Sermon Cloud

March 2, 2008

John 2:1-11 Seven Signs Series “Wedding Wine”

1On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."  6Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. 9When 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 10and 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." 11This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

It’s a (Wedding) Party!

            Seems like an odd first miracle, don’t you think?  Let’s look at the story.  There is a wedding party going down.  And it has come to a standstill.  Jesus’ mom, Mary, comes to Him and wants Him to intervene because they have run out of wine. Think of the embarrassment the hosts would feel.  They are throwing a party for someone (daughter or son maybe) and they had run short on this once in a lifetime event.  Some even speculate that Mary might have had a role as a caterer for the wedding.  Now fellas, I know many of you haven’t really thought at all about your wedding and rehearsal dinner and all of that, but lots of the women around here would tell you that one of their worst nightmares would be running out of food at the rehearsal dinner.  It would be embarrassing.  I don’t think she was expecting Him to run to the strip to go buy some, either!  It was obvious that Mary understood from the very beginning that this was a man unlike any other that had other lived.  His answer was a shocker:  My hour has not yet come.  Can you imagine the confusion?  What, it’s not your turn for an alcohol run?  It’s time to stop the party?  What are you getting at, Jesus? Well, to this we will return! 

            But for now, Mary orders some servants to give Jesus whatever He needs.  There were 6 stone water jars and these weren’t any ordinary jars, but were used for purification in Jewish ceremonies. It is not without significance that these jars were empty. (Boice, 166)  More on that later. Jesus told the servants to fill the jars with water and by the time the one who threw the party tasted what was in those jars, it had been turned to wine.  And not any ordinary wine, but He had saved the best for last and there was lots of it. Around 100-180 *gallons* of great wine.  Not glasses or even bottles.  Gallons.

Really?  This for the First Sign/Miracle?

            What are we supposed to make of all of this?  Is this really the first miracle that Jesus should have performed to announce that the long awaited Messiah had finally come?  How about raising someone from the dead?  Or healing a sick kid?  But providing more wine at a party?  Come on!  It’s not even known to the public, plus there’s the whole sticky alcohol issue.  Why is this the first sign then? There is one main reason why, but there are some very real subordinate reasons we could mention.

1.  Jesus rules over chemistry and all other stuff.  He changed water into wine.  The same God that has that sort of rule, rules over you and the rest of the world today! He converted glucose to alcohol and carbon dioxide. The fermentation process took minutes.

2.  Jesus cares about having a good time. He understands that a good glass of wine or a fun party or a good vacation or catching a great fish only does so much for us once that thrill is over.  He even remedies that…we’ll hear about that in just a minute.  But that doesn’t mean that He is eyeing us with a firm jaw any time someone is having a good time.  Jesus is all for good times that are not sinful.  He doesn’t frown in disgust at a good game of Madden or a couple in love taking in a sunset. He likes non-sinful, God glorifying fun.  He invented it. His presence at that party and the wine He made to keep the party going demonstrate this. 

3. Jesus cares about our shame.  But even more pressing is the face He allows the master of the party to save face.  It’s hard to know, but this could be the head servant responsible for the party logistics.  Avoiding shame in a culture that is a “shame culture” is a major priority.  Did you know that God cares about even the smallest humiliating things that happen to you? He may allow much of it to happen for our own benefit, but it doesn’t remove his concern for you in it.  You may feel like God only cares about global warming, but He cares about lost wallets, little tiffs with roommates, and embarrassing situations with people you would really like to date.  Christ cares for you.

            That’s really good, but again, couldn’t He have communicated this same thing by healing someone?  Or with a huge supernatural sign or something?  That’s where the last part of this comes together and it is the main reason why this miracle was the first performed by Jesus. 

4. Jesus was telling us about the final goal of His ministry.  Let’s think through the story again.  It’s not my hour, yet mom.  Not your hour yet?  What do you mean, Jesus?  Well, if you keep reading in John, you will see this exact word hour used throughout the book anticipating something that Jesus’ entire ministry pointed toward.  Toward the end of the book, it changes from future to the immediate present. John 12:23 says, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Jesus is telling her that it’s not time for his death.  I am sorry, did I miss something.  Why would a request for wine, make Jesus think about His death? To understand this we have to think of where this all has been coming from and where it is headed.

            Past: First, in Hosea 2:22 and Amos 9:13-14, one of the things that will accompany the Day of the Lord would be the abundance of wine.  This sign is a clear signal that Jesus is the Messiah. Contrast this to the emptiness of the Jewish religion of Christ’s day that is symbolized by the empty stone jars that He used.  Even the number of the jars says that all of it without Christ was “incomplete.” Hmm. That explains one reason wine was involved in the miracle (Messianic), but still doesn’t help us understand why Jesus thought of the hour of His death while He was at this wedding party.

            Future: Look forward to John’s Revelation to see how all of it wraps up to complete our understanding of why Jesus said what He said.  Revelation 19:6-9 talks about a real cool party at the end of the world.  6Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."  There is going to be a big wedding party at the end of the world between the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, and His bride, the church. Jesus is at a wedding party looking forward to the great wedding party at the end of the age secured by His blood shed for His church. 

            Jesus seems to be saying to His mother, “I know you are coming up to me at this wedding party.  But the wedding party I am preparing isn’t ready!  But I’ll give you some wine to help the party tonight and to give you a picture of this great party to come.  At my party, the marriage of the Lamb to His church, I’ll supply the wine for that one, too.  My blood.” 

We Get…God!

            OK, maybe this is a good first miracle then.  The Bible is basically a story of humanity finding final healing through the ministry of the Messiah, Jesus.  This whole book is moving towards a great party where we finally enjoy Him face to face.    So what’s the problem?  We don’t really think Jesus (or that party) will be all that great.  Maybe many of you are so beaten down by the “not yet” part of our journey that you doubt whether this party will really happen at all.  All of us struggle with that, if we are honest.  

            Everyone in this room should desire for a greater satisfaction in Jesus and a greater anticipation of this great party with Jesus, but it is one thing to say you want a greater desire because yours is weak and another to never have had any desire for Him. The first person is a believer who needs to grow…that’s every Christian in this room.  The second person is a non-believer who needs to be made new by this ruling, caring, transforming Messiah.  Jesus’ blood gives you Himself now (already) and more fully in the future (not yet) at this great party.   Jesus is that good.  He’s worth selling everything.  He’s worth even our lives if they are required. Let’s keep reminding each other of this truth, because we all continue to construct for ourselves broken cisterns that can’t hold water instead of coming to the Living Water.

What to do: Even though the spiritual conditions of everyone in here are different, I am asking for the same response from every person in this room regardless of where, spiritually, you entered it.  Fix your eyes on this amazing Christ and consider the price He paid to bring you this great party (the cross) and what will be yours forever (God).   For some it will be the beginning, others it is a continuation of what you have done many times before.  Consider with both fierce brokenness and great joy that every act of rebellion against your God has been cancelled by the blood of Christ for all who believe!  If you are a believer, get a plan right now for how you are going to cultivate that…your time with Jesus alone and with the church. As a start, let’s go to the Lord’s Table to proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns.