Well, welcome back, we're
studying the wedding at Cana.
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And Dr. Paulien, I
want to ask you a question.
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And so what or why did
Jesus go to the wedding?
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Well, as I mentioned earlier
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the two villages are
fairly close together,
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so evidently this is
part of relationship stream
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that Jesus would have
known growing up in that area,
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it's right near Nazareth.
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But there's a
tradition in the 3rd century
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and a tradition
doesn't make it right or wrong,
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but it's interesting that
people were thinking this way
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a couple of hundred years
after this story was written.
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And the idea is
that John was actually
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the son of Mary's sister Salome
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which would make John
and Jesus first cousins
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and that this
was John's wedding.
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And if that's true it
just adds a delightful
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little side trick to the story.
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And it tells us
if that's the case
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Jesus was
invited to the wedding,
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but He brings along
all these other guys,
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you know, and they're
eating and drinking too.
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And maybe they
were uninvited guests.
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You think of Jesus didn't even
know some of them personally
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until a couple of days before.
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So He brings His
companions to the wedding
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and that may be
why Mary says to Him,
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it's kind of like it's
Your fault that we ran out,
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so do something about it.
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So you're saying that--
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Put a little heat on
Jesus here. All right.
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So you're saying that the
author of the Gospel of John,
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that's his wedding?
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That is what the
tradition suggests
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and in ancient
times we can only note
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that people thought that way
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and if it's true it adds a
nice little touch to the story.
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That's interesting, but
again that's a tradition then.
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Yeah. no, we're not--
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we don't know that to
be the case, but it's not--
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there's nothing in the story
here that says that's not so.
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Okay, well, let's
talk about the wine now
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because some people are thinking
here Jesus performs a miracle
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and He turns water
into an alcoholic beverage.
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Tell us about that?
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Okay, well, a
lot of commentators
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will come to this and say,
this had to be alcoholic, okay.
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And first of all
the word wine is there
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and second of all there's
this issue of preservation.
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They often preserved
drinks for the use of alcohol.
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And not only that, you
know the whole idea of people,
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you know, after drinking a while
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you bring out the inferior stuff
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because they
don't noticed any more.
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So all those details--
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lot of commentators
would say it was alcoholic.
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I would point out
several things however.
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First of all the
word wine in Greek
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does not
require to be alcoholic.
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Also the same word
is used for grape juice
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so the text does not push
you in the other direction,
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the text is open.
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Second of all they had
ways of preserving back then.
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Concentrating the grape juice,
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putting a little
olive oil across the top
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after all the air is
out, it can last for years.
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So you could bring out
grape juice anytime of year,
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but its
reconstituted grape juice.
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And the whole idea, the
surprise of the caterer.
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Could that
happen without alcohol?
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I think it could.
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Because you could fresh
stuff from Egypt anytime
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but it would be
really expensive.
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And people just wouldn't do that
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unless they were
doing something special.
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So if Jesus produces fresh
grape juice at a time of year
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when it's not available normally
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that would be a
big shock as well.
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So the point is the story
doesn't compel it to be wine
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and I think those
of us who have seen
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the destruction
that alcohol brings,
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you know, this
text doesn't compel us
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otherwise is what I'm saying.
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And I can't
imagine Jesus bringing,
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you know, the
alcoholic beverages into,
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you know, this party, right.
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Now you told--you earlier you
said that you would tell us--
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you made a promise.
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What is the
spiritual meaning of this story
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in the Gospel of John?
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Well, in verse 11 which I
think we actually didn't read.
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So maybe let me read it now.
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It says, "This, the
first of his miraculous signs,
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Jesus performed
at Cana in Galilee.
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He thus revealed his glory,
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and the disciples
put their faith in him."
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So it calls this a sign
and in the Old Testament signs
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were the marks
of a true prophet.
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When Moses came to
Egypt he threw down his rod
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and it became a
snake that was a sign
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that God had called
him to a special task.
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When Saul was
anointed by the Spirit,
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he began speaking prophetically.
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He began preaching, you see.
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And so Saul does some
unusual things to tell people,
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yeah he's been
anointed by the Lord,
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something special
has happened here.
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So repeatedly in
the Old Testament
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we have this
concept of signs indicating
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somebody special has come.
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So this is the first sign.
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This is the first
indication people had aside
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from John's
testimony in the first chapter.
