Daily Devotionals

John 2.1-11

Politicians do it all the time, when they have an announcement they pick the background setting to emphasize the message. In just the last week we had the prime minister crawling on a primary classroom floor to encourage parents to send their children back to school and then wearing a hard hat and luminous jacket to announce the reopening of Appledore shipyard. Of course, it can go ridiculously wrong such as when the prime minister was filmed hiding in a refrigerator to avoid questions. The PR people talk of getting the optics right. If then you were the Son of God and you wished to select the place for your first sign of the coming of your future kingdom, where would you pick? As it is a kingdom perhaps a palace would be ideal or maybe the temple. If instead of a building one wanted a natural setting how about the top of Mount Sinai with all its historical associations with the giving of the law. In addition, judging by modern leaders there would be some announcement to attract the crowds. The audience would be carefully selected to ensure the contemporary leaders were present to provide their endorsement.

Contrast this with Jesus who chose the wedding of an unnamed couple in a minor town in Galilee with no greater witnesses than his family and new disciples. When he changed the water to wine it was done without fanfare so the master of ceremonies did not even know it was happening. Yet it was this humble event and setting that has been recorded and preserved over two millennia. Jesus indicates the reason for the low key nature of the miracle is that people’s misconceptions about the coming Messiah would lead to unhelpful responses. However, this did not prevent Jesus performing numerous miracles or signs in the course of his daily ministry. John records that this was simply the first of his signs. ^{v 2.11}

The importance of the setting of a wedding is the place marriage has in the symbolic relationship God has with his people. The theme of marriage runs from the beginning of Genesis ^{Genesis 2.24} into Revelation ^{Revelation 19.7-9} as a God ordained relationship. Humans are made for intimate relationships that reflect the fellowship the Godhead has within themselves. The faithfulness of the marriage is intended to reflect the faithfulness of God to his people. In the Old Testament this is particularly the message of Hosea, where God through Hosea’s marriage demonstrates that he is faithful even when his bride is not and reconciliation between God and man is always possible.

A Christian marriage is intended by God to be in itself a witness to God’s faithfulness to his bride, his people. “Paul tells us that marriage is a mystery designed by God to show us Christ’s love for the church.” (Josh Moody, John 1-12 for you.) ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.’ ^{Ephesians 5.25-27}

How then does a marriage reflect Jesus’ love for the church and how can the marriage partners foster that loving faithfulness for the rest of their lives?

What challenges are presented when only one of the married couple is a disciple of Jesus?

What pastoral support do we provide as a church for married couple to be a witness to the faithfulness of God?

Faithful one – Brian Doerksen

John 2.13-25

Is it true for you that the industry that surrounds religion including the Christian faith is a problem? Does it in any way create a barrier to faith for either yourself or people you know. If so, is the problem where established churches appear to be wealthy and the wealth is not used for the purposes their teaching would lead you to expect? Is it that the churches money is focused on the wants and needs of church members and not on the gospel message and needs of non-church members? Could it be that you believe you cannot trust the people in power in the church to honestly manage the finances? Is it that you believe the business of religion has relegated gospel living and sacrifice to a small dusty back seat in the corner of the church, so much that you believe if Jesus walked in the church he would not recognize it as a people of worship?

Following the wedding feast in Cana, Jesus, his family and disciples go back to his Galilean base, Capernaum, but he only stays there a few days before heading off to Jerusalem for the Passover. ^{John 2.12,13} John mentions Jesus attending three separate Passovers and there is some disagreement as to whether there were one or two occasions when Jesus “cleared the temple”. The other gospels record a similar event in the Passover week of his death. Has John reorganized the order of events to structure his teaching for symbolic and conceptual reasons? This may be so but we cannot be absolutely sure either way. Certainly, conceptually this account fits in well, just before the visit of Nicodemus, as it deals with religion being a barrier to a relationship with God.

