May 17
So far Jesus
has found Andrew and Simon who he renamed Peter, and James and John the sons of
Zebedee as disciples, and a tax collector named Mathew Levi.
We were not
told a lot about these men except that four of them were fishermen and as I said
Mathew was a tax collector
We were also
shown that all Jesus said was to follow Me and these five men dropped
everything and followed Jesus from that day on
But He also
called two others and one made an amazing statement
John
1:43-45 (ESV)
43 The next day Jesus decided
to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Now Philip was from
Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and
said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets
wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
The next day
here refers to the day after Jesus called the four fishermen
He is still
in Galilee which was a fishing town and now he finds Philip
I think we
can safely assume he was a fisherman as well.
Philip then
goas and finds Nathanael and says something interesting
“We have
found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
How could he
possibly know all of this?
I am
convinced that most of these first disciples were also disciples of John the
Baptist
If that is
the case, then John could very well have told them this as it was revealed to
him
But what
puzzles me is the last part, that Jesus was the son of Joseph
Technically
Jesus was not Joseph’s son but was Mary’s son by the Holy Spirit
So I do not
think this part was revealed by God but may have been John’s understanding
Now watch
what happens here
John 1:46
(ESV) 46 Nathanael
said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him,
“Come and see.”
I always say
that if I were God, I would have done so many things differently
Maybe born
in the palace or temple instead of a stable
Surrounded
by servants rather than shepherds
My first
announcement would have been to the priests and not those shepherds
And now we
find after returning from Egypt, after Herod’s death the family settled in
Nazareth
“Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?”
That seems
kind of harsh
But at the
time Nazareth had become a place where many gentiles and Samaritans migrated.
Neither was
well respected or liked by Jews
Because it
was a fishing town, there was very little decency and much rough language and
behavior
So “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
But there
may be something else to this question
When God
promised the Messiah to Jeremiah he made some specific predictions
Jeremiah
33:14-15 (NASB)
14 'Behold, days are coming,'
declares the LORD, 'when I will
fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and
the house of Judah.
15 'In those days and at that
time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall
execute justice and righteousness on the earth.
Every
religious scholar knew that “a righteous branch of David” meant that Messiah
would be born in Bethlehem, the city David was born in
When the
wise men questioned Herod as to where the new King of Israel was born, Herod
called together the scribes and asked them
Matthew
2:5-6 (ESV)
5 They told him, “In
Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in
the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from
you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
If Nathanael
was familiar with the prophecies it would explain his question
“Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip tells
him come and see, but see what?
Jesus has
not done one thing that would point to Him being the Christ yet
John
1:47-48 (ESV)
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming
toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite
indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to him,
“How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip
called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
There is more going on here than meets the eye
“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
Behold a true descendant of Jacob whose name was changed to
Israel
We all know that Jacob was a conniver and tricked his brother
into selling his birthright and also tricked his father into giving him the
blessing of an older son
But Jesus says you are an Israelite in whom there is no
deceit
You are a descendent of Jacob but of far better character
Nathan is surprised at the statement and asked how do you
know me?
This could have just been simple flattery on Jesus’ part to
win Nathanael over
But it was far from it “Before Philip called you, when you
were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
How could Jesus possibly know where Nathanael was before they
even met?
Over in Mathew 16 when Jesus asks the apostles who He is,
Peter gives what is known as the good confession
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
But here we are 2 ½ years earlier, before Jesus has done any
great works and Nathanael says
John 1:49
(ESV)
49 Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the world
Andrew and Philip called him the promised Messiah
But Nathanael calls Jesus the Son of God and King of
Israel
There is a progression here that can only be explained
by things either done or said that are not recorded for us in the scriptures
John
1:50-51 (ESV)
50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you
believe? You will see greater things than these.”
51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and
the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
It is
doubtful that an actual vision of angels and ladders will be given, but there
is a definite promise here
As I said
earlier, the statement of an Israelite, a son of Jacob was meant and is here
justified
Remember
that it was Jacob who in a dream, saw heaven opened and a ladder with Angels
ascending and descending
It is
interesting what Jacob said when he saw this vision
Genesis
28:16-17 (ESV)
16 Then Jacob awoke from his
sleep and said, “Surely the LORD
is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and
said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven.”
Clearly a
promise that Nathanael as well as the other apostles would see greater things
than this
That the
intervention of heaven, and God’s heavenly messengers on earth is now opened
with the heavens and the ladder is Christ Himself
You will see greater things than these.”
