Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: John 2 and Psalm 30

Remember that the Gospel of John presents seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus to reveal His identity. In John 2 we find the first of these signs.

By turning water into wine at the wedding of an unnamed friend or family member, who was evidently not well-enough-off to afford to supply sufficient wine for his guests, Jesus revealed His life-transforming power in a way that also revealed the glory of His grace. He did not have to do this miracle; nor did He really need to do this miracle. But He did it as an act of absolute grace towards this young groom and his family. That’s very important. His grace unleashed a revelation of His glory!

Then John makes the point that the most important effect of this transformational miracle was actually not that water turned into wine, or that Jesus transformed a situation of potentially enormous embarrassment into a moment of great honour for this family. The most important outcome was this: “His disciples believed in Him.” (v.11) The sign accomplished faith.

That miracle is contrasted by the dramatic cleansing of the Temple. Jesus’ deep desire was to transform the corrupted Temple system and to restore the worship-life of God’s people. But the authorities would have none of that! The water had no choice but to turn into wine. Humans always have a choice to submit to Jesus’ transforming power or not!

In their hardness of heart, the authorities demanded a sign that Jesus had the authority to drive the traders out of the Temple. Jesus pointed to a future sign – His resurrection from the dead. This would prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that He had the required authority, and then they had better believe. With hindsight we know that, sadly, they would not believe.

In John 2, the disciples believed purely on the basis of a “minor” nature-miracle. Yet later, even after the greatest sign imaginable – His resurrection – the authorities would still refuse to believe, and rather engaged in a cover-up operation.

Life-application: Most often, Jesus’ glory is still revealed through us – by His grace in operation in our lives. When we believe in Jesus, He transforms us from self-centred people into people of grace. When we extend surprising, amazing grace to others, we give evidence of His life-transforming power at work in us. Look for the opportunity to live out Jesus’ grace today, and so to reveal His glory.