When Jesus entered the outer courtyard of the temple in Jerusalem, known as the Court of the Gentiles what did he see? It was noisy, thronging with people doing business selling animals for sacrifice and exchanging currency for the correct money to pay the temple tax.  ^v14 The business itself was not illegitimate it was where and how it was being done that was wrong. It made sense that people who had travelled great distances, often on foot, bought their sacrifice to worship God on arrival. The payment of the Temple tax was not in itself wrong but by insisting that it was paid in specific Temple currency and then charging exorbitant rates was exploitative of worshippers. The temple was being run for the benefit of the insiders preventing them from being the light to the world that God intended them to be. They had effectively reversed the intentions of God and the place of prayer set apart for all to worship in had become a noisy market place where prayer and worship were no longer possible.

Jesus drove out the animals and stall holders because they had become a barrier between ordinary people and God. These were frequently God fearing people who had come in humility seeking forgiveness. God fearing is how the New Testament described genuine Gentile seekers after God who were not Jews. ^{Acts 17.4} The court of the Gentiles was where such people could come and worship but in the eyes of the religious authorities they were inferior to those born a Jew. They were presented with unnecessary additional barriers for the profit of the religious authorities. Contrast that with Jesus’ own responses to such people as we will see later in the gospel. Before we consider how Jesus prophesied that he was the way to forgiveness and a relationship with God it is worth thinking of the many ways the Christian church has created self-seeking additional barriers to forgiveness and a relationship with God. This can be in the form of hierarchies, rituals, legalism, language designed to exclude and moral depravity.

Have you experienced the church placing barriers in the way of simple faith in Jesus?

Have church rituals made it difficult for enquirers after Christ to feel welcome?

Do we place moral integrity as an essential characteristic for continuing in Church leadership?

How closely do we align church finances with gospel priorities?

Holy ground – David Bilborough

John 2.1-11

How good are you at taking the right gift when you have been invited to a meal or party? Are you a grab a quick bottle of rioja red wine and a bunch of artificially bright flowers from Morrisons type of person or do you ponder deeply and try to find a gift that fits the hosts just perfectly? I’ll leave you to guess which side of the divide I fall on but I have to say Morrisons is very reasonable when it comes to wine and flowers, or so my Mother said. Weddings are a particular challenge, especially if one is one of those marginal guests and somehow all the presents on the John Lewis website that come under the ‘I can just about afford that’ category went three months ago. It’s funny how what is a suitable gift has changed over time. I can remember when duvets were a big thing, I don’t mean literally as in Super King Size, I mean that most people still fought over blankets and sheets and duvets were strangely European and exotic. Towels always seem a safe bet, but the poor ‘newly weds’ probably never get to actually choose a towel for the first thirty years of marriage and they never match the bathroom décor. Truly a first world disaster. Cheeseboards were the present of choice at my daughter’s wedding.

I wondered if there was any helpful biblical advice for this type of eventuality. Luke records these words of Jesus,‘give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.’ ^{Luke 6.38} Brilliant advice, if expensive, but then I realized that this giving was even more expensive than I realized at first sight. Give did not have a capital letter in the bible, it was preceded in the same sentence with: ‘Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;’ giving according to Jesus is much more costly than might be thought if scripture is taken out of context.

The thing about Jesus is he lived what he taught and as he was God incarnate both what he said and did revealed the purposes and nature of God. All this brings me back to the wedding in Cana. Jesus turns up with his Mum and his newly found disciples. The party had probably been in full swing for a day or two, weddings were commonly a week long affair. They hadn’t been there long when an embarrassing situation developed, the wine had run out and there was no Morrisons round the corner. Mary turns to Jesus, and this is where Mary is much more in the know than anyone else, after all she had been told all about Jesus even before conception, so she makes one of those observations that are really a question and an instruction. ‘They have no more wine.” ^v3 Jesus doesn’t seem to be too happy about being put on the spot. I can just imagine the look he got from Mary when he came out with, ‘My hour has not yet come.’ ^v4 She ignores him and speaks directly to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ ^v5

Jesus does what Jesus is, over abundantly generous, kind and loving he turns water out of vessels for ceremonial washing into the finest of wines. Not just a couple of cases but gallons and gallons and gallons. Of course, this is packed with symbolism, the washing ceremonies and sin offerings of Judaic religion in those days were going to be replaced by the cleansing and forgiveness that never needs repeating. Wine in the Old Testament was a repeated symbol of God’s abundant blessing and the removal of reproach. ‘The Lord had pity on his people. The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach amongst the nations”.’ ^{Joel 3.18,19} This was a forerunner of the new covenant wine which Christians celebrate every time they remember death of Jesus with bread and wine.

