Save the Best for Last

John 2:1-10

It has baffled many Bible scholars for years, why Jesus would perform as His first miracle, the changing of water into wine. It brought no healing to a broken body and no salvation to a lost soul. In fact, it didn’t even bring glory to Jesus at the time, as everyone at the marriage supper gave credit to the host for bringing the best wine out at the end, while not even acknowledging Jesus’ miracle (verse 10).

God first dealt with man with grace, demanding nothing of Abraham but faith, and that was counted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3). Even when Abraham sinned in bringing Lot with him, or going in to Hagar to bear a child, or lied to Pharaoh about his wife, there is no evidence that God reprimanded or punished him. Grace and mercy was God’s original default position.

When Israel arrived in the wilderness between the Red Sea and the Promised Land, they informed God that they were well capable of doing whatever God demanded of them (Exodus 19:8), and in their self-righteousness God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law. Of course no man can keep the Law, so humanity plunged into the wrath and judgment of God.

Then came Jesus, who lived perfection in every way, fulfilling all of the demands of the Law and who laid down His life as a sacrifice for the entire world. He took the full brunt of God’s wrath against sin and became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

When Jesus turned the water to wine as His first miracle He was doing it as a metaphor for the message that He was to proclaim. As the giver of the law, Moses becomes synonymous with that Law (John 1:17), while Jesus is the bringer of grace. Moses touched the water in Egypt and it turned to blood (Exodus 7:20) which produced death. Jesus touched the water in Cana and it turned to wine which produced joy and merriment. Jesus is showing us that the introduction of the Law brought death and condemnation, while the introduction of God’s amazing grace brings life and peace.

God truly saved His best way for last. Grace is God’s final method of dealing with mankind. When you accept Christ by faith you return to the original promise that God made to Abraham which was not dependent upon His obedience but only y upon his faith (Galatians 3:29). This is not an admonition to be disobedient, for God’s grace truly teaches us how to live and when we accept His grace we will see His righteousness come out of us (Titus 2:11, 12).

Christ has filled you with His goodness, just like the water pots in the story were filled with water. Jesus has transformed who you used to be so that you can bring Him glory now through who you are in Christ. Let Him touch your soul today and bring greatness out in the mighty name of Jesus.

To Save By Many or By Few

1 Samuel 14:1-7

All victory that we experience is not really ours exclusively; it is the victory that was purchased by Jesus at Calvary. We can claim no battle as having been won by our own intelligence or goodness since we are merely joint-heirs with Jesus in what He has won by His finished work. Anything that God does on our behalf He does for two reasons: He loves us, and He honors the sacrifice of His Son.

Jonathan, son of Israel’s first king Saul, was a mighty warrior who fought loyally for the crown. Realizing that his father was awash in doubt and anger, Jonathan saw the need for an Israeli victory over the oppressing Philistines and knew that it would only come without his father’s involvement. Taking only his armor-bearer, Jonathan ascended a mount and looked into the camp of the enemy. His statement to his companion speaks volumes of his faith and dependency:

“Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6).

Two important things surface in this verse that shows us the mentality of Jonathan. First, he refers to the Philistines as “uncircumcised”. The sign of circumcision was given of God to the Jewish nation as a mark of identification with the Abrahamic covenant. Every child born had to pass through the sign of covenant, thus placing them under the promises of God. To cite the lack of circumcision had nothing to do with physicality, but had to do with the fact that the Philistine was not under the covenant provision of God.

Second, Jonathan refers to God as “LORD”, which is the English rendering of the Hebrew word Yahweh, or Jehovah. It means, “Covenant keeper”. As “LORD”, God is obligated to recognize the covenant that He cut, giving Abraham protection from His enemies. Jonathan is appealing to God’s righteousness and justice for the victory that only He can provide.

“There is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few”, holds a double meaning for us under the New Covenant. Primarily, it means that God honors covenant no matter what. If it is to protect the entire nation He honors it, or if it is to provide victory to only Jonathan and his armor-bearer. Covenant is covenant, and God is God. By appealing to covenant, Jonathan was guaranteed victory before ever lifting a sword.

Another meaning to us under the New Covenant is that God is not restrained to save sinners by many or by few. He will go to all lengths to save a nation or to save one lost soul. There is no respect or persons great or small with God, for all are in need of His saving power and loving grace. If there are 99 sheep in the fold, He will leave them there to hunt for the one lost lamb. There is truly no difference in God’s eyes from one sinner to the next; He loves them all equally.
Appeal to the covenant that Jesus cut with His Father, where you get the benefits while He paid the price. This will bring great victories in your life; all of which will have been His victories first.

Save the Best for Last

John 2:1-10

It has baffled many Bible scholars for years, why Jesus would perform as His first miracle, the changing of water into wine. It brought no healing to a broken body and no salvation to a lost soul. In fact, it didn’t even bring glory to Jesus at the time, as everyone at the marriage supper gave credit to the host for bringing the best wine out at the end, while not even acknowledging Jesus’ miracle (verse 10).

God first dealt with man with grace, demanding nothing of Abraham but faith, and that was counted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3). Even when Abraham sinned in bringing Lot with him, or going in to Hagar to bear a child, or lied to Pharaoh about his wife, there is no evidence that God reprimanded or punished him. Grace and mercy was God’s original default position.

When Israel arrived in the wilderness between the Red Sea and the Promised Land, they informed God that they were well capable of doing whatever God demanded of them (Exodus 19:8), and in their self-righteousness God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law. Of course no man can keep the Law, so humanity plunged into the wrath and judgment of God.

