If you have your Bible with you, please open it up to the Gospel of John.
The Gospel of John.
If you're using the Pew Bible, it's about page 860.
Well, we've been journeying through the Gospel of John.
We've started the journey.
We're still very much at the beginning.
We've seen and read some wonderful things.
John has begun by telling us just who Jesus is, that he's more than just a man.
He is the Word who was God and was with God at the very beginning.
Through him all things were made.
He became flesh and he has come to live among us.
We heard from John about how Jesus first began to be known by the public.
We heard about John the Baptizer declaring out at the Jordan River,
This is the one.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
We saw last Sunday how some of Jesus' first disciples began to follow him.
And what they very quickly began to say about who he was.
And John has set some pretty high expectations for us as he has begun to tell us the story of Jesus.
You'll remember that John said back in verse 14 of chapter 1,
We saw his glory.
Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
And so it's right about now that we're starting to wonder,
Well, when did the miracles start?
When did the signs and wonders start happening?
That's exactly what John is about to tell us this morning.
We're going to look at the first of Jesus' signs, as John refers to them.
And John makes it very clear right from the get-go.
Not actually right from the get-go, but later on in his gospel.
He makes it very clear as to why he's telling us this.
He's not just here to tell us the next thing that happened in Jesus' story.
In John 20, verses 30 and 31, John writes this,
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not recorded in this book.
But these, the ones that I've written down here in my account,
are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God.
And that by believing, you may have life in his name.
So what is the first sign that Jesus did?
And how did it all happen?
We're reading from John chapter 2.
John chapter 2, verse 1.
On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.
Jesus' mother was there.
And Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
So this takes place very quickly after Nathaniel's introduction to Jesus,
which we heard about last Sunday.
It's about two days from that day.
And it takes place in Cana.
A small town, a small village.
This was the place where Nathaniel was from.
And the occasion is a wedding.
The celebration of a marriage.
And probably the ceremony too.
And who was there?
John tells us Jesus' mother was there.
But not only her, Jesus himself and his disciples had also been invited to this wedding.
So there's a little bit of traveling that's going on here to come to Cana for this celebration.
Now weddings in that culture and time were not quite the same as they are in our culture and time.
Typically, they wouldn't just do a one-day thing, but they would do a whole week.
It was a ceremony and then the rest of the week spent in celebration.
In banquets and eating and drinking together.
It was a very joyous occasion.
And the thing that sets this wedding apart, or begins to set it apart, there was a problem.
We read in verse 3,
When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him,
They have no more wine.
So in the middle of their festivities, their celebration,
We don't know exactly what day of the celebration it happened on.
But at some point, they run out of the staple drink for the celebration.
They run out of wine.
And if we read this story closely again and again,
We probably see, the sense we get is that probably Mary was one of the first to know about it.
The rest of the guests haven't yet heard that this has happened.
And this is a big deal.
And so, what does Mary do?
She comes to Jesus and she lets him know.
They have no more wine.
And we gather from Jesus' response right after this that Mary's not just making a statement.
She's kind of hoping or expecting that Jesus might do something here.
We don't know for sure what she expected.
Did she expect Jesus to do a miracle?
This was the first of his signs.
So we don't even know if Jesus did a whole bunch of miracles before this.
But probably Jesus had seen her and the family through a few interesting situations
and had always been very reliable.
Just knew what to do.
He had wisdom in those kinds of situations.
And so, perhaps she was looking for Jesus to do something or to say something.
They have no more wine.
What is Jesus' response?
He says,
Woman, why do you involve me?
My hour has not yet come.
Now, we have to be careful here that we don't read kind of the way that we would read this in our culture back into them.
There's a lot of discussion over, you know, what Jesus meant by these things.
Especially the word woman.
But one thing that we do know for sure is that Jesus meant no disrespect by addressing her that way.
In fact, he will address her again that way from the cross.
In a moment where he is showing the utmost of care and concern for her well-being.
So he doesn't mean this rudely or disrespectfully.
This is likely just a thing that's lost on us because of language and culture.
But the question which follows, a lot of people are scratching their heads over this.
Literally, it's, what to you and what to me and to you?
