Subject: Lessons on Covenant - Part 1: John the plagiarizer =)
Hi guys,
Right now, you're all probably wondering: "John the plagiarizer!? Jason, what kind of wicked heresy are you trying to spread this time!??" :)
Before we go on any further, I really encourage all of you to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and check the scriptures. Perhaps an online bible site like
www.biblegateway.com will help =)
Anyway, I've done some studying and I've come to conclude the apostle John 'plagiarized' parts of the book of Genesis!!! ;) Hm...maybe the word 'plagiarize' is inaccurate... heh, in any case, here's what I mean:
In the beginning... (Gen 1:1, John 1:1)
...created/all things made (Gen 1:1, John 1:3)
...darkness... (Gen 1:2, John 1:5)
...light... (Gen 1:3-5, John 1:4-5)
...water/holy spirit... (Gen 1:2, John 1:33)
Apparently apostle John decided to 'STEAL' some ideas from the book of Genesis!! Why? He's a plagiarizer!!!! ;) heh, ok enough silliness. :)
The fact is, there's something going on here, and I came across something really fascinating:
On the first six days, God created the world and such, and on the seventh day, he rested and declared the sabbath as a holy day, correct? Scripture also tells us that the Sabbath was to be celebrated "for the generations to come as a lasting covenant" (Ex 31:16). And if I'm right the old covenant Passover meal was fulfilled through the Lord's supper, which is the new covenant meal.
By the way, before you read on, I really encourage you all to read John chapter 1. Did you read it all? Make sure you read it!!! :)
heh, anyway in light of all that I've mentioned, would you believe me if John also decided to play around with the seven day motif?
Here's what John's gospel says:
"In the beginning..." (John 1:1) = The first day
But 28 verses later John writes:
"The next day..." (John 1:29) = The second day
And a few verses later:
"The next day..." (John 1:35) = The third day
And again:
"The next day..." (John 1:43) = The fourth day
So 4 days passed from 'in the beginning' to 'the 3rd 'next day'. And in John chapter 2, John writes:
"On the third day..." (John 2:1) = The ?????? day
In context to the first chapter, I think this means on the 3rd day from the 4th day, not the third day, since John 1:43 records that Jesus was still calling the disciples, whereas John 2:1 mentions that the disciples were with Jesus.
All this probably doesn't make any sense, unless you read the first chapter, so BOOOO to all of you who haven't read the chapter, you guys missed out!!! LOL! =P What the heck is a boo anyway? LOL
Anyway, if it's 3 days from the 4th day, then we can conclude the following:
"On the third day..." (John 2:1) = The seventh day!!
So what happened on the 7th day?
"...a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee..." (John 2:1)
Fascinating isn't it? I think it's clear that when John was writing his gospel, he had Genesis in mind. Maybe John's favorite book was Genesis. :) So why did John 'plagiarize' key themes from Genesis? It looks like John is making a point about the Sabbath rest and a wedding feast: there's obviously a STRONG connection between the two. The passsage (i.e. John chapter 2) speaks of a BANQUET where there wasn't enough wine. Yet Jesus turned the water into wine, thus PROVIDING for EVERYONE! Anyone recall when Jesus PROVIDED bread for 5 thousand people? Afterwards, all the people were full and satisfied! Did anyone notice that Jesus calls himself the bread of life (John 6:35) and the 'bread from heaven' [aka 'manna'] (John 6:32-33) which the people in Moses's day ate in the wilderness?
And isn't it interesting how Jesus would be born from a place called 'Bethlehem' which means, 'house of bread'? Apparently at the feast people's needs were provided for. At the feeding of 5000 people, people's hunger was provided for. Would it be strange to believe that in the sabbath rest, God provides for his people's needs? =)
Surely there's a strong relationship between the sabbath rest and a wedding feast, especially the wedding depicted in Revelation :)
Also, I think John 2 (especially verses 9-10) may have something to do with what it's like to partake in the Sabbath rest. And be sure to check out what Heb 4:1-11 says about the Sabbath rest! :)
Is anyone troubled? Upset? Depressed? Stressed out? Here's some good news: Our souls finds REST in God alone (Psalm 62:1).
Therefore, let us "...set our hearts at REST in his presence"!! (1 John 3:19), and "taste and see that the lord is good" (Ps 34:8, 1 Pet 2:3) :)
God bless!
-Jason
P.S. As you can see, I'm absolutely fascinated with covenant theology. I don't know if everyone agrees with everything I believe but hopefully, some of this will be encouraging at the very least. And later on I hope to share more encouraging things I've come across in relation to God's wonderful covenant :)