Skip to main content

Grapes

           When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. (Number 13:23)

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so,  and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (John 2:7-11)


This is one of those cases when things have come together for me. When the spies went into the Promised Land, they returned with a bunch of grapes on a pole, telling how fruitful and plenteous the land was. That should have been the beginning of their conquest of the land. And at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He turned water not into grapes, but into wine, which was a likely end for the grapes found in the Valley of Eshkol or would have been if they had conquered the land.

For the Jews, such a repetition (even if not exact) was poetry and pointed toward Jesus as God’s representative (at the very least) or as God, Himself. It should have been recognized as the inauguration not just of Jesus’ ministry, but of His conquest (on His terms) of the Promised Land.

To all of that, I say, “Cool!” but while it should have been a huge neon sign to the Jews, what does it really have to do with Gentiles living 2000 years later? First, we should notice that God doesn’t repeat the pattern exactly. One of the characteristics of epic, heroic fantasy is that at the end, the hero is supposed to return to his home, and may find things changed, or (more likely) find that everything is the same, but he has changed. The return isn’t quite to the beginning, but to what one might call “level two.” That’s the pattern here.

The spies brought back the grapes at the beginning of what was to be the start of their conquest of the Promised Land. They rebelled and didn’t ultimately enter for 40 years. Jesus made wine from water, so grapes again at the beginning of His ministry, and while that began His conquest of the Promised Land, it was a spiritual conquest. Toward the end of His time here, He speaks of our receiving the Holy Spirit. One illustration of the Spirit is wine. He describes Himself as the Vine, and we are the branches, and He gives to us the fruit of the Vine, the Spirit. The pattern, iteration 3. And the question remains as in the first iteration. Will we enter the Promised Land and fight the battles to possess it, or will we allow the world, the flesh, and the devil continue to occupy?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more