Scripture Reading: John 2:1-11, 18-22
The Gospel of John is a deep book. We cannot exhaust the mysteries of the divine life revealed in this Gospel. Because the divine life is immeasurable, it is called eternal life. The word eternal refers to the elements of both time and space. Eternal life is unlimited, immeasurable; it has no limit and no ending in either time or space.
We have pointed out that the Gospel of John is a book of signs. These signs are related to the divine life. In the foregoing chapters we have been impressed with six major signs in John 1: the Word, the tabernacle, the Lamb, the dove, the stone, and the house of God. Every chapter in the Gospel of John is a chapter of signs. This is true even of the last chapter, chapter 21.
In this chapter we come to John 2, where two important matters are recorded. The first is the changing of water into wine, and the second is the Lord’s word concerning the destroying of the temple and raising it up again in three days. Apparently, the Lord’s word concerning the temple has nothing to do with the incident of the changing of water into wine. Actually, these two matters are closely related.
After the Lord cleansed the temple (vv. 12-17), “the Jews then answered and said to Him, What sign do You show us, seeing that You do these things?” (v. 18). The Lord Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). In purifying the temple the Lord Jesus displayed a very strong character. At that time He was not meek or gentle. Religious people would never expect that Jesus, the One with such a meek and humble heart, could do this. The religious leaders probably thought that the Lord had gone too far. In response to their word concerning a sign, the Lord said for them to destroy this temple and that He would raise it up in three days. According to John 2:20, the Jews then said, “This temple was built in forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days?” The Jews, of course, were thinking of the temple in Jerusalem, but the Lord “spoke of the temple of His body” (v. 21). The Lord was referring to the temple of His universal, mystical Body. Who is able to measure this temple? It is impossible for anyone to measure it.
The religious ones did not realize that the Lord Jesus was saying that His physical body, not the temple in Jerusalem, was the real temple. The Lord used that material building in Jerusalem as a sign to denote His physical body. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus, but the body of Jesus was “destroyed” by the Jews when they had Him crucified. However, on the third day that destroyed body was raised up. Jesus said, “In three days I will raise it up.” The wording here is different from the record in the synoptic Gospels, which for the most part say that God would raise up the Lord Jesus. In John 2 the Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, “You kill Me, and I will raise Myself up. Destroy this physical body, which is the real temple, and I will raise it up in three days. Once I raise up this temple, it will be enlarged.” This enlarged temple is Christ’s universal Body.
We are told clearly that the incident of the changing of water into wine was a sign: “This beginning of signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee” (v. 11). However, we are not told clearly that the matter of the raising up of the destroyed body is also a sign. But Matthew 12:38-40 indicates that the resurrection of Christ is also a sign. When some of the scribes and Pharisees said, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You,” the Lord replied, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” Here we see that the Lord’s resurrection is the unique sign to this perverted generation. Therefore, in the second chapter of John we have two signs: the changing of water into wine and the resurrection of Christ. In this chapter we will seek to get into the depths of these two signs.
John 20:30 and 31 say, “Many other signs also Jesus did before His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name.” These verses indicate that John selected a certain number of signs and used them to compose his Gospel. John’s use of signs in writing his Gospel can be compared to our use of letters to make words and of words to write an article. Thus, the signs in this Gospel are the “letters” used to compose it. For example, two of the signs in John 1 concern the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God and Peter as a stone for God’s building. In chapter 2 John selected two incidents — the changing of water into wine and the Lord’s word concerning the temple in Jerusalem — and used them as signs in composing this chapter.
Three times in chapter 1 John speaks of “the next day” (vv. 29, 35, 43). Then in 2:1 he says, “The third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.” According to the sequence, this should actually be the fifth day, for there had been the first day, three “next days,” and now the day mentioned in 2:1. But instead of saying the fifth day, John speaks in 2:1 of the third day. In order to use the expression the third day in 2:1, John repeatedly speaks of the next day in chapter 1.
