"Heaven Meets Earth At The Wedding In Cana”

Well, no. God the judge of humanity requires perfection. The Jews in the 1st century wanted everyone to keep the Sabbath rules to earn God’s blessings. If every Jewish person kept the Sabbath perfectly for two Sabbath’s the Messiah would come. John said: “Read these 7 “signs”. Heaven has come to earth.

Even though it was the Sabbath day, the designated day of worship and rest, Jesus decided healing the man at the pool was more important than letting him suffer. In less time than it takes to tell, Jesus commanded the invalid to get up. “Pick up your bed and walk.” Without hesitation, without physical or occupational therapy, without years of remedial exercises in the hospital, the man got up and walked down the street with his light little bed tucked under his arm.

Well, actually, I don’t know if it was a light, little bed. I do know he carried it and when some of the super religious types saw what this ex-invalid was doing, they went ballistic. “What are you doing? It is the Sabbath! What you are doing is work! Our laws forbid you from carrying your mat on the Sabbath!

That’s why there is more to this story.

Read the conversation between Jesus and the Religious Jews.

John 5:16-18

There it is. Jesus is making Himself equal to God.

Back to our story.

The stone jars are now worthless for Jewish rites of purification. Jesus is replacing the water for purification with Himself. He has come to replace Jewish religious rules with Himself, including the temple, God’s dwelling place.

Throughout His life Jesus kept the all the commandments we have broken. He resisted the temptations we give into. He carried broken commandments that we should be punished for to the cross. God made him our substitute.

Colleen and I often watch the Warriors Basketball games. I love it when the substitute player, instead of Seth Curry, makes the final shot with 1 second left on the clock to win the game. Jesus is our substitute. Jesus transfers to us His righteousness by faith. (II Cor. 5:21) Just as a blood transfusion in surgery saves one’s life so the blood of Jesus shed on the cross is the transfusion that promises each believer forgiveness and thus peace with God, the righteous judge of eternity.

God has a story. It began with Adam and Eve who needed to be rescued from death. Notice all the great stories pretty much follow the same story line. Someone is in distress. Pinocchio, Nemo, Beauty and the Beast. Mary at the wedding in Cana. The invalid at the pool of Bethesda. Adm and Eve. You and me. Our broken commandments ruin our families. Our broken commandments ruin our friendships, our marriages. Our broken commandments ruin and destroys our careers. Someone needs to be rescued. You and me. Rescued from sins that destroy our relationships. Sometimes in the story, the hero dies. That is what Jesus did. He is our hero. Our substitute. He dies so that we might have life, both now and forever in the New Heaven and New Earth.

God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us.”(Rom. 5:8) John begs us to red the “signs” Jesus is our “replacement”.