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So first indication that
Jesus is more than just a man,
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that He is a prophet and
may be even more than a prophet.
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So this story becomes
more than just a story.
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And you'll notice
it says the third day.
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Now there's been a
series of days in Chapter 1.
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On this day something happened,
then on next day, next day.
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Now the third day scholars have
noticed they count seven days.
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Now what's the most famous
seven day period in history?
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A week. Would be the week.
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Okay. Creation.
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See, it goes back to creation.
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And what is the
seventh day in creation?
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It's the
Sabbath. It's the Sabbath.
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And what marks the entry
of the Sabbath at creation?
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A wedding. A wedding. Okay.
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Adam and Eve, you see. Wow.
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So when you see these
little hints in the story,
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you have a
wedding on the seventh day
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and there's other language
here that reminds of creation.
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For example you have
seventh day, you have a woman,
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you have a wedding and
you have a creative word,
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God said and it was done.
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Here Jesus speaks and
the water becomes wine.
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So you have all
these indications
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that creation is in
the back of the mind.
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Jesus was a second Adam.
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And the church becomes a
new Eve according to Paul,
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so that lies behind the story.
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What power did Adam have?
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He had the power to
affect the fish of the sea,
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the beast of the earth,
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he had dominion
over all these things.
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What does he do later on?
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He has a
miraculous gift of fish.
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When nobody can find any fish,
Jesus brings fish into the net.
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That's the power of Adam
as Adam was intended to be.
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He had dominion over the earth.
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He had dominion over the storm.
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So a deeper side to the story
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is Jesus is the second
Adam and a new creation.
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He brings a new
creation to this earth.
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He's gonna overturn
all the pain and the trials
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and the suffering
of the old creation
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and now comes this new creation.
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Another piece of the story
is that turning water to wine
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reminds of the story of Moses
when he turned water into blood.
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It also reminds of Elisha
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who took the
stale waters of Jericho
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and made them fresh, you see.
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So in this
connection it's calling us
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to remember the Exodus as well,
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when water was turned into blood
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and may be also
the stories of Elisha
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and Elijah are all
bought in behind here.
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So how would this work?
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In the story here you
have the water of purification,
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the Jewish
waters of purification.
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They washed their
hands over everything.
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They are very
concerned about ritual religion.
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And ritual religion can
point this to something greater,
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but it often
becomes just a ritual.
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And so the author here is
saying behind the rituals,
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there's got to
be something greater
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and Jesus is that greater thing.
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Jesus is the wine.
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And what does the
wine or grape juice
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of the Lord supper
represent? Jesus' blood.
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So you have a number of hints
here also of the crucifixion.
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Mention of the third day.
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Turning the water into
wine which represents His blood.
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In verse 4 it talks about
"My time has not yet come."
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The Greek word
there is the hour.
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Jesus repeatedly
says in the Gospel of John
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"My hour has not yet
come. My hour has not yet come."
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And then in Chapter 12 he says
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the hour has come when the Son
of Man must give up His life.
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So the hour of Jesus
is the time of the cross.
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In verse 11 it also
says, "He revealed His glory."
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And the Gospel of John "Glory"
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is always a
reference to the cross.
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You see, what's happening here.
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These are seeds being implanted
that sprout later in the gospel,
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a deep spiritual meaning.
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One more, Mary appears
only twice in this gospel.
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In the wedding of Cana,
and where else do you think?
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At the cross. At the cross.
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John has to
place where Mary comes
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with the beloved
disciple and Jesus says
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"Woman behold your son,
son behold your mother."
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Jesus hands his mother
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over to the keeping
of John after His death.
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So Mary appears only
twice in the wedding here
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and at the cross.
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So you have what I
called cross connections
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that point to a
deeper meaning of the story
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and I said we could spend hours.
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Well, I'm sure we could.
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Now this is
very deep theological
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study that you've done here.
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And maybe for a lay person
who is just reading the Bible
00:09:54.77\00:09:59.51
and perhaps he's not
have the time or the tools
00:09:59.54\00:10:03.48
as a scholar to go
through all of these,
00:10:03.51\00:10:05.49
you know, these studies.
00:10:05.52\00:10:07.59
Let me ask you a question.
00:10:07.62\00:10:08.99
How should one, you know,
00:10:09.02\00:10:11.05
when reading a
passage like this one,
00:10:11.08\00:10:13.84
read the passage and apply
to his or her personal life?
00:10:13.87\00:10:19.66
Yes. Well, I think the personal
application is definitely this.
00:10:19.69\00:10:24.42
These stories of Jesus
can remain in the distance,
00:10:24.45\00:10:28.09
they are out there, okay.
00:10:28.12\00:10:30.35
And we can read them
and go on with our lives,
00:10:30.38\00:10:33.47
but to ask
ourselves the question.
00:10:33.50\00:10:37.07
What difference
does Jesus makes?
00:10:37.10\00:10:40.08
Why do I need to receive Jesus
00:10:40.11\00:10:43.18
for something
special to happen in my life?
00:10:43.21\00:10:46.39
Who really cares?
00:10:46.42\00:10:48.11
And one answer to that
question which is also related
00:10:48.14\00:10:52.50
to this whole idea of second
Adam and humanity and so on.
00:10:52.53\00:10:55.84
How do human
beings discover value?
00:10:55.87\00:10:59.80
We go about in a
number of different ways.
00:10:59.83\00:11:02.30
We try to accumulate things.
00:11:02.33\00:11:04.45
I'm a valuable
person if I dress real cool
00:11:04.48\00:11:06.86
or if I've really
great cars or fantastic house
00:11:06.89\00:11:09.50
or big money in
the back account.
00:11:09.53\00:11:12.44
The trouble is if
you try to find value
00:11:12.47\00:11:14.85
and that way
you can lose it all.
00:11:14.88\00:11:16.25
The stock market can crash.
00:11:16.28\00:11:17.83
Your house can burn down.
00:11:17.86\00:11:19.23
The car can crash.
00:11:19.26\00:11:20.75
To trust in money and in
things for sense of value
00:11:20.78\00:11:25.24
just doesn't cut it.
00:11:25.27\00:11:26.68
A second way we look
for value is an achievement.
00:11:26.71\00:11:29.07
I'm gonna get a Ph.D
then I'll be somebody.
00:11:29.10\00:11:31.12
I'm gonna be the
President of United States,
00:11:31.15\00:11:32.82
then I'll be somebody.
00:11:32.85\00:11:34.22
I'll be a great quarterback
00:11:34.25\00:11:35.62
and then I'll be
somebody, you see.
00:11:35.65\00:11:38.70
But when you
look for achievements
00:11:38.73\00:11:41.05
well, teachers get senile,
athletes get old and decrepit,
00:11:41.08\00:11:46.47
presidents have
to retire, you see.
00:11:46.50\00:11:49.40
And so that doesn't last either.
00:11:49.43\00:11:51.93
And then we look
for value in others.
00:11:51.96\00:11:55.76
The only way to truly
get value is to have a friend
00:11:55.79\00:12:00.47
who knows all about you,
00:12:00.50\00:12:02.43
who loves you
just the way you are,
00:12:02.46\00:12:05.21
who lives forever
and has genuine value
00:12:05.24\00:12:08.43
and there's only
one person that's Jesus.
00:12:08.46\00:12:11.63
There's no other source
of meaning and value in life
00:12:11.66\00:12:15.13
that's truly
permanent than Jesus Christ
00:12:15.16\00:12:18.18
and that is why Jesus
has lasted 2000 years.
00:12:18.21\00:12:22.63
That's why there's still
millions and millions of people
00:12:22.66\00:12:24.99
that trust in Him,
00:12:25.02\00:12:26.70
because there's
really no other path to life,
00:12:26.73\00:12:28.81
all other paths are temporary
00:12:28.84\00:12:30.92
and that I think is at the core
of what the gospel is all about.
00:12:30.95\00:12:34.62
And at the core of
what John is pointing us
00:12:34.65\00:12:36.64
Jesus is what truly matters.
00:12:36.67\00:12:40.17
Everything else is just subtext.
00:12:40.20\00:12:42.46
You are at this wedding
00:12:42.49\00:12:43.86
but it end up
being all about Jesus
00:12:43.89\00:12:45.60
about His death,
about Him as the second Adam
00:12:45.63\00:12:48.61
and all the
rest of that Messiah.
00:12:48.64\00:12:50.92
And again it was important
00:12:50.95\00:12:52.84
for this couple to
invite Jesus to their wedding.
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And I hope friends
that you invite Jesus
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not necessary to
your wedding only,
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but in every area of
your life to next time.
00:12:59.87\00:13:03.29