And the verb isn't even in there.
I mean, it's kind of left to us to just understand it.
But my Bible translates it as, why do you involve me?
Some say, what is that to me and to you that they've run out of wine?
You know, like that's not really our issue.
What exactly the sense is, I'm not sure.
Some think that perhaps Jesus is rebuking Mary.
You know, and the idea here is, you know, it's not really appropriate.
Or it's not really your place to, you know, try to direct me in this manner.
Others think that maybe Jesus, this has to do with his role.
Both Mary and Jesus know who he is.
But there's a sense, perhaps, in which, you know,
I'm not here to just use supernatural power to fix every little problem.
We're not sure exactly what Jesus meant.
But it seems in one sense as though he's, you know, he's kind of distancing himself in this moment.
You know, like, whose problem is this?
Is this something that I have, that I need to fix?
Is it that Mary was expecting him to do something great?
And Jesus is saying, you know, this isn't the right moment for this.
A lot of question over what Jesus means by my hour has not yet come.
Again, we're not 100% sure.
It seems that Jesus has some sort of sense of timing and how his days are about to unfold.
Perhaps he means something to the effect of, you know,
to do something that would draw people's attention to myself here and now.
It would be out of order.
It's not the right time.
Like, he will do later great miracles and feed thousands.
And everybody will see it.
His mother's response is very interesting.
Because, at least when I read what Jesus said,
Why do you involve me?
My hour has not yet come.
I don't, I wouldn't take that as a yes.
But it seems as though Mary's thinking,
Well, he didn't say no.
He didn't say no.
Servants, come here.
Do whatever he tells you to do.
You know, you get the sense that Mary almost just volunteers him in that moment.
That he's been voluntold by his mother.
And I love the confidence that Mary expresses about Jesus.
It kind of comes out in the original.
Whatever he tells you, do it.
You know, it doesn't matter what it is.
Just listen to him.
He's going to look after this.
He's going to help us.
It's going to be good.
Jesus graciously decides to help.
But before we get to that, let's just consider for a moment
the gravity of this problem.
I mean, this kind of the question here is,
Whose problem is this?
It's not Jesus' problem.
It's not Mary's problem.
It's the family's problem.
In this culture, it was the responsibility of the bridegroom
and his family or his party to provide the food and drink
for the guests, for the celebration.
And whatever happened, we don't know,
but they've run short on the wine.
So, just to help us think for a moment
of what this might have felt like.
I mean, put yourself in their shoes a little bit.
Think about you're having a big gathering,
not a family gathering, a big gathering at your house.
A whole bunch of people coming over for supper.
It's kind of an open invitation.
You don't know who all is going to come
or how many is going to be there.
You're serving chicken.
That's going to be kind of the main part on the plate
and some other sides things, some salads and stuff like that.
And at the last minute,
a whole bunch more people than you expected
or thought would come show up for supper.
And you're there kind of, you know, at the table
watching as the people file through buffet style.
They're, you know, they're each taking a piece of chicken
onto their plate and you're watching
as it gets lower and lower and lower.
And then all of a sudden, the last piece of chicken is gone
and there's still five people standing in line.
How are you feeling in that moment?
I mean, here's five guests
who are not even going to get a little bit
or some of the main thing of the meal.
And they're kind of like eyeing the salads
and like, I guess I'll just pile up a lot of that.
And, you know, you would feel terrible.
You'd be embarrassed.
Oh, if I'd only picked up a little bit more,
cooked a little bit more.
And that's just a gathering in the home.
Think about how much more significant this is.
This is a wedding.
You have guests that have traveled
from other towns and villages to be there.
This is a big deal.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment,
a special occasion celebrating the marriage
of this man and woman.
How embarrassing to have run out of wine
before the celebrations are even over.
Can you imagine having to get up
in front of all this crowd of people
and say, I'm sorry,
but there is no more wine to drink.
We do have water.
This would not have been a fun moment.
It would have been a huge detractor
from the joyful celebration,
from the focus on honoring the bride and the groom.
And so Jesus' mother comes to him
and says,
they have no more wine.
She volunteers him in a sense
and he graciously decides to act,
to do something to help
in this moment of need.