What a joyous thing it is that the first sign of the glory of Jesus is a super abundant gift, miraculously achieved because he is also the creator Word of God.

Is your vision of Jesus as the super abundant generous bringer of joy?

Has the Spirit of God worked in your heart to make you a giver of gifts, pressed down and shaken, a forgiver as well as forgiven?

Joy – Rend Collective (Wait for it)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=VDiETOLBvxA%3Flist%3DPLcj8l6w_IlvMpX_TzgcBL_2YEDFX0tRvO

^{John 1.43-51}

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” _{John 1.51}

Jacob had cheated his elder brother, Esau, out of Isaac his father’s blessing and inheritance. Isaac was now concerned that Jacob should not marry a Hittite and so he sent him to his wife’s brother to marry one of his daughters. This was to be fair, mainly due to his wife Rebecca complaining about how much she hated Hittite women. But that was a ruse in itself as Rebecca had heard that Esau was planning to kill Jacob as soon as Isaac died in revenge for Jacob’s deceit and she wanted Jacob out of the way. It is incredible how despite all the deviousness of mankind God works out his purposes. Jacob did what he was told and set out for Harran where his Uncle Laban lived. It was a long journey so he slept in the open with a stone for a pillow. That night he dreamt of a ladder or stairway resting on earth and reaching to heaven, ^{Genesis 28.12} going up and down the ladder were angels. At the top of the ladder the Lord stood and promised Jacob that his descendants would be numerous and occupy the land he was sleeping on. In effect he would be the father of a new nation. God additionally promised that, ‘All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.’ ^{Gen 28.14} Even from the very beginning God’s people were intended to be people of mission or blessing to the world. On a second personal encounter with God, Jacob wrestles with a mysterious man throughout the night and refuses to let him go until he is blessed. At that point the man renames Jacob, Israel, from which his descendants took their national name. This is the turning point in Jacob’s life he now has a new relationship with God following a great personal struggle.

It was this account that Jesus was referring to when he said to Nathanael, a man very conscious of his biblical heritage as a man of Israel, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’ ^John1.51 As a line of communication was opened for Jacob and his descendants, Jesus was indicating that he, Jesus, would open a new two way connection between humankind and God, pointing forward to his death, resurrection and ascension. Jesus was going to found a new people of God, starting at that point with just five men, Andrew, John, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael leading on eventually to the universal church.

Jesus had been able to detect in Nathanael a depth of character and someone conscious of Israel’s unique place in God’s plans. When they met for the first time Jesus’ words about him were, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’ ^v47 Cautious, even skeptical, Nathanael had previously questioned Philip as to whether anything good could come out of Nazareth in response to Philip’s urging to meet Jesus, as he is the one prophesied about in the scriptures. Nathanael was probably well aware that the ‘anointed one’ was meant to come from Bethlehem and did not know Jesus’ early life story. Jesus met him with symbolism laden with significance to an Israelite. Jesus stunned Nathanael by having previously discerned him under a fig tree. To Nathanael’s question, how did Jesus know of him, ‘Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were under the fig tree before Philip called you”.’ ^v48The fig tree and in particular enjoying life under the fig tree is a repeated image of Israel living under God’s blessing. It was part of God’s blessing in Deuteronomy 8.8 as the people entered the promised land if they were obedient to his commands. A sign of God’s discipline of his people in Jeremiah 8.13 is the destruction of their fig trees. The possibly most importantly sign of life under the fig tree is as the servant who will remove his people’s sins pointing once again to the cross of Jesus Christ. ‘“I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! (The High Priest) There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. In that day each of you will invite your neighbour to sit under your vine and fig tree,” declares the Lord Almighty.’ ^{Zechariah 3.8-10}

