculous “signs” he shares are unique to John’s account. Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not include them. John carefully chooses each “sign” to contribute to the larger understanding of Jesus to whom he is introducing us.

Two quick observations from my meditation on John’s use of signs this morning:

The first concerns Jesus’ signature miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding feast. Jesus used large ceremonial jars used in the Jewish tradition to hold water used in ritual purification to make one “clean.” Jesus will later use the metaphor describing His teaching as “new wine” and God would later work through Peter (Acts 10) and Paul (Galatians 5) to change the old ceremonial ideals of what made a person clean or unclean, acceptable or not. Jesus also regularly used the metaphor of a wedding in parables and in the eternal union of Christ and the church in Revelation. Jesus’ miracle was not only a blessing to the wedding hosts, but it also served as a “sign” to His larger eternal mission.

I also found it fascinating that there were two responses to the “signs” of Jesus’ miracles. Those listening to Jesus in the Temple became believers after seeing the miracles He was performing. The religious authorities and Temple officials, however, not only refused to ignore the “signs” that had made believers of others, but they asked for a different, bigger, better, and more definitive “sign.” I referenced Jesus’ response in yesterday’s post when Jesus told them He would destroy the Temple and raise it in three days. It seems to me that Jesus understood from the very beginning that there were those individuals who would refuse to believe no matter how big of a “sign” He performed.

John confesses in today’s chapter that it was only after Jesus’ resurrection that he and the boys realized what Jesus meant when He referenced “destroying the temple and raising it in three days.” Along my spiritual journey, I’ve observed that God often provides signs along life’s road. I may not realize it in the moment, but I will later look back and realize that the sign was there all along. It comforts me to know that the Story is already written. I can’t help but think of Jesus’ words:

“You have a saying that goes, ‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.’ You find it easy enough to forecast the weather—why can’t you read the signs of the times?”

God, open the eyes of my heart to see the signs and grant me the courage to follow.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Two Sides of Jesus

July 27, 2021 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing…”
John 2:6 (NIV)

In yesterday’s opening chapter of John’s biography of Jesus, I shared that identity is a core theme of John’s narrative.

John identifies Jesus as the embodied, eternal Word through which all things were created, whom John himself saw glorified.
John identifies Jesus as a spiritual bookend to Moses; The law came through Moses, while grace and truth came through Jesus.
John the Baptist identifies himself as not the Messiah, but one who “comes before” and “a voice in the wilderness” preparing the way.
John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Jesus identifies his first disciples and gives Simon a new identity, as “Peter.”

In today’s chapter, John chooses two episodes to begin introducing the reader to Jesus. I couldn’t help but recall John’s words at the end of his narrative:

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John 21:25 (NIV)

So why did John choose these two episodes? First, Jesus acts out of His divinity. He gives in to His mother’s request to salvage a wedding feast for the host by miraculously turning water into wine. In the second, Jesus acts out of His humanity at the Temple in Jerusalem. He overturns the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple courts and creates a small riot.

I spent some time meditating on these two stories, and I found them to be a fascinating contrast which identifies two important aspects of Jesus’ person. Jesus channels divine power to extend compassionate generosity to a common, everyday person stuck in a very human social dilemma. John doesn’t even identify the bride, the groom, or the family who found themselves on the cusp of social humiliation by running out of wine for their guests. What a very ordinary human dilemma for Jesus to solve by miraculously producing 180 gallons of wine (and not just your average table wine, He produced the “good stuff”).

In the second episode, Jesus sets Himself against human corruption that polluted the religious institution and Temple system. The leaders of the Temple had a racket going. They extorted money and lined their pockets from poor religious pilgrims who came from all over the world to offer ritual offerings and sacrifices, forcing them to exchange Roman or other currency into Temple currency (plus taxes and fees, of course). No miracle here. Jesus very humanly channels His inner challenger to fire a shot across the bow of the powerful, religious racketeers. It is the opening shot of a three-year conflict that will end with the racketeers’ conspiracy to commit the legally sanctioned murder of Jesus.

Miraculously divine compassion for a common, everyday nobody.

Courageous human action against a corrupt “kingdom of this world.”

