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10-21-2018 Weekly Message
The contemplation of the week: Psalm 45: 1-17
Text: John 2: 1-11
The title of the book: The spiritual meaning of the first miracle performed at the Kana wedding ceremony

In the beginning, God, who was the Word, appeared in the world in the name of Jesus given before he was born. In order to make people realize that Jesus is the Savior for all the sinners in the world,   Jesus had to show His signs by doing miracles that only God can do. In the words of Kana’s marriage ceremony, we can discover various spiritual truths.

In the Bible, “the third Day” has a special meaning in various ways. Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected on the third day after his burial. It was “the third day” (Genesis 1: 9-13), when God’s  ministry of creation was ongoing, that land and sea would appear on the earth, and all kinds of vegetable and fruit-bearing trees would be made according to their kinds. ” And the evening and the morning were the third day.“ (Genesis 1:13).

It also tells us that in the Bible in Hosea chapter 6, because of Israel’s sin, God tore and beat them over the past two thousand years, but the bible testify of  their restoration when they repent, God will raise them up again on the “third day.” On the “third day”  prophet Hosea prophesied that they would enter into the millennial kingdom of Christ:

” Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. “(Hos 6: 1,2).

On that “third day“, Israel will be restored to God’s wife. Long ago, they forsaken their husband and committed  spiritual adultery by serving the Gentile nations. God divorced of them spiritually. But two days, that is two thousand years is passed by, when they look at him at the end of the Great Tribulation, and mourn and repent, they shall be restored as the wife of God on the “third day” when the millennial kingdom ccome. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Jesus was invited to a wedding banquet on “the third day“.

The Lord has done his first miracle when he was invited to the wedding ceremony in Kana. We can find hidden truths in the conversation between Jesus and Mary in the wedding ceremony. Jesus told her, “  Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. ” when Mary told Jesus saying, “They have no wine.”

Wine is the symbol of joy. No wine can also be seen as representing the spiritual state of Israel at that time. For four hundred years after the prophet of Malachi, there was no words of God, because they had lost their kingdom and were under Roman rule. The Messiah they came to wait for, but they did not recognize Him. Because they were still bound by the law, they had run out of the wine of joy.

Mary told  Jesus who was invited as a guest saying, “no wine”. Mary was supposed to say to the owner of the wedding banquet. Through the words of the angel Gabriel who appeared to announce the birth of Jesus, Mary might utter as the Holy Spirit reminded her that Jesus would give joy to Israel in the future.

When Jesus heard what she said, Jesus said to Mary, “Woman.” By telling Mary, woman, Jesus  revealed that he is God, not man.
In the words, ” what have I to do with thee?  The purpose of the Lord’s appearing in this world is not only the Messiah that the Jews have been waiting for to judge the Getile nations to save them, but also  to be the Lamb of God for the sin of the world.

In the following word, ” Mine hour is not yet come. ” The purpose of his coming to the world is when he died as the Lamb of God for the sin of the world. It is because he can give eternal joy by giving the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Jews and Gentiles who believe in Him if He dies and  resurrect on the third day. At the last supper, Jesus gave his disciples a glass of wine and said this cup is his own blood for the remission of sins. Mary asked for the blood. But the Lord said that it is not yet time to shed blood.

           The angel Gabriel, who appeared to Mary, prophesied and testified about Jesus, who was born:

” He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1: 32-33)

        Through the words of Gabriel, Mary was reminded  that Jesus is  God who created the heavens and the earth with His Word, the Son of the Creator, and the Holy Spirit reminded Mary so that she might say to them, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”  Otherwise, if she only knew Jesus as a man, she could  not think of it nor speak..

       At this time Jesus told them to fill six stone water pots with water to the brim, and now he said to take those to the man who is in charge of  the feast. By obedience to his word, when the servants brought it, the water had already turned into a better wine than the previous wine. God  that created the heavens and the earth by the Words was nothing him to create wine from water, but Jesus manifested Himself as God by accepting Mary’s request to show his first miracle.

      We are able to understand the  spiritual truths by his saying, ” Fill the waterpots with water.”  And they filled them up to the brim. The Bible says that the number six is the number of man. God created all things in the earth for five days,  and made man on the sixth day. The time God gave to the world until his will was fulfilled was six thousand years, the number of God. Jesus will have a glorious spiritual marriage with the church of God who is born of the Spirit by believing in himself, the Jew or the  Gentile before the seventh day of his eternal kingdom, the seventh thousand years. The day of His death is also His time, and it is His time when He is married to His church. In Psalm 45, we can see the lamb’s wedding scene. Apostle John, who had seen the marriage of the Lamb of Gd, testified:

” Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.. “(Revelation 19: 7-9)

           The happiest day in the world is the wedding day. But in the future, the day of wedding between the church and Christ in heaven is incomparable to the joy of marriage on the earth. Apostle Paul testified that the marriage ceremony on earth would be a shadow of the wedding ceremony to be held in heaven:

” For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. “(Ephesians 5: 30-32)

          The marriage of Christ and the Church is a spiritual union, just as God gave Adam Eve to help him reigning over all things by giving her, Jesus Christ, who came as the last Adam, is the One not only to fill in the earth but also the whole universe in heaven as the Creator of fullness. Therefore, the church that became his bride by believing in Him, receiving His Spirit, has become the helping spouse for Him to do for ever and ever. Apostle Paul testified about this incredible mysterious thing:.

” And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1: 22-23)

Amen! Hallelujah!