The next day,
Jesus was determined to go back to Galilee (his home state). He made a point of inviting Philip, “Follow me.” Even though Philip lived in Bethsaida (the other side of Capernaum), they first tracked down his brother – Nathanael in Cana.
In the exhaustion that follows a long trip, Jesus complemented him as they approached; observing, “Look… this an Israelite who has no deceit in him!”
In his graceful style, Jesus cushioned Nathanael’s [what-makes-you-think-you-know-me] response; greeting him with, “Before Philip called you (when you were under the fig tree)… I saw you.” Nathanael more than confirmed that Jesus’ words hit home (with awe), calling him, “The Son of God…” committing treason by declaring, “the King of Israel!”.
Jesus, seemed to catch something off in the distance – on time’s ripples. He tossed back, “Do you believe because I told you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree?’ You will see greater things than this! I tell you Truth’s truth that after this; you will see the heavens opened, and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man.”
A couple days later, there was a wedding (in Cana). Jesus was in attendance, as was his mom – Mary. The wedding was going beautifully… until the wine ran out. And then; maybe it was the elevation, or maybe it was the fact that everyone had just drank all the wine, but it sounded like Mary hinted to Jesus that he should do something to fix the fact that… we had just drank all the wine?!?
Jesus answered, questioning, “Ma’am, what does that have to do with you and me? It’s not my time yet.”
Dismissing his question (and his apparent correction), Mary instructed, “Do whatever he says.” The waiter stood there, awkwardly… waiting.
With joy slathered all over his face – Jesus complied by directing, “Fill the water pots with water.” After completing his task and returning, the waiter… waited. Jesus finished with, “Now take some out, and bring it to the one in charge.”
IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND: Serving old hand washing water (especially with the humiliation that would come with having him drink it in front of all these friends)… is a good way to get hurt real bad… or even hurt dead. Slaves didn’t have quite the voice employees have in the USA today. Still, that servant acted on his belief – and followed Jesus’ words.
The water in the jars had changed into some tasty wine!
And; the groom… was praised for having such remarkable hosting style and skills.
Afterward, Jesus’ family and followers spent a few days together down by the sea in Capernaum.
NEXT UP:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
SOURCE
TEXTS:
This post includes all Jesus’ words from:
CLARIFIED
WORDING:
- “Jesus” is Greek for “Joshua”. His name (and it’s meaning) is a central theme across all Jesus’ teaching, but in order for the story to flow with understanding… Jesus was used rather than Joshua (even though Jesus is the Greek translation of Joshua. Clarity, rather than correctness, is the goal.
- “heaven” is what we call the biological sky, but it also refers to the construct of eternity. Though this could be either, it’s left as “heavens”
- “ascending and descending” is accurate, but no one I know describes a roller coaster as ascending and descending except professionals trying to impress each other with their knowledge and command of the language. People today say, “it goes up and down”. Let me know if I’m off base.
- “well” is replaced with “very”. There is no one I know who uses well in this way. We have multiple replacements for “well” pleased, but “well” isn’t one we use. Very’s the most common, and so it was used first.
- “underneath” is replaced with “under”. It may be proper English, but nobody talks that way. “Hey mom, where’s the clearer.” “It’s under the sink”… or “my young-ling, it is underneath the water-faucet and wash-pan in the kitchen.” Ya, we’re going with “under” here.
- “Woman” is certainly the most accurate word, but any female I address (today) as woman would be greatly offended. It would be a statement of subjection to a Male’s authority. “Ma’am” is likely a societal equivalent.
- “one in charge” is a cultural paraphrase of “master of the house”
Bible Dictionary: a list of Bible words and phrases (typically Jesus’ words) which don’t have clear meaning when used in daily talk, and are simplified / culturally paraphrased in this story – in pursuit of understanding.
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