Everything Becomes New
Who is Jesus? part 52 – John 4:46-54
My wife and I have been happily married for over 44 years. While our lives have changed a bit, we still have our circle of friends, and our lifestyle has remained mostly the same.
Until we had children.
Then going out together felt like a luxury. Finding babysitters was a hassle. We joined a babysitting circle to watch each other’s kids. We expected challenges with children, but we didn’t realise how much would change.
46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
There is a structure to chapters 2 to 4. They are one big chiasmus. Chiasm, meaning crossing over, is a poetic form used in nearly all Psalms and is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. Where there is a central section, here marked X, that is usually the focus of the poem.
A. John 2:1-11 Miracle at Cana – Water into wine.
B. 2:12-22 Temple cleansed – new Temple of his body.
C. 2:23-3:13 We must be born from above.
X. 3:14-21 God so loved the world that He gave His Son.
C’. 3:22-4:3 Christ comes from above.
B’. 4:4-46 Temple to be replaced by a new place of worship.
A’. 4:46-54 Miracle at Cana – healing of a nobleman’s son.
Everything is made new by Jesus, just like becoming parents.
In this exploration of John’s Gospel, I aim to create a clear understanding of who Jesus is and what he does, focusing on the importance of his death and resurrection. I approach it logically, as my autistic mind does, moving past a basic reading by considering the Old Testament symbolism and First-Century Jewish traditions behind it. I avoid complex terms like eschatological-soteriological to enhance clarity.
Back to Cana. We’ve come full circle with the Cana Cycle in John’s Gospel. Reflecting on these sections helps us see the main theme connecting them. In each part of the cycle, Jesus is doing something new.
1. New Wine (2:1-12)
Generation Z shows more interest in faith than Millennials did. Recently, Lectio 365, a Bible meditation app, explored how the Holy Spirit is influencing this generation and asked how we can bring them to the church. I’m questioning why we should do that.
In John’s Gospel, there is the sign of water into wine. Similarly, in the other Gospel accounts, there is an early on a parable of new wine.
In a parable, Jesus cautioned against putting new wine into old wineskins, as the old skins will break (Matt 9:14-17, also in Mark and Luke). This teaches us that our hearts must be renewed to accept God’s new grace, and that His new ways do not fit into old institutions.
Why should we invite Generation Z to join us? We need to follow where the Spirit is moving. I’ve been watching YouTube videos of former worship leaders who have changed their views without criticising their past. They discuss the leadership issues at Bethel Music (US), Hillsong (Australia), and New Wine (UK), while focusing on the testimonies of people who were saved through that music, rather than on the flawed leaders. God was active on at least three continents during that time.
Jesse Reeves, co-writer of “How Great Is Our God,” and Bass player with Chris Tomlin for 17 years, says that Christians spend seven years trying to find out what God is doing, then try to replicate it, and it becomes a business1. When the Holy Spirit moves, the business model of the church has problems following.
Jesus offers high-quality, plentiful new wine. This is the first of seven miracles, called ‘signs’, which lead to the seventh sign, the raising of Lazarus, and eventually to Jesus’ resurrection.
2. New Temple (2:13-22)
The only place where Earth and Heaven connected, according to Jewish beliefs at the time of the Gospels, was the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem, which the Romans destroyed in 70 AD. However, the Word of God became human and walked on Earth as Jesus Christ. Access to God was changing from animal sacrifices to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. Instead of the Temple, where sacrifices were made, Jesus’ body became the site of God’s sacrifice for humanity. John’s focus, though, goes beyond the cross.
The link to the resurrection of Jesus in the changing of water into wine is quite hidden. For those who did not get the link, it is made explicit when Jesus clears the temple of traders.
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” … 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this.
John’s Gospel emphasises that Jesus Christ offers new life through the resurrection, rather than focusing on the cross.
3. New Birth (3:1-15)
Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus was intriguing. Nicodemus, a leading theologian, struggled to understand. He thought religion meant following traditional teachings. When Jesus said, “You must be born from above,” Nicodemus was unprepared. Today, some Christians label themselves as “Born Again,” assuming others understand, but Jesus was sharing a radical and new idea, different from just following a leader’s teachings.
Jesus’ teachings matter. The Capernaum official heard Jesus say, “Go; your son will live.” He believed Jesus’ words and went home. But being a Christian means becoming a new person, changed by God.
The teaching after the conversation with Nicodemus is key to the Cana Cycle. It influences the entire cycle, both before and after. It focuses not on our actions, but on what Jesus does and who he is.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 3:16-17
“God so loved.” It reflects God’s love for us. We are born again because of love and are called to share that love with the world, not just from duty or obedience to rules. We are to speak the name of Jesus out of love.
4. New Worshipers (4:19-26)
There are two types of churches: those with written liturgy and those without. I’ve visited non-liturgical churches, but they still have a regular worship pattern each week. That is a form of liturgy, even if it’s not acknowledged.
It takes about seven years for the church to learn something new after the Holy Spirit acts, and then it turns into a business. I’m quoting Jesse Reeves again. The timeline can vary more than Reeves thinks, but once something starts to make money, how worship and administration are done usually gets set in a certain way.
All the Gospel writers rearranged events in Jesus’ ministry to emphasise their points. In John’s Gospel, he moves a later event to the beginning to highlight important themes about what Jesus is renewing. If we create strict structures, the Holy Spirit will challenge them.
We have a new temple not made out of stone and mortar, and a new birth from above. It stands to reason that new people will worship in a new way. “In Spirit and in truth,” is how Jesus explained it to the Samaritan woman.
5. New Covenant Family (John 3-4)
When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, it was personal: You must be born again. In Galilee, this idea expands. The official from Capernaum believes Jesus’ words about his son being well and returns home to find his son recovering just as Jesus said, “Your son shall live.” Now, not just the official believes, but his entire household, including family and servants.
Jesus is forming a new family and a new covenant for a new group of people made new in Him. The phrase “all his household” is significant; John doesn’t include unnecessary details. Jesus is creating everything new—a new family of people who worship God in a new way in a new spiritual temple.
I’m stopping for Advent to write about something else. After Christmas, I’ll return to Chapter 5 of John’s Gospel, which is similar in structure to Chapter 1 and has connections to Deuteronomy. The first two signs of Jesus, which mark the end of what we’ve discussed, are the only numbered signs, but most signs appear in the first half of this Gospel.
| The 7 signs | |
|---|---|
| First sign: | The changing of water into wine (Jn 2:1–11) |
| Second sign: | Jesus heals the official’s son from a distance (Jn 4:43–54) |
| Third sign: | The healing at the pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:1–15) |
| Fourth sign: | Feeding of the five thousand (Jn 6:1–15) |
| Fifth sign: | Jesus walks on the stormy sea (Jn 6:16–24) |
| Sixth sign: | Healing of the man born blind (Jn 9:1–41) |
| Seventh sign: | The raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:1–44) |
The seven signs lead up to the raising of Lazarus and subsequently to Jesus’ own resurrection.
Not quite done, chapter 5 connects to what has gone, starting with the pool at Bethesda. I will be having a deep dive into this in the New Year and before Lent.
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Making an ass of myself 