Tag Archives: wine

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – A DREAM KID ALRIGHT

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A DREAM KID ALRIGHT!

“‘He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened sceptics – he’ll get the people ready for God.'” Luke 1:15b-17.

What went through Zachariah’s mind while he was listening to this prophetic word from Gabriel? What would you think?

Not only did the angel tell him that he and Elizabeth would have a son after all these childless years, and Elizabeth long past menopause, but he also told him what kind of a son he would be; a Nazirite, Spirit-filled from birth, a powerfully effective prophet when all the others had failed – Israel had never fully returned to the Lord to be the nation He wanted them to be – healing family rifts and successfully reuniting God’s people with himself. They were going to have a dream kid alright!

He would be a Nazirite according to Numbers 6:1-21, taking a vow of separation and dedication to the Lord and indicating his vow by drinking no wine or fermented drink, eating nothing from the vine, not cutting his hair, and not going near a dead body which would make him unclean.

He would be Spirit-filled from birth. That does not guarantee that he would be sinless. He would have the potential to sin like everyone else but he would also have the privilege of the Holy Spirit’s inward ministry of grace and power to overcome temptation, and the boldness to carry out his ministry fearlessly – and how he would need that when he confronted Herod and Herodias, and those indomitable Pharisees!

His ministry would be powerful and successful. God’s faithful prophets of the Old Testament never enjoyed that reassurance or experienced the blessing of permanent fruit. On the contrary, many of them, knowing that they would achieve nothing but antagonism, opposition and persecution, laboured with the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Jeremiah was called “the weeping prophet”. He was hated, hounded and bullied by both king and people, but he stuck to his calling anyway.

The final prophetic words of Malachi 4:5,6 pointed to this day, after 400 years of divine silence, when God would send His last prophet before Messiah to herald the day of permanent transformation:

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

How desperately we need John’s message of reconciliation between fathers and children to offset the destruction that is happening in families and to our youth. How many children have fathers in their homes who are not fathers? Fatherless children are a disaster and a hazard, and yet fathers have not learned to father because they themselves were not fathered.

It takes a courageous man to take his fathering role seriously when he had never experienced a father’s love. There is no better role model than the Father of all fathers. He is willing to be the perfect Father to anyone who will come to Him and submit to His embrace. He will teach you the love of a Father and how to be a true son.

A Unwilling Partner

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AN UNWILLING PARTNER

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the placed called Golgotha (which means ‘the place of the skull’). Then they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. And they crucified Him. Dividing up His clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was nine in the morning when they crucified Him. (Mark 15: 21-25)

Mark tells his story in short bursts of information – no embellishments; no details; just the bare facts.

After His sleepless night without food to build His strength, walking long distances and having to stand for hours, then being flogged until He was close to death from severe shock, blood loss and pain, Jesus was exhausted. He could no longer walk, let alone carry the heavy crossbeam of His cross. The soldiers knew that He would never reach Golgotha if they forced Him to go on.

None of them would carry it for Him. Strong as they were, not one of them would shoulder His burden, so they pressed a stranger into service to carry it for Him. Did any words pass between Simon and Jesus? Did Jesus express gratitude to Simon for doing this small deed of kindness for Him although Simon was coerced into it? He did not dare protest lest he get more than carrying Jesus’ cross for a mile or two to the place of execution. How did he feel about this unexpected imposition? Was he angry, resentful, or rebellious against the Romans?

Mark slipped in a comment which fills this little detail with significance. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Who were Alexander and Rufus? Why did Mark connect Simon with his sons rather than with his father? Other Bible characters were linked to their fathers by way of identification, for example, Simon son of Jonas (Peter), Bartimeaus (son of Timeaus) etc. Bible scholars generally agree that these two men were known to the Roman readers (and may have been prominent Christians in the local church), while their father was not. Mark’s letter was written for Romans, hence the many explanations of Jewish customs as well.

The mention of the name Golgotha, where crucifixions took place, also needs a comment. The translation of the name, again for the benefit of the readers, implies some sort of natural formation which resembled a skull. Tradition has it that the place where Jesus was executed was on a hill. However, biblical details imply something different. Jesus was crucified next to a thoroughfare outside the city and next to a rock formation that looked like a skull. The Roman authorities chose this spot so that the executions would be spectacles to passers-by to serve as a warning to stay within the boundaries of their authority or face the same fate.

He was offered a cocktail of sour wine and myrrh before they drove in the nails and lifted the cross into the hole into which the upright was dropped but He would not drink it.

“Why did Jesus refuse the wine and myrrh mixture? He did not want to die from poisoning or have his senses numbed while on the cross. He knew that He had to shed his blood in order for Him to become the supreme sacrifice for the sins of all man, and He refused to take the easy way out of it.”

http://www.biblestudy.org/question/why-did-jesus-refuse-to-drink-wine-with-gall-while-on-cross.html 

Many false teachers have rejected the truth that Jesus’ death was real – either that He did not die on the cross or that He was not dead when He was taken down and buried. However, we have the “sure word of prophecy” that Jesus fulfilled what was written about Him centuries before. In Mark’s terse, undetailed account of Jesus’ crucifixion, without making reference to the Old Testament, he confirmed the fulfilment of prophecy.

