Water to Wine

[0:00] John chapter 2. On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there.

[0:11] Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine.

[0:23] And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.

[0:37] Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water.

[0:53] And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. So they took it.

[1:04] 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 and said to him, Everyone serves the good wine first.

[1:20] And when the people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee.

[1:37] And manifest his glory. And his disciples believed in him. Amen. Amen. We pray that God would bless the reading of his word. Still not wine.

[1:53] That's okay. I'll be by the end. You know, I still remember the day that I asked Jennifer's father if I could marry her. When you propose the idea to the father, it can often be more scary and intimidating than the actual proposal to the one you want to marry.

[2:11] So, we met up, but it wasn't over a drink in a bar. It was in a car. And in some way that made it more intimidating. Closed inside this confined space together, where he could lock the doors and drive me anywhere he wanted.

[2:27] To this day, I still remember the question that he asked. I asked him if I could marry his daughter. And he didn't answer that question right then.

[2:39] Instead, he answered with his own question. My question was hanging in the air. Until I answered his question. And to be honest, I was young.

[2:49] I was naive. I'd only ever lived with my parents up until this point. I hadn't really anticipated this question. But his question is actually very relevant to the point of this passage.

[3:03] Hurry up and get to the question, you're thinking. The question that he asked me was, Do you drink water or wine? No, it wasn't. It wasn't that question. No, the question that he asked me was, Can you provide for my daughter?

[3:20] I was like, whoa. I wasn't prepared for that. I never thought about this. But being the father who had always provided for her. If he was to give her away in marriage, He wanted to be sure that she would be provided for.

[3:36] Can the groom provide for the bride? It's a question. With that question in mind while thinking about this passage, You'll probably already begin to draw out from the text to exegete this passage and see what the sign points to.

[3:53] When Jesus turns water into wine, It's not just a miracle that happened. It's not just a party trick and nothing more. It's a sign. Remember, at the end of John's Gospel, He writes that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, Which are not written in this book.

[4:12] But these signs Are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ. And that by believing you may have life in His name. So turning water into wine Is a sign that's meant to signify Jesus In a way that would lead us To believe in Him And have life in His name.

[4:32] So we're going to explore that in five points. The first point is That the groom's wine ran out. See, the responsibility of the groom leading up to the wedding was massive.

[4:47] Not like nowadays. Most times nowadays, The job of the groom is merely to turn up. But the groom, in these times, Would spend the entire time of the betrothal Actually preparing a place for his bride to live.

[5:04] Later in John's Gospel, We read this morning that That Jesus said that He will prepare a place for His bride. See, the groom would build a place Whether it was onto his father's house Or somewhere different.

[5:17] The groom was also responsible for Paying for the wedding And providing everything needed. And so the quantity of wine At the wedding Was the responsibility of the groom.

[5:30] Basically, The betrothal and the wedding Would show Whether or not the groom Is able to provide for the bride. Now you can see then How the wine running out is a major problem.

[5:45] It's a major problem. You would have brought all these guests out And not provided for them. What does that say about the groom? Do you want people to associate you With joy and abundance?

[5:57] Or shame? Do you want a reputation As one who cannot provide? From the start. We can see This was the groom's responsibility Because the master of the feast Gives the groom credit For the wine.

[6:15] But here's the remarkable thing. The master of the feast Is amazed That the good wine Was kept for later Rather than the poor wine. But little did he know That there wasn't even a bottle of poor wine To serve in the first place.

[6:29] They had nothing left. All the wine ran out. Jesus wasn't just Spicing up some poor wine. There was nothing left.

[6:41] Look at what Jesus is working with here. Look at what he's working with. Don't think for a minute that Putting water into these jars Made it any easier Or even more possible To turn it into wine.

[6:55] Verse 3 says And remember John was there. He doesn't say When the good wine ran out. He says When the wine ran out. And Mary doesn't say to Jesus They have no good wine.

[7:10] That wouldn't have been a problem. Instead she says They have no wine. That's a big problem. So it's not like Jesus had Some wine concentrate Up his sleeve That he was going to Drop into the water.

[7:26] In fact The actual Astounding thing is Jesus If you look at this passage Didn't go anywhere Near the jars. He told the servants To put the water in. He told the servants To fill it up.

[7:38] And he told the servants To draw it out And take it to the Master of the feast. He doesn't go anywhere near it. It's actually Wonderfully Understated. Jesus did all this Without touching it.

[7:51] And you'll see that With a number of these signs In John That these things demonstrate Remember chapter 1 Verse 1 Demonstrate the power Of the word Who was in the beginning.