Nathanael immediately recognized the implications of Jesus’ words demonstrating a heart already prepared by the Spirit to believe and follow Jesus. Jesus connected with Nathanael in the way that was meaningful to him and trusted him with profound truths. Nathanael’s reactions contrast sharply with the religious leaders and teachers of the law later in the gospel when the signs John records were far more obvious and accompanied by clear teaching.

Pray for people to come to Jesus with open and Spirit prepared hearts and minds.

Pray that like Philip, Christians will keep inviting people to find out more about Jesus.

Thank God that he has made a worldwide spiritual nation so that they are a blessing to all people.

Bri (Briana Babineaux) – Jacob’s Song

John 1. 9-12 & 35-51

We are keen on our rights and get very upset when they are objected to or taken away. We prize our right to freedom, to live our life as we choose, which is why imprisonment is the strictest sanction our society imposes. A high profile professional footballer has been in trouble this week because according to the Greek courts he thought his wealth and celebrity status gave him the right to get away with abusing and attempting to bribe the police as they broke up a fight. Even following a death family disputes can become highly vitriolic if some believe their right to an inheritance has been denied when they are the deceased’s child. Wars have been fought because a monarch’s  ‘illegitimate’ child has believed they have been denied their right to succession.

The right to be recognized as our parents’ child goes to the heart of our sense of self.  Who then has the right to be called a child of God and if we are what is our inheritance? There is a common assumption that we are all children of God. This can be associated with a belief that people are naturally good and that it would be unfair of God to differentiate between people including people of differing faiths.

The priests and Levites sent by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to investigate John the Baptist ^v19 believed they had a birth rite because they were the chosen people of God. The Pharisees would have narrowed it down even further to those who obeyed their strict laws, many of which were additional to the laws passed on by Moses. The apostle John though gives a very different perspective.

John says that our starting point is that to be a child of God requires a spiritual birth that comes from the will of God. ^v12 He clearly differentiates between natural birth and spiritual birth as a child of God. Spiritual birth as a child of God is in the gift and will of God. If natural birth does not automatically give us the right to be a child of God then race and natural parenthood are not qualifying factors.

The qualifying factors are our responses to Jesus, who in the early section of John 1 he calls the Word and the Light because he is the one who reveals God and the way of being in relationship with God. The default position for people is not recognizing Jesus for who he is. ‘He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.’ ^v10 This sadly included many of the Israelites including the majority of the religious leadership. It took a brave and honourable member of the leadership to stand out against their peer pressure.

However, in the crowds of people who travelled to hear John preach there was a deep sense among ordinary people of their need. They knew their lives were not right, they knew they needed a fresh start. They would have been of all ages from the poor to the rich. When John condemned their lifestyle and told then to prepare for the promised Messiah confessing their sin and being baptized as a sign of repentance they did so in large numbers. John called it making, ‘straight the way of the Lord’. ^v23 But, was that enough? John, the gospel writer, makes the point that simply wanting to start again and live a better life is not the whole journey to becoming a child of God. One needs to receive Jesus. ^v12 I find that term receive him difficult to pin down. The NIV study bible (2015) helpfully clarifies what receiving or believing in Jesus means. Receiving or believing in him includes, ‘personally welcoming, trusting, and submitting to Jesus’.

When John the Baptist and Jesus met up the day after Jesus’ baptism two of John’s disciples make that step with the blessing of John. One was Andrew, Peter’s brother, and the other is unnamed but assumed to be John the gospel writer. ^{vv 35-40} It is of great significance that Andrew’s first instinct after making the decision to follow Jesus was to invite his brother to meet him as well. ‘ “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.’ ^v41

Have you the right to become a child of God?

Have you invited someone close to you to meet Jesus?

Who You Say I Am – Hillsong Worship