Jesus resting at the banquet of Cana at the opening of Chapter Two of John's Gospel parallels God's resting at the opening of Chapter Two of Genesis.

Saturday, 1/7/12

Chapter Two of John’s Gospel opens with Jesus seated at a wedding banquet. Matthew, Mark, and Luke make no mention of that banquet. John had a good reason for putting it just at the beginning of Chapter Two of his Gospel.

John’s reason for putting the story of that banquet there is that he wanted us to see his Gospel in parallel to the Book of Genesis. The opening words of Genesis are, “In the beginning.” The opening words of John’s Gospel are, “In the beginning.”

Chapter One of Genesis relates six days of God’s work in creating. Chapter one of John’s Gospel relates what Jesus did on the first six days of his ministry. Chapter Two of Genesis portrays God as resting in heaven after his work. Chapter Two of John’s Gospel portrays Jesus as resting at a banquet, the Bible’s image for heaven.

The paralleling of John’s Gospel and the Torah does not end with those opening chapters. No, the over-all theme of John’s Gospel is that just as God led his people through many trials on the way to the Promised Land, so the Son-made-man leads his followers through the desert of life to the heavenly Promised land.