FOUNDRYcast

Have you ever had to ask someone for a favor and you know they don't like you?

(insert silence)

It's awkward. You know it. And you are probably hoping to appeal to their morals, belief in the larger good, or even just them wanting to have you under their thumb. But you have to do it. Imagine the emotions.

It happens everywhere. We've all been through it. And just like in other ways, this emotion is present in scripture and the stories of folks interacting with Jesus.

Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then 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 little boy dies." 50 Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. 51 As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him." 53 The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54 Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee. John 4:46-54

This official was at best a missunderstood civic employee. At worst, he was part of the royal family of Herod. You know they guy who try to track down the infant Jesus and slaughtered every male child in the area of Bethleham? Yeah-this guy most likely worked for that guys grandson. The Herodian family was the enemy of every God-fearing Jewish person in Israel and the constant opponent of Jesus teaching.

And he had to come to Jesus. Awkward.

If you are willing to get through the awkward, you might get to the awesome.

What does it mean to put down our own presuppositions and pretenses and do business with Jesus? Because our life depends on it.

On this episode of FOUNDRYcast, Jack sits down with Chad and runs him through the ringer on John 2. We talk about these topics

• Was it white or red wine?
• 1st-century alcohol content.
• What was the faith of Mary like?
• What's up with Jesus' attitude?
• Who was this "master of the feast?"
• The bridegrooms reaction to the wine.
• What makes you believe...in bigfoot?
• What are some of the hangups in this passage?
• What living a life of hope looks like.
• Make America Kind Again
• What's the next step in belief?

Let's talk about expectations. What do you expect those around you to do? We all have them, some are fair and some are unfair. We create this idea in our mind of the way everyone should behave, no matter who they are and their status.

So Jesus walks into a bar…

Not really. He walks into a wedding. A 7 day reception with food and drink flowing. And the most important social faux pas of the 1st century is about to happen.

The wine is running out.

No worries. Mary, Jesus' Mom, volunteers her son to help take care of the problem. He isn't about to get back in his cart and get the ox to go down to the nearest wine store. She asks him to make something that is really nothing into something that is a pretty big something.

The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother told him, "They have no more wine."

4 "Dear woman, that's not our problem," Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."

5 But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, "Fill the jars with water." When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, "Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies." So the servants followed his instructions.

9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 "A host always serves the best wine first," he said. "Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!"

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:1-11 (NLT)

There are a few things that can easily send each us off here. Jesus seemed to be acting gnarly towards his mom, why did God make sure the party was still rocking, and how on earth did making water into wine cause folks to believe?

Tons of stuff. And we are tackling the biggest of them all.

Why do the gospels tell stories differently at times?

Would you and your spouse or best friend tell a story exactly the same? The Gospels are stories of people encountering Jesus in different ways, places and times in their life. Some of the writers were disciples (Matthew and John), others might have been part of the 120 we met across the gospels and in Acts (Mark), and others were part of the rapidly expanding Jesus movement that became known as Christianity (Luke). Each tell a story of encountering Jesus.

Over the summer, Foundry is digging into the gospel of John and reading through the 7 signs of Jesus. In this episode of FOUNDRYcast, Chad sits down with Jack Lockeby and they begin a conversation about what makes John different and what the 7 signs of Jesus mean. Tune in, and we will see you on Sunday!