Sunday, January 07, 2007
JOhn 2: 1-11
ENTERING THE SCENE:
In Jesus’ day there was a “science” called numerology. This is the belief that certain numbers indicate qualities over and above quantities. Three signaled completion. Thirty would share that same feeling. Six implied incompletion. So we have three days, thirty years and six jars. Reading between the lines we are sensing that John invites us to know, maybe even before Jesus appeared to know, that his time has indeed come. In introducing 6 jars we find John implying that Jesus will bring to completion the beginning of salvation history: the heavenly banquet so often spoken of in his Hebrew scriptures. Now we, like the servants who were the only ones who knew what really happened that day, carry this “secret” in our hearts. Did you ever wonder what they did with this “inside knowledge”? What are you doing with it today?
DISCUSSION QUESTION: The servants knew what Jesus had done that day with the water becoming wine. What do you think they did with this information?
In Jesus’ day there was a “science” called numerology. This is the belief that certain numbers indicate qualities over and above quantities. Three signaled completion. Thirty would share that same feeling. Six implied incompletion. So we have three days, thirty years and six jars. Reading between the lines we are sensing that John invites us to know, maybe even before Jesus appeared to know, that his time has indeed come. In introducing 6 jars we find John implying that Jesus will bring to completion the beginning of salvation history: the heavenly banquet so often spoken of in his Hebrew scriptures. Now we, like the servants who were the only ones who knew what really happened that day, carry this “secret” in our hearts. Did you ever wonder what they did with this “inside knowledge”? What are you doing with it today?
DISCUSSION QUESTION: The servants knew what Jesus had done that day with the water becoming wine. What do you think they did with this information?
