Jesus' First Sign - The Gospel of John

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, JESUS' FIRST SIGN, PART 6

By Dr. Stephen Jones:  Oct 14, 2019

Blog Post Date: 10-23-2019

The next story that the apostle compiled is a further explanation of Jesus’ first sign regarding turning water into wine. The sign was ultimately about sonship, or how to become sons of God, as set forth earlier in John 1:12 and 13. Turning water into wine is about being transformed from soulish sons of Adam to spiritual sons of God.

Nicodemus was a perfect illustration of this (as we will see shortly), because the conversation he had with Jesus was all about how to become a son of God.

Nicodemus

John 3:1, 2 says,

¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; ² this man came to Him by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Nicodemus stands in contrast to those in John 2:23 who believed openly at first but who later denied Jesus by siding with the chief priests in their condemnation of Him.

Nicodemus started out believing in secret but in the end proved that his faith was genuine, for history tells us that Nicodemus was ultimately expelled from the Sanhedrin for his faith in Jesus.

John himself tells us that when Joseph of Arimathea claimed Jesus’ body after His crucifixion, Nicodemus brought spices in which to wrap His body (John 19:39, 40). These two Sanhedrin members thus openly showed their disagreement and disapproval of the verdict against Jesus. The stoning of Stephen (Acts 7) was the main turning point where they knew that they leave the city of Jerusalem.

 In those early days, when the persecution of Christians came primarily from Jerusalem, Caesarea was the obvious place for a Christian to find refuge in the persecutions taking place in Jerusalem. Caesarea was a Roman city, specifically built for and named for “Caesar” by Herod the Great from 25-13 B.C. It was an administrative center for the Judean Province in the Roman Empire, and during the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and afterward, the centurion in charge of the Roman troops was Cornelius (Acts 10:1).

Cornelius may have been converted by Philip, who went there after his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:40). In fact, Philip lived and ministered in Caesarea for many years, providing a refuge for Christians fleeing Jerusalem (Acts 21:8). Paul himself was later taken to Caesarea for his own protection (Acts 23:23, 24).

Nicodemus himself spent some time in Caesarea after leaving Jerusalem. John W. Taylor writes on page 63 of his book, The Coming of the Saints,

“At Caesarea we find (according to the ‘Recognitions’) St. Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, St. Lazarus, St. Zaccheus, and the ‘Holy Women’—probably St. Salome, the mother of St. James, St. Mary, the wife of Cleopas, St. Martha, and St. Mary Magdalene. Such appears to have been, so far as we can gather, the earliest disposition of the disciples after the persecution which arose about St. Stephen.”

The Recognitions reference in the above quotation are the known as the Recognitions of Clement (bishop of Rome from 88-99 A.D.). Some historians doubt that Clement of Rome was the actual author of these books, but their value as history is in no way diminished.

http://www.essene.com/Recognitions/index2.htm

The point is that the Apostle John had known Nicodemus very well in the early years of the church. Hence, he knew Nicodemus’ story firsthand and included it in his gospel to give us Jesus’ own teachings on sonship and to show how these teachings supported the first sign—turning water into wine.

When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, he was not alone in believing in Jesus. He said, “we know that You have come from God as a teacher.” Nicodemus was just one of those who knew. Yet he stopped short of believing that Jesus was the Messiah, for it was too early in Jesus’ ministry for this to be revealed.

The Heart of the Message

Nicodemus and Jesus must have talked about many things, but the apostle focuses on one particular part of their conversation: sonship. John 3:3 says,

³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, [“amen, amen”] I say to you, unless one is born again [gennao anothen], he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The term “born again” is a common evangelical term used today to describe a genuine believer in Christ. The Greek words used here are gennao and anothen. As I have explained earlier, gennao has a double meaning, depending on whether it is applied to a man or a woman. When applied to a man, it means “to beget.” When applied to a woman, it means “to give birth.”

In John 3:3 it is unclear how to translate it. John may have been speaking of the process including both conception and birth. We know that sonship is not simply a matter of being begotten by the Spirit, for many are begotten who later miscarry through neglect of the word or who deliberately abort by renouncing Christ. To be a son of God ultimately requires birthing as well.

Conception is achieved through the feast of Passover; growth and development comes through Pentecost by following the leading of the Spirit; birthing comes through the feast of Tabernacles.

The second term, anothen, means “from above, from a higher place.” Only rarely does it mean “repetition” or “again.’

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G509&t=NASB

This word implies conception through seed that is heavenly, rather than earthly. In John 3:31 the apostle quotes John the Baptist, who uses this word anothen, who says,

³¹ He who comes from above [anothen] is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

As we see, coming “from above” is equated to coming “from heaven.” So “born again” seems to strain the meaning and is probably based on the translators’ lack of sonship understanding. Hence, in my view Jesus was telling Nicodemus, “unless one is begotten from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus’ Ignorance

John 3:4 gives us Nicodemus’ response:

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”

Though he was a respected rabbi leader and a member of the Sanhedrin, he did not understand how to become a son of God. He knew only about earthly conception and birth, and he knew also that it was not possible to do this twice. Until Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit to bring forth the Son of God, spiritual birth was not known or revealed. It was prophesied in certain Old Testament writings, but it was veiled and hidden through types and shadows.

