The Wandering Shepherd

Did you ever feel like your life was like a game in which you were more a Pawn than a Rook or a King? We’ve all had those days. We got up and nothing seemed to work for us.

• Your toaster suddenly decided our toast should be cinder black instead of its usual delicate brown.

• Your hair dryer decided to take the morning off.

• Your car didn’t think turning the key was something impressive enough to make it want to start up and go for about forty tries.

• Everyone ahead of you in traffic was apparently on vacation; everyone behind you had a date with destiny at the nearby race track.

• The time clock at your job was set fifteen minutes ahead of your watch.

• The notes for your meeting were all completed and ready for distribution, but laying on your dining room table, right where you accidentally left them.

It isn’t hard to feel sometimes like life is “doing us” rather than the more appealing method of us “living life.” It is clear that in a fallen world, there will be days that things don’t work out. How we see life is largely determined by our attitude.

“Facts are facts,” some will say. “I have had a tough life,” another will chime in. Yet, it may be their life was far easier than others. They just didn’t see it that way. We need to be careful about the standards we use to judge our life. In fact, we need to be careful about the standard of truth we use altogether. Today, our lesson from John 7-10 will remind us of an essential and perhaps startling truth…

Key Principle: How we see Jesus determines our ability to discern the truth.

We will unpack that from the Gospel of John in a few moments…

If you think back before the Christmas Season came, we were pursuing a more careful look at each of the seven miracles of the Gospel of John that showed Jesus’ identity, character and power. So far we saw:

• Jesus changing water into wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).

• Jesus healing a child long distance between Cana and Capernaum (John 4:46-54).

• Jesus restoring the legs of a lame man at the Pools of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:1-11).

• Jesus multiplying loaves and fish for a hungry Galilee crowd (John 6:6-13).

• Jesus shutting down a storm on the Sea of Galilee that brought fear to His disciples (John 6:16-21).

The sixth installment of this series is what I would like to look at today in the story of Jesus…

• Jesus giving sight to a man born blind at the Siloam Pool in Jerusalem (John 9:1-7).

This is the story of a man who felt himself to be a pawn in life – a man with few options and even fewer friends. At the heart of the story was the solution Jesus offered him. He needed to be able to “see” Jesus for Who He is, so that he could see life for what it is. It is a lesson worth hearing.

Jesus is the lens through which truth is made clear.

A man born blind got his physical sight restored, but he was still blind until he saw the identity of Jesus clearly. It was only then he could truly say he was no longer blind.

Open your Bible to John chapter seven.

The chapter opens a story that doesn’t close until chapter ten, as John recounts the week-long festival in Jerusalem at the Feast of Sukkot (or Tabernacles) one autumn. Because it was one story, let’s take a few moments and refresh in our minds the details of how He got there, and in what setting He found Himself. Let’s set up the context and then look at the main event.

John 7 reminds us that Jesus was well-regarded and had become quite popular in the Galilee region by that time. In John 6, a crowd wanted to proclaim Him to be its king (I’d say His popularity was in an upward curve!). Jesus just fed thousands on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee and they were stunned, excited and full! By John 7, we read of an attempt by the earthly brothers of Jesus to coach Him to go to the feast in Jerusalem to perform public miracles, and get better known. Their reasoning in John 7:

John 7:4 For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even His brothers were believing in Him. 

Verse five reminds us there is a stark difference between crowd popularity and real belief.

We can give away $100 bills to all new attenders here at church, but that doesn’t mean they will really believe what we preach. It only means they want the lotto ticket without the cost of purchase.

Jesus didn’t need to do stunts for the boys who weren’t sincere about their belief. Funny as it may seem, they were some of the blind men in the passage.

Consider the fact that a Brazilian farmer, right now as we are seated in this room, may be burning a field and clearing Amazon rain forest land of the last of a plant that would cure cancer… but he doesn’t know that. He is working to build his farm and is blind to the valuable asset right in front of him.

That describes the brothers of Jesus in John 7:5.

Jesus didn’t do what they asked. John 7 reminds:

John 7:6 So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. ⁸ Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.¹⁰ But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret. 

When I read those words, Jesus sounds “down” or “feeling persecuted.” Do you take it that way? We cannot know what He was thinking, but three things are clear:

First, Jesus was not going to allow the ministry timing to be directed by the boys. He reserved the right to know before the Father WHEN He should reveal Himself to the crowds. This was a similar problem to what we saw in the first miracle at Cana, where Jesus was being pressed by His mother to deal with a wine crisis, and He declared, “It isn’t yet my time!”

Second, it is clear Jesus knew when He was revealed, there would be a significant backlash in the world around Him. Some would react with violent negativity He described as “hate.”

Third, Jesus didn’t tell His brothers His whole intent. When they left, He journeyed to Jerusalem. Perhaps He understood their plan to stage a grand theatrical entrance to the city.

Let’s summarize the whole scene this way: Jesus did not seek a review of His plans, nor did He ask for approval of them by those who pressed Him to do so. He still doesn’t. He knows what He intends to do and when He intends to do it, and is fully able to deal with the tension of not pleasing even a follower in the immediate in order to pull off the best plan. It is important that we remember that. Jesus’ first allegiance is to the plan of God, not to our intermediate comfort. He isn’t cruel, and He doesn’t desire you to suffer unduly – but the plan set by His Father has priority over our sense of temporal timing.

Even mature believers can forget this. We begin to think because something makes sense to us, it must be what God truly desires. The problem with such logic is how much it ignores the stunning amount of truth I do not understand and my often ignored inner desire to have immediate relief from trouble at any cost.

If you took the time to read the remaining verses of John chapter seven, you would immediately see that Jesus’ sense that some would grow quickly violent and reactionary was valid. After Jesus arrived quietly in Jerusalem, He began teaching and the Temple leadership immediately sought to shut Him down. They questioned Him directly but found out that was a mistake. He was extremely well-versed in spite of the fact none of them could identify from where He could have learned the Word so well. (There are definite advantages to being the Author of “the Law” when parsing the difficult portions!)

After plotting to seize Jesus because He made them look bad (see John 7:32), Jesus seemed to disappear into the crowd for the week of the feast, re-emerging to offer public teaching on the last day of the feast according to John 7:37. Chapter seven closed with a division in the crowd – some sent to seize Him and most at least seem to like what He said.

In John 8, during that last great day of the feast, Jesus was in the temple courts and the leaders thought of a way to trap Him in a complex situation between the popularity of the crowd and the technical discourse of the text of Scripture. They brought a woman who was caught in the act of committing adultery.

It is notable the men drew her past the outer doors that were normally reserved for those who were ritually cleansed. It is also important that we see through the set up and recognize only the woman was brought to Jesus. The Master saw through the attempt to railroad the woman without proper consideration and testimony of her husband, and with no attempt to see if he was also committing such acts.

Jesus didn’t object to carrying out the law against adultery; the Bible claims He was at Sinai and spoke that Law with His Father. He had no desire to amend or retire the holiness standard of marriage in exchange for some lawlessness people would call “grace.” God’s undeserved favor does not demand God cancel His own rules. Remember, they were revealed to offer long life, security, and propriety – as well as to bond people together in holy matrimony.

Jesus saw the plot and objected to hidden bias and trickery that was being characterized as proper judicial behavior. He understood the play. They wanted Him to take a side and they wanted to paint Him as “for” or “against” something for which they could prove Him wrong before the crowds. It is an old political ploy used often by people who call themselves “leaders” but find their strength, not in character but in the popular polls.

When it became impossible to trap Jesus, the leadership again engaged Him in debate, and chapter eight ended with leaders grabbing stones, ready to kill Jesus, but holding back in recognition the great day of the feast could not be maintained if they acted on their angry emotion.

We have skipped through two chapters, and shoved two violent and angry reactions beneath the surface. That’s important. Leaders were seething but(for the moment) stuck. When John recalled Jesus passing a man born blind, he built the scene above the wave of strong tension.

Now enter the scene for a moment:

John 9:1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Jesus was walking though the city, when He encountered a blind man, put mud in his eye, and sent him to a public pool to wash it off. That pool has recently been excavated, and was elegant for a public watering place in the time. We don’t know how close to the pool Jesus was when they met, but the initial dialogue wasn’t with the man. It was with His disciples.

They asked a question that showed how deep an impact the Sadducees had made on their thinking and spiritual formation. Sadducees (who ran the temple in Jerusalem) typically believed in no afterlife, and thought all inequity in this life was a sign of judgment. “People are blessed or cursed in the here and now according to their worthiness,” they routinely taught. Since they didn’t believe in afterlife, they reasoned that God needed to settle all things in this life (at least according to their misguided teaching).

Jesus made clear the man’s blindness was not because someone sinned, but because it suited His Father’s plan to use this man’s eyes to point a sign toward Jesus’ identity. As you read the rest of the story that is exactly what happened.

We must remember that we are, like the disciples, wholly unqualified to know why God does what He does when He does it. At least they asked, even if it showed poor theological foundation.

Did you notice that Jesus turned the discussion to the limitation of time? He warned, “A night is coming in which no one can work.” He seemed stuck on the fact that opposition was rising around Him, and after two chapters of ducking angry leaders, you can understand why He felt that way.