[8:05] The word who was with God. The word who was God. The word who created all things. That's the word Who's creating wine. By his word.

[8:17] The word who is now Dwelling among them In flesh. Jesus did all this By his word. Because he is the word Who created all things. You see What the groom provided At this wedding Ran out.

[8:30] It didn't last. It had a limit. It couldn't provide What was needed. It was insufficient. You see We can only We can only work With the things That are in this world.

[8:40] It's not a problem To Jesus. Things of this world For us They all run out. They're insufficient. They do not last. They can't provide What is needed.

[8:55] The things in this world Cannot provide What is needed. They can't satisfy. We will always thirst. So throughout John's gospel There's this Constant theme Of things That don't live up To the task.

[9:12] And here The wine At the wedding Ran out Chapter 2 The water At Jacob's well Won't quench Your thirst forever Chapter 4 The water In the pool Won't heal you Chapter 5 The scriptures alone Can't give you Eternal life Chapter 5 Rather they point To him Chapter 6 The manna In the desert Was eaten But they still died.

[9:35] These things They run out. They don't last. They can't do What we need them to do. So much of what John writes Makes the contrast Between something That's old And limited That runs out And can't give you What you need And then something new That is unlimited That is everything And more than you need.

[9:55] And so The resources of this world Always Always run out. They're always Insufficient. The people are Always left wanting. The world cannot Provide what we need.

[10:08] It's limited. Always runs out. You always need more. But more Is never enough. It never does the job. You might find A little pleasure here.

[10:19] A little joy there. A little forgiveness. A little peace. But it will always run out. The quality of what This world gives you Is nowhere near The quality That Jesus gives.

[10:36] It goes from good To poor. Jesus brings What is better. We need someone Who can provide Something better In quality And something Lasting in quantity.

[10:48] Now thankfully At this wedding Jesus is there. His mother Asks him to do Something about The wine situation. She wants him to act. Because she believes That he can do Something about it.

[10:58] Now who knows What she thought. Who knows She might not have Expected a miracle. Who knows. But all we can say Is that when it Comes to solving Problems When it comes To being resourceful Mary More than anyone Knows That Jesus Has never had A bad idea In his life.

[11:22] Not a single Bad idea In over 30 years. Now maybe You need to hear that. Remember Jesus Is the word Incarnate.

[11:33] Jesus was there In the beginning And all things All things Were made Through him. Remember Genesis 1 And it was good. And it was good.

[11:45] And everything That he made Was good. Maybe you need To hear that. See when Jesus Had the idea Of making you It wasn't a bad idea.

[11:57] It was good. Never had a bad idea In his life. We see in this Situation That even although Mary is his mother Jesus is her Go to guy.

[12:10] Any problem Jesus Any problem Jesus This is what We need. There's no one Else that can Fix some of the Problems that we Have in life.

[12:22] Jesus Let him be Your go to guy. We read in John 14 Anything that You ask In my name I'll do it For you. But at this Point In the wedding He tells Mary His hour Has not yet Come.

[12:39] In fact He says Women What is it To me And to you? One thing We must be Clear is that Jesus is not Being rude But there are Times when it Seems that Jesus makes It clear That his Relation To his Father Supersedes Any human Relation That he is About his Father's Business He is doing His father's Will Not his Mother's Or anyone Else's He is Completely And utterly Obedient To his Father's Will Not his Mother And Mary Must begin To think of Jesus No longer As her Son She must Think of him As her Lord So Jesus Is helping Her at this Moment I will do What my Father Wills Always Jesus Will do What his Father Wills And his Mother Must see him Not as her Son But as her Lord It's like She's She's Wanting him

[13:39] To finally Show the World What she Has always Treasured In her Heart That he Is the Messiah She Knows This But he Says His Hour Has not Yet Come He's On his Father's Schedule And even If he Does Something It will Be According To his Father's Will So although Jesus said To Mary That his Hour has Not yet Come He Nevertheless Attended To the Wine Problem It was Only Because it Was his Father's Will And he Isn't Going Fully Public Yet Notice This Hardly Anyone Knows What Has Happened Here But a Few Select People Are Shown His Glory It's Not Time For a Public Display Of who He Is But he Will Show His Disciples Who He Is And John Concludes That he Manifest His Glory To them Just as He wrote Earlier In chapter 1 Verse 14 We Beheld His Glory

