In His Time John 2:1-11

In the last Sermon (titled “In His Time”; John 2:1-11), I interpreted that Jesus intervened to resolve crisis according to what he perceived as the best timing. Here, I would like to share a bit more concerning his timing in the plot of the story.

In His Time

Jesus’ words: “My Hour has not yet come” (John 2:4b) and the concluding statement of this episode: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him” (Jn. 2:11) draws our attention to the bigger picture of the story.

The fact that Mary knows Jesus has power to perform miracles and asks him for help shows that many other miracles may have not been recorded. There was a time of the hiding of his power. Jesus starts to reveal himself as the Son of God in the “first sign” and will gradually reveal himself according to his timing. Every sign that Jesus performs manifests the glory of God but brings him closer to death at the same time. This is because the Jews will put anyone who claims himself as either Lord or God. Therefore, timing is the important factor to determine the duration of his public ministry on earth.

In the book of John, Jesus was revealed as Lord (13:14; 20:28; 21:7) and God (1:1; 5:18; 10:30, 33, 37-39; 14:11; 20:28), the One who existed before Abraham and revealed himself to Moses as the great “I AM” (8:57-58). It happened in a gradual and intended manner. In the Synoptic Gospels, we also read about Jesus commanding those who had had a personal encounter with him not to disclose his messianic identity.

Observing beyond the text

Therefore, when studying a text, we should also observe the literary context: what was written before and after the text, and together, where does the writer want to bring us to. This kind of observation will enable us to see a cohesive message or overarching theme of the book. John 1:14, which is one of the key verses, contains the cohesive message

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth”

In his time, the Word enters the wedding, performing a miracle that resulted in glorifying God; in his time, the Word enter the temple, causing a conflict before the Passover festival. In different occasions, the Word yields different effects and consequences. More importantly, the Word also reveals the hearts of the people.

As I explore the meaning of John 2:12-25 on this coming Sunday, we see that the Word reveal the hearts of the people involved

1.      Worshippers

2.      dealers/Money exchangers

3.      The Jews (refer to the authorities or leaders in the Jerusalem)

4.      The disciples

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Paul Tong