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One night, in family devotions, I was reading to my kids from a Bible storybook about Cain and Abel. In this author’s rendition of the story, Cain’s offering was rejected because it was not his best, while Abel’s offering was the best he had to give and therefore acceptable to God. It suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks…this writer missed the entre point of the Biblical story! In fact, I believe the reality is quite the opposite.

Cain was a “tiller of the ground”.  His days consisted of backbreaking manual labor and he earned every morsel with the “sweat of his brow”.  When asked to bring a sacrifice to God, he must have surely thought that his offering would be the best in God’s sight.  Cain’s offering was the hard earned fruit of his labor, the work of his own blistered hands.

But, in spite of all Cain’s striving, God rejected his offering.  The Bible says, “Cain was exceedingly angry and his countenance fell” (Gen 4:5). Cain was so frustrated and angry because he had indeed brought his best to God…and yet his best was not good enough. God said, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” “Do well?” Cain must have thought. “I’ve done the best I can do.” Perhaps Cain knew in his heart that he had worked longer and harder than Able ever did. Through sweat, tears and hard manual labor Cain had worked the thorny soil to bring this offering to the Lord. Yet God was pleased with Abel’s gift and not his own. Cain could not understand and soon his frustration boiled over into murderous rage.

Why was Abel’s offering acceptable to God? Was it a better offering? Had Abel worked more or harder or better? On the contrary…Abel brought the blood of an innocent other. The real sacrifice was not his at all…it was really the sheep who had paid the dearest price. Abel was NOT relying on the work of his hands and the fruit of his labor. Somehow he understood that it was the blood that satisfied God. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb 9:22).

Cain is a type of all those who come to God with the work of their own hands. Even if we do our best and strive with all our might to please God, we will always come up short, no matter how well-intentioned we may be. Whenever you swipe the credit card of your own righteousness into God’s ATM it will ALWAYS be declined. All our righteousness is like filthy rags.

Abel is a type of all those who come to God with the blood of that innocent other; the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is the blood of Jesus that has cleansed us from all sin (I John 1:7). It is the blood of Jesus that has purged our conscience from dead works (Heb 9:14). It is the blood of Jesus that has reconciled us unto God (Eph 2:13). It is the blood of Jesus that has redeemed us (1 Pet 1:18).

Abel came not on the basis of his works, but in faith, and like Abraham, “It was counted to him as righteousness.” By faith we carry God’s own credit card, without a capital limit, backed by the collateral of heaven’s endless supply, and billed to Calvary’s address. Hallelujah!

We have been talking about the miracle at Cana in Galilee, the turning of the water into wine, as a type of the shed blood of Jesus Christ…

When a soldier is dying on the battlefield a medic will give him a potent dose of morphine.  The drug will not save him, but it will mask the pain and ease the suffering.  In the same way the blood of animals could never save and could not fix the root of the fatal wound; sin.  These Old Covenant sacrifices could only mask the symptoms of sin for a short season, but every year new sacrifices had to be offered and new blood had to be shed.

The blood of Jesus was of a totally different quality than any blood ever shed before.  The blood of Jesus not only dealt with the symptoms of sin, it went to the very root of the problem.  The blood of Jesus was not a superficial remedy for a shallow flesh wound.  It penetrated the core of the human condition and went all the way back to Adam; reversing the curse and turning the greatest tragedy in history into the greatest victory.

The ruler of the feast said, “…you’ve kept back the good wine until now.”  After all other wines had been served and after they had all run out and run short, finally the “good” wine was being served.  The best was saved for last.  I see this first miracle of Jesus as a prophetic foreshadowing of what Jesus had come to do.  The Jews were hoping for a national Messiah that would start a Maccabean-type revolution.  Jesus had come to lay down his life and shed his blood.

When Jesus sat at the last supper and held up the cup of Passover wine he said, “This is the NEW Covenant in MY blood…”  After all the blood of goats, lambs and birds had been shed and after they had all run out and fallen short, then God Himself came and performed a miracle; the Word became flesh.

His body was broken and His blood was shed once for all.  His blood did what no other sacrifice had been able to do.  There is enough power in one drop of the blood of Jesus to wash away every sin, to heal every sickness, to break every curse of every human being who has ever lived in all the world and in all of history!  God has saved the best for last!

In John’s elderly years, I’m sure that he thought often, about the “good old days” with The Master.  He probably played and replayed every miracle, every healing and every teaching of Jesus over and over in his mind.  Can you imagine the longing in his soul to touch Jesus again; to lay his head on his chest and gaze into his loving eyes?  Even in his sleep the memories would haunt him; rolling through his heart night after night.  And when those sweet dreams began to evaporate with the light of early dawn his only consolation was the promise of His blessed Savior, “Lo, I am with you always…”

One day he was reflecting on the miracle at the wedding in Cana.  It was the words of the ruler of the feast that impacted him:

“And when the manager tasted the water just now turned into wine, not knowing where it came from – though the servants who had drawn the water knew – he called the bridegroom and said unto him, Everyone else serves his best wine first and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now.”