[14:40] Glory As of The only Son From the Father And so John Then says Here's The point Here's The point Where his Glory Was Manifest To him And we Beheld It And we Believed Point Number Two The Purification Jars Were Filled With Water There Were Six Very Large Stone Jars That Could Hold About 20 Or 30 Gallons Of Water Each And they Were For the Jewish Rites Of Purification Ceremonial Cleansing For Eating And such Remember how Jesus Challenged this How He Was Criticized For Not Doing Ceremonial Washing Before Eating How They Thought That What They Put Into Their Mouth Made Them Unclean So They Would Ceremonially Wash Before Eating Whereas Jesus Said It's What Comes Out Of Your Mouth That Makes You Unclean And They Would Also Wash The Dishes In A Ceremony Before

[15:40] As a Means Of Purification We're Not Going To Let Anything Unclean Go Into Our Bodies Jesus Says No You've Got It Wrong See The Thing Is With This Ceremonial Purification Business The Thing With That Is They Had To Keep Doing It They Had To Always Do It Every Time Before They Eat Every Time Before They Do It They Just Had To Keep Doing It And Doing It Couldn't Purify Their Once And That Was It They Had To Keep Doing It It Never Lasted It Always Ran Out They Always Had To Do It More And More And More More Washing More Sacrifice More Cleansing See Perhaps They Thought That He Was Going To Make At This Point When They Filled The Jars With Water Perhaps They Thought That He Was Going To Make Everyone Do Some Sort Ritual Washing To Purify Themselves Let's Forget About Wine You're Too Concentrated On Wine Let's Purify Ourselves Again Maybe They Thought He Was Going To Do Something

[16:40] Like That So Jesus Told Them To Fill The Jars And They Filled It To The Brim The Way The Wood With A Ritual Washing Over 800 Litres Of Water That's A lot Of Water But It's Not Too Unusual If You're Going To Do A C C C C All These Guests We Need A lot Of Water To Do This Ceremony Thing But Then Jesus Tells Them To Draw Some Out And Take It To The Feast What You've Got To Be Kidding This Water Is For Washing Not Drinking They Run Out Of Wine And Now You're Going To Give Them Water That's Meant For Washing This Was Meant For Cleansing People Not For Drinking But This Is The Point See Water Meant For Purifying People Through Washing Was Never Enough It Wasn't Lasting They Would Have To Do It Again Have To Do It Tomorrow And The Next Day And The Next Day They Would Always Need More It

[17:41] Never Completely Cleansed Them It Never Produced What They Needed In A Lasting Way It Was Limited It Was Temporary It Could Never Fully Do The Job So Jesus Uses That Very Thing And Transforms It Into Something That They Need Right There And Then See What They Needed At The Time Was Wine And The Water Couldn't Provide What They Needed It Was Like A Picture Of The Old System Of Purification It Was Never Going To Do The Job It Could Never Give Them What They Really Needed But Jesus Can Always Jesus Can Jesus Takes Something That Could Never Meet The Need And Transforms It Into Something That More Than Meets The Need And This Is What The Sign Is About It Is Saying That What The World Produces Can Never Meet The Need It Always Runs Out Like The Wine Ran Out The Rituals And The Laws Can Never Meet The Need Just Like 800 Litres Of Water For Washing Cannot Meet

[18:41] The Demand For More Wine To Drink Cannot Meet The Demand And Need For Purification And Cleansing Something That Meets The Need Of Every Person Something That Won't Run Out That's What We Need And That's What Jesus Produces See Not Only Do They Have What Meets Their Need When Jesus Does This They Have More Than They Could Ever Use No Way They're Going To Drink 800 Litres Of Poor Wine Would Have Sufficed It

[19:42] Would Have Been Fine Because That Was The Practice Is That Not What Everyone Does Even Now You Got Someone Special Round And You Crack A Bottle Of Champagne Open If They Stay For Long Enough You're Going To Get The Poor Stuff Out Later That Wasn't The Issue The Issue Was They Didn't Even Have Poor Wine To Give They Had No Wine Now Maybe He Could Have Stayed With The Custom I'll Produce A Cheaper Wine Buckfast Tonic Wine Or Something Like That Cheap Table Wine Maybe Jesus Could Have Produced Exactly What Every Person Needed And No More But The Point Is That What Jesus Provides Is Always Far Better Than What The World Provides Far Better In Quality Far Better In Quantity See The Wine Jesus Produces Cannot

[20:42] Be Beat In Quality And Cannot Be Used Up In Quantity This Is The Great Surprise The First Wine Wasn't Bad The First Wine Was Good But How Could You Also Have Much Better Wine And Save It For Later This Was Just Never Done Was This Just A Vintage Bottle Just Enough For A We Sip Everyone Can Get A Sip Of This Vintage Bottle That I Found Lying In My Cupboard Don't Worry But No 800 Litres Of This Better Stuff Jesus Provides 800 Litres That That's Crazy And It's Better Better Than The Good Wine It's The Best Wine If It's The Creator Of The Universe Creating Wine You've Got To Think It's Going To Be The Best Wine Now I Had A Look I Had A We Research To See What The Most Expensive

