Vintage Wedding (What Jesus' mission would accomplish)

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INTRO = Dearly beloved, we welcome you, family and friends to this house of worship, to witness the marriage vows of this man and woman. The Bible teaches that marriage is to be a permanent relationship of one man and one woman, freely and totally committed to each other, as companions for life.  Marriage is an honorable estate instituted by God Himself.  In the opening chapters of Scripture we read that it is “not good for a man to be alone,” and so from the first man’s side, God brought to the man the most intimate partner for companionship and completeness. The scriptures repeat the refrain that “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Jesus Christ blessed both the sanctity and joys of marriage.   Yeah but where?  IN John chapter 2, so let’s turn there and consider this passage: John 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.  I love weddings, always have, and now I perform them – Let’s have those that I’ve married here stand up – let’s see, who threw the best party??? 1.  The Third Day à One bible scholar has suggested that it was probably on Wednesday afternoon the fourth day of the week (usual day for Jewish weddings …à I’m inclined to think it was the 3rd day from when Jesus told Nathaniel in just the previous chapter, that Nathaniel would witness heaven open up and angels ascending and descending upon Jesus – and of course Nathaniel gets 3 days to ponder that thought, to maybe test to see if Jesus can deliver on his promise.  The number 3, and certainly 3.5 for John is significant of a time of testing and enduring patiently.  Nathaniel must decide what kind of Messianic thing will Jesus do that will be the sign to Nathaniel that Jesus is indeed the one about whom Moses wrote.  Moses came with signs, Jesus had better produce some authentication!à So Jesus and the first disciples go to Nathaniel’s home town of Cana of Galilee 2.  Cana (Kana. th/j Galilai,aj)           *Kefr, Kherbit, (Cana, Lebanon)          *Home of Nathaniel 3.  Jesus Invited  = HE WAS “CALLED” stronger than Invite – They were calling Jesus to come!à Openning hymn reflected this, How welcome was the call, à The wedding ceremonies of over 100 years ago would often have as a part of the liturgy, the pastor saying about the connection between the wedding of Cana, and the one that he is performing: Blessed are they who seek in all the great events of life to have Christ as their guest.”à this still applies to our day, and is an honest measurement for the events in which we take part.  In all of our plans for fulfilling our desires for joy and entertainment and fellowship – are we happy to invite Jesus to come right along with us? == I can flip that too!  Jesus is going to throw a major party, does he want to call you to be there?  Maybe he might be embarrassed!  (No condemnation, no shame – sort of a soul evaluation!)  Do you want JC w/ U all the time? 4.  The Wine Ran Out           *Social embarrassment?  Mary get’s involved, and says, Jesus, save our family’s name!Some have suggested that the disciples are the cause for the wine running out.  That’s mean!  Maybe that’s the case, Mary is telling Jesus, “They are running out of wine because your crew is here, and now you are going to embarrass our family name because they won’t be able to provide for all these extra guests!  You might want to do something about it… Like tell them to leave!”  Jesus’ Mother couldn’t be that harsh, could she?           *Spiritual significance?  “?” is John, who is writing HIS account of Jesus’ life, a thoughtful and trained theologian?  John is only going to choose 7 miracles to signify something VERY important to the church.  And are we all supposed to get out of Jesus first sign that He can come through in a pinch when you need him?  Are we supposed to learn that he would have been a great contestant on Iron Chef?  Is this first sign just a training miracle for the better ones yet to come?  OR IS JOHN, by this profound miracle, going to tell us something about how we, as the church, must regard Christ as the focus and supply of our every need?  More than that, Jesus is accompanied with such an abundance of divine provisions – it’s sick!          Let’s think about this theologically!  Jesus comes to his people Israel, and Israel in his day, is sort of like a party that is winding down.  It has no more life, no more supply, it cannot accommodate the guests, even on what should be a day of rejoicing – Israel is starting to sour into cheap vinegar.  Why do I say this?  What is Israel in Jesus’ day, a foreign outpost for the ruling Roman empire.  Her influence upon the world is nill, her only impact is to muster more Roman garrisons in her land for her fits of rebellion.  She is not the world’s leader in law, politics, religion, art, literature, agriculture, or innovation – she is simply occupied territory with fading day-dreams of being a giant killer.          Think about our call to worship from Joel 2:  The bridegroom is ready to come to Israel, but the priests of the day can’t turn to the groom and say to him – Your bride is waiting in her glory!  NO, Israel is tarnished, oppressed, indebted, and scorned by all the nations!  Moses at least brought Israel to a land flowing with milk and honey, Israel was promised bumper crops, and wealth, and influence, and proud descendants inhabiting the land – this would be the evidence of God’s blessing upon them!  Like a woman worth a vast dowry!  (shilluchim)     But mother Mary speaks to Jesus with the equivalent of a prophetic voice not about a wedding party – but about the affairs of Israel, “They have no wine.”  