Verse six.
Nearby stood six stone water jars,
the kind used by the Jews
for ceremonial washing,
each holding from 20 to 30 gallons.
Jesus said to the servants,
fill the jars with water.
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
now draw some out
and take it to the master of the banquet.
So they,
you get the sense that
as this conversation's happening
between Jesus and his mother,
maybe they're kind of back
towards the kitchen area.
We don't know exactly.
But there,
standing there,
are six stone jars of water.
And I was going to bring up
one of those garbage cans
from downstairs,
about that size in volume.
20 to 30 gallons,
you know,
could fit a couple big bags
of garbage in them.
But they were,
they were,
they were made of stone.
So likely really heavy,
not the kind of thing
that you just pick up
and carry around.
Probably something
that would have involved
multiple trips
with smaller containers
to the well
and back,
to the well and back
to fill these things up.
They were used for
ceremonial washing.
And there's six of them there.
Jesus says,
fill them with water.
Now imagine what the servants
are thinking
in this moment
as they're doing this.
So we've run out of wine
and he wants us to fill up
these six jars
with water.
Like,
how is this going to work?
They're thinking
as they're going back
and forth to the well,
you know,
they're filling it,
they're kind of looking at him
and like,
is he going to mix
some kind of cocktail
or something here?
He's not throwing
anything in here.
Like,
what is this?
And they just keep filling
and filling and filling
until all six jars
are full to the brim,
it says.
Now it's in between
verse seven and eight here.
Right after they finish
filling him,
sometime between there
and what happens next,
that Jesus does
something amazing.
He does a miracle.
And if we look ahead,
just cheat a little bit
and go into verse nine,
they're about to take
a sample of
this liquid
from the jars
to the master of the banquet
for a taste test.
And what does it say
in verse nine?
It says,
the master of the banquet
tasted the water
that had been turned
into wine.
So if we kind of,
you know,
I think
we assume that
this kind of happens
somewhere in between
verses seven and eight.
The jars had been
filled to the brim
and before they had
drawn some out
to take it
to the master
of the banquet
for this taste test,
Jesus did something.
The water
was turned
into wine.
I wish I could have
been there
to just see
what did he do?
How did it happen?
What did the servants
and the disciples
notice?
Did they see
the color change?
of the water
in the jar?
Did they,
did all of a sudden
what they were smelling
change?
Did they,
could they smell
that it was wine?
We don't know.
He did something though.
And then it comes
to this moment.
Jesus says,
now,
now draw some out
and take it
to the master
of the banquet
for a taste test.
So,
you know,
we imagine
here they are.
They're,
you know,
they're,
they're kind of
looking at Jesus funny.
They're,
they're,
they've got the ladle
in there.
They're filling up
the cup
and then their eyes
are going wide
as they're watching
it pour into the cup.
Perhaps the color
was different already.
You know,
they're kind of,
you can just imagine
them like,
what is going on here?
Like,
it doesn't smell
like water.
What was going
through their minds
as they're,
as they take this
to the master
of the banquet?
Like,
this is
weird.
Can you imagine
their faces
in that moment
as they offer it
to him?
And he takes
the cup
out of their hands
and they're kind
of wondering like,
well,
what's going
to happen here?
What?
He lifts it up
to his lips
for a drink
and they're just
watching,
you know,
what does it
taste like?
What a moment.
The master
of the banquet
tastes
the water
that had been
turned into wine
and the first thing
it says
in verse nine
after he does,
it says,
he did not realize
where it had come from.
You know,
the question is,
where did that
come from?
I thought we were
almost out.
Where'd you guys
get that from?
I don't know
what the servants
said.
I don't know
what Jesus told
the servants
to say.
is there more?
Yeah,
there's about,
you know,
five to seven
hundred liters
more where that
came from.
You know,
they knew where
it came from.
It says
in verse nine,
so after he
tastes this
water,
which had become
wine,
it says in verse nine,
then he called
the bridegroom
aside
and he said,
everyone brings
out the choice
wine first
and then the
cheaper wine
after the guests
have had too
much to drink.
