Sermon Cloud

© Eric M Schumacher – Preached September 2, 2007 at Northbrook Baptist Church , Cedar Rapids, Iowa

John marked a sequence of four days in chapter one which began Jesus’ public ministry. Now, on the “third day” after these—which is the seventh designated day—Jesus culminates his first week public ministry. And he does so in an amazing act of revelation.

Jesus has just been identified by his new disciples as “the Son of God, the King of Israel,” “the one of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote.” And, Jesus has just promised his disciples that they will see amazing and undeniable confirmation that he truly is the Son of Man—the God-sent Messiah. We should enter this passage (and the rest of the Gospel) hungering to see this confirmation of Jesus’ identity for ourselves.

A Wedding in Cana

John sets this event at “Cana in Galilee .” Jesus and his new disciples had traveled to Galilee , where he met Philip and Nathanael. John 21:2 tells us that Cana is Nathanael’s hometown. Evidently, Jesus and his five new disciples (the only ones mentioned so far) stayed a few days in Cana .

Cana is an otherwise insignificant village. Jesus, who throughout his life “chose obscurity over fame,” chooses a place of insignificance to begin displaying his glory.

While they were in Cana , there was a wedding. In Jewish culture, weddings were very significant events which the whole community would join in. The wedding celebration would last for seven days, an entire week (which is why it was possible to run out of wine).

The presence of Jesus’ mother and the invitation of Jesus indicates that this may have been a relative or close friend. If so, it is possible that Mary had a special role in preparing the wedding feasts, which would explain why she would know of the wine running out when the master of the feast evidently did not.

No Wine

While at the wedding, Jesus’ mother informs him, “They have no wine.” This was a serious situation. In Jewish thought, wine is a symbol for joy and celebration. In fact, one Jewish author once wrote, “There is no rejoicing save with wine.”

The bridegroom was responsible for supplying his guests with wine, a fermented drink made from the juice of grapes. (It is the same greek word used by Paul in Ephesians 5:18, where he writes, “do not get drunk with wine.”) In a shame culture, a failure to supply wine was a cause for serious social embarrassment. In fact, a groom could face a lawsuit from the embarrassed family of the bride!

Mary is obviously expecting Jesus to do something to prevent this embarrassment to the groom. This is not to say that Mary is expecting a miracle. The fact that verse 11 says this was “the first of his signs” might suggest that Mary would have never before seen Jesus do something miraculous (and thus the accounts of boyhood miracles are religious fiction). If Joseph has died, then Mary has likely learned to rely on her firstborn son and is looking for him to prove resourceful now.

Woman…

We gain insight into Jesus’ relationship with his mother from his response to her. It is difficult to find an English phrase equivalent to the address “woman.” It is not rude, but courteous. Yet, this is the only recorded use of it from a son to his mother. It is not harsh, but neither is it an endearing term. (Thus, the NIV’s “Dear woman” is inappropriate.) Referring to her as “woman,” serves to establish some distance between the two of them.

Translations vary on the rest of Jesus’ response. Literally, the greek says, “What to me and to you, woman?” It is probably best translated something like, “What do you and I have in common?” A question to which the implied response is “nothing.” The only other use of this question in the New Testament is from the demons addressing Jesus! (Mt 8:29; Mk 1:24) When it is used in the Old Testament, it always serves to put a distance between the two parties. Here, the phrase functions as a fairly sharp rebuke.

Jesus is establishing a polite distance between himself and his mother. In fact, apart from his words to her on the cross, when he puts her in the care of the beloved disciple, Jesus always distances himself from his mother (cf Mt 12:46-50; Lk 2:48-51; 11:27-28).

Jesus goes on to say, “My hour has not yet come.” As John’s Gospel unfolds, we will learn that Jesus’ “hour” is the moment at which God is glorified in him, the hour of his exaltation, his crucifixion. Jesus is stating, though Mary cannot possibly grasp this, that it is not the time for him to reveal his glory to the world. So, he finds a way to perform a miracle that shows his glory to his disciples without blowing his cover (and, without stealing the spotlight from the groom!)