[21:42] Wine In The World Was Now It Turns Out That It's From A Region In France No Surprise A Region In France Called Burgundy And The World Record Price For A Bottle Of Wine Comes From That Region And The Wine Is Called Domaine De la Romane Conte Now A 1945 Bottle Of Domaine De la Romane Conte Will Set You Back 558 Thousand Dollars 558 Thousand Dollars A 1945 Bottle Of Domaine De la Romane Conte Half A Million For Just 75 Centiliters Of A 75 Year Old Bottle Of Crushed Grapes That's Crazy Outside Of This Bottle Wine From This Region From This Vineyard Is Considered

[22:42] The Pinnacle Of Wine In The Entire World This Is Basically As Good As It Gets This Region Where This Bottle Comes From You Can Get Ordinary Bottles From There That Will Cost You About 20 Grand This Is The Pinnacle Of Wine In The World But The Rarest Bottle Of That Wine Will Set You Back 558 Thousand For Just One Bottle The Best The World Can Offer 75 Cent Liters Of Crushed Grapes That Was 75 Years Old For Half A Million Dollars Now I Don't Think It Would Be Too Far To Say That Considering Jesus Can Just Create Wine Out Of Water Without Touching It And John's Gospel Being The Word From The Beginning Who Created All Things I Don't Think It's A Stretch To Say That Jesus The Son Of God Who Came Up With The Idea Of Grapes And Wine In The First Place I Don't Think It's Out Of Place To Say That Jesus Can Produce The Best Wine There Can Be I Don't Think It Would Be A Stretch To

[23:42] Say That Jesus Can Produce A Wine That Is Better Than The Rarest Bottle Of Domaine De la Romana Conte I Don't Think It's A Stretch And So He Produces 800 Litres Of That It's Astounding See Look At How Set Apart Jesus Is Manifested Glory Of The Only Son From The Father The Word From The Beginning Who Was With God Who Is God And Through Whom All Things Were Made The Word Became Flesh And Is Now Dwelling Among Them The Word Who Created All Things Dwelling Among People Manifesting His Glory Glory Is Of The Only Begotten Son From The Father And In This Situation In The Wedding When The Wine Runs Out He Comes Up With 800 Litres Of Stuff That Is Better Than Anything In The World A Little Bit Of Poor Wine Would Have Sufficed But What Jesus Does And Does So Privately Not For His Own Fame

[24:43] But As A Wedding Gift His Solution Well Is To Bring About A Thousand Bottles Of The Best Wine Produced That's What It Works Out As About A Thousand Bottles Of Wine That's Better Than Any Wine On The Planet Now If That Was If He Was Bringing Domain De La Roman Conte Which Costs Half A Million For One Bottle I Mean Who Can Afford That And If They Can Afford That If Someone Can Afford That Maybe They'll Maybe They'll Just Stretch To That Price To Bring A Wedding Gift For Someone They Love But Maybe They'll Say Don't Open It It Will Lose Its Value If You Open It But Jesus A Thousand Bottles That Would Be Like A Wedding Gift That Is Worth Five Five Hundred Eight Thousand Bottles Five Hundred Fifty Eight Million Dollars Worth Of Wine Thousand

[25:44] Bottles Of The Rareest Best Most Expensive Wine In The World But What Jesus Gives Is Better Than That He Gives It Freely Not For His Own Fame It's Just What Jesus Does This Is What One Wine Writer So You Got Wine Writers This Is What One Wine Writer Wrote About This Particular Bottle Wine He Started By Quoting Genesis 27 28 When Isaac Blessed Jacob Saying May God Give You The Jew Of Heaven And Of The Fatness Of Earth And Plenty Of Grain And Wine And Then The Wine Writer Says This One Of The Reasons That This Is One Of The Most Expensive Wines On The Planet Earth Is That They Only Make Just Over A Thousand Cases Of This From Grand Cru Wine From Any Vintage The Other Reason Is That They Have Had A Thousand Years Of Marketing In The Wine

[26:44] Industry There Are Not Many Regions Of Wine In The World That Have The History Of Burgundy's Cote Dior And With The History That Comes A Very High Price Tag And Then He Says Unfortunately God Did Not Give Us What A Contrast To The Truth See Jesus Gives More Than We Can Handle And It's Better Than That Wine The Son Of God Can Give Us Something Far Better And Over Abundance See What Jesus Provides Is Neither Poor Nor Cheap We Talk About That Don't We Cheap Grace What Jesus Gives Is Not Cheap It's Not Poor What Jesus Provides Is Not Only The Best In Quality It's Absolute Over Abundance In Quantity More Than Can Ever Be Used Up And

