I would entitle the changing of the water to wine the private miracle.
Kostenberger says it like this: the entire event served as a foil for Jesus revelation that his "time had not yet come" (2:4; cf. later 7:30, 8:20; and the arrival of the "hour in 12:23, 27, 13:1; 17:1) Nevertheless, Jesus finds a way not to "blow his cover": he performs a miracle "behind the scenes," without stealing the spotlight that properly belonged to the bride and groom, selflessly meeting the need of the hour.
Encountering John, Kostenberger p 73
Showing posts with label 2 intro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 intro. Show all posts
Sunday, May 18, 2008
John 2
C.K. Barrett gives this short overview of the changing of the water into wine in Cana of Galilee.
A wedding feast, attended by Jesus, his mother, and his disciples, is the scene of the first miracle. Jesus, though he will not be hurried or dictated to, even by his mother, supplies handsomely a lack of wine by transforming the contents of six water pots. After the miracle, which is represented as taking place privately and as known only to a few servants and to the disciples, Jesus goes down to Capernaum to await the appropriate moment for beginning his public work.
The Gospel according to St John, C.K. Barrett p 156-157
Barrett points out a couple of interesting facts about this scene. He says Jesus public ministry opens at 2:13 and that 2: 1-11 is a private miracle. This insight helps me understand why Jesus would say my hour has not yet come yet go ahead and perform a miracle. It seems Jesus understood that his public ministry, his hour, was about to begin. He was waiting on the fathers timing. Turning water into wine in a private setting was not the beginning of the hour. No doubt it was a powerful sign to the new group of disciples about just who this man Jesus really was.2
A wedding feast, attended by Jesus, his mother, and his disciples, is the scene of the first miracle. Jesus, though he will not be hurried or dictated to, even by his mother, supplies handsomely a lack of wine by transforming the contents of six water pots. After the miracle, which is represented as taking place privately and as known only to a few servants and to the disciples, Jesus goes down to Capernaum to await the appropriate moment for beginning his public work.
The Gospel according to St John, C.K. Barrett p 156-157
Barrett points out a couple of interesting facts about this scene. He says Jesus public ministry opens at 2:13 and that 2: 1-11 is a private miracle. This insight helps me understand why Jesus would say my hour has not yet come yet go ahead and perform a miracle. It seems Jesus understood that his public ministry, his hour, was about to begin. He was waiting on the fathers timing. Turning water into wine in a private setting was not the beginning of the hour. No doubt it was a powerful sign to the new group of disciples about just who this man Jesus really was.2
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