Could it be that the miracle of the water turned into “good wine” and saved for last was a type and shadow of a greater miracle and a better wine?  John’s memory might have flashed to the last supper where he sat next to Jesus and heard mysterious words from sacred lips as Jesus held up another goblet of wine and said, “This is the NEW covenant in MY blood…”

Biblical covenants were blood covenants.  The first one, made with Abraham, demanded the blood of sheep, goats, cattle and birds.  Now, as the Old Covenant was culminating we see that after the blood of goats and rams had been shed, God had saved the best for last.  In Cana water became wine, but in Jesus the Word became flesh.

In the same way that bride and groom in Cana had offered all they had to their guests, so man offered all he had to God and after all man’s offerings to God had fallen pathetically short, then God offered HIS best for us.

Jesus had gone to the wedding in Cana as a guest, but it was He that ended up being the host!  We may invite Jesus to come into our lives, but we have nothing to offer him.  He enters our bankrupt shanty and spreads a table for us.  He serves us a banquet.  He gives us His best; His own body and blood!

His blood was not only best…it was also LAST!  His sacrifice was once for all.  More on this TOMORROW

For all their bungles and blunders, however, the discombobulated newlyweds had unwittingly done something very wise…they had invited Jesus to their wedding.  Jesus saved the day!  I’m sure the bride and groom would have been thrilled for Jesus to supply any wine…even average wine.  After all, it was the end of the wedding and usually the cheaper wine was served when the guests were inebriated and had become indifferent.  But Jesus’ wine wasn’t just “good enough”…it was the best!  It was the finest!  It was more than enough!!

This is a wonderful parable of grace – no matter what mistakes you have made along the way, if you’ll invite Jesus into your life, he will turn your mess into a miracle and your tragedy into a triumph!

The turning of the water into wine was the first of Jesus’ miracles and it had a profound effect on those that knew him.  John 2:11 says that it was because of this miracle that his disciples, “believed on him.”  To most it would have been seen as a demonstration of power and a revelation of Christ’s Messianic identity, but those disciples would later see a much more profound prophetic meaning to the miracle after Christ had ascended to Heaven.

We will explore that revelation Tomorrow…

It’s also important to realize when reading the book of John that there is often more to John’s stories than meets the eye.  John often employes an ancient rabbinic method of teaching called “Remez” (which means “hint”) in which the teacher “hints” at something through a story or allegory but does not state his deeper meaning explicitly.  Instead, the teacher allows the student to connect the dots and have a personal “ah ha” moment.

The book of John is full of “ah ha” moments and when the Holy Spirit illuminates the Word in our hearts, revelation begins to pour off every page.  I have treated many of the other stories in the Gospel of John in other places, but for the next few days we are going to be studying the first of Jesus’ miracles – the turning of the water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee found in John chapter 2.  I’m sure you will be blessed!

“Water into Wine” begins TOMORROW!

If you are one of those standing in line waiting for the rapture like a ride at Disney World, consider these statistics on world evangelism that I have collected from a variety of sources. As you read these keep in mind that in the United States there is 1 ordained minister for every 200 people. Yet…

- For every million unreached Muslims there are less than 3 missionaries.

- In Afghanistan there are 17 million people, 48,000 mosques…but not a single church.

- In Turkey there are 44 million people, but less then 200 Christians

- In India alone 500 million people have yet to hear the Gospel

- 30% of the world’s population (more than 2 billion people) have had virtually no exposure to the Gospel.

- The New Testament has been translated into the mother tongue of over 80% of the world’s population. However the remaining approximately 20% will require over 5,500 new translations.

Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). The word, “Nations” is “Ethne” in the Greek meaning ethnic people groups. Yet…

- There are an estimated 6,700 unreached or nearly unreached people groups.

- The countries with the most unreached people groups in descending order; India, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh.

- 98% of all unreached people groups are located in the “10/40 Window”.

THE GREAT COMMISSION IS STILL UNFULFILLED! Oswald Smith said, “We talk of the Second Coming; but half the world has never heard of the first.” Regardless if you are “pre-trib”, “post-trib”, “mid-trib” or some other “trib”, we must all confess that there is something desperately wrong with this type of doctrinal philosophy that makes us happy to escape with our own hides while the world burns and billions of people are lost. Where is the heart of Jesus in that? “…that none would perish, but that all would come to repentance.”

Here’s some food for thought; Jesus died more then 2,000 years ago. If it was God’s ultimate goal to rapture us all out of this “old god-forsaken world”, then why are we still here? What are we still waiting for? One person told me, “Jesus is building my mansion in heaven.” Really? It took him 6 days to create the entire cosmos, yet he’s been hung up with your “mansion” for 2,000 years? Not likely.