Fleshly and Spiritual Birth

It is therefore likely that when the apostle penned Jesus’ words in John 1:12, 13, he was laying the foundation for the story of Nicodemus. Perhaps the apostle was paraphrasing Jesus’ own conversation with Nicodemus. Most likely, Jesus confided to His disciples what He had told Nicodemus in private. Whatever the case, the apostle did not see fit to repeat those precise words. His explanation to Nicodemus is summarized in John 3:5-7,

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.”

This is a further explanation of what Jesus had told Nicodemus earlier. To be “born of water” is the equivalent of being “born of the flesh.” To be “born of the Spirit” is obviously not a fleshly process, whether being begotten or being born.

It was known that an embryo lives in water. Today we call it amniotic fluid, but it was water to Nicodemus. Water always accompanied a baby’s birth. Being born of the Spirit was qualitatively different, Jesus told him.

Seeing and Entering the Kingdom

In John 3:3 Jesus spoke of seeing the Kingdom, but in John 3:5 He spoke of entering the kingdom. Both ideas are inherent in this process, but the difference appears to tie in with the two meanings of gennao. After conception, one sees the evidence of pregnancy as the woman’s belly grows, but only at birth does the baby enter the outside world as such.

One may also view it in reverse, of course. At conception, a baby enters the world, and at birth the baby is seen visibly. However we view this, it is clear that it is a two-step process not only in the natural but also in the spiritual.

Moses, for instance, saw the Promised Land (kingdom) but did not enter it (Deuteronomy 34:4). In that way, Moses represented the Old Covenant, which can show men the kingdom of God but cannot give anyone entrance. Moses leads us to the kingdom, but Joshua (Jesus) must lead us into the kingdom through the New Covenant.

This is also seen in the name of Moses himself, for he was so named because he was drawn from water (Exodus 2:10). In the biblical types and shadows, Moses had been placed in an ark and put into the Nile River so that he might picture natural childbirth as he was “born of water.” This takes us back to John 1:17, where we read that “the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

When John and Paul speak of “the law,” they often mean the Old Covenant, which is based upon the will of man and man’s ability to fulfill his vow of obedience in order to attain “life.” Such fleshly vows are incapable of imparting immortality, for men are unable to keep their vows, regardless of their sincerity. Immortal life, then, must come by grace (the will of God) and truth, that is, believing truth, which is the basis of genuine faith.

Water and Wind

John 3:8 says,

⁸ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born [gennao] of the Spirit.

Even as water represents natural, fleshly begetting and birthing, so also does wind represent spiritual begetting and birthing. Wind is pneuma in Greek and ruach in Hebrew. Ruach can be translated either as wind, breath, or spirit. One may observe a river and see its source and where it ends, but one cannot do the same with the wind.

When one is begotten by the Holy Spirit (“wind”), it is through faith that comes through hearing the word (Romans 10:17). One is begotten through the ear, and the seed of the word that is implanted in one’s heart is not readily observable apart from spiritual discernment.

This entire passage is designed to show us the contrast between natural and spiritual childbirth. Many do not understand the difference even today, for they still maintain that men are chosen by bloodline, or that men are saved by their own will, or that men are saved by the pronouncements and declarations of men. John clearly opposes such teaching, both in John 1:12, 13 and again in John 3:5, 6.

Jesus and His Father, Part 3

JESUS AND HIS FATHER, PART 3

By Dr. Stephen Jones:  Aug 21, 2019

Blog Post Date:  8-28-2019

Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15-20, taken from The Emphatic Diaglott,

¹⁵ He is a likeness of the invisible God--First-born of all creation; ¹⁶ Because in Him were created all things… ¹⁷ and He precedes all things, and in Him all things have been permanently placed. ¹⁸ He is also the Head of the body of the congregation; who is the Beginning, the First-born from the dead, that he might become preeminent among all. ¹⁹ Because in Him it was thought good that the whole fullness should dwell ²⁰ and through Him to reconcile all things for him….

This summarizes well Paul’s theology of Christ, showing His place as the Head of the entire creation. Paul does not say that Christ was God Himself but tells us that He was in the likeness (or image) of the invisible God and was the “First-born of all creation.”

The term “First-born” is used twice in this passage. The first time (verse 15) it refers to Christ being the first among “all creation,” whereas the second time (verse 18) He is “the First-born from the dead,” that is, “the Head of the body of the congregation”—that is the NEW creation. He is both, of course, because the re-creation is based on the same laws on which the first creation was based.

