Many of you have probably had a discussion with a Jehovah’s Witness before. You may have heard one of their favorite arguments about the (non)deity of Christ. They believe He was an archangel and that the opening verses in John 1, where it says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” that the word/letter “a” is missing in most modern translations – that it should read: “…and the Word was a god…”
Well, I don’t buy that line of reasoning, but even if I did have to give them that word/phrase “a god,” I am still convinced that this chapter (and many others in the book of John) make a clear-cut case for the deity of Christ. For instance, verse 3 goes on to say that “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” Verse 11 continues this description, saying: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” and “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…”
I dunno, that seems to scream pretty loud that Jesus is God in the flesh.
I like how John the baptist describes identifying Jesus, who was his second cousin. He says: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptized with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” I’m guessing he knew his second cousin, but he just didn’t know that he was the Messiah. It must’ve freaked him out if that’s the case.
‘What?! My second cousin – Jesus – is the Messiah!? No way!’
The comment that Nathanael makes in verse 46 is classic (and very funny). When he hears from Philip, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” he replies, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
That’s so funny.
I wonder when Jesus does his first miracle if God used his mom to initiate his calling. You’ve probably heard the story dozens of times.
“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.'”
The response he gives to his mom is incredulous. He says, ‘Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.’
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’ so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’
They did so and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
I wonder how much time expired between the retort Jesus gave his mother and the instructions to fill the jars with water. Of course, in reading this passage it seems like it was instantaneous, like hardly any time passed. That’s probably pretty accurate. But I wonder if during the short time period Jesus asked his father (via silent prayer), “Is now the time?”
I ask this because something happened – at least from outward appearances – to the attitude of Jesus telling his mom to forget about it, because then he turned around and did something about it. I’m sure many people explain it away quickly as the blanket “Well, he is God, so of course he knew what was going on.” I think Jesus lived in sort of a self-imposed hands-off mentality toward his deity. I think he operated as someone filled with the Holy Spirit can – seeking God’s will and doing what God tells him.
If my hunch is right, this is a real excuse and example to hold Mary up and honor her as special. She played a huge role in kick-starting the ministry of Jesus. That’s pretty special. If Jesus was responding in real-time and in honesty, he really didn’t think it was the day and time to start displaying his divine power. But something apparently made him change his mind and perform his first public miracle. I’m guessing that maybe his mom’s question and then her confidence to tell the servants, “Do whatever he tells you” made him pause and wonder, ‘Could this be the time?’
Shortly after things got rocking. He cleared the temple in Jerusalem by making a homemade whip out of cords. That kind of bold action will get the attention of those in religious power, for sure. The Jewish religious leaders asked him for a “miraculous sign” to “show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
This is interesting on many levels. On one hand it shows that divine power and the miraculous is an expectation these people had to authenticate that God was at work. Perhaps it can be concluded that Jesus performed miracles for this reason (authenticating his authority, title and role as Messiah). On another level it shows a real-time interaction and conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day.
The religious leaders might not have believed, but it says that many people in Jerusalem did believe in his name. “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”
That’s a great affirmation for us at times. When we get rejected by men (especially fellow believers), it might encourage us to remember that we don’t need their approval. God is the One we should concern ourselves with pleasing. And what’s great about that pursuit is, if we understand just a tiny bit about grace, that God loves us like a perfect parent loves His kids. He loves them unconditionally.
Mess up? Rebel? Disobey? Fail? It’s all good. We’re still the apple of His eye. When we realize that we please Him just by believing in Him, it takes the pressure off of trying to earn approval by working hard, etc.
It helps us realize that popularity and man’s approval is so fickle and so temporary. Even if you climb to the top and are a member of U2 (and there’s only 4 of those guys) – or some other huge accomplishment – there will come a day when you are forgotten or no longer garner the praise and attention of man. Jesus knew what was in a man. He knew the heart of man. That’s wise.
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