Jesus made the point that while He was doing His earth ministry,   He could use His power to make things clear and plain – for that was part of His purpose (in John 9:5-7). To that end, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and put it in the man’s eyes. He told him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam, which we hope was not a long distance for the sake of the man. Why send him there?

The term Shiloah is the word “sent” or “caught” and refers to the water of the Gihon Spring being caught in the catching pool south of the canal that carried the water. Jesus sent the man to the place where the waters that made Jerusalem a living city were sent – to separate the man from Him when he was healed, and to make a point about His own sending, His own mission from the Father. The man would get clarity of sight by the power of God, not the clarity of Jerusalem and its water source.

The last part of the story captured the reaction of both the healed man and those who encountered him after his eyes were restored. His neighbors in John 9:8-9 became stirred when they say him walking about able to see. When they determined it was the former blind man they engaged, they asked:

John 9:10 “…“How then were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”

The rest of the passage recalls how people reacted to the work of Jesus.

The Lord worked to give the man new physical eyes, and that amazed the people around the man born blind. Think of it this way: The One Who made man’s eyes remade this man’s eyes. That puts the act in a different perspective. Physical healing is the peak of God’s work – it isn’t even close to what is most important to Him. People get very excited about this life and its comforts and cares, but forget the larger concern of Jesus is what happens to people after they leave this broken body.

The man could see but was still blind. His neighbors could see, but they were blind as well.

Some people are swayed by an encounter with Jesus’ power to change them; that is all it took.

The man born blind didn’t start following Jesus right away – he didn’t even know where Jesus was at the time! Because of the stir, John 9:13 reveals they brought the man for a review by Pharisaic authorities, a standard practice for people to be declared “well” after sickness, giving them access to public works, etc. The Pharisees asked the man how he was made well in John 9:14-16. The Pharisees then asked:

John 9:17 So they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

His encounter was enough for the man to conclude that Jesus was in touch with God and could access God’s power. The Pharisees pressed the man for a judgment on Jesus. Ironically in the passage, they couldn’t agree (and they ostensibly had the training the man on the hot seat didn’t have)!

John 9 continued:

John 9:24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

The man kept his claims simple and based on what happened to him. That is where we all start in our testimony of God at work in us. It is clear from our reading, this man was both changed and surprised that such a welcome event wasn’t being celebrated by people in charge.

Some people are moved by the evidence; they see a change.

Others discount the evidence, because it doesn’t get them to the conclusion they desire.

I particularly enjoy the few verses in John 9:18-21 that record what happened when the parents of the man were brought in and questioned:

John 9:18 The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, 19 and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.”

What shocks me is how little these who should have cared were moved by the man’s new eyes. They saw what everyone else in the room wanted, and that changed what their own eyes beheld.

Some people are so molded by peer pressure; no evidence  really matters much to the view they hold.

It is clear to me the parents were blinded by fear. John continued:

John 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

Think about those leaders for a moment. For them, the method of investigation seemed to be: conclusion first, evidence second. We must remember that many are blind because they truly choose to be!

Some people have a vested interest in Jesus NOT being Lord, because that would change their sense of license.

No amount of new testimony will open the ears of one who does not want to hear the truth. Only God can do that. In fact, keep reading…

John 9:26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” 28 They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.”

The new seeing man was starting to get snippy with them. This was the best day of his life and they were quibbling over details. Add to that, his mom and dad seemed to love their status in the community more than they stood in truth beside their son. Boy, was he getting his eyes opened!

The leaders tossed out words about how they knew truth in John 9:29 and the man retorted:

John 9:30 “…Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.”

A changed life is a hard thing to deny, even by learned skeptics.

The man pressed the leaders again about their qualifications in knowing truth:

John 9:31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.

To any Jew of the time, being put out of the synagogue seemed like a terrible thing. Yet, if you keep reading, it was outside the place the man really got his spiritual eyes opened. Jesus came and found the man who was “on the street” again. John concluded:

John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.

Now the man could see. He could see the truth about who cared for him and who cared for their reputation. Can you see it?

How we see Jesus determines our ability to discern truth.

Some people will change when they see the light. Sadly, others won’t change until they feel the heat. Jesus’ message urged people to see while the light stood before them.

A blind man saw. His heart changed. His thoughts, his ideas and his desires changed.

To close my Christmas season for 2018, I must return to the story of change I watch each year:

When Dickens finished his work called “A Christmas Carol,” he left us with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a man in desperate need of change. Though rich, the man took pleasure in nothing and seemed wholly indifferent to human suffering.  On that fateful Christmas Eve, Scrooge was visited by a series of ghosts who took him on a journey to see,  perhaps for the first time,  his own character.  They showed him his sins,  his faults and his effect on others. As the last spirit’s bony finger pointed Scrooge toward his own future headstone, Scrooge was commanded to wipe the snow off and read the name carved on it. Weeping and shaking, Scrooge pleaded with this spirit, “Are these the shadows of things that will be… or are they the shadows of things that may be only? Why would you show me this if I was past all hope? His was the human predicament.

That is where we are today if we don’t understand what Jesus has done. We face the grave with our regrets and our shame. The good news is that you need not face it at all. Jesus died so that I don’t have to. Even when my mortal body gives way, it will be swallowed up in the victory of salvation provided by Jesus.

Either the death of the body is the beginning of judgment, or it is the end of it – and the beginning of uninterrupted joy. It all depends on how you see Jesus.

Overlooking Jesus

If you have been paying close attention to the habits of people in our time, you know that most of us spend much more time conversing electronically than we do face to face. Whether you are from the generation that sits in front of the news and commentary shows on the TV, or you have learned the skill of not walking into poles while reading your phone and traversing the street, you know we are growing to expect our human contact to come primary through machines, and not directly with humans at all. In her book, “Alone Together: Why we expect more from technology and less from one another,” Sherry Turkle offered some compelling and astute observations about modern life in “first world” settings. She wrote (p.279):

“In the fall of 1978, Michael Dertouzos, director of the Laboratory for Computer Science, held a two-day retreat at MIT’s Endicott House on the future of personal computers, at the time widely called “home computers.” It was clear that “everyday people” …would soon be able to have their own computers…But what could people DO with them? …Some of the most brilliant computer scientists in the world…were asked to brainstorm on the question…tax preparation…teaching children to program…a calendar….games [all were mentioned].

She continued: “Now we know that once computers connected us to each other, once we became tethered to the network, we didn’t need to keep computers busy. They keep US busy. It is as though we have become the killer app…”We don’t do our emails; our email does US. We talk about spending hours on email, but we, too, are being spent.”

For my students, I think that isn’t really true. The next generation doesn’t spend their time on email as my generation does. At the same time, the computer (or shall I say “cell phone” – which seems to be everything BUT an actual phone) has replaced much social conversation. Many of us complain that the simplicity of spending time together has been overtaken by a wave of unending, but commonly accepted interruptions. Anyone who knows me well, knows I HATE cell phones, because I prize uninterrupted conversation, and undisrupted time thinking. I cannot multitask, and being forced to try is honestly one of the things I find most annoying in modern life. Let’s soberly evaluate for a moment:

• We live with changed expectations of social etiquette: We don’t pull up in a “drive through” and expect a greeting from the server – because he or she is busy speaking to the person behind us who is just giving their order. We will get a hand out for the money, and a bag for the food – often with little or no human interaction apart from the almost indiscernible voice from the loud speaker when we ordered. If we don’t get the proper order, WE feel like we are blocking up the assembly line of food orders. The customer is often made to feel now they have become the servant of the food server.

• We create limits on communication with controls: Many prefer TEXTING over talking on the phone. If you ask them, they may not consciously understand why. For most, I dare say, they prefer to control the length and depth of the conversation – and avoid the time saving greetings and “niceties.” We can ask what we want, and get what we need – no extras. It serves the budget conscious communicator.

• We seem bored with whatever we do, like we are missing something: Did you ever sit with someone who shouldn’t have a remote control in his hand, because he can’t stop looking for something better to watch? Sitting at the airport you will notice people contacting others via computer, but often they are checking email or Facebook in the background while “conversing.”
• We learn how to build an image that isn’t whole: We construct avatars and selective profiles, and many wrestle with how to “say enough to be included in the conversation and judged an interesting person.” Many who respond aren’t the people we were intentionally addressing.

• We routinely give away privacy in favor of convenience: We have accepted that everything we watch, buy or show interest in can and is tracked – because we see the value of the convenience – even if the ads are numerous and distracting. At least they are tailored to our interests!

• We live with a false sense of urgency and importance: Vacations have become a change of location, because our instant connection goes with us. Technology speeds up expectations in our boss and our co-workers. Clients expect faster response time, and it is hard to maintain a true sense of what really matters – over what seems urgent right now.

• We set aside the need to plan well: We rush off to the grocery store, and then call our spouse to get an accurate list of what we went there to grab. Fewer and fewer people walk through a grocery store without a cell phone at their ear or the “ding” of a cell message.

The outcome of this lifestyle is that we are losing the ability to talk uninterrupted to the people in front of us, and always feel the need to be in touch with someone who may want to reach out to us. It is as though we favor the possible over the actual – the distant over the present.