They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar to drink. (Psa. 69: 21)

They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing (Psa. 22: 18)

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed. (Is. 53: 5)

This is a factual, eyewitness account of what happened to Jesus, not some fanciful, incomprehensible, philosophical religious waffle. Jesus suffered and died a terrible death so that those who believe in Him might have everlasting life.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Watch this space. My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master, will soon be on the bookshelves.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

Jesus Saved The Day

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JESUS SAVED THE DAY 

“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to Him, ‘They have no more wine.’

“‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’

“Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

“Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then He told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.

“Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’

“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which He revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” John 2:1-11 (NIV).

What a story — full of interesting imagery if one reads it from a Hebrew perspective!

Just as John began his gospel by taking his readers right back to Genesis 1 and linking the human Jesus with His eternal existence and creative work before He appeared on earth, so now he takes us back to Genesis 3 — the first wedding and its significance for revealing the glory of God.

Is there a subtle hint that the first marriage ran out of the heady wine of pure love and the powerful bond of unity because sin intruded and ruined God’s intention for marriage.   It was intended to reflect the ecstasy of the loving unity in the Godhead which is the essence of God’s glory…

Why did John begin his story with “On the third day”? Was this just a chronological detail or was this a subtle reference to the outcome of His resurrection “on the third day”– the promise of the “new wine” of the Holy Spirit who would be poured out on the church in the abundance which the 120 to180 gallons of miraculously-produced wine symbolized?

Was this chronologically the first of Jesus’ miracles; the first of the recorded miracles according to John; or the first in importance because it summed up in a graphic story the purpose for His coming — to provide in abundance the “new wine” of Holy Spirit, transforming life into a perpetual celebration?

If we try to stick rigidly to a literal time line, we can easily accuse John of inaccuracy. However, if we understand how John used his material to serve his greater purpose — to present Jesus as the Son of God in order to spur his readers to putting their trust in Him — the whole incident comes alive and begins to make sense.

John concluded this story with his interpretation of the episode so that his readers would be in no doubt about the meaning of the miracles he reported. He called it “the first of the signs.” This tells us, first of all, that there would be more to follow. It also points us to the reason why Jesus responded to His mother’s request. It was not just to bail the bridegroom out of an embarrassing situation.

Everything Jesus said and did was intended to put His Father’s glory on display. Since He insisted that He and the Father were one, that meant that whatever He was, the Father was. Both His compassion and His power are reflected in His action, God stepping in to save the day and to bring in the hope of a better day for all who believe in Him.

His disciples did! Do you?

The Bridegroom Is Here!

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THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE!

“They asked Him, ‘John’s disciples are well-known for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend most of your time at parties. Why?’ Jesus said, ‘When you are celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but this isn’t the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. When the groom is gone, the fasting can begin. No one throws water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come.

‘No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put wine in old cracked bottles, you get strong, clean bottles for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine.'” Luke 5:32-39 (The Message).

What was that all about? Weddings; wine; mending old clothes? How did that answer their question about fasting and prayer?

John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, who had faithfully practised and taught his disciples the requirements of the religious system he represented. Part of the ritual was the daily prayers and the required fasting which he and his disciples had engaged in while he was alive. He had not been a disciple of Jesus in the sense of following Him as the Twelve were doing.

Although Luke did not record the circumstances of John’s death, we can assume that by this time Herod had killed him, and that his disciples were continuing where he left off.

Those who questioned Jesus had noticed the difference between John’s and Jesus’ disciples. While John’s followers were practicing their religion, Jesus and His disciples seemed to be a happy-go-lucky lot, going to banquets and feasting instead of fasting.

Jesus answered, using the imagery of the Old Testament Scriptures. Wine and weddings were familiar pictures of Israel and her relationship with God. At Sinai after their deliverance from Egypt, God invited His people into a marriage relationship with Himself, using wedding talk to engage their understanding of how He viewed the union He desired to have with them.

The life He offered them to return to, in spite of their persistent waywardness and spiritual adultery, was like spicing up their lives with wine. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1 (NIV).

On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came, the followers of Jesus were accused of being drunk, and they were — on the new wine of the Holy Spirit! Jesus had not come to patch up an old, worn-out religious system with “a silk scarf”. He had come to bring something altogether new, so radical in its newness that it could never be poured into the old wineskins of rules and ritual, which is what Judaism had become, another “ism” of performance which most of them could not keep up.

The kingdom of God is a kingdom of joy and celebration. They had to learn that their God is a joyful, glad God, not a mad or sad God. This was all about a wedding and at a wedding no one fasts! When Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, He made enough of the best quality wine to keep the celebration going for many days.

Jesus had lit a fire because the kingdom of God had arrived, and He wanted no one to put it out by dousing it with old rigid practices that extinguished its joy. The wedding feast had begun, the new wine was flowing, hearts were being set ablaze because the Bridegroom had finally come!

Where do you fit in? Are you still clinging to the old stuff that makes you want to abstain? Come, join the party because the Bridegroom is here.