Then came Jesus, who lived perfection in every way, fulfilling all of the demands of the Law and who laid down His life as a sacrifice for the entire world. He took the full brunt of God’s wrath against sin and became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

When Jesus turned the water to wine as His first miracle He was doing it as a metaphor for the message that He was to proclaim. As the giver of the law, Moses becomes synonymous with that Law (John 1:17), while Jesus is the bringer of grace. Moses touched the water in Egypt and it turned to blood (Exodus 7:20) which produced death. Jesus touched the water in Cana and it turned to wine which produced joy and merriment. Jesus is showing us that the introduction of the Law brought death and condemnation, while the introduction of God’s amazing grace brings life and peace.

God truly saved His best way for last. Grace is God’s final method of dealing with mankind. When you accept Christ by faith you return to the original promise that God made to Abraham which was not dependent upon His obedience but only upon his faith (Galatians 3:29). This is not an admonition to be disobedient, for God’s grace truly teaches us how to live and when we accept His grace we will see His righteousness come out of us (Titus 2:11, 12).

Christ has filled you with His goodness, just like the water pots in the story were filled with water. Jesus has transformed who you used to be so that you can bring Him glory now through who you are in Christ. Let Him touch your soul today and bring greatness out in the mighty name of Jesus.

To Save By Many of By Few

1 Samuel 14:1-7

All victory that we experience is not really ours exclusively; it is the victory that was purchased by Jesus at Calvary. We can claim no battle as having been won by our own intelligence or goodness since we are merely joint-heirs with Jesus in what He has won by His finished work. Anything that God does on our behalf He does for two reasons: He loves us, and He honors the sacrifice of His Son.

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Jonathan, son of Israel’s first king Saul, was a mighty warrior who fought loyally for the crown. Realizing that his father was awash in doubt and anger, Jonathan saw the need for an Israeli victory over the oppressing Philistines and knew that it would only come without his father’s involvement. Taking only his armor-bearer, Jonathan ascended a mount and looked into the camp of the enemy. His statement to his companion speaks volumes of his faith and dependency:

“Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6).

Two important things surface in this verse that shows us the mentality of Jonathan. First, he refers to the Philistines as “uncircumcised”. The sign of circumcision was given of God to the Jewish nation as a mark of identification with the Abrahamic covenant. Every child born had to pass through the sign of covenant, thus placing them under the promises of God. To cite the lack of circumcision had nothing to do with physicality, but had to do with the fact that the Philistine was not under the covenant provision of God.

Second, Jonathan refers to God as “LORD”, which is the English rendering of the Hebrew word Yahweh, or Jehovah. It means, “Covenant keeper”. As “LORD”, God is obligated to recognize the covenant that He cut, giving Abraham protection from His enemies. Jonathan is appealing to God’s righteousness and justice for the victory that only He can provide.

“There is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few”, holds a double meaning for us under the New Covenant. Primarily, it means that God honors covenant no matter what. If it is to protect the entire nation He honors it, or if it is to provide victory to only Jonathan and his armor-bearer. Covenant is covenant, and God is God. By appealing to covenant, Jonathan was guaranteed victory before every lifting a sword.

Another meaning to us under the New Covenant is that God is not restrained to save sinners by many or by few. He will go to all lengths to save a nation or to save one lost soul. There is no respect or persons great or small with God, for all are in need of His saving power and loving grace. If there are 99 sheep in the fold, He will leave them there to hunt for the one lost lamb. There is truly no difference in God’s eyes from one sinner to the next; He loves them all equally.
Appeal to the covenant that Jesus cut with His Father, where you get the benefits while He paid the price. This will bring great victories in your life; all of which will have been His victories first.

Save the Best for Last

John 2:1-10

It has baffled many Bible scholars for years, why Jesus would perform as His first miracle, the changing of water into wine. It brought no healing to a broken body and no salvation to a lost soul. In fact, it didn’t even bring glory to Jesus at the time, as everyone at the marriage supper gave credit to the host for bringing the best wine out at the end, while not even acknowledging Jesus’ miracle (verse 10).

God first dealt with man with grace, demanding nothing of Abraham but faith, and that was counted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3). Even when Abraham sinned in bringing Lot with him, or going in to Hagar to bear a child, or lied to Pharaoh about his wife, there is no evidence that God reprimanded or punished him. Grace and mercy was God’s original default position.

When Israel arrived in the wilderness between the Red Sea and the Promised Land, they informed God that they were well capable of doing whatever God demanded of them (Exodus 19:8), and in their self-righteousness God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law. Of course no man can keep the Law, so humanity plunged into the wrath and judgment of God.

Then came Jesus, who lived perfection in every way, fulfilling all of the demands of the Law and who laid down His life as a sacrifice for the entire world. He took the full brunt of God’s wrath against sin and became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

When Jesus turned the water to wine as His first miracle He was doing it as a metaphor for the message that He was to proclaim. As the giver of the law, Moses becomes synonymous with that Law (John 1:17), while Jesus is the bringer of grace. Moses touched the water in Egypt and it turned to blood (Exodus 7:20) which produced death. Jesus touched the water in Cana and it turned to wine which produced joy and merriment. Jesus is showing us that the introduction of the Law brought death and condemnation, while the introduction of God’s amazing grace brings life and peace.

God truly saved His best way for last. Grace is God’s final method of dealing with mankind. When you accept Christ by faith you return to the original promise that God made to Abraham which was not dependent upon His obedience but only y upon his faith (Galatians 3:29). This is not an admonition to be disobedient, for God’s grace truly teaches us how to live and when we accept His grace we will see His righteousness come out of us (Titus 2:11, 12).

Christ has filled you with His goodness, just like the water pots in the story were filled with water. Jesus has transformed who you used to be so that you can bring Him glory now through who you are in Christ. Let Him touch your soul today and bring greatness out in the mighty name of Jesus.