In other words,
when they can't
really tell the
difference
because they're
inebriated.
but you
have saved
the best
till now.
He commends
the bridegroom.
In other words,
he doesn't know
where the wine
came from.
He still doesn't
know.
The servants
didn't tell him.
Maybe Jesus
told them not
to say
or told them
what to say.
They didn't
know.
He didn't know
where it came
from.
He thought
the bridegroom
had made
some kind
of arrangement
or something
to,
you know,
to pull
the good
stuff out
at the end.
But I love
what he says.
There's so much
wrapped up
in this little
comment that
he makes
to the
bridegroom.
You know,
it's like
the normal
way of things
would be to
bring out
the really
good stuff
at the beginning.
I thought
that we were
drinking that.
But now,
this stuff,
this is way
better.
This is the
good stuff.
Like,
that stuff
was good,
but wow.
Can you
imagine what
the bridegroom
is thinking
in that moment?
Like,
well,
thank you.
We don't
know.
Not only
does Jesus
turn water
into wine,
but he
turns water
into better
wine.
than the
good stuff
that they
had already
been drinking.
And 500
to about
700
liters of
it in
six different
jars in
an instant
in front of
the eyes of
the servants
and his
disciples.
An amazing
thing.
There's no
other explanation
for it.
It was a
miracle of
God.
Only God
could do
this.
how does
John
summarize
this whole
story?
In
verse 11,
this is
what he
says.
What Jesus
did here
in Cana
of Galilee
was the
first of
the signs
through which
he revealed
his glory
and his
disciples
believed in
him.
So as
we saw
at the
beginning
back in
John
chapter
20,
Jesus
did lots
of signs
more than
are recorded
in this
book.
These are
written so
that you
may believe.
And that's
what happened
in this
moment.
Jesus'
disciples,
they saw.
they saw
the sign,
they saw
the miracle
and they
took it
as
confirmation.
Yes,
he is
the one.
He is
the Messiah.
He is
the King
of Israel.
He is
the Son
of God.
How else
could this
happen?
John also
says
that it
was through
this sign,
this is
the first
of them,
but it
was through
this one
and others
that Jesus
revealed
his glory.
We saw
his glory
that day
at the
wedding
in Cana.
So what
did they
see
of his
glory?
What was
so glorious
about Jesus
that day
at the
wedding?
Well,
I think
the obvious
answer
is
his
divine
power.
They saw
something
of the
power
of God
at work
in that
moment.
Amazing.
But what
else?
What else
did they
see of
his glory?
If we
think back
to chapter
1,
verse 14,
where John
says we
saw his
glory,
he
describes
or he
kind of
fills in
what that
looks like.
He says
we saw
that he
was full
of grace
and truth.
grace or
graciousness
of Jesus
here at
the wedding?
God
I think
there's a
number of
ways.
For
starters,
Jesus
has
the power
of God
to do
this great
miracle,
but he
does not
act for
his own
sake,
but for
the sake
of others.
He made
the wine
for the
guests,
for the
bride,
for the
bridegroom.
He didn't
use that
power for
himself,
for his
own sake,
but it
was for
others.
This is
a gift.
We see
his grace
in that.
We also
see his
grace or
his
graciousness
in how
he goes
above and
beyond.
I mean,
let's put
this into
perspective.
Do we
really need
wine to
celebrate at
the wedding?
Is it
essential?
No,
it's not.
Paul will
go on to
say in
his letter
to the
church at
Rome,
the kingdom
of God
is not a
matter of
eating and
drinking,
but of
righteousness
and peace
and joy
in the
Holy Spirit.
They didn't
need the
wine,
but Jesus
does it
anyway.
He gives
them not
just what
they need,
but something
that would
be nice
to have
that would
be really
special to
mark the
occasion so
that they
can continue
drinking and
celebrating the
marriage of
this couple.
We see his
graciousness and
how he goes
above and
beyond what
they need.
And I think
this is an
important moment
because sometimes
I wonder if we
don't have the
tendency to see
Jesus in a
skewed way,
as kind of a
killjoy,
as the guy
who's only
asking us to
deny ourselves
and take up
our cross and
follow him.
