Turn with me in your Bibles, if you have one, or look along on the screen.
We'll be reading from John chapter 2, verses 1 to 12,
as we continue in our series through this gospel account.
John chapter 2, starting at verse 1.
On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
And the mother of Jesus was there.
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.
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.
Now there were six stone water jars there,
for the Jewish rites of purification,
each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants,
Fill the jars with water.
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.
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,
and when 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,
and manifested his glory,
and his disciples believed in him.
After this, he went down to Capernaum,
with his mother, and his brothers,
and his disciples,
and they stayed there for a few days.
Things fall apart.
The center cannot hold.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed,
and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned.
The best lack all conviction,
while the worst are full of passionate intensity.
Now, if you've never heard those words before,
you might think somebody wrote them
at some point in the past year,
to describe something that happened.
But actually, these words were written
a hundred years ago, in 1919,
by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats.
He was writing in the aftermath
of the First World War,
that had left 20 million dead
and 21 million wounded.
He was writing as political tensions
were high in his own country,
leading to the Irish War for Independence.
And he was writing in a time
of personal distress related to a pandemic.
His pregnant wife was slowly recovering
from a bad case of the Spanish flu
that nearly took her life.
But over the last century,
Yeats' words have resonated with many people.
They've been quoted or alluded to
in books, songs, essays,
novels, poems, movies.
Because isn't this what we often see
when we look around at the world?
We see things falling apart.
We see the world around us
gradually or even more quickly unraveling.
And that's the natural course of things
in this fallen world.
Empires rise,
and then eventually they fall.
Schools of thought
become all the rage for a time,
and then they fade
into the footnotes of history.
Great buildings are constructed,
and then they begin to deteriorate.
Even on a personal level,
every one of us is living in a body
that is in the process of aging,
decaying, and eventually dying.
Running low and one day running out.
Even the best things in this world
will come to an end.
But the story we're looking at this morning
shows us that Jesus Christ came
into an unraveling world
to bring new and everlasting joy.
So let's walk through this story together,
and then we'll consider what it means.
So first, let's look at the story
of this wedding at Cana.
Right?
At the beginning, we see Jesus
and his family members
and his disciples invited to a wedding.
Perhaps it was a family relative
or a family friend.
But at some point soon,
they're confronted with a miniature crisis.
The wedding is falling apart
because the wine has run out.
Now, let me give a little historical context
to put this situation in perspective.
Three bits of historical context.
First, back in the day,
wedding celebrations often lasted for seven days.
Now, not everyone would stay for the whole time,
but a wedding was an occasion of great joy.
And people would normally invite
as many guests, family, friends, neighbors,
distinguished personalities as possible.
And it would be an extended feast.
Second, the groom was the designated host.
So the groom and his family
were responsible to provide food and drink
for all the guests.
And back then, hospitality
was a very important cultural value.
I grew up at my mom's side of the family is Italian.
And, you know, I mean,
when you go to an Italian household, right?
You know, grandma asked you,
you've already had four portions,
but do you want a fifth, right?
Like, it's just the expectation.
You don't ever run out of food
in an Italian family.
And it's the same thing back in the Middle East, right?
You would never run out of food
or drink for your guests.
That would be extremely embarrassing.
In fact, there's even some evidence
that in a situation like this,
the bride's family could have pursued a lawsuit
against the groom and his family
for failing to adequately provide
for the guests at the wedding
and dishonoring the bride in the process.
Sounds a little crazy to us,
but it underlines how important it was.
That hosting hospitality role.
Third, wine was the main beverage
served at weddings.
So wedding celebrations would last seven days.
The groom was the designated host
and wine was the main beverage.
Now, back then,
wine was normally mixed with large amounts of water.
So it had a much lower alcohol content
than it does today.
Even less than beer today.
So guests at a wedding
could drink quite a lot of wine.
It would keep them hydrated
and they would not be immediately
getting very drunk.
But wine was seen as an essential beverage
for celebrations.
That was sort of what was expected.
So if the wine ran out,
it meant two things.
First, it meant the party would be over early.
And maybe some of those guests
who might have come later on
during those seven days
would have not even got to participate at all.
But it also meant that the new husband's reputation
in the village,
especially a small village like Cana in Galilee,
would be damaged for years to come.
He's the one who was a stingy, skimpy host
and didn't even have enough
to properly provide for his guests.
So that's the problem that we see
at the beginning of the story.
But when the problem is brought to Jesus' attention,
Jesus seems initially reluctant to do anything.