In an effort to be more efficient and more productive, we may have lost something in the quality of daily life.

We search for what we want, and we don’t seem to be getting it in what we have. The unending blaring light of technology has fed constant adrenaline as a reaction to immediate boredom. We KNOW life isn’t supposed to run non-stop, but many of us feel “out of the loop” if it doesn’t.

We have become the most technologically advanced AND the most exhausted and easily bored generation of human beings ever on the planet.

I think that may affect believers who have been “fully marinated in American juices” when they attempt to meaningfully stop for an hour on Sunday morning at church and worship. We explore the Word and we seek truth, but some are fighting the urge to stay off their phone right now.

We feel the guilt of being bored with a time to reflect, pray and hopefully even think deeply about our lives and our Savior.

The tendency of our lifestyle leads even worship leaders to CRAM church meetings with sound, thought and challenge. We struggle to find new ways to keep people engaged. Constant hunger for connection has left a stress fracture. Constant stimulation has made us hunger for more constant stimulation. Technology is the new sugar.

Here is the heart of our problem – we were designed for CONSTANT CONNECTION – but not to our fellow man. We were designed to get the depth of fulfillment from our Creator.

His network is ALWAYS ON. In short, what we NEED isn’t what we think we WANT, and what we WANT isn’t what will WORK. We think we want ACTION and CONNECTION to EACH OTHER to feel important and affirmed… but that WILL NEVER SATISFY. Our problem isn’t material, social or moral. At its root, our problem is willingly walking separate from God.
Look at the beginning of John 6 and watch Jesus train His first followers in this powerful lesson…

Key Principle: Believers aren’t called to solve problems for Jesus, but to invite Jesus to become their solution.

The Background (6:1-3)

The passage begins…

John 6:1 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.

Pay attention to the fact that Jesus LED the disciples to the place where a problem uncovered issues within them. They were in the place east of the Jordan River’s entrance, north of the Sea of Galilee, where no “kosher deli’s” could be found. The nearest cities were the Gentile holds of Julias and Gergesa – neither of which Jesus would ever visit. People there ate ham sandwiches and didn’t like Jews much. The bottom line is that Jesus took His followers to a place that was uncomfortable, and didn’t seem to have all they would need. Jesus knew what they needed, but they didn’t know, and this place would make evident the problem.

They needed to trust His power and sufficiency, especially in areas where they normally felt perfectly capable and sufficient. Inviting Jesus into what we think we have mastered and become “good at” is a necessary part of daily inviting the Savior to lead us.

Notice when the boys followed Jesus, they looked back and saw a big crowd coming after them. I don’t know what the men felt, but I will bet some of their hearts dropped a bit when the “private time with the Master” became another service for which they had to usher people, print bulletins and set mics up. Even those who love to serve get wrung out. Yet, I have found the times when Jesus speaks loudest to me are often when I am worn to the bone. It is often our weakness that summons the Savior’s strength!

The Set Up (6:4-9)

Go back to the story…

John 6:4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”

Don’t gloss past verse four. If you were Jewish, you would know bread was on the minds of the people as Pesach (or Passover) approached. This is the time of removing “chametz” or yeast, leaven or dust bunnies from every part of one’s house. On the street in Jerusalem today, when Passover arises, people burn little piles of dust outside their house to mark the “spring cleaning” in preparation for Passover.

Exodus commanded:

Exodus 12:15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

Even today observant Jews spend nearly a month cleaning out their houses after Purim in Preparation for Pesach. They clean every room in the house and get ready to remove all chametz from the place. That was the time of this story. People were thinking about bread, for the time of matzah was drawing near.

Back to the text…

John 6:6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

This is a great verse, because it is an important reminder of how God works in us. If you go back to the very first test God ever gave man, it was in the Garden of Eden before sin came. It was even before Eve was created. The text of the story revealed that God KNEW man was alone, so He commanded him to name all the animals. Man concluded that he was alone AFTER the work God gave him. God’s command was also God’s test of Adam. Isn’t that often the case? The command offers us an opportunity to learn, not JUST in disobedience, but even in obedience.

Adam obeyed and God got his attention, gave him holy anesthesia, knocked him out and took out some bone to give him a companion called woman, because she was taken from man. God didn’t need Adam to name the animals or to take a test to know what he needed. All of God’s tests are designed to teach US; He never learns anything from the results.

Sometimes LACK is the device God gives us to test us, so He can fulfill that sense for us. Sometimes God has to make us hungry through a test so that we eat well from the provisions of His table! Listen in on the conversation as the boys answered:

John 6:7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”

The test was to see if the disciples could grasp that with Jesus, every need could be met. The bread wasn’t really lacking if the Savior’s power was present.

This is the sadness of living in a world of relative values presented by the teachers of “situational ethics.” They ask, “Is the man really wrong for stealing if he and his family are starving?” The problem with implying that wrong isn’t wrong in these circumstances is it leaves out the power of God! Ask George Mueller who prayed when his orphans were hungry, only to discover the bread truck that broke down outside and offered them plenty to eat.

The answer of the godless is to re-write the rules out of what seems like compassion but ends up licensing sin and normalizing wrong. It posits “an aloof” God that isn’t the One True Creator. It reduces the options to the ones WE can pull off. That is what is at the heart of the lesson for the disciples.

Philip saw the limited resources (purse) of the disciples and concluded it was not possible. Andrew saw the limited resources (lunch box) of the crowd and concluded it was not possible. Neither disciple factored in the power and presence of Jesus to fulfill the needs.

Jesus’ question included HIMSELF. He said, “Where are WE to buy bread?” It is incredibly easy for the disciples to set aside Jesus and NOT include Him – and we still do it all the time. Jesus cooperates with His disciples, but never leaves them fully responsible to care for needs without Him.

What the people needed wasn’t to eat bread to live, but to embrace the very “Bread of Life” and watch Him work!

The answer to their problem wasn’t in a lunch box, it was standing in a tunic beside them. HE was the answer. Yet, it was the tendency of the disciples to LEAVE HIM OUT, not His desire to be excluded. Without Him we can do nothing; through Him we can do all things.

The Example (6:10-15)

Watch Jesus make the lesson plain…

John 6:10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 12 When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

The first thing Jesus told the disciples was not to walk away and watch, but to participate with Him and organize the people to receive from Him. God loves working through us and with us. He could do it Himself, but relationship is at the heart of God (and participation is the key to relationship). He wants US to want HIM to work in and through us. Frankly, anyone who works in a church today will tell you a lot of rewarding ministry is just organizing the people and watching Jesus work through and around us.

Next, Jesus took the loaves the crowd gave to Him, and multiplied it to care for the need. I am certain He expanded the loaves as they were broken, but the first of what He used is what they handed Him. He started the miraculous with that which was willingly offered and humbly submitted for His use. Everyone who ministers in Jesus’ name knows what that is. We aren’t superstars for Jesus – we are carriers of God’s broken loaves of provision to those in need. We bring what was touched by our powerful Master’s hand. If someone said, “Thank you!” to Andrew as he passed them food, he probably felt like an idiot, since he knew the food came from Jesus – not him.

Jesus needed no plan from His disciples to do the Father’s work – only submission to His direction. When they DID exactly what He asked, He took what they had and made it more than they ever could!

Did you notice that Jesus gave sufficient to fill all that were gathered there? Even more, did you see that He even gave enough to care for the needs of the disciples! When they finished passing the baskets, Jesus made sure they got what they needed as well.

Yet, the Master wasn’t done. He taught His disciples through the reaction of the crowd in front of them – for the problem provided an opportunity to learn something!

John 6:14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

Jesus wasn’t unaware the people really didn’t grasp Who stood before them. Later in the passage He said of the crowd:

John 6:26 … Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

At the same time, John included this work of Jesus because it really helped underscore a lesson the earliest Jesus followers learned… The problem wasn’t a material lack – it was a spiritual one. It wasn’t BREAD; it was TRUST.

Sometimes we think our problem is a STUFF problem (don’t have enough, don’t have the right stuff). Sometimes we think our problem is a connection problem (we feel isolated and long for connection and affirmation).

Our real problem isn’t material, social or moral. At its root, our problem is to intentionally, willingly, openly invite Jesus to walk with us to solve life’s confounding issues.

The separation anxiety many believers feel is from God. It is easily masked by other symptoms, but that is the root. We aren’t called to solve problems for Jesus, but to invite Jesus to be the solution. It is our walk with Him that gets too little attention.

When Benjamin Franklin wished to interest the people of Philadelphia in street lighting, he didn’t try to persuade them by talking about it—instead, he hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket before his own door. Then he kept the glass brightly polished, and carefully hung it at the approach of dusk. People wandering about on the dark street saw Franklin’s light a long way off and came under the influence of its friendly glow with grateful hearts. To each one it seemed to say, “Come along, my friend! Here is a safe place to walk. See that cobblestone sticking out? Don’t stumble over it! I shall be here to help you again tomorrow night, if you should come this way.” It wasn’t long before Franklin’s neighbors began placing lights in brackets before their homes and soon the entire city awoke to the value of street lighting and took up the matter with interest and enthusiasm. Example is always a strong motivation for doing the right thing in life. (Pastor Steven Sheppard, sermoncentral.com).