Each of the two incidents in chapter 2 is related to a third day. The third day in 2:1 was the day on which the Lord changed water into wine. In 2:19 the Lord said that “in three days” He would raise up the temple of His body. The expressions the third day and in three days both refer to resurrection. The Lord Jesus was raised up in three days. According to the New Testament, He was also raised up on the third day. The point here is that both expressions denote resurrection. By the use of these two expressions John indicates that the two signs in chapter 2 are both related to the Lord’s resurrection.
John 2:1 indicates that it was on the third day that the Lord Jesus came to Cana of Galilee. This means that the Lord came in resurrection. When the Lord Jesus came to us, He came in resurrection. However, we may think that the Lord first came to the disciples in incarnation, not in resurrection. We would probably say, “When the Lord Jesus was living on earth, He came to the disciples. Certainly He came as a man of Nazareth in incarnation. How can we say that He came in resurrection when He had not yet been crucified?” In 11:25 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Notice that here the Lord said, “I am the resurrection”; He did not say, “I will be the resurrection.” Even as a man of Nazareth in the flesh, the Lord could say, “I am the resurrection.” According to the human concept, He was present merely in incarnation. But from God’s point of view in His economy, the Lord came to Cana of Galilee in resurrection. Cana means “a land of reeds,” and reeds signify weak and fragile people (Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:20; 11:7). It was in resurrection that the Lord Jesus came to the weak and fragile people in Cana of Galilee — a despised place.
According to the Gospel of John, the Lord came to the people in resurrection. If He had not been in resurrection but only in incarnation, He could not have changed water into wine. Only the One who is the divine life could do such a thing in resurrection.
The Lord was also in resurrection when He spoke to the Samaritan woman in chapter 4. He indicated to her that He had the living water. How could a man in the flesh have living water? This is impossible. We know that the Samaritan woman received the living water from the Lord Jesus because she was satisfied, as indicated by the fact that she left her waterpot. When she went into the city to testify, she was bubbling. Living water was gushing out of her. She had obtained this living water from Christ who is in resurrection.
In John 6 the Lord Jesus revealed that He is the living bread, the bread of God that came down out of heaven to give life to the world. He also said, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (v. 57). The Lord Jesus did not say, “He who will eat Me after My resurrection will live.” On the contrary, He spoke in the present tense. When He said that He was the living bread which came down out of heaven, He seemed to be saying to the people, “Do not think of Me merely as one who grew up in Nazareth. I came down out of heaven.” In chapter 6 of John the Lord Jesus was in resurrection.
The fact that the Lord came to Cana of Galilee on the third day indicates that He comes to us in resurrection. We are weak and fragile people living in a despised place. But in resurrection the Lord has come to us. Sometimes I am beside myself with joy when I think of this. Praise the Lord that He has come to me in resurrection! This makes me happy and causes me to flow with living water.
Once the Lord Jesus comes into us, He will never leave. He will stay with us for eternity. How wonderful that in resurrection Christ is with us and in us! Hallelujah, the Lord Jesus came to our Cana on the third day!
The Lord Jesus went to Cana for the purpose of attending a wedding feast. We may say that all of our human life is a “wedding feast.” From the time that the Lord came to us, He has been attending our wedding feast. As long as we live on earth, every day is a “wedding day.” Whether this “wedding” is genuine or not genuine, long lasting or lasting a short time, every day we have some kind of wedding. Probably you are wondering what I mean by this. To say that every day is a wedding and that human life is a wedding feast means that throughout our life we hope, or expect, good things to happen to us. A wedding is something pleasant, something that makes us happy. For example, a young person may work hard on his studies in order to pass all his examinations. When he graduates with honors, others congratulate him. His graduation is something pleasant, something that may be called a “wedding.” Another brother may receive a promotion or a raise in salary. That promotion or raise may also be considered a “wedding.” Likewise, we have many pleasant things, many “weddings,” in our human life.
During the course of the wedding feast in Cana, “the wine ran out” (2:3). We can testify that in every human “wedding feast” the wine eventually runs out. Wine, the life-juice of the grape, signifies life. Hence, the wine running out symbolizes the human life running out. For example, a young sister may think that the brother she has married under the Lord’s sovereignty is a “hero.” But after a while, the wine will run out of her married life. Nevertheless, at that very juncture, the Lord Jesus is present to change water into wine.
