I love the idea of this moment, too, because it's not only about salvation. Right. Like, this abundance of life, the abundance of joy, you know, like wine was one symbol of joy in the Old Testament. And so, like, for this wedding couple, for them, their joy just increased. Right. On a really practical, down -to -earth, like, really significant earthly moment, a wedding day. So, for them, like, on their real life lived, on the earth, that experience of joy and abundance, like, God showed up and just increased it and threw it.
The things that I notice in the gospel of John are related to things that I've been feel like I've been learning the last four years of how to read the text and what the authors are doing and so when I read john I read he's a jewish author and he's continuing in the same line of authorship and his techniques of writing and the themes that he's picking up and putting into his text are the same things that have been tracking through the entire story the entire time and so yeah it was fun to get into it.
[00:02:28]
As I get more of the story I get more of who God is, how he revealed himself, what he was actually doing in the stories and it's helped me like even step out of some of the arguments, of like some of the conflicts that people have and arguments about this meaning versus this meaning and some of these have elevated it's just a different road that it's on and it's been able to sidestep a an argument and still see the truth of the text and still see the truth of God in the text and so I think that's part of it.
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Starting in COVID 2020, one of the things that season did for us, we got to ask new questions. Like, trips stopped, and so we got to ask new questions. And so when Lindsay Billington was on staff, that became, it was like, what if we just focused on trying to teach people how to read the Bible? What would happen? And so, yeah, some of these things, even personally, coming out of that season, like, I learned how to read it so much better.
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My personal confidence of reading a text and interpreting it without feeling like I need Pastor Thomas sitting right next to me or a commentary and trying to read the commentary to feel like I'm on the right track. Like, the more I'm able to see how the authors are trying to highlight things for me, I'm more confident that I'm on the right track and just reading on my own and reading those things. So that's been really fun.
[00:07:28]
I think those details are important for John, who's like thinking back and retelling this story. Like he experienced it first. And then after, like he's had years to like watch Jesus and really, really let this moment sink in for him and be like, I'm sure it was over time how significant this moment and all the things that Jesus was doing. I'm sure it took time. And so the details of the place, I think it's only because of how significant of what Jesus was actually pointing to.
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He just doesn't use miracle. And all of his, he calls them signs that are pointing towards Jesus's future and his like full culmination of the Messiah. That this like human who is promised to come. I think that's why John does it and chooses those words specifically. Because he's like. If I was telling you right in that moment, the day afterwards, he might not have used sign. He might have used miracle. But seeing the full implication of who Jesus actually turned out to be.
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It's been helpful for me to have this idea of the authors of the bible are from one people group and so they have like this shared heritage and shared technique of storytelling of writing of like passing on these things of like and so john is one of them yeah you know he grew up in the stories he grew up listening to them he grew up on the scriptures and so these these ways of thinking about the stories would have been very familiar to him and and then he just he carried it on he i think he's he's trying to turn it up you know like he's trying to use it again and again and put put the like key words the key themes as much as he can to try and be like guys this is the moment jesus is the one how many times can i show you jesus is actually the one.
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As I've learned how to know that this is there, this is how I try and see if it's actually a theme that the authors are putting in. Bible Gateway, if you put it in quotation marks, if you put on the third day in quotation marks, it'll pull up stories starting at the beginning of the Bible that repeat only that phrase. And so you'll get the stories and you'll, you'll be able to see, you're like, are, is this an actual theme that like carries through the Bible? And then you just start reading the stories and are like, what's the common thread? Know, like, what's the common meaning that's here? And then you put, put, put it together because the authors are repeating this phrase for a reason between stories.
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It's a story of rescue. Yeah, like god's person who has been specifically chosen at that time is the instrument of rescue and it's like that's you know like that's how you go into the stories i told about abraham and how how god provided and and he showed up and rescued in that moment but even like this dinah story where she's rescued it's like oh like the biblical authors are so sophisticated in how they're communicating meaning and it's kind of fun to be able to see it and be able to track and and know that you know like kind of like a guitar threat a guitar is made like the thread goes from one end to the other yeah and you can pluck that thread and the whole thing reverberates yeah it's like that's how the biblical story is is created and crafted by these authors it's like that third day theme runs throughout you can be in the middle of the bible and you see on the third day and it's like it plucks this string that is like its melody is running throughout.
[00:19:46]
And then I've had this continual experience where when I get to Jesus when I get to Jesus when I see the theme connected to him I have the experience of getting more of him, you know, like when I see that he is risen on the third day and I'm like, It's the pinnacle of that storyline. And it's like, Oh, he's the ultimate rescue. Right. And the ultimate rescue from like the slavery and this kingdom and the, and so if like that's been your understanding, you're just like, Oh, cool. It just becomes way more cool.
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I always find it helpful to make sure, like the things that God gave the Jewish people were good. Like these were good practices that were helpful for them long term. You know, like these reminders when they came into a wedding celebration to just think of the categories of like, I need to like prepare myself to like fully experience this moment. And so God gives them these practices that just help them think of categories of like dirty and clean and gave them and gave them um, ways to to enter in in a helpful way and so like all of the old testament practices they might have been incomplete but they were good totally and if the israel like if the jewish people is the nation of israel at the time would have followed all of those practices they would have stood out in such a good way that anybody who was on the outside of their people looking inside their people would have just seen a stark contrast of that's a that's a good way of life why do you guys do that right like that's better than what we have going on why do you guys do that and that's that's why god instituted all of these things so that they would be distinct compared to their cultures and be a light yeah and be this thing that drew outside nations to relationship with god that's right and so the these stone what this these these things are there for a good reason yeah and it helped all of the people come in feel prepared feel clean feel ritualistically like prepared to encounter god in this covenant relationship and celebrate and do those things.
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Jesus totally ruined these stone jars by and stuff. So he actually totally ruined their purification jars permanently. Yeah, like, you don't need these anymore. But totally, so he took the symbol, you know, like it was a symbol to them of how do you get clean? Right. How do you go from not ready to be in the presence of God to being ready in the presence of God? Like that was the symbol for these jars. And so Jesus sees them and is like, okay, if I'm going to do something here, which my mom wants me to. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, how can I make it more? Like, how can I have this do two things at the same time? Right. And have this be even something that the disciples reflect on and percolate and have a story that will communicate for thousands of years who Jesus actually is. And so he takes those jars and does this miracle, which turns into a sign of who he is. But like something. Something. Something where he demonstrates the power over his creation. Yeah. And is saying so many things.
[00:27:12]
At the cross where his blood is actually shed. That's the moment where the ritual practices are no longer needed anymore. And like the veil is torn in two. And like the final culmination of like, hey, this old system is like you don't need it anymore. It's time has ended and there's a new way of coming into the presence of God. A new way of being the people of God. All of those things. It was embedded in the stone jar. All in his first miracle. Yeah. All in his.
[00:28:52]
I love the idea of this moment too because it's not only about salvation right like this abundance of life the abundance of joy you know like wine was the yeah a symbol of joy one symbol of joy in the old testament for these people it would have been closely related so like for this wedding couple for them their joy just increased right on a really practical down to earth like really significant earthly moment a wedding day so for them like on their real life lived on the earth that experience of joy and abundance like god showed up and just increased it and through it and so it has to do with like our salvation and eternal life and our day and our life right here today totally like being with god and experiencing the abundance.
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