If you want people to trust Jesus as their Savior, perhaps hanging a lamp of your own trust is the best place to start.

In my middle and high school years, our family used to leave our little town in south Jersey for much of the summer, and head down to Cape May, New Jersey, at the very bottom of the state. We had a camper, some tents and a large screen room (our Smith dining hall) where we would camp out for a couple months at a time. I have many good memories of that time, including the smell of burned sneakers placed too close to the campfire to dry, the hours spent out on the sand dunes near our campsite, and friends I made in those years. For a job, I worked some of that time at a farm near Higbee Beach baling hay and cleaning horse stalls. That is as close to farming as I have ever come.

When I recount my days, over the fifty-seven years of my life, I haven’t spent much time actually growing plants. I don’t cultivate, plant, water and harvest much of anything now, because much of my life has been centered on “city living.” I travel extensively as part of the ministry entrusted to me and that isn’t ideal for keeping a garden.

Yet, I have learned a few things about growing people, and some of those critical lessons have come from the text of today’s lesson in John 5. Today we want to see Jesus heal a man, and then watch how tempting it was for that man to become religious while losing faith.

Today we will learn…

Key Principle: Jesus called His followers to be people of FAITH not people of RELIGION.

That may sound strange, but it happens all the time. What begins with a move of God in the heart can quickly get covered in the ice of rules and regulations and become a religious exercise – with little heart remaining in the mix.

To look forward properly, let’s set the text in the series we have been studying. We are following “What Jesus DID” by looking at the collection the Apostle John put together and sent to the churches of the first century. When he wrote the Gospel, he was a pastor of a local congregation that was sourced from two different kinds of people. Some of the congregation came from the sons of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. They were Jews that had committed to follow Jesus. They didn’t leave Judaism; they found completion in Jesus as the promised Messiah.

The other part of the congregation came from what I term the “pig eating pagan” crowd of Gentiles. They heard the message of Jesus and decided to follow Him as their Savior, but knew much less about the promises God gave to the Jewish people generations before. They learned of these things after the came to Jesus.

Jews looked for the actions of a man to determine his real belief. Gentiles, influenced by Greek teachings, listened more carefully to self-claims of a public teacher to frame his belief system. In short, Jews cared more about what someone DID, while Gentiles hungered to know what self-claims they made in what they SAID.

John collected seven “I Am” statements of Jesus and paired them with seven “I Do” works, so that everybody in his congregation would be able to identify the truth about Who Jesus is, and why they should follow Him.

In the first two lessons of this series on what Jesus DID, we have observed these principles:

• In the story of the water into wine at Cana (found in John 2), we saw that Jesus transforms what is yielded to Him for His use.

• In the long distance healing story (found at the end of John 4), we saw that Jesus expects our firm trust in His Word.

In the third lesson of the seven works in John’s Gospel, the writer selected a tender moment between Jesus and a hurting and lonely lame man.

The book, up to that point, seemed to feature many “face to face” encounters or even interviews with Jesus. These included:

• A dialogue between Jesus and His cousin John about His identity (John 1);

• An exchange between Jesus and His mother during a crisis (John 2);

• A theological interview of Jesus by Nicodemus the Pharisee (John 3);

• An engaging conversation between Jesus and the “Woman at the Well” in Samaria (John 4).

The “face to face conversation” of John 5, then, wasn’t out of keeping with the book, but became like its connective tissue: one of the series of personal interviews with the Savior recorded to expose His true identity.

At the same time, the story in John 5 is unique among these personal encounters in its moral or lesson. This account vividly illustrated how some people seem to love the rules and want to make everyone around them do them, but don’t really seem to care as much about the people for whom the rules were made. They don’t appear to care as much about intimacy with God as they appear to desire controlling the actions of men. In short, they seem to be great at religion and lousy at faith. It is also a cautionary tale to warn us not to become what they were. Remember:

• Faith is about seeing things as God says they are, and becoming what you know God made you to be.

• Religion is about making people conform to what you believe they ought to be.

Faith has rules, but they are based on true caring. At their core, religious impulses are based on the control of another’s behavior.

Our text will push us to ask, “Which one are we trying to build? Will people around us be able to tell?”

Don’t forget: Jesus called His followers to be people of FAITH not RELIGION. People of faith love struggling people and want to walk daily and deeply with God. Let’s look at the story:

It opened with notes about “The Setting” (John 5:1-7).

John 5:1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Look closely at the detail and you will see three setting points:

• First, John set the scene at the point in time (John 5:1). The event appeared to be after some initial outreaches among the Samaritans (John 4) and the Galilee “long distance healing” (John 4:46ff) – if the events were intended to be in order. At that time, Jesus headed with some followers to Jerusalem. The feast was not specified, but is likely either Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot) or Tabernacles (Sukkot) as attendance was required for observant Jews in Deuteronomy 16:16.

• Second, John supplied the place in Jerusalem for the event (John 5:2-4). North of the Temple Mount where the ridge sets higher on the former property of the Zatha family, there was a pool cut into the solid rock of the mountain several hundred years before this story. The water entered by both the surface and some submerged vents that periodically caused the stirring of the water. The “probatic” pools were beside a well-established sheep market, and for a time the area was apparently dominated by a pagan Greek shrine from which the healings were reported in a superstitious way. Many Jews were part of Greek speaking communities, and some adopted strange practices as part of their eclectic experience of living among pagans. Some of these even made their way to Jerusalem.

• Third, to color in the whole event, John focused on a particular man who became the participant in the work of Jesus there (John 5:5-7).

He included three truths about the man Jesus encountered:

• The man was sick for a long time (5:5). The man appeared to be ill with a long term effect of suffering the inability to walk (the word for his ailment was as-then’-i-ah: a feebleness of mind or body). According to Jesus’ conversation with the man after his healing, the illness was because of some sin in his life that the man was fully aware of (So Jesus told him in John 5:14: “sin no more” using the term may-ket’-ee: no further — any longer).

• The man was quiet – not begging (John 5:6).

• The man was largely un-noticed by others around him, and felt alone, lonely and despairing (John 5:7). Crowds surrounded him, but few ever saw or acknowledged him.

The notes about the setting gave way to the record of the Miracle (John 5:8-9a).

John recorded:

John 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk…

Notice how Jesus spoke to the man. Here the hold of the physical need was broken (John 5:8-9).

• Jesus didn’t promise to lower the man down a rope into the pool when an angel stirred the water.
• Jesus didn’t give him someone to help him.
• Jesus called the man to take responsibility for his own life, and follow Jesus. He didn’t get attached to another. His allegiance was to Jesus and His Word alone.

Clearly the man expressed he had NO ONE, but was able to obey Jesus ON HIS OWN.

The sin that bound the man had crushed his life and left him alone and broken (cp. John 5:14). The man knew what caused the problem – we don’t need to know. When Jesus encountered the man, He asked the man if he was ready to surrender yet. When the man cried, “I will, but I need help!” Jesus offered the only thing he needed to be helped – the Word of Jesus. The man added obedience and the deal was complete (John 5:9).

After the Setting and the Miracle, John noted the Problem (John 5:9b-16):

John 5:9b …Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.

The man followed the Word of Jesus, but that word was not the common idea of the day. Their understanding of Sabbath-keeping was that of the popular rabbis of the day, not from the text of the Law.

Here is the remarkable thing: People who had tripped across the man for thirty-eight years, not offering to assist him when he needed help, suddenly became interested in him when he didn’t do what they thought he was supposed to do.

That was a display of the worst of religion at work.

Remember John 5:14 made clear the lame man got that way because of some willful sin in his life.

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”

According to the text, the disturbed people who complained of his apparent Sabbath violations were not just religious leaders… they were people nearby. His sin didn’t get addressed before his illness. Help and assistance didn’t come IN his illness. That makes me wonder…

How many sexually confused young men will grow up in our churches and no man will ever take them under their wing and teach them to be a man of God until one day when in confusion they declare themselves gay?

I wonder why it is that many a young woman seeks desperate approval by allowing men to misuse her body that God loaned her, as she cries out for love, and few seem to say a word until she is pregnant and alone. The words they say then are more often condemnations than extensions of grace.

We have a lot to say when someone sins. Even believers are tempted to light up the phone line when moral failure is apparent, but what about when their insecurities are displayed before…

Do we take the time? Do we even know the names of people who are demonstrating deep insecurities and needs BEFORE their public humiliation?

Let’s remember these people thought they knew what God wanted, but misjudged God’s heart for the man who was sprawled out on the porch in front of them.

If you look carefully, you will see the man wasn’t told to break the Sabbath according to the standard of the Torah (the Law of Moses).

Genesis 1:1-2:3 offered the “story of the seven days and the Sabbath.” In 2:2-3 God stopped his creative labors, but He continued to maintain the life of the creation He built. Planets still were spun, solar systems still turned. God wasn’t creating anymore, but He wasn’t completely passive either.

Later, in Exodus 20:8-11, God told the people not to work in a way that would add to their wealth and comfort. What the people were referring to is specifically in Jeremiah 17:21ff. The people at the time of Jeremiah reasoned that they could carry burdens and make deliveries on the Sabbath as long as they weren’t actually working. They were skirting intimacy with God, trying to “pull a fast one on God.” The first twenty verses of the chapter dealt with the issue of deceit, and that is exactly why God addressed it through Jeremiah.

