John 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. The first of a series gives the key to the whole. The first animals or plants have been combining types, i.e, have united in themselves the characters of several familes now widely separated. So the earliest human lives were typical. The first notes of a song suggest all that is necessary to make the harmony. And the first miracle enters into all the other miracles that Jesus did, and combines in itself the elements of them all. 1. It is a work of mercy. 2. It is an emblem of a higher spiritual blessing. 3. It is a prophecy of the new genesis.Like an illuminated initial letter, which contains in itself an illustrated epitome of the contents of the whole chronicle, it appropiately begins the series of Christ's beneficent works by a beautiful picture of the nature and design of them all. I. IT LINKS THE WORK OF THE SECOND ADAM WITH THAT OF THE FIRST. Adam's disobedience turned paradise into a wilderness. Christ's obedience turns the wilderness into paradise. II. IT SHOWS THE RESTORATION OF NATURE AS WELL AS HUMANITY. Man's sin brought barrenness: Christ's work restores fruitfulness. And as nature shared the effects of the fall with man, it will participate also in the effects of redemption. This miracle is the first step in the process. III. IT COMBINES THE GOSPEL WITH THE PRECEDING DISPENSATIONS. Moses could only sweeten the waters of Marsh — only ameliorate the bitter spring of human sin, and reform men. Jesus turns the water into wine and regenerates men. IV. THE OCCASION WAS ONE OF TRANSCENDENT IMPORTANCE. In this respect it is the first in order of rank as well as time. 1. As a human institution marriage stands at the head of all others, originating in paradise and surviving the wreck of .the fall. 2. As a type of heavenly mystery it stands first in importance and significance. (1) The union of those attributes of love and power in God, from which creation had its birth and has its continuance. (2) The union of Divine influences and human experiences in the soul which forms the kingdom of heaven within. (3) The union of the Saviour and the Church. V. THE MIRACLE WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT OF ALL, if any gradation can be allowed. There was here no co-operation of faith. It was not the purification and assistance of a natural function, but a creation de novo. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. |
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