“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign…” – Matthew 16:4
Each of Jesus’ miracles was a sign pointing to the Kingdom of God. For example, Matthew 9 is a list of miracles with Jesus healing a paralytic, restoring a girl to life, healing a woman, healing two blind men, and healing a mute man unable to speak. He then explains the meaning of these miracles saying, “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction…”
If you had to guess which was Jesus’ first miracle, what would your guess be? If you said turning water into wine at a wedding, you would have been correct!
Ancient weddings were one of the few times a family could invite relatives and friends for a massive extended celebration, one they had saved for their entire lives. The parties could last from days up to a week, during which time the guests were supposed to be fed, housed, and cared for. To run out of provisions would have been a massive embarrassment for the new couple and their families. Unfortunately, this is precisely what happens – the wedding party runs out of wine. Possibly as a close friend or relative trying to resolve the crisis, Jesus’ mother Mary approaches Him and requests that He do a miracle and make the problem go away (because she knew of His power), even though He has not yet done a public miracle.
Nonetheless, Jesus takes “six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons,” fills them up, and miraculously turns the water into wine. Upon sampling it, the guests are astonished because the wine is of the finest quality. Just in case you miss the religious irony in all of this, imagine Jesus at a wedding in a Baptist church filling the baptismal up with water and then turning it into very fine wine for the party!
John 2:11 then says this was “…the first of his signs…” Like signs we see when we drive on the road, signs in the Bible are pointing us toward a destination. When Jesus performs a miracle, it is a “sign” pointing to the Kingdom of God.
Too many people seek miracles and not God. God’s people should not be chasing signs and wonders. God’s people should be chasing God. When we chase God, we can expect a few miracles to follow us as we follow Jesus. I believe that if we seek Jesus first, signs and wonders will naturally follow.
Come back for tomorrow’s devo where we look at counterfeit signs and wonders.
Have you ever found yourself seeking signs and wonders more than Jesus?
Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. Visit https://realfaith.com/faq/ for privacy and terms info.