Mary comes to Jesus and says,
they have no wine.
Now, it's not clear exactly
what Mary was expecting Jesus to do.
John tells us in verse 11
that this was Jesus' first miracle.
So presumably, Mary wasn't used to seeing Jesus
perform miracles every time something happened
or there was a need.
But it is likely that by this time,
Mary was a widow.
Why, you might say,
well, Joseph and Mary appear together
in the Gospel accounts when Jesus is born
and when Jesus is a child,
when he's 12 years old.
For example, going to the Passover
and the temple together.
But when Jesus is an adult,
Mary continues to appear in the Gospel
several times,
but Joseph is never present.
And so many commentators think
that by this time,
Joseph had died
and Mary was raising her family alone.
And so perhaps in the absence of Joseph,
Mary had come to depend on Jesus,
her oldest son,
to help her out in a pinch,
to help her find a way
through hard situations.
And so she comes to him
and sort of says,
what do we do here, Jesus?
But in verse 4,
Jesus' response is a little unexpected.
Woman, what does this have to do with me?
My hour has not yet come.
Now that term woman
was not a rude term.
It was a respectful term,
sort of like ma'am,
but it was not a term
that anyone ever used
in the ancient world
to address their mother.
It was not an affectionate term.
It was not a term
that you would normally use
when speaking to your mom.
And every other time in the Bible
that somebody says,
what does this have to do with me?
The expression always indicates
some kind of challenge or rebuke.
So there are actually
at least four times
in the Gospel of John
when somebody comes to Jesus
with a request
or with some advice
and initially
he pushes back against it.
So there's a situation here
in chapter 4.
There's an official at Capernaum
who comes to Jesus and says,
come down to my house
before my son dies.
And Jesus says,
no, you go back home.
Or in chapter 7,
Jesus' brothers come to him
and they say to him,
you should go to Judea.
You should show yourself
to the world.
And Jesus says,
nope, time's not right yet.
And in chapter 11,
Mary and Martha
send word to Jesus,
come, Lazarus is sick.
Come and heal him.
And Jesus stays where he is
for two more days.
It's striking if you compare
all these incidents.
People come to Jesus
with what seem like
legitimate needs and requests
and initially Jesus seems
to push back against them.
And often we think,
if I'm in a pinch
and I'm turning to Jesus for help
and if my request is reasonable,
he should come right away
and fix my situation.
And we might think that
of all people that could ask him for help,
at least Jesus would do so for his mom.
But John wants us to see
that Jesus does not act
on our timetable.
Jesus will not be controlled
or manipulated by any human being,
not even by his mother.
Jesus came to earth
to carry out the will of God,
his heavenly father.
Not the will of any other human being.
So sometimes we may come to Jesus
with a problem
or a situation
or a request
and he may seem to push back
on that request
or not to respond immediately.
But even if Jesus
doesn't initially respond
in the way that we desire
or hope,
John wants us to know
that he does care
and he will act
on behalf of those
who wait for him.
So every one of those four times
that Jesus initially pushes back
on someone's request
in the Gospel of John,
he actually comes through for them,
but often in a way
they don't expect.
So with the official
who comes to him
and says,
please come down to my house
and heal my son,
Jesus says,
no, you go home.
And guess what?
When he gets home,
his son is healed.
Jesus can heal remotely.
Okay?
There's even a biblical example
of Jesus' ministry
is not hindered
by physical distance.
When Jesus' brothers
come to him and say,
show your glory to the world,
Jesus says,
no, not now,
but then he does go up
to that feast later on
and of course
he will show his glory
to the world
through his death
and resurrection
and through the sending
of the Holy Spirit
in ways that are
far more glorious
than they would have
ever imagined.
And of course,
he doesn't just heal
Lazarus from sickness,
he comes and raises
him from the dead.
And here,
he turns water
into wine.
We don't know exactly
what Mary was expecting,
but surely
this would have surpassed
anyone's normal expectations.
And Mary here
is an example of faith,
an example of the posture
that we should adopt
toward Jesus
even when he seems
to not respond
immediately to our requests.
She's not turned off
by Jesus' word of rebuke.
She doesn't go away
in a huff.
No, she says to the servants,
do whatever he tells you.
Now, Jesus didn't tell Mary
in advance
what he was going to do
or how he was going
to handle the situation,
but she says,
just do whatever he says.
I trust him.
And you should too.
You see,
that's what faith is.
We may not always
understand why
Jesus does the things
he does when he does them,
but faith is trusting
that he's worthy
of our trust
and obedience.
obedience.
