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on water to wine

Chris Faith, on John 2:1-12, from Sunday's sermon:



So why would the eternal Son of God begin to display His glory by such a frivolous miracle as turning water into wine? Why not start with a big bang? Why not raise the dead, or feed thousands of hungry people with one boy’s bag lunch?

I’m convinced Jesus began by turning water into wine because He wanted to make clear from the very beginning the nature of God’s New Covenant, the reason the Son of God became the Son of Man. He came to reconcile us to God, to usher in a whole new way of intimacy with God.

Jesus wanted us to know He came to start a new chapter in man’s relationship to God. The reality is we can’t measure up to God’s holiness. Water pots for washing don’t bring us into God’s holiness. But Jesus’ death on our behalf truly does. 
Hebrews 7:18-19 says it this way: "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.”
You see, Jesus’ message was that with His coming, a whole new age of intimacy with God is now possible. Here is what the prophet Hosea had to say about this New Covenant, in Hosea 2:14-16... "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Bring her into the wilderness, And speak kindly to her. Then I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. And it will come about in that day," declares the LORD, "That you will call Me HUSBAND and will no longer call Me MASTER.”  (Hosea 2:14-16)
With this sign at a beautiful wedding feast, Jesus points out that He had come to change the very nature of the way men relate to God. This is the marvel of the New Covenant. 


Chris's message is here.




Click on picture to enlarge.



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