Israel not having wine is a curse.  Wine is the symbol of joy and blessing and Lachiam!  The fruit of the vine, the abundant harvest of the entire nation would be an indication that God was blessing Israel.  This is how Israel would show the nations that God was with them!  BACK to our CTW, the prayer is offered, 'Spare Your people, O LORD. Do not make Your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'' Why would the people ask, “Where is their God?”  Because if they had no greatness to show the world, then that would mean that their God wasn’t very great to begin with, or He abandoned them!  The other prophets speak with the same language! (Speaking to Israel in his day…) Ezekiel 19:10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water. 11 Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches. 12 But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered. As for its strong stem, fire consumed it.          This is the vineyard in which Jesus arrives, it is a sad excuse of a field because her fruits neither satisfy nor impact the other nations!  (Are you thinking theologically with me?  John IS really going to show that this first sign is going to have a HUGE IMPACT!!  After all in John 15, Jesus will say later, John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. … 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (Ezekiel?)  Do you see how we who are in Christ are now the vineyard of God and that we are supposed to produce a harvest of praise to our God – NOT just in our private parties – BUT before the NATIONS!! People should look at the fruit of our life and conclude that God is blessing us in a unique and powerful way – First in that he has changed us into something NEW, and secondly, we have so much to share with everyone else!!     So finally, our CTW expresses a future hope for Israel, Then the LORD will be jealous for His land and take pity on His people. The LORD will reply to them: 'I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.’WHY? – How will Israel never again be scorned by the nations?  Because Now they are going to have Jesus!!  Jesus will be the source of their fruitful abundance!  And THIS IS WHY this is the first sign of JESUS – He is the hope of Israel, he is the hope of every life tired of being embarrassed by shortfalls!  The hope for all who long for the abundance that only HE can produce in us and through us. And that was just a link to OT Israel in terms of agriculture – I haven’t even started on the marriage motif yet!  Let me just say briefly, when Jesus announces his public ministry in the gospel of LUKE, He quotes Isaiah 61.  We read this passage this morning – The whole chapter concludes by wedding the agriculture theme and the marriage theme!Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.   Was God only interested in growing crops?  Would that cause the nations to want to become like Israel – maybe the starving ones, but in reality, God wanted the TRUE FRUIT of RIGHTEOUSNESS to sprout from Israel, and only a righteous branch could bring that about! Did you catch that?  It’s spooky that Jesus is fulfilling this passage in Isaiah at the wedding of Cana.  In the gospel of Luke, Jesus announces his public ministry by reading Isaiah 61; in the gospel of John, he announces his public ministry with a sign that acts it out! 5.  What Hour (w[ra) Is It?à 2.4 RevKlation = and speaking to her, Jesus – what to me and you woman? I have not come to my hour!ESV John 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.ESV John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.ESV John 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.ESV John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voiceESV John 7:30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.ESV John 8:20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.ESV John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.ESV John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.ESV John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.ESV John 16:4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. "I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.ESV John 16:25 "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.ESV John 16:32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.ESV John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 6.  6 (li,qinai) H20 Jars; 2 - 3 Measures = 10 gallonsà Water Jug = Firkin 4.5 to 8.5 // Measure 20 to 30 gals.à Pic on page2.6 – 6 jars which each held some 20-30 gallons each for purification practices.  There is no doubt that the Jewish people were rather fastidious, and very observant Jews bathed frequently.  I have described Mickvahs to you (Explain), and a lot of water was required for this total bathing process.  But think about it, 6 of these jars holding at least 20 gallons each.  The sparkletts guy carries 5 gallons for the water cooler – these are pottery containers capable of holding 4 sparklets jugs (no endorsements here, just perspective—Bring your jug from home!!) Who filled those?  Who brought all that water to that house?  Who carried those pots?  The servants (deacons in GK) right?  That’s a lot of manpower… These people must have been pretty well off – unless they had a spectacular caterer for this wedding.  We think we spend a lot on weddings today – well this household must have had a reputation for living large – but their party supplies are dwindling! And these impressive vessels are there just for show!  Sort of a religious statement about their commitment to purity – but the jars were empty!  