In our human life the “wine” will always run out. However, Christ in resurrection never “runs out.” Suppose a brother receives a promotion at work. That promotion is a “wedding,” even a wedding feast. But eventually he will be disappointed with that promotion. This disappointment signifies that the wine has run out at that particular wedding feast.
Perhaps a brother receives a new car as a graduation gift. For a long time, he has been looking forward to having that car. But eventually the “wine” of that “car-wedding” will run out.
What kind of wine does not eventually run out? Our health, our money, and our possessions sooner or later will run out. A sister may be happy with a new pair of shoes. When she buys these shoes, she enjoys wine at her wedding feast. But this wine also will run out. Only what the Lord Jesus gives never runs out.
As an elderly brother with experience in human life, I can testify that nothing in this present life is lasting. Everything is running out. Only the Lord Jesus Christ is eternal, everlasting. Hallelujah, He is here with us to change our death water into wine, into eternal life!
Another word for the changing of water into wine, the changing of death into life, is transformation. Transformation is implied by the word stone in 1:42 (lit.). The transformation in John 1 is equal to the changing of water into wine in John 2.
I can testify that every day the Lord changes my water into wine. Today I definitely experienced this at least three times. I had a sense of death, but the Lord Jesus transformed my death water into eternal life.
Do you know what the genuine Christian life is? The Christian life is a life of changing water into wine. The Christian life is not a character-changing life or a behavior-improving life. The Christian life is altogether a matter of changing our death into life.
Sometimes we are conscious of the changing of death into life, but at other times we are not aware of this. Many times we experience this change unconsciously or subconsciously. This is the reason that we may be surprised at the change that has taken place within us. We may say, “Lord Jesus, is this me? I would not have thought that I am able to live such a life. I am amazed that I can endure so much and bear so much. Oh, what a surprise!” However, the Lord Jesus would say, “There is no need for you to be surprised. I have changed your death water into life wine.”
In the church life and under the ministry, we experience the Lord changing our death into life. Parents may find it hard to believe the positive change that has taken place in their children over the period of a few years. This is the changing of water into wine.
I have the full confidence that in the church life the Lord is changing death into life. We cannot deny the fact that certain things have happened to disappoint us. But I would like to say that I have been quite encouraged with the churches. The Lord knows that I am happy to minister the Word to the saints, for there is evidence that water is being changed into wine in the experience of so many dear ones. This is the experience of the Lord Jesus in resurrection. He dwells in us, and every day He is changing our water into wine.
Consider how the Lord has changed you throughout the years. Perhaps a married brother should sit down with his wife and ask her to point out to him how the Lord has changed his water into wine, his death into life. The brother may say to his wife, “Dear, tell me how you feel about my situation. How am I today compared with what I was two years ago?” If the brother and his wife are honest, they will be able to assure each other that over the years Christ in resurrection has been changing their death water into life wine. I believe that this has been the experience of the majority of the saints in the Lord’s recovery. Praise the Lord that in resurrection He is changing water into wine! He is not merely improving our behavior — He is transforming us.
Let us now consider the other sign in John 2, the sign of building up the mystical Body of Christ. We need to realize that the rebuilding of the destroyed temple has already been accomplished. In Christ’s resurrection we all have been resurrected. Peter tells us that we have been regenerated through the resurrection of Christ (1 Pet. 1:3). This means that in God’s view, according to His accomplishment in His economy, the Body of Christ has already been built.
The tense of the verbs in the book of Revelation indicates this. For example, the apostle John does not say that the New Jerusalem will come; he tells us that he saw the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. Approximately nineteen hundred years ago, John saw the New Jerusalem. This shows us that, according to God’s way of seeing, the Body of Christ has already been built up.
Do you know what our living is? Our living as Christians is simply a matter of the changing of death into life for the building up of the mystical Body of Christ. The entire Christian life consists of two matters: changing death into life and building up the mystical Body of Christ. This is the proper, genuine, and complete Christian life. There is no third item in our Christian life. Now we are in this building by our daily living, and our daily living is a matter of changing water into wine.