Christ also “precedes all things,” establishing not only His pre-existence at the time of creation but also that He was the first One created by the Father. I believe that when God took Eve out of Adam’s side, He revealed the manner in which Christ Himself was brought forth out of God’s own side. God saw the need for Adam to have a double witness by his side to establish all righteousness, and this law was also His first motive for bringing forth Christ.

As the First-born of all creation, He was its Head. As the First-born from the dead, He became the “preeminent” Head of the new creation as well. The law of headship not only gives the first-born authority but also makes him responsible for those under him.

Hence, when Adam sinned, his sin affected all that were under his authority. Christ Himself stood above Adam, so He was not subjected to mortality; but His position of authority also made Him take responsibility for Adam’s sin. This ultimately led Him to the cross, where He redeemed all things back to Himself by paying for the sin of the world.

This process, however, has taken time, because sin was reckoned as a debt, and when men cannot pay their debts, they are sentenced to labor within a specific time frame not to exceed the year of Jubilee. Adam and those under his authority were sentenced to labor as slaves to sin for 6,000 years before their first Sabbath. Yet even then, this was only the first “week,” for after this comes an age of judgment (“lake of fire” or the “fiery law”) until the creation Jubilee after the seventh “week” (49,000 years).

The point is that Christ’s redemptive work on the cross will succeed, and the plan will not end until He has reconciled all things and the “fulness” (pleroma) again dwells in Him, as Paul says. The church as a whole has long had a much narrower and limited vision and understanding of the divine plan, primarily because, in their Bible studies, they stopped studying the laws of God.

The Deity of Christ

I have already discussed the meaning of the term “God” or “god” (elohim). While there is only one God in the sense of the Most High God and Creator of all, there are many layers of authority under Him, each of which is a “god” to those who are under authority. Hence, Moses was made a god to Pharaoh, and Jesus is likewise our God. Jesus, however, did not claim to be equal with His own God, but acknowledged the Most High God as “My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17).

When Thomas saw the resurrected Christ and was able to touch His wounds, John 20:28 says,

²⁸ Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus did not rebuke him for saying this, nor was He horrified that Thomas might stray from strict monotheism. It is certain that Thomas did not suddenly receive revelation that Jesus was the “one God.” Within the context, it was understood that Thomas was not displacing Jesus’ own heavenly Father. John himself had already established the truth earlier in verse 17.

The point is that we ought to recognize the deity of Christ within the parameters set forth by Jesus and the apostles themselves. In this way we do not trample the truth of monotheism. Likewise, we read in John 1:18 (NASB),

¹⁸ No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

It is plain that the Creator Himself was unbegotten. Jesus is “the only begotten God,” and His position was “in the bosom of the Father.” Having been taken out of the Father’s bosom at the beginning, even as Eve was taken out of Adam’s bosom, Jesus took His rightful position when He ascended to His Father.

Some of the later manuscripts of John’s gospel were altered to read, “the only begotten Son,” and so the KJV reads in this way, as does The Emphatic Diaglott. In such disputes, I defer to Dr. Ivan Panin and his Numeric English New Testament, as he studied the numerical patterns within the text itself to determine authenticity and inspiration. He renders this verse:

¹⁸ God no one has ever seen; an only begotten, himself God, who is unto the bosom of the Father, HE has declared him.

In other words, Dr. Panin determined that it is only by retaining “God” in this verse that the numerical patterns built into the text are not disrupted. Since every letter in Greek carries a numerical value (as also with the Hebrew letters), any change of wording or spelling will produce different numerical patterns. Only the inspired text actually produces a flow of meaningful numerical patterns.

At any rate, the oldest manuscripts declare Christ to be “God” in this verse. Apparently, a later scribe decided that “God” was inappropriate and so he substituted the word “Son” to make it read according to his own theological understanding.

In my view John 1:18 refers to Christ as “the only begotten God” and can be used to establish the deity of Christ.

Returning to His Past Glory

In John 17:1 and 5 Jesus prayed,

¹ … Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You… ⁵ And now, glorify Me together with Yourself, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world [cosmos] was.

Jesus here affirms that He had been in a glorified state “before the world was.” The cosmos is the ordered world, in this case, that which was made during the seven days of creation. Jesus was soon to return to that past glory, which He had given up temporarily during His earthly manifestation. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:7 that He had “emptied Himself” in order to be “found in appearance as a man” (Philippians 2:8).

That glory, of course, was first seen in Him at the mount of Transfiguration, when “He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2).

Christ’s mission from the beginning was to bring the glory of God from heaven to earth. This is the main theme in the gospel of John, where eight miracle-signs (semeion) were set forth as representative of His ministry as a whole to manifest His glory (John 2:11) in the earth. These eight signs also prophetically represent the eight days of the feast of Tabernacles.

After completing the eighth sign in John 21:6, the prophetic pattern was fully established for the next stage, where the sons of God themselves would fulfill the eight-day feast of Tabernacles and bring the glory of God into the rest of the earth. In this way, the promise of God was to be fulfilled, saying in Habakkuk 2:14,

¹⁴ For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.