This man wasn’t violating the Sabbath. He was removing an obstacle in order to make the path safe, and then heading to the temple to worship and be declared clean! (John 5:13-14).

Only after the man encountered Jesus again did he become aware of the One Who healed him, and readied himself to share that with others (John 5:15-16). All attention left the man as the leaders went after Jesus. The man became INVISIBLE once AGAIN. Why? They weren’t asking him about the healing out of wonder or fascination – but out of a desire to CONTROL the actions of people.

Even those of us who have walked for a long time with God must face the fact that we may deeply desire to control the behavior of others. It is the religious spirit at work.

Some believe that the ethical commands of the Bible are license to do become the judge of everyone around them. Do not misunderstand me; I am not saying that all rules are bad things. I am saying that God shared His ethical and moral standards that we would always speak of them with the deep desire to help the one we direct them toward (“speaking the truth in love” – Eph. 4:15, though there the original context appears to be believers who need instruction).

In contrast to these men, Jesus addressed what PEOPLE OF FAITH must recognize:

The remaining section contains several lessons about being people of faith (John 5:17-47).

If you take the time to read the remaining part of what John recalled from Jesus’s words that day, you will see several important truths about being a people of faith – and not a people dominated with a religious spirit.

Go to John 5:17 and 18. It is clear that people of faith understand the unique place of Jesus. Jesus, who is Lord of the Sabbath, claimed that He had the right to make the man carry his things, since God ALWAYS WORKED on Sabbath (5:17-18). This was an overt claim not missed by those who heard it! The Bible repeatedly made the overt and specific claim that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who was the agent of Creation (Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3ff) and had specific conversation with His Father about coming to earth prior to His arrival (Philippians 2). He wasn’t presented simply as a Prophet or Healer, but rather as God in human skin.

Remember, that is the fallacy of “What would Jesus do?” You and I aren’t called to do what Jesus did, but rather what Jesus instructed US to do.

The text also reminds us that people of faith follow God’s Word closely, and must always be careful not to equate their preferences and deductions as equal to GOD’S STANDARD. They thought He was “breaking the Sabbath” while Jesus made clear He was following God, not fighting God’s standards. That is the point of John 5:19.

People of faith understand that direction comes through intimate connection with God. Out of love God showed Jesus what He wanted Him to accomplish, and promised even greater demonstrations (5:20). Jesus spent time with the Father and taught His disciples to spend time with Him in prayer.

A relationship of following edicts is not intimate; it is sterile.

Drop down a few verses as we close…Jesus said,

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

People of Faith are convinced there is only one path to walk upon. They aren’t “Plan A” and “Plan B” spiritual journeys; there aren’t “many roads leading to Heaven.” They understand the one and only formula of eternal life is this:

• Hear (Listen to and conform life to) My Word.
• Believe my Father sent Me (trust the source of my message as from the very Creator).
• Bypass judgment and LIVE NOW! (5:24).

Don’t miss that Jesus offered three witnesses to His identity and veracity:
• His cousin John (cp. John 5:31-35)
• His works (cp. John 5:36)
• The previously disclosed Word of God (cp. John 5:37-47)

People come to Christ because of our testimony – something that only happens when we love and engage Jesus and other people. Jesus’ cousin, John, did at Jesus’ baptism and five men decided to follow Jesus. Following Jesus, His disciples watched what He did in the lives of people around them. They watched His works, and felt His warmth. They marveled at His power and gazed at His greatness. Finally, they tested Jesus against the prophetic Word of the Living God.

Others religious leaders were busy studying that same Word, but because of the spirit of religion, they were transfixed with controlling people – not throwing them a life-line.

Jesus called His followers to be people of FAITH not RELIGION.

People of faith love lost and struggling people. They want to walk daily and deeply with God. They work at allowing God to control them, and pay little attention to trying to control others.

A preacher named Derrick Tuper told a story a few years ago I found interesting:

In Atlanta, Georgia an 84-year-old widow started to become restless and bored watching TV and reading the paper, but she couldn’t drive anymore. A friend sat with her and she told them she felt the Lord calling her to DO something. Her friend asked her what she loved to do. She simply said, “I like to play hymns on my piano.” After a few days of thinking, praying and reflecting on that conversation, she decided she would use her ability to minister to others if God would allow her. She put a small add in the local newspaper which read, “Pianist will play hymns over the phone to shut-ins.” Within three days of issuing the advertisement, she received three hundred phone calls requesting her service. She worked out a schedule, and began to play her favorite hymns for people. In a short time, she began to connect people and listened to those who were alone, getting them a “buddy.” In a few short years, she grew her ministry to over 12,000 people. When asked why she did it, she replied, “My church taught me… to love people.”

I am hoping we are teaching that too. We need to set aside religion to gain Jesus’ view of “real faith.”

Most of what happens in life is well beyond my comprehension. I don’t really understand how my microwave works. I get the basic concept, but I cannot (for the life of me) figure out how someone worked out all the mechanics.

Honestly, I am still trying to figure out how someone put together the string of information that invented the first pasta! Think about it! How did someone actually figure out that if you take the grain head from the wheat, let it dry thoroughly, take off the husk of the grain, grind the head into flour, add water, knead it, cut it into small strips, lay it out in the sun to dry, take the dried material and boil it for a brief time – you will have “al dente” pasta?

These things amaze me. Think about it. Men and women can blast other men and women to the moon or up to a space station. We can engineer the combinations of DNA strands in a “Petrie dish” to change physical characteristics of our offspring. We can store 100,000 pages of text on a silicon chip the size of a finger tip. We can dive deeply enough to explore the depths of the ocean with an unmanned submarine and fly a mission thousands of miles away from an unmanned drone to shoot a missile at a small group of men hiding out near a cave. Much of what we can do most of us cannot truly understand. So I need to ask you…

What does “faith” really mean in a time like ours?

Does it mean that someone knows how it works, and I should just accept it and keep learning? Ever since I was young in my faith, I have heard people say that I just needed to “accept some things by faith” as if that was supposed to satisfy the curiosity of all, and be the end point of the discussion
when something could not be readily explained. Yet, I kept asking, “Is that really what God intended me to do?” Is faith a last refuge, a “cop out” for things that Christians don’t know or haven’t searched out? Am I supposed to turn off my mind and simply trust whatever I am told about God that cannot seem to be explained? I know now that is not at all the case.

In the Bible, faith is not about whether you can explain the “how” of something or not. Faith, in essence, is the absolute trust that the world is not how it appears, but how God says it operates in His Word. It is a “Biblical world view.” When I accept Jesus by faith, I accept that God’s record of Who Jesus is and what He did was both correct and accepted by the Creator. When I walk by faith, I walk in the light of His Word and see the world as He proclaims it to be. Yet, my belief isn’t without evidence at all.

I believe in a Creator because I see the product of organization all around me, and I know that billions of years won’t create structure and organization exacting enough to make a strand of DNA morph into an aardvark while another morphs into a zebra. The heavens proclaim organization, color, beauty and design. Design requires a designer in every area I can grasp.

At the same time, we are called on to “believe” and “have faith” in our God, so I ask: “What does it look like to truly believe?”

That is our subject for this lesson, “What Jesus Did.” In John 4, we are going to encounter a man who modeled belief because he trusted the word of Jesus so fully that he rested when others would have run. In the verses of John 4:46-54, the writer revealed a second miracle performed by Jesus. Part of that group of events John collected in his account. Remember, John’s gospel included seven miracles, each recalled so that a reader might know more of Jesus, believe in His claims, and have life through that belief, according to John 20:30-31. John offers us a lesson that is unmistakable, if understood in context. He taught:

Key Principle: I demonstrate true faith when I change my life to conform to what God said.

The story recorded in John’s Gospel (4:46-54) is a profound and yet simple story – but it requires you know something of the geography of where Jesus lived and traveled. The key to the entire story is contained in the details of time and distance between two ancient villages, set in the hills of lower Galilee. I have walked the path between these villages, and though neither is a living town today, the ruins can be identified and still mark the places. The ancient roadway is still a trail along the edge of the hillside, since roads tend to remain in place for millennia. People purchase and cultivate both sides of a roadway, but no one owns the road, so they tend to stay in the same place.

In the case of this path, the steep incline rose from Capernaum (a village that was in the Jordan Rift Valley north of the Sea of Galilee) up through the Arbel Pass to ancient “Khirbet Cana.” To walk up the path is no less arduous than can be traversed in an eight hour journey (plus or minus a few minutes). That same path in reverse direction is a mere five and one quarter to five and one half hours journey (because it drops downhill).

Jesus was around the Sea at Capernaum, and people knew Him there, but it wasn’t YET a big part of His ministry. In the early part of the ministry, He was in Nazareth, went to John’s preaching by the Jordan, made His way to Jerusalem for a time, and then began to announce His ministry throughout the towns of the Galilee region.

Let’s drop in as an observer to the happenings in Cana some two thousand years ago…

John 4:46 Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” 49 The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

Look closely at the text. There are two things you should note before you take a “deep dive” into the scene:

First, the places are mentioned. Cana was the location of Jesus, but Capernaum was the location of the sick boy.