And even in the water-to-wine miracle, there exists a powerful metaphor that connects these two episodes. The “six stone jars” Jesus had the wedding attendants use were intended to be used by the religious leaders for their “ceremonial washing” water. The religious leaders will later accuse Jesus of refusing to follow their prescribed ritual “washing.” They will also accuse Jesus of being a drunkard. Jesus uses the water jars used for the religious leaders’ hypocritical cleansing to produce 180 gallons of “new wine.” And, I also can’t forget that there were six jars, and the number six is identified in the Great Story as “man’s number.” Man’s institutional religious hypocrisy is transformed into divine kindness and compassion for a nameless, poor commoner.

Fruitful acts of divine love and compassion towards others
Bold defiance of institutional corruption and hypocrisy

In the quiet this morning I find myself desiring to embody these two characteristics that John identifies in Jesus.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Caucuses, Circuses, and the Crowd

February 5, 2016 Tom Vander Well 2 Comments

But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to [the crowd], because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.
John 2:24-25 (NRSV)

I must admit that Wendy and I are enjoying the blissful serenity of our evenings now that the Iowa Caucuses are over. For the past few months we have been accosted nightly by political ads, surveys and invitations to town hall meetings. The media circus combined with the daily candidate rallies get a little old after a while.

It is, I admit, fascinating to watch the side-show which is our presidential election process. Candidates mug for the press and try to create media buzz. Depending on the poll of the hour, the candidates might flip on this issue and flop on that latest trending topic. Every one of them is looking for an edge to swing the crowds to their camp on caucus night.

Perhaps the fresh memory of such things are what caused the verses above to leap of the page at me this morning. John relates two distinct stories from the vast reservoir of stories he could have drawn upon. In the first story, Jesus is reluctant to perform a miracle doing so only at the passive aggressive insistence of His mother. In the second story, Jesus creates a scene at the temple which was sure to make headlines and create buzz. John is careful to note two things about this noteworthy event. First, he makes clear that Jesus’ motivation was sincere zealousness, born out of the corruption and racketeering Jesus witnessed in what was supposed to be a place of holiness. Second, Jesus was not trying to start a political movement or swing the crowd to caucus for Him. He didn’t trust the crowd.

This morning I am reminded of a few specific moments along my life journey. I have felt surges of popularity (albeit relatively small) and I have felt the sting of others turning their backs on me. The experiences are enough to teach me that trying to consistently win the approval of the crowd is a maddening, and largely vain, pursuit. Though, one simply needs to follow the travails of our presidential candidates for a few weeks to see the truth of it. I’m glad that Jesus was more interested in doing what was right than in doing what was popular with the crowd. That’s the example I continuously endeavor to follow.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day John 2

March 19, 2012 Tom Vander Well 2 Comments

When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” John 2:9-10 (NLT)

Over the last several years, Wendy and I have come to love a nice glass of wine with our meals. We are no experts and we never will be. Still, it’s amazing how your nose and taste buds can begin to tell the differences in varieties, how they pair with what you are eating, and how they can change with time and conditions. It’s always fun when we run across a wine that is so good, we are both similarly struck by it.

Reading the account of Jesus turning water into wine in today’s chapter was interesting to read from the perspective of one who appreciates a nice vino. When Jesus tells the servants to take a dipper from the jar to the master of ceremonies he was following the same etiquette a good server will follow in a restaurant today by pouring the wine and letting the head of the party taste and approve before serving to the rest. The Master of Ceremonies knew his wine. He could tell the difference between a cheap everyday table wine and the good stuff. The wine that Jesus created was such a distinct contrast to what the party had been drinking and was so good that it moved the man to compliment the bridegroom on his choice.

I love that Jesus’ first public miracle was to provide the wine at a wedding reception. There’s nothing like a great wedding reception to celebrate the fullness of life and love. I love even more that the wine Jesus made was not a bottle of Three Buck Chuck but one that made the wedding guests sit up and take notice for its distinct quality. The wine Jesus made honored the host and esteemed him in the eyes of his guests.

The Creator makes good things on both the macro and micro levels. Along the journey I’ve come to appreciate that God pays attention to the details. Jesus said that He came to bring us life, and then He qualified that by adding the detail that He came to bring abundant life. How appropriate then, that He cared enough of to make sure that the wine He provided for the wedding reception was the good stuff.