Mary tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” She has faith that her son will do something, despite the rebuke.

What Just Happened?

Now, as the account unfolds, Jesus immediately provides wine for the wedding, which is what Mary hoped he would do (even if she did not expect him to do it that way!). This seems odd. Mary informs him of the need, Jesus rebukes her, and then he does what he was asked to do! The series of events leaves us scratching our heads and asking, “What just happened here?”

This is not an uncommon pattern for Jesus in this Gospel. In chapter 7, Jesus’ brothers tell him to go up to the Feast of Booths. Jesus tells them to go but says that he will not go. Then, after they go, he goes to the feast in secret. Likewise, in chapter 11, Lazarus is sick and his sisters send for Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus refuses to go. Then, Jesus goes and raises him from the dead.

We have a pattern of a suggestion followed by a negative response from Jesus followed by a positive response from Jesus. What does it mean?

Jesus is saying, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will [nor the will of my disciples, nor of my brothers, nor of my mother] but of him who sent me” (cf 6:38). Jesus is protecting the boundaries of his Messianic authority. Jesus will not allow another person to force him, on their terms, to reveal himself. Jesus’ disciples cannot set his agenda by virtue of their close relationship with him. Jesus’ brothers and even his mother cannot set his agenda by virtue of family ties. Jesus is showing that he has come to do the will of his Father in heaven and no one else can set his agenda.

This says something about the idea of praying to Mary. It is useless, for she does not set his agenda. This also gives us an example to follow. If God has given you a position of authority or a responsibility, you cannot bow to the pressure of mere men (or yourself) to do other than what the Father has given you to do.

The Water Became Wine

You are probably familiar with what happens next. Jesus instructs the servants to fill six nearby jars with water. He then instructs them to draw some water and take it to the master of the feast (who is unaware of what is occurring). When the master of the feast tastes it, the water has become wine. And not only wine, but it has become the best of wine. The wine is so good, he approaches the bridegroom about it—“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.”

Evidently, it was the custom to serve the best wine first and the poor wine after the guests had “drunk freely.” Some have taken that to mean that the guests get intoxicated, drunk. The word can mean that, though that is not necessarily what is happening at this wedding, nor is it what Jesus is contributing to. (The Bible makes it plain that drunkenness is a sin and that you would be wise to do whatever you must to avoid getting drunk.)

Have you ever eaten or drank so much of something that your tongue doesn’t taste it anymore? It seems that is what would likely happen. At the beginning of the evening, the guests taste buds would be fresh. After a while, they would ‘lose their taste,’ at which point you would bring out the cheaper wine. You save money, they don’t notice.

Either way, the master of the feast is astonished at the superior quality of this wine, a sample of the 120-180 gallons of which Jesus has supplied. The wine that Jesus supplies is wine is great quantity and of superior quality.

How do we interpret the meaning of Jesus’ first sign at Cana ?

We’re familiar with this event, but what does it mean? How do we interpret it?

Most often, especially in John’s gospel, when Jesus does something miraculous, it is followed by a dialogue explaining the significance (meaning) of what Jesus has just done. There is no such dialogue here. That does not, however, mean that an understanding is impossible and that we are left to the over-active imagination of a creative preacher or curriculum developer.

John writes at several levels. It has been said that the Gospel of John is “shallow enough for an infant to wade, but deep enough for an elephant to swim.” John expects a repeated reading, with meditation.

We will be aided in gaining a correct interpretation, if we note a few things:

1) Remember John’s purpose in writing.

In John 20:30-31, John tells us:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John writes of “signs.” His preferred word is “sign,” not “miracle.”

Signs are more than miraculous displays of divine power. Signs are reveal something not yet known. Specifically, John wants us to see in these selected signs that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” John intends for these signs to reveal that Jesus is the Messiah. Therefore, we already know what the main point of everything that John writes is—Jesus is the Messiah and we should believe in him. If we come away with any other main point, we’ve interpreted it wrongly.

If John’s purpose in recording these signs is so that we might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, then we should be asking, “How does this help us to believe that Jesus is the Messiah?”