Second, the time of the healing was given. Did you notice the “seventh hour” in verse 52 was the hour that Jesus healed the boy according to verse 53?

The text can be broken into three simple parts:

1. A desperate man came to Jesus (4:46-49).
2. A believing man trusted Jesus (4:50-52).
3. A household demonstrated faith and belief (4:53-54).

First, we need to examine the account of the man that came to Jesus (4:46-49).

It is clear in the account that a man who lived in Capernaum heard the reputation of Jesus based on His previous works or in some way knew Jesus casually, but now found himself in desperation because of his sick son (4:46-47). Though Capernaum means “village of comfort,” in this story the man was nothing close to comfortable. Let’s summarize the things we know about him based on the account:

• He knew of Jesus and what others claimed He could do (John 4:46a).
• He was faced with a heart rending problem beyond his ability (John 4:46b)

Note that his “problem” led him to seek Jesus, and meeting Jesus met more needs than he anticipated.

That is often how it works. Ask people who walk with Jesus how they met Him. They may tell you about a background problem that led them on the path to the Lord. Problems can break down our sense of self-sufficiency. They can unmask our true vulnerability.

Desperation opens our hearts to make us willing to take our need to Jesus and abandon self-reliance. Giving up my falsely constructed sense of control is at the heart of accepting Jesus.

Before we skip past the detail, look at the identity of the man who came seeking assistance. He is called “a royal official” as the English translation for the Greek word basilikos. Basileus is the term for a king. This related word is the term for something or someone from a royal line. The weight of the word is not in reference to their job, but rather their “standing” in the community. This guy was a “somebody” in the celebrity category.

Though deemed important in rank, the man didn’t send one of “his people” to Jesus. Rather, he climbed the steep path some twenty miles from Capernaum to Cana. With the pictures of his son playing like a video loop in his mind, the man cared little about any humiliation of asking for help, nor was he fixed on any social difference in status between Jesus and himself. His son was facing death. He couldn’t stop it any other way. There was nothing else more important on his mind.

When you read the nobleman had to lower himself to seek help from a humble Jewish villager and itinerant preacher, don’t forget this truth: There is no home into which sickness and sorrow cannot enter – and when it does it reduces our man-made social divisions. Stand in the hospital and watch. Rich and powerful break down just like poor and needy when sickness strikes and death nears.

Crisis led him to Jesus. Crisis reduces arrogance and allows a man of standing, wealth and power to humbly kneel. For some of us, that crisis was the best thing that ever happened to us.

Notice how the man reached out for Jesus and begged Him to have mercy and deliver him from the clutches of the terrible need (John 4:47).

If you read the Scriptures thoroughly, you will note the man’s humility is part of what led Jesus to help. God resists the proud, but gives undeserved help to the humble. Jesus responded in two ways:

First, Jesus told those around Him that Galileans only seemed to believe what they could SEE (John 4:48).

We need to consider these words carefully. Jesus’ reaction (on first reading) does not seem loving at all – it sounds almost heartless and cold. It sounded like He said (apparently to the crowd around Him): “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you don’t believe.” Why take a seemingly desperate man and “hold out on him” like that? The answer is not as complicated as it may appear. Remember, this is another story to show that Jesus knows the heart of man (as John noted back in John 2:24-25).

This man was far from home. He couldn’t see his child. Jesus could claim to heal him, but the man wouldn’t be able to immediately check. Jesus was stating there was an opportunity there, not rejecting the man’s request. He was going to heal the boy, but the key to the story is what happened NEXT.

At the same time, Jesus DOES understand how manipulative people can be. We will move heaven and earth to achieve what we want. We ask desperately for the healing of our child, but when it’s done no commitment to Him or His message remains. We will use God to get what we want rather than allow the struggle to lead us to submission to God.

Consider the forces at work when people say: “If God is a healer, then why are there sick children in the world? If God is peaceful, then why do wars happen? If God loves, then why do bad things happen to good people?”

Behind these questions there is the desire to see God prove himself by taking these evil things away so that we will all believe in him and live happily ever after.

The problem is when God removes these problems it usually doesn’t end with the whole room following Him. The problem is based on a false premise: that people would believe and kneel if God did something about our troubles.

Think about it: There are plenty in our world who have enough to eat, aren’t struggling with the effects of war, plenty who have food on the table and a roof over their heads. Yet plenty of those people do not have a relationship with God. There have been many good times in our lives that did not yield surrendered lives.

Our relationship with God must not be simply based on his ability to heal us or perform other miracles for us. Our faith must leave this world’s way of thinking and take on a Biblical world view, solely based on surrender to the Word of Jesus.

Why didn’t Jesus make it easy for the man?

In our modern American lifestyle, we often act as though life should be easy. Ease, in fact is not always what is best for us. A faith that doesn’t challenge us is a faith that is not worth having. True faith requires of us a change. Real faith comes from God, as Ephesians tells us – and not from within ourselves. Yet, it results in surrender to Jesus’ role in our lives, not simply the solution to the immediate crisis.

A new king sits upon the throne only after a pitted struggle to remove the old king!

Second, Jesus told the man that he could trust in His Word alone.

He said: “Go, your son lives,” (John 4:50a). He didn’t even say He healed the boy! He merely said, “Go home. He’s ok!”

Yet, the man changed when he encountered Jesus:

At first, he was clearly panicked by the delay and distance (things he could observe with his eyes and heart) and tried to get Jesus to understand the immediacy of the need when he said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” (John 4:49). After Jesus spoke, the man clearly believed the word so thoroughly, that he exchanged panic for trust (John 4:50b). How do I know? Let’s take a closer look…

Next we need to examine the man and his apparent “trust in Jesus” (4:50-52).

Jesus spoke to the man at one o’clock (the seventh hour of the daylight according to John 4:52) and yet did not return home the same day. The text is clear the man encountered his slaves “the next day.” How could this be? He came with panic in his heart and yet stayed from one o’clock in the afternoon until the next day to journey down the five and one half hour path to his home? The key to the change is the word “BELIEVED” in verse 50.

The man believed. The man trusted the word of Jesus. He exchanged SEEING for what Jesus TOLD HIM – “Your son is alive and well.” He rested in that promise overnight. He ceased striving to find a way to care for the need because he believed the need was already met.

It was in his going, not in his arriving that he received the assurance that his faith had been rewarded.

A single act of faith led to a life of faith. In Genesis 12, God called Abraham to follow Him from his home to new land that he had never been. His decision is described in Hebrews 12:8, “he went out, not knowing.”

Here is the key: I truly believe God’s Word only when I accept the Word as it is stated and change my life to conform to what it says I should do and become. I change my behavior. I rest in the words and see life through them. I don’t keep seeing as others see!

That helps us understand the “full grasp of belief.” The man’s household believed by the end of the account (4:53-54). What does that mean?

Notice two important changes that occurred in the heart of the man after his initial trust was confirmed by the facts on the ground:

• The man trusted in Jesus’ words, but that trust was confirmed in his life as he walked in those words (4:53). He didn’t require proof, but he got it as he believed.

• The seed of that man’s belief became a testimony that when shared sprung up in a tree that sheltered the whole family, and they all believed together (4:53b).

A profound testimony can produce great faith in those who observe your changes. It is hard to refute a life surrendered and changed by Jesus.

C.S. Lewis wrote: “I have to believe that Jesus was (and is) God. And it seems plain as a matter of history that He taught His followers that the new life was communicated in this way. In other words, I believe it on His authority. Ninety-nine percent of the things you believe are believed on authority… The ordinary person believes in the solar system, atoms, and the circulation of the blood on authority–because the scientists say so. Every historical statement is believed on authority. None of us has seen the Norman Conquest or the defeat of the Spanish Armada. But we believe them simply because people who did see them have left writings that tell us about them.” (C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed)

As we examine the story then, what is faith? It is seeing the world as God says it is, not as my eyes say it is. It is accepting HIS WORD as the authority on what truly happened and what will happen.

It begins when I admit my need. The truth is that my senses are limited and can produce a faulty conclusion.

The other day I was driving and I wanted to make a left on Thunderbird Road coming from The Home Depot. My wife was in the car and it was raining. I looked first to my left – no one was coming. I looked to my right – no one was coming… or so I thought. I began to pull out and my wife said, “Stop, stop! There’s a car!” Blocked by a blind spot on the car at that angle and by my wife’s lovely head, I totally missed the view of the car. I was responding to what I saw, but not what was truly there. I was boldly proceeding as if I knew what was there, but I did not truly see things as they were.

That is how many of the people we know live today. They are proceeding confidently and ignoring blind spots.

Faith is the ability to see the truth. Since Jesus is the truth, and speaks the truth – it is the ability to see “through His eyes.”

Akin to faith is the Biblical word “BELIEVE” (επιστευσεν from pisteuo: to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), to entrust. Belief is only truly seen in change (as James notes). It is “the convincing of the mind and heart that leads to a willful surrender to the conditions of that truth accepted.” When Abraham believed that God would send him a son — he built a nursery. The belief was not complete until the actions accompanied the faith confirmed the change in authority over the life of the man of faith.

