Why would the first miracle of Jesus appear to be simply an attempt to save friends from a social embarrassment? We know that Jesus would do miracles that served a much greater need for people: sight restored, the lame walked, thousands of hungry people were fed and even raised the dead. In this His first miracle, a wedding feast had run out of wine and would likely have to prematurely come to an end; rather than a feast of four days it was only three. On the surface that is all this seems to be. But I would suggest to you this miracle has a very deep symbolic meaning that was intended to convey the kind of ministry Jesus was going to offer. 

Wine is a symbol of joy all throughout the Bible. The fact that this feast celebrating a marriage had run out of wine is symbolic of the fact that the joy of life in the natural world would prove to be dry and found wanting for true joy. Jesus recreates water into wine which points to His redemptive work on the cross where he recreates in us in a new life that is characterized by joy. Sometimes you will hear preachers warn not to read too much into a passage. John 2:1-11 is an exception to that rule. Almost everything from the day this happened on, to the water pots, to the conversation with Mary, to the role of the servants to how the wine was received has a deeper meaning than what it appears to have on the surface. Join me this Sunday as we continue our journey through John and see Jesus as The Lord of the Wine.

The way a person becomes a Christian is the same for everyone: “you must be born again.” We are born again by believing and personally receiving Jesus as our savior and Lord. The path people follow getting to that starting point can be quite different.

In the remainder of John 1, the author is careful to emphasize John the Baptist as the one who gives testimony and is a witness to the fact that Jesus is the promised messiah. John the Baptist testifies regarding things that were public for all people to see as well as one thing that was a direct revelation from God to him regarding who Jesus really is. We all know a claim is only credible if it can be supported and proven to be true. What does a savior need to do to prove they are indeed a savior? They need to save people. What does a Lord need to prove they are indeed the Lord? They need followers that surrender to His Lordship. In the remainder of chapter one that is exactly what the author does; he introduces people who are saved and surrender to Jesus as Lord, proving Jesus as savior and Lord.  

What is interesting is that of the four times people begin to follow Jesus they all come to that place through very different paths. The same is true today! I would love to hear the personal testimony of each person in our church. I know they would all be different and would reveal the creativity of God as he draws people to Himself. As we look to our local mission field, we need to remember that God will use a variety of ways to draw people to himself and not get stuck on just one method to witness to the world around us. Join us this Sunday as we consider how a person can “Follow Jesus.”

My preferred way to preach is to week by week preach through a book of the Bible, paragraph after paragraph, in light of its historical and grammatical context. It is the way the Bible was written and provides the clearest understanding of the text.  This Sunday, I’m excited to start preaching through the Gospel of John in that way. I will occasionally insert a short sermon series on different passages, but the Gospel of John will be our staple for many months ahead of us. 

John’s Gospel is the last of the four Gospels to be written and provides not only different content about the life of Jesus from the other three Gospels, but it also approaches the life of Jesus from a much more personal perspective. While Jesus is fully God, John also shows that he was fully human, with real human relationships as well as the physical, emotional and spiritual struggles similar to what we face as humans. The big difference is Jesus faced all those human struggles perfectly and without sin.  Jesus is the ultimate revelation of who God is: there is no better way to know God than by knowing Jesus. Jesus is also the perfect example of what it means to be a human being: if you want to be a better human being, get to know Jesus better.

The opening 18 verses of this book are often referred to as “The Prologue,” or the introduction. It is more than an introduction to the book, they are John’s introduction to Jesus. This Sunday we will consider the first five verses of the prologue where John refers to Jesus as “The Word”. “Word” in Greek is Logos, which was a well known concept at the time. The Logos was considered to be the source of all that could be known both in the material and philosophical spheres. The opening words of John’s Gospel invite people, from all different backgrounds, to see Jesus as The Logos – The Word – the source of everything. Join me this Sunday for the first message in this series, “Introducing Jesus”.