We’ve been going through the Gospel of John at the Windsor and
just started the second chapter where Jesus and his disciples go the Wedding in
Cana of Galilee.
Most people know this story and it’s a great opportunity to talk
about Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry. In these studies, in the Gospels as well as
the other books of the Bible, it’s often thought that it is easy to ask some
general questions with the primary objective of getting a conversation going:
What did Mary ask Jesus to do? Why do you think they ran out of wine? What do you think is the purpose of this miracle? Do you think all the water was turned into wine?
The idea is that when people participate they learn and grow.
However, just asking questions and letting people come up with the
answers on what they believe the scriptures mean, can be problematic. Jesus rebuked both those who didn’t
understand the scriptures as well as those who twisted the words of Scripture
or misapplied them.
The approach I take is to start with the general assumption that
all of the Gospel of John has one primary purpose. That purpose was stated by
the Apostle John in John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in
His name”
The second step in the approach is the more difficult both in
application as well as in definition.
It includes the idea of taking the scriptures ‘literally.’
Typically when someone asks if you take the Bible literally, you
can get caught between the two extremes.
Some of the sayings in the Bible are obviously meant to be figurative. Jesus says he is the door but He obviously is
not made of wood. However, assuming that the Bible is allegory
or metaphor means you can make it say anything you want.
The best way to understand the Bible and more importantly to teach
it is to take a Literal, Grammatical and
Historical approach to what is called exegesis, or finding the true meaning
of what the author was saying through the inspiration of the Spirit of God.
Typically, people depart from the more literal meaning of the
verses not because they are obviously figurative but because they are amazing,
mighty and fantastic.
Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, the plagues of Egypt, the Virgin
Birth and even the Resurrection of Jesus are Bible events that are to be taken
literally.
Jesus made a reference to Jonah obviously because He believed it
to be literally true as well. He compared
Jonah’s few days in the belly of a great fish to His own death and
resurrection.
In the same way, some think it amazing, mighty and fantastic to
think that Jesus would return. However,
the prophecies regarding Israel are being fulfilled in our day. If you
read the Bible and use a Literal, Grammatical
and Historical approach to the prophecies of His second coming, there is
much to be excited about what may be happening in the very near future.
