Hallmarks of the Kingdom

Hallmarks of the Kingdom (John 2:1-11)

The miracle of the wedding at Cana is in many ways an unusual miracle; no-one was healed, no-one was raised from the dead, no great crowds accepted the gospel,  the only person who was saved was the host of the wedding who was merely saved from the embarrassing social situation of not having enough wine for the wedding. Coupled with verse 4 where Jesus seems reluctant to work at all we are left with a somewhat unusual story.

If we are to truly understand this miracle then we need to put it in the context of the overall ministry and mission of Jesus Rather than seeing it as an isolated event we must see it defining and fore-shadowing all that comes later in Christ's teaching. Jesus came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God

"The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel"      [Mark 1:15]

This was the dominant theme of his ministry. And rather than being a furtive and secretive act, this miracle helps to show us the hallmarks of the kingdom. All the principles and characteristics that Jesus would expound over the next three years concerning the Kingdom of God can be seen here in this first miracle.

1. The Kingdom is hidden

The first parallel between this miracle and the kingdom of God is that the kingdom is hidden.

If we look in Matthew chapter 13 where we have all these parables of the kingdom the common thread that runs through all of them is that the kingdom is hidden,

• Good seed hidden among weeds
• Mustard seed, tiny, hidden, yet growing into a great tree
• Treasure hidden in a field
• A pearl of great price, hidden until the merchant finds it

Why can't the gospel be so plain and obvious that everyone gets it? Because it is hidden. The disciples once asked Jesus why he always spoke in parables and he answered:

"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given."     [Matthew 13:11]

It is such a reversal of the normal order of things. For the kingdom speaks of the first being last and the last being first, it speaks of those who have nothings being privy to great insights.

If we drop back into the narrative for a moment, we can see this so clearly. The one person who should know all that was going on at this wedding, the master of the feast, has no idea where this wine came from. The servants who are there to just fetch and carry have a front row seat and great insight into this miracle. And that is the strength of this passage of the wedding at Cana, it shows us this hidden nature of the kingdom.

We carry within us such a precious message.. What a privilege to have these truths revealed to us, truths that are not known to kings and presidents, truths that have not been revelled to the most powerful, the most influential, the richest people in the world - but they have been revelled to us.  No human intellect or wise words or slick presentation can do that. There is no secret formula that will convince people of the truth - only us carrying that truth to them time and time again - in our feeble and broken way but seeing a miracle happen every time God opens blind eyes and moves people a bit closer to himself.

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.    [1 Corinthians 1:26-28]

But still we must ask why is the kingdom hidden? Why does God choose to work in this way? I think there is value is searching for something, for only when we search and find do we appreciate something. Something that is obtained without effort can be easily dismissed. We live in a generation where advances such as the internet make it so easy to search out and find information, and we almost object when something is difficult or hard to discover, but God in his infinite wisdom chooses to hide his kingdom and say; "The kingdom is given to those who will search for it, who will value it, who will be serious about it

2. The Kingdom advances in small steps

The second parallel between this miracle and the kingdom of God is that the kingdom advances in small steps. We often think of the mission before us, how can we save out neighbours, how can we save our town or city,  how can we plant new churches. These are big steps and whilst I would not want to under-estimate the enormity of such tasks, still those big steps are just the sum of many small steps that almost go unnoticed, and this is a key kingdom principle.

I said before that no-one was saved or healed through this miracle, but who am I to say that? People certainly came closer to God and that ultimately is what it is all about. No great sermon was preached, no great parable was spoken - but what Jesus did, almost in secret, still impacted people.. In verse 9 there is this small phrase about the servants. It's also in brackets so it is almost presented as an aside, not worthy of being part of the story itself, but it is so important,

"The master of the feast tasted the water now become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew).     [John 2:9]

These servants had witnessed a great miracle - no-one had explained it to them but something had been planted in their hearts - maybe they would follow Jesus to find out more about him. They probably did not even know who he was on this day but their knowledge has grown, ever so slightly and it will continue to grow, that is how the kingdom advances.

We can look at the Lazarus being raised from the dead, thousands being added to the church through one sermon, we can look at our own witness and ministry a bemoan the fact that we don't see such event happening, but does it really happen that way? We advance the kingdom in small steps by the conversations we have, the example we set and who knows what impact that has on people around us to enquire more.

Let me give you a great example of the Kingdom advancing in small steps and this is Jesus trying to educate his disciples. There were two great feedings of multitudes in the Bible. In Matthew 14 Jesus is confronted with a crowd of 5,000. The disciples come to him and say:

"This is a desolate place and the day is now over send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves."     [Matthew 14:15]

According to the disciples mindset nothing can be done, the crowd have to go. We know of course that Jesus takes five loaves and two fish and feeds the crowd, but notice the disciples response for now - "send them away nothing can be done". Jump on a Chapter to Chapter 15 and Jesus is again talking to a hungry crowd this time of 4,000. Jesus says to his disciples

"I have compassion on the crows because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat and I am unwilling to send them away hungry less they faint on the way"     [Matthew 15:32]

What do you think Jesus was looking for in terms of a response from the disciples? Maybe "hey, we have done this before let's see what food the crowd have" would have been good. How did they respond?

"Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed such a great crowd"?    [Matthew 15:33]

I had been Jesus I would have been tempted to remind the disciples of what they had witnessed just recently, perhaps even to rebuke them, but there is no rebuke, Jesus just performs a similar miracle all over again and with seven loaves and a few fish the crowd are fed.

The point I am making is that Jesus was content to advance his disciples understanding in this small way and I think one small word gives it away. In Chapter 14 the disciples response was 'they need to go away' no argument no discussion it's not going to happen. In Chapter 15 the response is 'Where do we get bread?'. No longer an impossibility just an uncertainly -maybe a big uncertainty, but not an impossibility. And Jesus has happy that it took 9,000 people to move his disciples from believing something was impossible to being unsure how something could happen - small steps. The "It can't happen" has become "where" or even "how" - the outright rejection has been replaced with a question. "You must send them away" becomes "where are we to get bread?"

And for us this is such an important point to realise, this is right at the heart of how the kingdom works and is revealed, When we speak to people our friends our family who don't know Jesus yet each conversation is a small step that will move that unbelief to uncertainly to interest, to curiosity to seeking and to acceptance. And it might take ages; conversation after conversation but slowly that outright rejection will be replaced with questions, and curiosity and slowly the wall of disbelief is broken down. If Jesus was content which such small steps of progress for such an investment of time then so should we.

We praise God when people get it, when the kingdom explodes into their lives and suddenly their eyes are opened, and in some instances God does just break in on one great revelation - praise God for those times, but more often the kingdom advances in these small steps - let us not be afraid to reach out in what may seem small ways.. Talk with someone this week, encourage someone this week, invite someone to church or to a church event this week.

3. The kingdom is received by faith

The third parallel between this miracle and the kingdom of is that the kingdom is received by faith. No study of this passage is complete unless we look at this discourse between Jesus and Mary. It seems a strange response to make, almost discourteous when Mary points out the situation and Jesus says:

"Woman, what has this to do with me? My hour has not yet come."      [John 2:4]

Most translations will have a footnote for this verse that gives a slightly different translation to it, others say Jesus is gently reminding Mary that he has not yet started his public ministry, however what I want you to notice is Mary's response, when, at least from her perspective she has not got the answer she wanted.

"His mother said to the servants - do whatever he tells you."  [John 2:5]

It was a great step of faith, for as far as the response she had received Jesus was not prepared to act, but Mary by faith, persists. Again, this is a key hallmark of the kingdom - we need to have faith and we need to persist. It's a great attitude to have - I will do what I can and trust you God to open their eyes because I know you are working even if I can't see it.

"Do whatever he says". I am sure Mary had no idea what Jesus was going to do; sometimes we can have no idea of what God might or could do in such a situation, but faith says "I'll trust you anyway". Faith for Mary was saying "Do whatever he says". Again this passage speaks so clearly of kingdom values and the attitude we need.

4. The Kingdom speaks of abundance

The last parallel between this miracle and the kingdom of God is that the kingdom speaks of abundance.

I came that you may have life and have it abundantly.      [John 10:10]

We must never lose sight of the abundance of life that comes through following Jesus. Jesus never gives half measure or part blessings. Six water jars each holding twenty to thirty gallons. That makes 180 litres or 240 bottles of wine. Would it have been any less a miracle if he had turned the water into ordinary wine such that he Master of the Feast was not surprised by its quality - but the finest wine speaks of abundance.

Going back to the feeding of the multitudes the point of these miracles for me has never been that 5,000 or 4,000 were fed. We can all feed 5,000 with five loaves, you don't get much bread but if you break it small enough you can do it, The remarkable thing about these miracles was the amount left over.

From five loaves and two fishes, twelve baskets of left-overs were collected

From  seven loaves and a few fish seven baskets were collected

What was gather up afterwards exceeded what was started with. The point is the miracle speaks loudly of abundance that is a hallmark of the kingdom.

Questions:

• Who are you reaching out to for whom the kingdom is currently hidden. Pray that God will use you to help them to start their own search for God. Pray that God would give you opportunities to help them discover God for themselves
• What small steps can you take this week to advance the kingdom?
• What are you trusting God for that you have not yet seen fulfilled. Will you be persistent in praying for that this week?