Sometimes, it even takes time to find out if the surrender is real:

A young woman had become critically ill and her prognosis was grim; she would likely die within the year. Her family had a nominal “Easter and Christmas” commitment to the church, so the discussions in the hospital between this young pastor and the family always ploughed new ground. The woman challenged him – if Jesus healed in the Bible, he should be able to heal me today. If not, what use was He? So she begged and bargained. “If only” God would show mercy, the family urged, they would completely recommit themselves and come to church every Sunday. This earnest young pastor prayed with all his heart. He refused to join the ranks of those who said, “If it is Thy will.” It was God’s will that she be healed, he concluded. Then to his amazement, God healed her—completely. And with the physicians shaking their heads, she was sent home from the hospital. Next Sunday, the entire family was there in the front pew, dressed and sparkling. The young woman gave her testimony, praising God for his goodness. The following Sunday, the family was there again. In four weeks, it was only the woman and her husband. And after that, attendance was sporadic until they dropped into their previous pattern. Before long, the woman rationalized the entire incident. She had experienced the most dramatic sign God could give her: healing, bathed in prayer and surrounded by the church. But after only two months, its power dimmed to nothing. (Sermon Central Illustrations)

Her surrender was not real, though her amazement was. She was amazed at first that God could and would act on her behalf. If our encounter is with amazement alone, it will fade.

God isn’t looking to amaze you if it doesn’t change you.

If our encounter led us to true surrender – we will ever be changed and marked by our walk with Jesus. Jesus is looking for surrender to Him, not an applause line from an amazed admirer.

Jean Francois Gravelet, also known as “The Great Blondin,” was the first tightrope walker to appear at Niagara Falls. On June 30, 1859 the rope was fully in position to cross the falls. It was five o’clock in the afternoon and Blondin started the trip that was to make history. As he began his ascent toward the Canadian shore, he paused, steadied the balancing pole and suddenly executed a back somersault. Never content merely to repeat his last performance, Blondin crossed his rope on a bicycle, walked blindfolded, pushed a wheelbarrow, cooked an omelet in the centre and made the trip with his hands and feet manacled. And then, he announced that on August 19 he would cross the gorge carrying his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back. (Source: http://www. niagarainfo.com/historic.htm)

Harry Colcord demonstrated what we are referring to as “Biblical belief.” He didn’t just have the faith to know that Blondin could make the trip; he acted on that faith in allowing it to change HIS future.

In that same way, Jesus invites us to crawl upon His back, and to surrender control to Him for our lives and future. He will walk us through Heaven’s gates. Nothing less than crawling on is what He seeks.

Here is the truth: I believe God’s Word when I change my life to conform to what it says. His Word isn’t meant to inform me; it is meant to change me.

Unless you have been living under a rock or away on an isolated island vacation with no TV broadcasts, you are probably aware that the U.S. has been alight and buzzing with recent testimony before our Senate Judicial Committee as it met in session for the purposes of presenting or declining a candidate for the vacant seat on our Supreme Court. As powerful lobbies and political factions collided before our eyes, Americans saw the worst attributes of power players seep out in a drama that captured some of the largest ratings on American TV. At the heart of the issue are accusations from decades past, and deep concerns of many who, in unrelated personal stories, have sadly faced criminal abuse in their lives that was not resolved justly. To get to the heart of the facts, a few selected testimonies were paraded in front of us, while much happened behind closed doors and we were left without enough to bring a factual conclusion, but got enough to tarnish everyone who was involved. Toss enough slop around a room carelessly and the whole room will end up covered – and they did.

This isn’t a political seminar, so relax. I don’t have to take a side here, and the truth is: my vote doesn’t count in this exchange.

• It is fair to point out the Bible requires “corroboration of testimony” before any public accusation against leaders without such evidence. That protection has been historically enshrined in our civil laws – but the idea clearly emanates from the Bible itself (cp. 1 Timothy 5:19).

• With the very same voice, I want to say without qualification the Bible supports real tenderness for those who have been victims, and every attempt should be made to be sure we care for the hurting as best we can (cp. 1 Thessalonians 5:14).

In the end, I simply argue that one cannot find the truth in a process that is not specifically designed to get to it, and one will not find the truth when power players are at work to bend the information in different ways for pre-determined causes. In short, we’ve been set up to fail here.

We won’t know for sure (this side of eternity) what happened long ago between these people (if anything) by the methods used in this process. I would suggest that by looking deeply into the hurting eyes of a victim as they pour out their fragmented memories on TV you will learn little of certainty. Conversely, we will not ascertain facts solely by judging the full-throated defense of a professional judge who is a trained lawyer, since he argues for a living.

What seems very much at the heart of the main issues of our day is how we can find the truth… and why truth really matters!

That is what we need to talk about. Where and how do we find truth?

If these proceedings have shown us anything, they clarified a weakness in teaching people to distinguish between deeply held “gut-level opinion” and carefully “cross-checked” evidence.

Some honestly believe they can tell if someone is telling the truth by their demeanor as showed on a flat screen TV; but I think that is at best naïve.

• I want to examine evidence. I want to know truth based on verified evidence – just like everyone else.

• I want every victim of crime to be consoled that one day, even if not in this life, every abuser will stand before God, and the Lord will not decide based on their demeanor. “He Who is the Truth” will speak definitively in judgment.

• At the same time, I want every person who has faced false and stinging words employed to harm their reputation to remember, God said not to bear false witness, and those who speak lies will also stand before the Judge of truth.

What a great setting to introduce a subject we will be following for the next few months. The title of our series exposes the simplest part of the idea: “What Jesus did,” but it doesn’t offer the richness of the texture to what we are going to deep dive into. We are going to look at the evidence of what Jesus DID to offer testimony and substance to what He claimed about Himself. We are going to go back into things that happened in the past and gather the testimony of verified deeds.

We are going to follow the evidence that has been combed over for centuries, and listen to the words of those who saw Jesus in action, and judged His character and personal claims by His deeds.

As with every search in our modern times, we should also anticipate there will be much distraction. An anonymous Amazon book reviewer offered this on a book about Jesus. He wrote:

Each year as we approach Christmas and Easter, we are inevitably greeted at magazine racks by news journals trumpeting the “latest scholarship” on the “historical Jesus.” The fact that very little of what appears ever has lasting scholarly value seems of little concern to the journals in question. The attraction of the sensational and the scandalous governs media coverage in our age and any “scholar” who claims things about Jesus Christ that ordinary Christians would find disturbing is enticing to a cynical media looking for a “story” – even if the views promoted lack any credibility with the vast majority of experts in the field…

That reviewer nailed the sentiment that we have a hard time getting to the truth in an age where people value their presuppositions and conclude as much based on flimsy opinions as they do by carefully entertaining the eyewitness testimony.

Long ago, the work of a pastor at Ephesus (today in western Turkey) named “John the evangelist” offered a series of testimonials about Jesus’ activities in the first century. His account gave selected events with a specific stated purpose that he included near the end of the work. John recorded that purpose and wrote:

John 20:30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Listen to his words carefully. He selected events to help us truly see, believe and have life.

John was interested in his readers. He wanted them to know what Jesus said (so he included seven “I Am” sayings of Jesus in the work) and he wanted them to grapple with what Jesus DID (so he included seven miracles of Jesus) as well.

Recently we listened to a series of teachings on what Jesus said. Now we examine the accounts of what He did. These are seven miracles including:

• Changing water into wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).

• Healing a child long distance between Cana and Capernaum (John 4:46-54).

• Restoring the legs of a lame man at the Pools of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:1-11).

• Multiplying the resources of the loaves and fish for a hungry Galilee crowd (John 6:6-13).

• Shutting down a storm on the Sea of Galilee that brought fear to His disciples (John 6:16-21).

• Giving sight to a man born blind at the Siloam Pool in Jerusalem (John 9:1-7).

• Raising up the dead body of His friend Lazarus at Bethany in Judea (John 11:1-45).

Each of these seven events were recalled to offer clear evidence that Jesus is Messiah, God’s Eternal Son and sole door to God. Don’t forget what is at stake! John also wrote:

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

If that record is accurate and Jesus was speaking the truth, we are forced to conclude that knowing Him provides the one and only door to our Father in Heaven. In that case, Jesus isn’t one of many paths, He is THE WAY. John wanted us to know that truth by knowing accounts of His works.

Let’s start our investigation early in the account…

Here is what I think you will see:

Key Principle: Jesus solved a crisis with transformation power.

Look with me at the first of these seven stories found in John 2:1-11. See if you can pick out what the account tells you about Jesus that will change you.

John 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 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 that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone water pots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

Put on your detective hat and let’s look at this account from a wedding at Cana to see what we learn about Jesus and how He can give us life.

Don’t skip the details, because the Word of God didn’t:

The Setting:

The opening two verses provide both the cast of characters at the event, as well as the specific setting of it.