Heb. 10:12, 13 says, “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.” Since we are his hands and feet, then He must be waiting for…us. If He is waiting for us, and we are waiting for him, it would seem we are at an impasse. This is why Jesus told his disciples, “GO” into all the world and preach the Gospel. No more waiting and debating…just Go and PREACH.

“In the vast plain to the north I have sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been” — Robert Moffat

Napoleon said, “…Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend?  Upon force.  Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him….Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother.  He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself.  He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted.  Wonderful!  In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ.  All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him.  This phenomenon is accountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers.  Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range.  This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it.  This is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ”.

Fredrick Lehman wrote, “Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made. Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade, to paint the love of God above, would drain the oceans dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole through stretched from sky to sky.” It is this love that makes the Gospel so irresistible. I don’t understand why anyone would not want it!

I met a young Indian man at one crusade who had been born into a Hindu family, but had become a Christian in the face of great opposition. He told me that the Hindu gods would take from those who worshipped them, but he decided to become a Christian when he realized that Jesus had come to give. What a difference! Other religions and their gods take. Our God, loved us so much that he gave. Jesus…the tangible expression of God’s love; this thought moves me. “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so Divine demands my soul, my life, my all.” (Sir Issac Watts)

“They like him very much”

“Did you hear him?”

“Yes.”

“Did you like him?”

“Yes, very much. He has preached two sermons from John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life,’ and I think you will like him, although he preaches a little different from what you do.”

“How is that?”

“Well, he tells sinners God loves them.”

“Well,” said I, “He is wrong.”

In spite of his disagreement with that young preacher’s views, he went that night to the church to hear Mr. Moorhouse.

“‘My friends’ began Moorehouse, ‘if you will turn to the third chapter of John and the sixteenth verse, you will find my text.’” For seven nights in a row Moorehouse preached out of the same text. Finally on the seventh night he stood again in the same pulpit and said, “My friends for a whole week I have been trying to tell you how much God loves you, but I cannot do it with this poor stammering tongue. If I could borrow Jacob’s ladder and climb up ito heaven, and ask Gabriel, who stands in the presence of the Almighty, if he could tell me how much love the Father has for the world, all he could say would be: ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’”

Moody had a revelation of the love of God. “I used to preach that God was behind the sinner with a double-edged sword, ready to hew him down. I preach now that God is behind the sinner with love, and that he is running away from the love of God.” Moody said that he found that the love of God was “irresistible.”

More on God’s giving love tomorrow…

‘Take now thy son,’ said God to Abraham, ‘thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.’ (Gen 22:2) The sacred writer spares us a close-up of the agony that night on the slopes near Beersheba when the aged man had it out with his God, but respectful imagination may view in awe the bent form and convulsive wrestling alone under the stars. Possibly not again until a Greater than Abraham wrestled in the Garden of Gethsemane did such mortal pain visit a human soul. If only the man himself might have been allowed to die. That would have been easier a thousand times, for he was old now, and to die would have been no great ordeal for one who had walked so long with God. Besides, it would have been a last sweet pleasure to let his dimming vision rest upon the figure of his stalwart son who would live to carry on the Abrahamic line and fulfill in himself the promises of God made long before in Ur of the Chaldees. How should he slay the lad! Even if he could get the consent of his wounded and protesting heart, how could he reconcile the act with the promise, ‘In Isaac shall thy seed be called’? This was Abraham’s trial by fire, and he did not fail in the crucible. While the stars still shone like sharp white points above the tent where the sleeping Isaac lay, and long before the gray dawn had begun to lighten the east, the old saint had made up his mind. He would offer his son as God had directed him to do, and then trust God to raise him from the dead…”

Oh, the agony that must have pierced the heart of God to see His only Son whom He loved so much bleeding and dying between two criminals on Calvary! God rescued Abraham’s Son, but He did not spare His own. He loved so much that He gave.

More on God’s giving love tomorrow…

A story is told of a young Catholic, German girl whose father was a printer. He was printing the German Bible that had just been translated by Luther against the will of the Catholic church. One day his young daughter found a scrap of paper that had fallen to the floor in the cutting room. The paper contain words from John 3:16, “God so loved the world that he gave…” but the rest of the verse was missing. She was intrigued by this statement. She read it to herself over and over, “God so loved the world that He gave.” She liked it so much that she kept it close to her heart and read it every day. She was raised to know that God was just, and Holy, that He hates sin and is angry with the sinner, but she had never read that God loved her so much that He gave…although she did not know what exactly He had given. This revelation brought such joy to her heart that she was singing, and her mother noticing the happy little girl asked, “What is the matter with you?” “Oh mother it is wonderful,” she said, pulling out the little sliver of paper. “Read what it says…‘God so loved the world that He gave.’” “Gave what?” her mother asked. “I don’t know, but if He loved me enough that He gave anything at all, I will never be afraid of Him again.”

More on God’s giving love tomorrow…