And following
him, that's
going to mean
that I have to
give up
everything fun
in life,
all the good
stuff that I
really enjoy,
that I really
like.
That's not the
picture of
Jesus that we
get here.
we see that
he is for
joy, he is
for celebration
and the very
thing that he
does enables
them to go
on celebrating.
He is for
our joy.
How else do
we see that
he is full of
grace, the
gloriousness of
his grace?
We see it and
grace means
gift.
It means to
give.
We see it
in how he
gives honor
rather than
taking honor
for himself.
I mean,
Jesus is
worthy of
all the
attention in
that room.
Look who
he is.
He is the
word who
was God
and made
everything at
the beginning.
He is
deity here
in human
flesh.
He deserves
the spotlight.
He deserves
the honor.
And yet, in
that moment
at the
wedding, he
doesn't do
anything to
take honor,
glory,
attention for
himself.
Instead, he
shows his
graciousness, his
giving nature
by giving
honor to the
bridegroom.
not only does
he preserve
his honor and
save him from
massive embarrassment,
but he even
gives him greater
honor than he
probably is due
and deserves.
I mean, that
wine is amazing.
like, it's
better than the
good stuff that
we were having.
He doesn't
use this
wedding as a
chance to
point people
to himself.
Rather, he's
there and he
wants people to
be focused on
the marriage,
on the
bridegroom,
the bride.
He gives
honor.
These two
things are
beautiful.
We see his
divine power at
work in how he
turns the water
into wine, an
amazing miracle.
We see this
gracious
servanthood,
this humble
love at work in
how he
orchestrates this
to kind of
keep the focus
on what's
happening at
the wedding,
the honor
focused on the
bridegroom.
But I think
where we
really see
the glory of
Jesus shine
through is
when we just
consider how
both of these
kind of converge
in this moment.
We see the
divine power
and we see
this humble,
serving,
loving heart
come together
in this moment.
I mean,
as I just
said,
remember who
this is.
this is God.
In him,
the fullness
of deity
lives in
bodily form.
And yet,
where do we
see him
at this
wedding as
he exercises
the power
that's been,
well,
it's from
the Holy
Spirit.
I believe
that he
did this,
not just
using his
own divine
power,
but he uses
the power
of the Spirit
that's been
made available
to him
in this
moment.
Where do
we see,
where do
we see
the focus?
I mean,
here Jesus
is,
he's,
he's using
the power
of God,
but he's
doing it
off in the
back room
by the
kitchen
where only
the servants
can see
what he can
really do.
from the
shadows
of that
back room
by the
kitchen,
he is
blessing
and honoring
the guests
and the
bridegroom
in the
main room.
This is
amazing.
Jesus
is
God,
John has
told us,
but he
has come
into this
world
to live
as a
man,
as a
man among
men.
which means
that he,
he lives
as men
ought to
live.
He doesn't
exalt himself
over others.
He doesn't
say,
hey,
look at me
everyone.
He's not
like the
proud or
the arrogant
person.
He does
what we
ought to
do.
He loves,
he honors,
he,
he serves
his neighbors.
He puts
himself among
the servants
and he,
he works
this amazing
miracle there.
The sense
we get is
that the
guests,
they never
even knew
that the
wine ran
out.
The bridegroom
never knew.
It was just
Jesus,
his mother,
the servants
and the
disciples.
And this
is the same
kind of thing
that I think
we're going
to see all
through the
gospel.
this mixture,
divine power,
God,
and yet
humble
servant
here as a
man in
human flesh.
Not to
lord it over
people,
not to get
attention for
himself,
but to live
as a man
ought to,
to point
people to
the Father,
to glorify
him.
it's a
beautiful
thing.
And John
tells us
that this
is just
the first
of the
signs that
he did,
which
revealed
his glory.
Let's
pray.
Father in
heaven,
thank you
that you
have given
us a
little window
into what
happened
that day.
we
believe.
We see
it as
they saw
it and
we
believe.
You are
the Messiah.
You are
the Son
of God.
And it's
with joy
that we
give ourselves
and our
hearts to
you again.
Have
your way
in us,
we pray.
We ask
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.