[27:45] It Will Never Run Dry Think About That When You Think About Grace The Grace Of Jesus Will Never Run Out Never Run Dry You Cannot Send Your Way Out Of His Grace Neither Can You Work Your Way Into It It's A Free Gift For By Grace We Have Been Saved Through Faith And This Is Not Your Own Doing It's The Gift Of God It's Not Cheap It's Not Poor An An Absolute Over Abundance Of What Jesus Gives Peace Joy Life Now the Master of The Feast Compliments The Groom Thinking That He'd Come Up With Some Excellent Wine And It Saved It As A Surprise For Later What A Guy Master Of The Feast Looks At The Bride Room And Thinks What A Guy No One Does This I mean You are Something Special Your bride

[28:47] Is a Lucky Woman You are Something Special To Save That To The End What A Guy No One Does That What A Guy No One Does That Indeed Jesus What A Guy No One Can Do What He Does Jesus Does All Of This And Doesn't Even Demand Attention For It What A Guy No One Does That No One Could Ever Have Done That And Only A Handful Of Servants And Disciples See What The True Bridegroom Can Provide Point Four It Showed His Glory This Miracle Is Not Just A Miracle It's Not Just About Wine It's A Sign Of Who Jesus Is And What He Gives That's Why In John In Chapter One It Says We Beheld His Glory Glory Is Of The Only Son From The Father And This Is One Of Those Times They Beheld His Glory Verse 11 He Manifest His Glory And His Disciples Believed In Him Remember

[29:47] John Said At The End Of His Gospel That These Signs Were Written So That We May Believe Who He Is And That By Believing In Him We Can Receive What He Gives Life In His Name Eternal Life Given By The Creator Of Life Himself And Point Number Five The Disciples Believed That's The Final Point Jesus Did This As A Sign That It Would Point To Him And Show His Glory And Indeed It Did To His Disciples And They Believed And Now John Through His Gospel Is Asking Us To Believe On The Basis Of His Testimony John Was There John Saw This Happen Who Jesus Is Based On This Sign That He Did It's Not Simply That Jesus Turned Water Into Wine It's The Way He Did It The

[30:47] Quality And The Sheer Quantity Of It It's All Pointing To Something About Jesus It's All Pointing To Who He Is And What He Can Provide See If You Could Have Something That Lasts What Would It Be If You Had The Choice To Have Something That Lasts What Would It Be Would It Would It Be Money Would It Be Forgiveness That Can Outlast Any Offence That You Commit Would It Be Grace Would It Be Health Would It Be Joy Wouldn't It Be Great To Have A Joy That Lasts Or A Peace That Lasts Enough To Last Forever A Joy That's Better Than The World Can Offer A Life That Is Better Than This Not Subject To Sin Not Subject To A Life That Lasts Forever Well Folks That's What Jesus Offers That's What Jesus Gives

[31:48] And How He Gives It A Free Gift The Quantity He Gives It It's Not Going To Run Out You Cannot Use It Up John Writes That Unless You Believe That Jesus Is The Christ The Son Of God We're Going To Die In Our Sins But If You Do Believe By Believe And You Will Have Life In His Name You Will Belong To His People His Bride And He Is The Groom Who Can Provide See Wine Was The Sign His Glory Was Seen And His Disciples Believed Do Do We If We Do We Are In For An Over Abundance Of Something The World Cannot Offer Through Jesus Christ Let Me Pray Lord

[32:50] Jesus We Thank You So Much That You Manifest Your Glory Here On Earth We Thank You So Much That You Came To The Earth In The First Place And Dwelled Among Us We Thank You That You Chose For Yourself Disciples And Apostles Who Would Witness These Things And Pass Them On To Us We Thank You That Their Testimony Is Trust Worthy And We Thank You That Their Testimony Points To You Reveals You Shows Your Glory We Thank You That What You Give Never Runs Out And We Thank You That You Can Give Us The Thing You Can Provide The Thing That The World Can Never Provide The Thing That We Are Searching For Longing For The Thing That We Are Never Satisfied

[33:50] With On Earth You Can Give And You Do Give Freely And You Do Give An Over Abundance Lord Jesus May We Ever Look To You May We Know And See Your Glory May May May May May May We Know And Experience The Life That You Give Us In Your Name Be Glorified Now We Pray Amen