2) Remember the context.

In chapters 2-12, Jesus uses important institutions and festivals in Judaism to reveal to the Jews who he is. We will see Jesus interact with:

· the Temple (2:13-25)

· a Rabbi / Moses and the serpent in the wilderness (3:1-21)

· Jewish purification (3:22-36)

· Jacob’s well / places of worship (4:1-42)

· an unnamed Jewish Feast / Healing on the Sabbath (5:1-47)

· the Passover / Bread from Heaven (6:1-71)

· the Feast of Booths / Rivers of Living Water / Light of the World (7:1-9:41)

· the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) (10:1-39)

The theme of chapters 2-12 might be summed up in Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “the old has gone, the new has come.”

Since virtually everything else in this half of the Gospel revolves around how Jesus fulfills and replaces the old Jewish institutions, it seems unlikely that this is merely a story about a wedding and some wine.

We should be asking, “How does this help us see who Jesus is in relation to Jewish institutions?”

3) Listen to John’s comments. (What does John say?)

John says that this is the “first of his signs.” So, this is one of those signs meant to help us believe in Jesus as Messiah.

John also says that Jesus, “manifested his glory.” Way back in John 1:14, John summarized Jesus’ ministry by saying, “We have seen his glory.” And, this glory that we are looking for is “full of grace and truth.” Then, moving down to 1:18, we saw the “grace and truth” of this glory which comes through Jesus Christ contrasted with the law that came through Moses. Throughout the Gospel, John is showing us that what Jesus is superior to Moses because he reveals the glory that Moses could not see.

Therefore, we should be looking for how this passage shows us that Jesus the Messiah who brings something greater than what was given before.

4) Notice John’s emphases. (What does John show?)

John emphasizes three things: the containers, the quantity and the quality of the wine.

The containers. If we are looking for a Jewish institution, then what will immediately stick out to us is John’s comments in verse 6 about the water jars. When you read that verse, you should be asking yourself, “Why does John go into such detail about these water jars? Isn’t it enough that there were containers? Isn’t the point that Jesus turned water into wine? Who cares what he did it in?” John cared.

Think about this—If they ran out of wine, what would they have in abundance? They would have plenty of empty wine casks! Why didn’t Jesus just tell the servants to fill the empty wine casks with water (or wine skins, or water pitchers)? Why did he specifically choose these jars.

John emphasizes their use. They were “stone water jars…for the Jewish rites of purification.” The jars were likely there for the guests to wash their hands and the servants to wash utensils. They must have been (at least partially) empty by this time, since they are able to “fill them up to the brim.”

Jewish custom required ceremonial washing of hands and utensils before meals for “purification.” The jars were stone because it was believed that stone did not contract uncleanness the way an earthenware jar would. Putting anything else, like wine, in the jars would defile them and make them unclean.

I think that Jesus, and John, intends for us to see in the “water jars for Jewish purification” the emptiness of contemporary Jewish law and custom, and its inability to meet their real needs. The party lacked wine, and the Jewish customs could not meet that need.

The quantity and quality of the wine. John describes the quantity held by these six jars—together, about 120-180 gallons, more than adequate supply for the party. He also describes the quality of wine—it is the “good wine,” wine deserving of comment by the master of the feast, who would be best qualified to assess it.

Now, where does the Bible speak of superior wine being supplied in great quantity? Philip said that Jesus was “the one of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote.” So, let’s turn to them for answers. When we do, we find that the abundant supply of superior wine reveals that Jesus is…:

The Lion of Judah Bringing Abundant Blessings

In “the Law,” in Genesis 49:10-11, Moses recorded the words of Jacob as he blessed his twelve sons. When Jacob blessed Judah , he said:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. ¹¹ Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

Jacob spoke of a descendant of Judah whose rules would bring abundant prosperity, symbolized by wine. In fact, the coming ruler will be able to wash his garments in wine, because it will be as abundant as water.

