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Note: This blog post is part of a series titled "Jesus' First Sign." To view all parts, click the link below.
The first chapter of the Gospel of John is the apostle’s introduction to the eight signs by which Jesus manifested heaven’s glory in the earth. These eight signs overlay upon the eight days of the feast of Tabernacles, the feast that prophesies of the glory of God that shall yet come upon the sons of God in preparation for the Age of Tabernacles.
John’s introduction runs parallel to Moses’ introduction in the first four chapters of the book of Deuteronomy. Whereas Moses was the forerunner of Joshua (Yeshua), John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus (Yeshua). Both Joshua and Jesus came out of the wilderness at the same place in the Jordan River to begin their ministries after being commissioned earlier.
After his introduction, Deuteronomy 5-8 records Moses’ first speech expounding upon the law itself. This correlates with the first miracle-sign that Jesus performed, followed by commentary (John 2-4). The rest of Moses’ speeches continue to expound upon the law, and each corresponds in turn to one of the signs in the Gospel of John.
Deuteronomy and John: The Parallel
John’s gospel was meant to portray the eight days of the feast of Tabernacles. Each year during that feast, the Jews customarily read the book of Deuteronomy. Hence, they established the link between Deuteronomy and the Gospel of John.
The Introduction: Deuteronomy 1-4 corresponds to John’s introduction (John 1).
1. Deuteronomy 5-8 corresponds to the wedding in Cana (John 2-4).
2. Deuteronomy 9-13 corresponds to healing the ruler’s son (John 4:46-50).
3. Deuteronomy 14-16 corresponds to healing the man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5).
4. Deuteronomy 17-20 corresponds to feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-14; 6:24-71).
5. Deuteronomy 21-23 corresponds to walking on the water (John 6:15-23 and chapters 7, 8).
6. Deuteronomy 24-26:19 corresponds to healing the blind man (John 9, 10).
7. Deuteronomy 27-28 corresponds to the raising of Lazarus (John 11).
The Interim: Deuteronomy 29-31 establishes the New Covenant and commissions Joshua, which corresponds to Jesus’ death on the cross as the Mediator of the New Covenant and His commissioning to lead us into the Promised Land (John 12-20).
The Climax: The Post-Resurrection Sign
8. Deuteronomy 33-34 is the Song of Moses and his Blessing upon the Tribes, corresponding to the 153 fish that were brought to the shore (John 21).
The first seven speeches of Moses and the first seven signs that Jesus performed prophesied of the first seven days of Tabernacles. The eighth speech and sign completed this and prophesied of the eighth day of Tabernacles.
John also structured his gospel by using the Hebraic tool known as a chiasm, or parallelism, where the first and eighth sign correlate, the second and seventh, the third and sixth, and the fourth and fifth form the heart of the message correlating with the middle of the feast of Tabernacles. The structure itself provides us with the lens through which he meant for us to view his gospel. Knowing this provides us with many insights that would be otherwise hidden.
The Four Days
John 2:1 begins the story of the first sign manifesting the glory of God in the earth.
1 And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
The first and most obvious question is what is the “the third day”? This cannot be tied to the first chapter of John, where events from four days are recorded:
Day 1: The Pharisees Question John (John 1:19-28).
Day 2: “The next day” John baptizes Jesus (John 1:29-35).
Day 3: “The next day” Andrew and Simon follow Jesus (John 1:36-42).
Day 4: “The next day” Philip and Nathanael follow Jesus (John 1:43-51).
These four days were not consecutive, because we know from the other gospels that immediately after Jesus was baptized, He went into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days. It was only when He returned and crossed the Jordan at the same place where He was baptized that the third and fourth day took place. Perhaps the third and fourth day after returning from the wilderness was the first two days before the wedding in Cana on the third day.