First, the text opened with a timing note: “on the third day.” There is an old Jewish wife’s tale that Tuesday was the best day to get married. Many in Jewish circles still echo that. It wasn’t actually part of the Bible or of the Talmud, but some held the “ideal day to get married is Yom Shelishi (Tuesday, or the “third day”) because in the Creation story, the phrase “ki tov” (for it is good) is used twice on that day. Halachot (Jewish laws) and common customs existed regarding getting married on particular days, months, seasons and even parts of the month, but there was no specific law regarding marriage on any day other than Shabbat (the Sabbath). At the same time, this account is often quoted in an historical way to show the old custom. Here is the bottom line: It was likely a Tuesday the events unfolded. The idea that this follows “days” from chapter one doesn’t seem to really fit the time.

Second, the text offered a place: Cana of Galilee. This was no small town (like Nazareth) but it was a town along the rim of the Beth Netofa valley system in lower Galilee, in a low lying place where reeds were (at one time) probably harvested for the making of roofing materials. (The term Cana is “reed”.)

Third, the text offered a list of people: the mother of Jesus (2:1), Jesus and His disciples (2:2; we presume the five He got from John the Baptizer in the previous chapter which were: John, Andrew, Philip, Nathaniel, and Simon Peter). Included in the account were also servants of the master of the house (2:5), a headwaiter and a bridegroom (2:9). I take it the list of people to corroborate the events, then, was at least ten people, perhaps more. It was a public party, and the disciples clearly learned of all the background events according to their response in verse eleven.

The Problem:

The story recounts more than an embarrassing moment – it records a disaster.

Obviously, Mary was (in some way) linked to what could seem to us as an embarrassing faux pas, but it was much more than just a slight to the guests in that time and place. This problem had deep and powerfully enduring consequences. Middle Eastern society, both then and now, is steeped in a culture that expects certain social obligations to be met in the community. One of them is the notion of “reciprocal hospitality.”

Let’s say last year because you celebrated a feast at my child’s wedding where we fed you lavishly and had all the wine you cared to drink, you are expected to do the same for me when I attend your son’s marriage feast. Failure to respond in kind comes with severe social consequences. The marriage will be labeled a disgrace, and there could well be a lasting social stigma on the couple and even the children of that union. In some circumstances, such a breach of hospitality could have brought a lawsuit for damages by the family of the bride, since this part was in the hands of the groom’s family. The hired steward of such a disaster would probably never work another celebration in that community again.

This was no small incident, and when the wine ran out early, Mary called upon Jesus to address the problem (2:3).

Don’t miss that Near Eastern culture is also quite a superstitious culture in many ways. Even though God gave His Word to the Jewish people, if you know their history and writings, there is no shortage of reference to what amounts to “omens” and “signs” that move them. Paul referred to that tendency when he wrote:

1 Corinthians 1:22-24: For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Bear in mind that marriage feasts were intended to be the most joyous of community occasions for a village. In the Hebrew world, wine personified joy, plain and simple. In the poetic language of the Hebrew Scriptures, wine is most often a symbol of God-given joy:

Psalm 104:15 And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart.

Judges 9:13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?’

Isaiah 55:1 Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

The point is that wine represented JOY and the lack of it stood to condemn this couple and their new home. You don’t want to be the couple that started marriage with the omen of joy that ran out. It doesn’t bode well for you or your children. If the local crops fail next season, plan on getting blamed.

Now look again…

The phrasing isn’t completely clear, but I want you to consider a reasonable way to look at the detail of the text. There is an indication in verse one and two that Mary was already at the feast, at the time when Jesus and His disciples arrived on the third day. Since wedding feasts were often seven day events, John may have recalled that Jesus and the disciples (who were in fact invited) didn’t get there until the end of the week long feast. The point is, the wine seemed to be a sufficient amount until additional people showed up. The steward made a judgment call and didn’t get additional resources during the week, because he thought they had enough to get through the end of the feast. With more people, the lack of supply quickly became apparent.

Part of the text recalled a personal interaction between Mary and Jesus.

John 2:4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Obviously, the discussion was truncated. We don’t know all they said to one another. If the words recorded were the whole conversation, it was just plain weird. We assume John cut off the unnecessary parts of the interaction, but it is interesting he included Jesus’ objection. He did it, I believe, to show that Jesus was being pressed to do things to confirm what Mary was told about Him at the time of His conception by the angel Gabriel,
and at the times when God intervened on Jesus’ behalf as a child. Mary seemed sure that Jesus could fix the problem because Mary believed Jesus was the Promised One.

Jesus, on the other hand, wanted to make sure that He was not going to be “outed” by the agenda of anyone beside His Father. This was part of His objection when Satan wanted Him to jump off the southwest pinnacle of the temple in the temptation (Mt. 4).

In any case, out of respect for His mother and her faith in Him, He apparently agreed to deal with the crisis. Mary left the scene with two great statements:

• First, she gave the servants the best words offered in the New Testament: “Whatever Jesus tells you to do, do it.”

• Second, she left apparently totally trusting Jesus, and didn’t return to add additional input. She trusted Him, and she rested in His ability. That is a wonderful reminder to all of us who have wrangled with Jesus after we have prayed.

The Heart of the Miraculous Account: Water was changed into wine.

Verse six shared the scope of the miracle by offering us the vat size and number of containers. There were six stone pots, each containing between twenty and thirty gallons. One hundred twenty to one hundred eighty gallons of wine seemed like a lot of libation to get through to the end of the feast – but that wasn’t the KEY DETAIL that changes your thinking. Obviously, Jesus provided enough for all that they needed to celebrate, and what they needed to start their own label for the next year!

Yet, don’t neglect to look at WHAT KIND OF POTS they were.

If you believe the detail of the ritual purification pots was just incidental, it is because you aren’t looking at the story the way a Jewish person would. Ritual purification was, and is, at the heart of observant Jewish life. The
elaborate rules regarding ritual purity and impurity are deeply embedded in the Hebrew law.

The noun “ṭumah” (defiled or unclean) is used some forty times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible to denote ineligibility for different services. The adjective tamei (טָמֵא) (impure) is all through the text of the Hebrew Bible.

These were people that wanted to please God by collecting the rain water in the required stone vessels, so that every impurity of life could be symbolically washed away. Do they seem like the kind of people who CARE about symbolic things? Of course, they do.

Consider the volume of the pronouncement of what Jesus did when He took THAT WATER and transformed it to wine. The account ended with a commentary:

John 2:11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

We see in the story that Jesus wasn’t so “other worldly” that He wouldn’t celebrate a wedding with two people starting a new family. He knew family was important, since He established the family to begin with. Yet, remember our key truth…

Jesus solved a crisis with transformation power.

• Jesus didn’t offer them INFORMATION on where to get more wine.
• Jesus didn’t give them an EDUCATION on why they should plan better in the future.
• Jesus didn’t pull the crowd in and offer EXPLANATION of why the steward could not have known His boys would arrive late.

Jesus solved a crisis with transformation power.

He understood the longing of that family to have their impurity washed away – so God brought them Jesus. What He brings is more than they could understand, ask, think or expect.

• If you are reading today for scintillating information (something new you hadn’t heard before) – you are willing to settle far too low for what Jesus can bring you.

• If you would be satisfied with more education about the Word today, you are far too easily pleased.

Jesus wants to take your longings and completely, utterly, entirely and unreservedly transform them by His touch. He can make plain His GLORY and offer you something from Heaven.

He transformed their longing into something far beyond what they could have expected.

He made the ordinary into the extraordinary when it was set aside for His exclusive use. The water put exclusively under the control of Jesus was transformed into something greater than it could be without His Word.

Don’t miss that. Don’t overlook that many people will file into a church today looking for Jesus to fix the plumbing leaks of their life. They had a break-up with one they love. The bills rolled in like a tsunami and they are under water. Their health is failing them. An injustice against them hasn’t been settled and unfairness seems to be winning. They will pull together their list, their tears, their pain – and they will file into a church and wait for God to fix their problem. Yet, what God wants to give them is so much more. He wants them to encounter the powerful transformation of Jesus’ Word.

He doesn’t want to wash them with their saved up water in their old stone pot – He wants to transform their water and satisfy their thirst with something they have never tasted before!

He wants to fill them with something made in Heaven – not a religious ritual cut from a stony hillside and carefully calibrated by men.

Jesus is the timeless transformer. He is so passionate to show you Who He is, He actually came in the flesh bringing transforming power to you.

As I close, I want to echo the words offered by Billy Graham a few years ago, before he entered the presence of the Savior on February 21, 2018:

• There is no doubt that our generation suffers from moral uncertainty. We have a great deal of levity, but little real joy. There is searching on the part of young people for fun, but little real happiness. There is a great deal of canned laughter on television, but it is empty and hollow.

• We are zealous for freedom, but we are weak in our worship of God. We boast over military strength, but our television screens show that it is brutal in application.

• We have everything, but possess nothing. We seek knowledge, but lack understanding. There is plenty of struggle upward, but we continue to sink lower.

• As John Steinbeck said, “Our civilization needs the panic of a great crisis to shock it out of its Pharisaism.”

It is time for you to take your stone pot, set aside for washing to find a sense of cleanness – and let the Word of the Savior transform it.

If you don’t know Him as Savior, today is the day you can ask Jesus to take your life from you and commission you to follow Him. If you DO know Him as Savior, you have tasted of the sweetness of His ability to transform your life. What pot hasn’t been given Him? That one is still just plain water…