With this we are led into Jesus’ first earthly miracle
I have heard
some of the most absurd discussions about the wedding feast at Cana
Did Jesus
really turn water into wine?
Would Jesus
sanction or allow wine drinking?
This is the result
of interpreting scripture with 21st century bias rather than looking
at the culture of the first century
Wine was a
common drink in different strengths
So, what was
Jesus trying to teach in this, His first miracle?
John
2:1-5 (ESV)
1 On the third day there was
a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
2 Jesus also was invited to
the wedding with his disciples.
3 When the wine ran out, the
mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
4 And Jesus said to her,
“Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the
servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
The words on
the third day most likely refer to the third day after Jesus called Philip and
Nathanael
It would
have taken him 2 days to travel from Bethsaida to Cana in Galilee
Why Mary was
there is unclear as is Jesus and His disciples being invited
But Mary
seems to have had a close relationship with the bride or groom’s family which
will become clear soon
Now, running
out of wine at a marriage feast that traditionally lasted for days would have
been not only embarrassing but an insult to all the guests
It’s not
something you would want your guests to know and yet Mary knows
She then
goes to Jesus and says “They have no wine.”
Well excuse
me, but what did Mary expect Jesus to do about this situation
To our
knowledge Jesus has never done any miracles and we know from His own words that
he did not possess any financial means
And Jesus
said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet
come.”
Now do not
think this term woman was meant as an insult
I call
Marion woman all the time….just kidding
In first
century Israel the term woman was actually a term of respect like our madam or
sir
But Jesus
needs to be very careful
Revealing
Himself too soon would cause many to want to make Him their king rather than
their atoning sacrifice.
My hour has not yet come.”
The fact
that Mary addresses the servants leads me to believe that she was very close to
the bridal party
And may have
even been in charge to the refreshments
But here is
where Mary shines
His
mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Remember
when Gabriel came to Mary and said she would conceive even though she was a
virgin?
Her response
was “be it done to me as you have said”
The NASB
puts it this way, whatever He tells you to do, do it
Perfect
words to live by for every believer
John
2:6-10 (ESV)
6 Now there were six stone
water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or
thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants,
“Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them
up to the brim.
8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.”
So they took it.
9 When the master of the
feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from
(though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast
called the bridegroom
10 and said to him, “Everyone
serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor
wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
Six large
stone pots used for the purpose of cleaning ones self as was the custom of the
Jews both before eating and also for the plates and utensils etc.
Matthew
15:2 (NASB)
2 "Why do Your disciples
break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they
eat bread."
Mark 7:3
(NASB)
3 (For the Pharisees and all
the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing
the traditions of the elders;
Some of
these may have even been used to wash the feet after coming in from the dusty
and dirty roads
It would
seem that Jesus told the servants of the feast to do this, so no one could say
his disciples added anything
This may
also be why Jesus said to fill them to the brim. Nothing could be added. This
is not a trick
When the
master or chief steward tastes the contents, it is no longer water but the best
wine
So why would
Jesus do this?
A few
answers have been given
First as I
said this would have been very embarrassing for the bridegroom and an insult
for the guests to run out of wine
The fact
that there were six large pots tells us this was a very large gathering and so
this would have been perhaps the whole town
But I think
the lesson is more for us today than it was for those who knew what happened
What could
be dirtier than water used for each guest to wash their hands and feet and not
just once
If someone
left to relieve themselves they would have to go through the whole cleansing
ritual again
Jesus took
this dirty and defiled water and turned it into something good and beneficial
In Gods
eyes, nothing is dirtier or more defiled than a sinner
But Jesus
can, like he did with that dirty water, cleanse us and transform us into
something good and beneficial
Hebrews
10:22 (NASB)
22 let us draw near with a
sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews
9:14 (NASB)
14 how much more will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish
to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Jesus did
not perform miracles to entertain people or draw attention to Himself
They were
evidence of who He was, and all had a lesson to teach us
The lesson
here is that Jesus can take the dirtiest of things and make them clean and new
But there is
another lesson and we learn that one from His mother Mary
Whatever
He tells you to do, do it
Had those
servants not listened the whole wedding feast would have been a disaster
Listening
to Jesus changed everything
If we do not
listen to Jesus and His word, our lives will be a disaster
But
listening to Him can change everything for the better
A new life
and a new future in eternity
LET US PRAY
