Jesus — Wedding at Cana - Tuesday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 2:11
This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (ESV)
I recently played in a local volleyball tournament. None of the teams will be on ESPN anytime soon, and the goal, at our age, was to avoid injury as much as to win. That said, I made a friend a couple of months ago who played elite college volleyball some years back, and I invited him to join my team. After all, what’s a better way to build a friendship than leveraging a “ringer” for personal gain and public glory? For most of the first few points we played together, you could observe that his form was great, and his knowledge of the game was strong. However, when he finally let it fly with a dominating spike, everyone knew there was something different about him. If there was a doubt about his unique skills, those doubts vanished in the split second it took for his swing to slam straight back up off the six-foot line on the court. You could say he had “manifested his glory.”
John introduces his readers to seven signs in his gospel. As my former teacher and friend Mark E. Moore said in his video teaching, “VII Signs From the Book of John,” John invites his audience to “weigh” his signs, perhaps more than to count them. While the number seven has significant meaning to the original audience of his text, it’s the weight of each miracle that helps the reader judge for themselves whether Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God and the source of all life (John 20:30-31).
Scott drew out three main points of application during his sermon, and the first is this: “Jesus’ kingdom is coming!” John, the gospel writer, had decades to reflect on Jesus’ eternity-altering ministry, and he chose this initial miracle to be weighed and considered by his audience. He wants us to recognize that Jesus’ kingdom is coming. Jesus’ kingdom is simply defined as where He rules and reigns. Starting in John 2, we see that Jesus’ kingdom has come to earth. His rule and reign encompass our planet and all its inhabitants.
For most of us reading this, it is cause for celebration. There is nothing in this world that isn’t His. But for some, this message is terrifying. If this is true (and it is), then a rejection of Jesus puts you on the outs with the King of the Universe… and being at odds with your King is no place to be.
As we weigh this sign, let us consider together whether any part of our life is not surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus. And, if we’ve surrendered our lives to Jesus, let’s turn our attention to people around us who are close to us but far from God. At Southland, we call these friends our one more (from Luke 15).
APPLICATION
Write down any part of your life that is not completely submitted to Jesus. Write down the names of those who are “close to you but far from God.” Take both lists to your Heavenly Father and ask for His will to be done in both through the power of His Holy Spirit.
PRAYER
Father, today I surrender all of my life to your will and rule. Please help me to share Jesus with others, especially my one more this week.