The Coming of the Lord to Bring Final Salvation

Isaiah 25 describes the coming day in which the Lord will rule from his mountain, to “swallow up death forever” and to trample his enemies. In Isaiah 25:6, we read, “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” The day of salvation would be a “feast of well-aged wine…well refined,” which is just what Jesus provided.

The Lord Satisfying His Redeemed Remnant with Him Goodness

In Jeremiah 31, the Lord promises to save the remnant of his people.

Jeremiah 31:10-14 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.' ¹¹ For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. ¹² They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion , and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. ¹³ Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. ¹⁴ I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the LORD.

The return of these scattered exiles will be marked mourning turned into joy. The goodness of the Lord will satisfy his people and they will radiate over the goodness of the grain, the wine and the oil that he provides.

Restoration of the Davidic Kingdom

Amos depicts the redemption of God’s people as the restoration of David’s Kingdom.

Amos 9:11-15 "In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, ¹² that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this. ¹³ "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. ¹⁴ I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel , and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. ¹⁵ I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them," says the LORD your God.

This day of salvation will be a day in which the Lord’s blessings are so abundant, and beyond abundant, that wine runs like rivers down the hills of Israel .

What is John’s Main Point?

The Messiah has arrived and the feast has begun! The day of salvation has come!

John wants us to look at the emptiness of these Jewish rites of purification, to look at the superior and abundant provision of Jesus, and to look at the Father and say with master of the feast, “You have kept the good wine until now.” The best wine has been kept until now—the arrival of the Messiah.

John wants us to see what every student of the Old Testament should have seen—it is not through rites of purification that God’s Kingdom comes, but through the arrival of his Messiah. “At the Cana wedding, Jesus is the bringer of Messianic joy who fills up the depleted resources of Judaism.” (Kostenberger, 90)

You, like his disciples, should believe!

John records that Jesus’ disciples “believed in him.” (Notice, that John does not say that his mother believed, though he is careful to include her in verses 1 and 12.)

This means that Jesus’ disciples saw this “sign” and understood what it signified. They realized that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of Israel.

Do you believe in him? Do you see that Jesus Christ is the one whom God promised to send to redeem and rule over his people?

The Jewish purification rituals and customs are empty and surpassed by Jesus, in whom we should put our hope.

It would be an insult for Jesus’ disciples to return to those stone jars, to wash their hands, and to trust that such a ritual has made them clean. Faith meant that they left those jars behind and looked to Jesus for his provision.

It would be an insult for you to hear of what Jesus has done and to see who Jesus is, and then to leave this morning putting your hope in some powerless “rite of purification.”

We have them. I doubt that any of us has a stone water jar at home in which we practice ritual purification. However, you might be trusting in a decision that you made many years ago. The Bible never ever says that we are saved by our “decision.”

You might be trusting in a religious ritual—a confession made to a priest, prayers repeated without thought, communion taken, a baptism.

You might be hoping in your “Jewishness;” perhaps you’re attempting to gain blessing from God through your obedience to the purity codes outlined in Leviticus.

You might find your joy by turning on the “positive hit music” of the local Christian radio station, finding that it “puts you in touch with God.”

You might be hoping in your “quiet time,” beginning each day with the superstitious notion that if you “read your Bible and pray,” that act makes you clean in the site of God.

Forsake these notions now! There is nothing that you have done or can do and there is nothing that anyone has done to you or could do to you to make you pure before the Lord.

Our only hope is to hope in Jesus the Messiah, to trust that he will bring us the blessings of God’s promised salvation, and to trust in Him alone.

Jesus did everything necessary to bring his people the blessings of the coming Kingdom. He lived a life of perfect holiness, fulfilling the Law’s demand of righteousness. He died a curse on the cross beneath the wrath of God, satisfying the Law’s demand for justice. He was raised from the dead, conquering the grave, for our justification.

Our salvation is not found in our efforts or in our obedience. Rather, our salvation is found in the one who lived and died and rose again for us. Our response is not to run back to the shadow of the Law and try harder to justify ourselves. Rather, we must run to Christ, and trust that all that we need is provided by Him and that through him we shall enjoy the abundance of the Kingdom of God .