We may summarize our Christian life by saying that the Christian life is the changing of death into life, water into wine, for the building up of the Body of Christ. What is our living? Our living is the changing of death into life. What are we doing here? We are carrying out the work of building up the church, the Body of Christ. This is our living, and this is our goal. Our living is the changing of death into life. Our goal is the building up of the church. We have a living of the eternal life, the eternal zoe, for the purpose of building up the mystical Body of Christ.
This chapter is a word of encouragement. We all should be encouraged by what is revealed in chapter 2 of John. In the church life we are doing the work of building in three days, that is, in resurrection.
Some may say, “Brother Lee, on some occasions you have told us that we are short, lacking, and somewhat off from the central vision of God’s economy.” Yes, in the past I have spoken concerning our shortcomings. But what we have in John 2 is a word of encouragement. Many things have both a positive side and a negative side. But the positive side is not for the negative side. Rather, the negative side is for the positive side. I do not know if this is true in physics, but I know it is true in “spiritual physics.” According to my experience in the Christian life, the negative side is for the positive side. Every time I have a defeat, I soon enjoy a victory, and every sorrow is followed by joy. This is why I say that the negative side is always for the positive side.
As believers in Christ, we are not a people without hope. On the contrary, we are a people full of hope. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God the Father has regenerated us unto a living hope. We have the eternal life within us as our hope. With eternal life, everything is hopeful. We may still be short and somewhat off from God’s goal. However, we cannot deny the fact that the situation among us today is much better than it was years ago. I can testify that there is more building in the churches than there was some years ago or even a few months ago. This is the raising up of the destroyed temple in three days.
According to the Lord’s word in John 2, He allowed the enemy to destroy the temple of His body. That was a test to resurrection life. There is also a test to resurrection life in our experience in the church life. Let the enemy destroy God’s temple. We have resurrection power within us. Without the negative side, this positive power could not be manifested. Everything else is going down, but the church exists forever. We may fluctuate, but the church never fluctuates.
When some hear this, they may say, “This I cannot believe. I feel that a few years ago the church in my locality was wonderful. We were happy and excited. But now the condition of the church is worse.” I would reply that your feeling, which is related to something outward, is not true. Perhaps in the past there was more excitement, more shouting, more so-called release in singing. That, however, is not life. I have the full assurance that there is more life in the churches today than even a few years ago. I can say this because I have the assurance that many of us are living a water-changing life, and by this life we live in the building.
Although the building of the church is taking place, we ourselves cannot build the church. Some may find this hard to believe and say, “In the past you told us to endeavor to build up the church. Now you are saying that we cannot build up the church.” On the one hand, the church has already been built, and there is no need for us to build it. On the other hand, the building of the church is still going on in resurrection. In a very real sense, we do not need to build the church. Instead, we should simply stay in the building and enjoy it.
In John 2:19 the Lord Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Are these three days over, or are they still going on? It is difficult to answer this question. As far as accomplishment is concerned, the three days are over. But as far as enjoyment is concerned, we are still in these three days. Are we, then, accomplishing the building, or are we enjoying what has already been built? It is hard for our limited mentality to answer this question. According to our way of thinking, we are still doing the work of building. Apparently, we are doing the work of building; actually, we are enjoying what has already been built. We may experience the building in resurrection every day. I am not speaking something that I have not experienced. What I am telling you is what I have been experiencing and enjoying. Day by day I enjoy what the Lord Jesus has accomplished in His resurrection.
In chapter 2 of John there are two signs. The first is the changing of water into wine; the second is the raising up of the destroyed temple of God. Thank the Lord that today we are for this and in it. We have this living, and we are for this goal. We are living a life of changing water into wine for the unique purpose of building up Christ’s mystical Body.
The Gospel of John is deep because it gives the mysterious stories of the divine life. Most of today’s Christians neglect the mysterious matters revealed in this Gospel. We thank the Lord that He has brought us into these mysterious stories of the divine life. Because these matters are mysterious, we cannot adequately utter all that we see concerning them. However, I believe that the Spirit will speak much more to you than I am able to speak. Then we will all enjoy an inner, mutual understanding concerning the changing of death into life for the building up of the Body of Christ. Praise the Lord for the revelation in John 2! In this chapter we see the changing of water into wine for the unique and glorious goal of building up the mystical Body of Christ.
