Gospel of John: The Marriage in Cana

John 2:1-11

The Lord Jesus was with his disciples among the other guests at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. As the invited guests arrived there would have been servants at the door, and on either side of the door there were 3 great big stone waterpots. As the guests filed in, the servants would splash water on the hands and feet of every guest. After a short ceremony the wedding feast would begin.

This passage concerning the marriage in Cana teaches us that Jesus is God and he has great power. In this account of this wedding feast, the apostle John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, furnishes us only with the essential details. When: it was on the third day. Where: Cana of Galilee Who: Jesus, his mother and some of the disciples.. Why: they were at a wedding.

The teaching on marriage: V1-2 Marriage is honourable. One of the first public events of the Lord’s ministry was to attend a wedding because marriage is honourable and good or else Jesus wouldn’t have been there. Those who lightly esteem marriage have not the mind of Christ. Marriage is hallowed because Jesus was there. This an important point because marriage is lightly esteemed in these days. But in this passage, marriage is honourable. It’s all too common nowadays to hear even believers saying to a young couple who are engaged and who are so close, “it will all end once you are married” it happens all the time. Marriage sometimes becomes the butt end of jokes. There is always some one to comment. But the bible says that marriage is honourable in all. The closeness of engaged people does not end once you are married, but it becomes stronger as the years go by. A properly cultivated marriage grows as the years go by. God ordained marriage. Christ graced marriage by his presence at Cana of Galilee. When somebody starts to make jokes, the question to ask is this: Was God wrong? was Christ wrong on the area of marriage? of course he wasn’t.. so why do some Christians make fun of something that God has ordained? The flippant attitude concerning important things comes from worldly attitudes towards serious things. Unbelievers do not hold marriage as God does. How does a Christian make sure they are not worldly? Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. It’s a different mindset. Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. A Christians outlook to life and all important things including marriage is the same as Christ’s outlook, not the worlds. Christ was invited to the wedding in Cana and he agreed with the wedding, and he came to the wedding.

The Days of Noah Part 6: The Aftermath of the Flood

Genesis 7:24 - 8:1-5

In the previous posts, we looked at the historicity of the flood, it was a real event, Noah was a real person, a man of God.  We have looked at Noah's world, a sinful, pleasure-seeking world.  We have looked at the ark and the heart of God that provided a way of salvation from judgment and we have looked at the world-wide catastrophic terrible reality of the flood.  Today we look at the aftermath.  

The Long Long Time.  7:12 "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."  V24 "And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days."  8:3 "And the waters returned from off the earth continually and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated."  It was a very long time, 40 days of rain, a further 110 days of the water deepening, and then 150 days as the water receded.  It was over a year before Noah and his family got off the ark.  It was a long time.  During that whole year there was no further word from God.  God had not spoken to Noah since he closed the door (of the ark)  A year of silence from God.  Noah's family must have asked him every day "Is there any word from God? Is it nearly over?" and Noah didn't know because he had no word from God.  It was a long time.  

Many of the great men in scripture ask the question "has God forgotten me" and perhaps Noah asked the same thing, "has God forgotten me?"   And you don't know the answer.  But in Genesis 8:1 "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged" God remembered Noah.  Remembered means Noah was in the mind of God, God hadn't forgotten Noah, and Noah was a man of faith and in that long time and those long dark days of judgment when there was no apparent communication from God, Noah had only one thing to cling to, the sheer faithfulness of God.  The integrity of God.  God had been faithful in instructing him thus far.  Trust in that.