It is unclear if Jesus encountered Philip and Nathanael at the Jordan crossing or in Galilee. John 1:43 says,
43 The next day [the fourth day] He purposed to go forth into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”
It seems likely that Jesus went to Galilee, where he found Philip. Verse 44 tells us that Philip was from Bethsaida on the north end of the Sea of Galilee, but John does not tell us specifically that Jesus met Philip in his hometown of Bethsaida. If so, Jesus would have had time to walk to Galilee before the two days wherein these disciples began to follow Him.
These four days in the first chapter of John suggest a prophecy based on a day being a thousand years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). Jesus came to minister in the fourth day, that is, toward the end of the fourth millennium from Adam.
After this, dating from His death on the cross, it was prophesied that He would rise again on the third day (Hosea 6:2; Luke 13:32), or in the third millennium. September of 1999 was Jesus’ 2000th birthday, and Passover of 2033 will be 2000 years from His death and resurrection in 33. We are now (2019) in the early morning hours of the third day, where the wedding feast of Cana will be fulfilled prophetically, along with the rest of the feast of Tabernacles.
Hence, “the third day” in John 2:1 is meant to follow the first four days in John. Hosea defines “the third day” as “after two days,” which tells us that these things must be fulfilled in the sixth day/millennium. As I showed in my book, Secrets of Time, the 120th Jubilee from Adam occurred from 1986-1987, which was the year 5880-5881 from Adam. We are living toward the end of the sixth day when these things could be fulfilled.
Further, man was created at the end of the sixth day in Genesis 1:24-31. It is reasonable to believe that the New Creation Man (as a body) will be formed at the end of the sixth millennium from Adam. Individuals have been formed since the beginning of time, of course, but a complete body of overcoming sons of God will be formed by the end of six “days” in order to be commissioned to do their greatest Kingdom work in the seventh “day.”
Attending the Wedding Feast
The wedding feast in Cana was the first miracle-sign that Jesus performed to manifest the glory of God in the earth. John 2:2 says,
2 And both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
Jesus did not yet have twelve disciples, for this was very early into His ministry. In fact, since John was yet alive, Jesus had not fully entered His ministry. John baptized Jesus on the Day of Atonement in September of 29 A.D., which was “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” (Luke 3:1), who succeeded Augustus when he died on August 19, 14 A.D.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
At the wedding, it is likely that Jesus had only four disciples: Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathanael. Not even John himself had been called yet, for he and his brother James “were partners with Simon” (Luke 5:10) and were called shortly afterward. James and John were probably carrying on with their fishing business while Simon Peter and his brother Andrew were attending the wedding.
In other words, John was recording an event that he heard about later. John only tells us that Jesus’ disciples were invited to the wedding along with Jesus Himself.
No More Wine
John 2:3 says,
3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
Perhaps the crowd was larger than expected or that this was the result of poor planning. Either way, it was part of the divine plan providing Jesus with an opportunity to manifest the glory of God in the earth. There are no accidents. Even mistakes work out for the glory of God in the end.
John 2:4, 5 says,
4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Many years ago, David DuPlessis, an early Charismatic evangelist, was attending a Roman Catholic meeting, and he was asked what he thought of the Virgin Mary. He responded, “I believe that we should do everything Mary said to do.” The priests looked at each other, wondering if he were becoming a Roman Catholic. Finally, they asked what he meant. He said, “Mary told us, ‘Whatever Jesus says to you, do it’.”
That was a wise response.
Note: This blog post is part of a series titled "Jesus' First Sign." To view all parts, click the link below.
Dr. Stephen Jones has been writing blog posts since 2005 on a variety of topics from Bible Studies to World News, and he has been writing books since 1992. Dr. Jones' most important writings came after God brought him back into the full-time ministry in 1991. It is here that all his earlier years of searching the Scriptures began to come into clear focus. He combines a knowledge of the Old and New Testaments with a personal revelation of God that began and developed during the "wilderness" period of his life, which he often refers to as God's True Bible College... Read More
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