I was reading the account of Jesus first miracle in the book of John, in the The MIRROR BIBLE.  I’m not sure what your thoughts are on translations and contemporary paraphrased versions – I happen to like them as often they help me see something in a new fresh way.

I clearly have skimmed over this familiar passage for years and not really picked up the significance of the details.

Now there were six empty stone water pots used for the ceremonial cleansing of the Jews.  They could hold approximately twenty gallons each.

Jesus asked the waiters to fill these stone jars with water to the brim.

John 2:6.7

The water pots (used for ceremonial cleansing) – why have I never really stopped to think about the purpose and significance of Jesus and His first miracle and what it involved?

There are moments when I read the bible and see the thread of a big picture story unfolding in the little details that I often skim over, and yet when I slow down, I see its beautiful narrative unfold. I see stories connecting in a new way. I see a God who is in the detail.

Bearing that in mind, I really shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus first miracle involved Him transforming the inside of a vessel completely.  (It was filled to the brim, and as the notes in The Mirror bible put it “nothing would be left untouched by the effect of the incarnate Word impacting human life entirely – every nook and cranny – spirit soul and body!”

A jar that would be used to cleanse the Jews for their sins was to be transformed into a substance that Jesus would later use as a symbol of remembrance of how effective his own blood would be at truly cleansing them.

So perhaps Jesus at a wedding feast – with the presence of a bride and groom, guests, cleansing jars and a symbolic gesture of transformation tell more of this glorious gospel of grace that I never realised until now.  Jesus welcoming His transformed bride into His Kingdom is the grand finale.

A short thought – but I am even more inspired to keep reading slowly so I don’t miss these things.  I always need to remember that I’m not reading the bible to get through it, but I’m reading it to get through me.

Have a good Sunday.