Hope that is not us!! #6 – number of falling short of God’s perfect number of 7 – if we want to press the number thing here, it works.  Jesus is at an earthly party that falls short of the true and heavenly one yet to be revealed in the eschaton.  But Jesus can take this 6 and perform a miraculous event so that they are filled with that which satisfies all who encounter it. 2.7 – I don’t think the filling of the jars just happened do you?  Even if you turned on your tap full blast, filling 6 barrels of water would take time – there must have been some serious stalling in the banquet hall, or some nervous conversation as they are waiting for the servants in the back room to fill up these jug – I think we should all just remember this when we are hoping for Jesus to change everything in a flash!  Sometime, he just lets the servants do their tasks, and we have to wait for his moment of revelation!  7.  “filled to the brim” (a;nw)They fill the jugs to the top – what is that Greek word meaning ‘top.’ ANO, Remember that conversation Jesus had with Nicodemas?  Jesus told him that he must be born… ANOTHEN.  Not born again, but born from the top – your new birth comes from the top, from above, and that birth means that you must start your living “from the top,” which means to us, to do it over again, but it really indicates the source of the birthing action rather than the recapitulative activity – you can think on that a bit. 8.  avrcitrikli,nw|2.8 – I like the Greek word for the master of the feast (ESV) (this is a big party folks!)  ARCHITRICLINOI – Good evening, I’ll be your architricliniast =  what does it mean.  We’ve actually talked about this in our parable series.  That these ancient feasts were held in rooms where people would recline on three couches around a banquet table, and the best seats were nearest the table, nearest the guest of honor, nearest the food and bubbly.  So ARCHI refers to the ruler of others, and the Triclinoi is this room called a triclinium.  The head waiter of the room.  Say it with me, Greek is fun! 9.  “You reserved the good wine until now.”2.9 – so follow the commentary from the head waiter. He’s been at a lot of parties.  He knows the custom and the practices of weddings – been to hundreds.  You serve the good stuff first, and as the party winds down, as people have had enough to eat and drink, if people still want more, well, they can have the 2 buck chuck.  Also tells us that they were able to discern a good vintage from that which was inferior.  This head waiter, not realizing the miracle, taste tests the wine before it goes out to the guests – sort of determining at what point we are in the party timeline – and BAM!  What is this?  First rate Cabernet Sauvignon!   He calls out to the Groom and makes a bold proclamation – you have saved the best for last! Is Jesus best for last – millenniums of Jewish history, all the good stuff about a gracious God justifying people by faith alone – thousands of years of a nation being blessed, taking a land, being world changers … and then things wind down, disobedience, exile, no more true prophets, priests, and kings – but then – JESUS arrives!  This is going to get the party going again! Think about the Groom hearing that announcement.  The groom who has prepared for this day, to come and take his bride and to rejoice with all his groomsmen, fully engulfed in all the revelry and dancing, and the guy you hired to run the party says, “You are classic!  You saved the best wine for last!  This is the best party I have ever had the privilege of orchestrating – thanks for making me look good!”  And the groom reacting, “Hey, let the good times roll!” Makes us wonder who is really planning this party.  Makes us wonder who is really the groom! 10.  First of His Signs          *Manifested His glory          *The disciples believe2.11 – Here is john’s commentary:  Here is the first of Jesus glorious signs.  Here is the first sign that the disciples realized and believed in the man and mission of Jesus.  And what was that sign?  That Jesus came as the best for last, that he could fill what was now empty with more than we would ever need! -- super-abundance!  Jesus had the power to convert some 150 gallons of water into the most choice and refreshing wine!!  Jesus brings so much abundance that his mother could say to Jesus – “You don’t have to be a show off!”  I’d like to see you leaving Costco with 150 gallons of wine and watch what kind of stares you get! People, this is not about how Jesus changes water into wine!  It is a sign about what Jesus really changes!  He changes our world, our faith, our religious convictions, our very nature, our relationships – Jesus changes everything BIG TIME, and there will be evidence of this – people will recognize the change!  They will yell across the room, interrupting your conversations and say – You do things way differently than everyone else – and the way you do it is the way it SHOULD BE DONE!  You do it the best! And they shouldn’t be drunk to flatter us that way!  But it should still be the work of the spirit that makes it all happen.  We are almost like the groom, who doesn’t even notice that people notice that we do things differently because we are under the influence of Jesus – YES, I said it!  DUI, Disciples under the influence of Jesus!  And he has so much of the spirit to pour out on his church, people had better notice!  And people had better praise the TRUE BRIDEGROOM, Jesus Christ for his influence in our life! @ The Table == Who really witnessed this supposed GLORY?  Only the disciples!  And only those of faith witness God’s glory at this table!
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