Now, the story goes on.
Jesus says to the servants,
fill these six stone water jars.
And of course,
like Mary,
the servants probably are like,
what?
What's,
what exactly?
Why?
What are you going to do?
How does this relate?
You know,
you're not taking up
a collection
and going out
to the store.
You're telling us
to fill these huge water jars.
But no,
they just go ahead
and do it.
Right?
They don't seem to,
they don't stop
and say,
well,
I'm not going to do it
unless you tell me
why you're telling me
to do this.
No,
they just go ahead
and do it.
And then Jesus says,
draw some water
and take it to the
master of the feast.
Now,
the master of the feast
was the head waiter.
So,
the master of the feast
would have been
the person responsible
for seeing
for all the food
and drink
and for all the sort
of catering
associated with
the wedding.
And the master
of the feast
would have been
in charge of
supervising
the rest of the servants.
So,
the servants go
to their boss
and say,
here's this,
here's,
here's this water
that Jesus told us
to bring to you
and he tastes it
and he calls
the bridegroom.
Now,
again,
the bridegroom,
the groom was responsible
for providing
all of the refreshments,
all of the food
and drink.
So,
that's why he goes
to the bridegroom
because the bridegroom
is supposed to be
in charge
and he says,
wow,
nobody else
does this.
You've saved
the best wine
for now.
Usually,
the quality
just goes down
and down
over time
as people
have been around
for longer
and longer.
you've saved
the best
for last.
And that's the
climax of the story.
You
have kept
the good wine
until now.
The end of verse 10.
So,
that's how the story
goes.
Now,
let's consider
what it means.
And John
tells us
what it means
in verse 11
because he says,
Jesus manifested
his glory
by doing this.
How did Jesus
manifest his glory?
Well,
at one level,
Jesus manifested
his glory
very quietly
and behind the scenes
in this story.
All right,
verse 9 says,
the master
of the feast,
the head waiter,
didn't know
where the wine
had come from
even though
he thought
that the groom
deserved the credit
for it.
And aside
from the servants
and Jesus' mother
and his own disciples,
it's not clear
who else
at the wedding
even knew
exactly what
had happened.
Many of the guests
probably
didn't even
know that the wine
had run out
or where
the new wine
came from.
You see,
sometimes in the Gospels,
Jesus acts
quietly
and behind the scenes,
discreetly,
without making
a public show
of what he's doing
and sometimes
even tells people
don't make a big deal
of this right now,
right yet.
Here,
Jesus makes up
and fills in
for the deficiencies
of this unknown bridegroom
and he enables
the party to go on
for a few more days.
He enables
the groom's honor
in the village
to be preserved
for a few
more years.
And you know,
the Bible says
that Jesus Christ
in union
with God the Father
and God the Holy Spirit
continues
to sustain
this fallen world
by his common grace.
Working behind
the scenes
discreetly
and quietly
in ways
that most of us
never even
notice
or know about
to hold together
this world
that otherwise
would have fallen apart
a long time ago.
long ago
Augustine,
the church father,
said,
we look at this miracle
and we think
it's amazing.
Jesus turned water
into wine.
But Augustine says,
look around
at the world.
God does the same
thing each year.
The clouds
pour forth water
which sinks
into the soil
which makes
the grapevines grow
which human beings
make into grape juice
and wine.
He says,
we've just gotten
so used to that process
that we don't marvel
at it anymore.
But Augustine wrote,
who is there
that considers
the works of God
whereby this whole world
is governed
and regulated
who is not amazed
and overwhelmed?
When we look at
how our human bodies
function,
even if you study
how
when you get a cut
how your blood
clots
and yet doesn't
completely
clot all of the blood
in your whole system
and then how your skin
repairs itself.
It's an amazing process.
It's quite complicated
and
none of us,
almost none of us
except maybe the med students here
really think about that
and really give attention
to that.
But it's something
we depend on every day.
Otherwise,
every time you get
a little cut
you'd bleed your
entire blood out
and you'd be dead.
But there's all kinds
of things that are amazing
that God does
to sustain
this broken
and fallen world
on a day-to-day basis.
There's all kinds
of things that God
does behind the scenes
in our own lives
to preserve us
from troubles
that we don't even realize
that we might otherwise
be brought down by.
Now, while that's important,
that's not all
that John wants us to see.
The main point
of this story
is not how Jesus
works behind the scenes
to sustain the world
by his common grace.
No, John says
this is the first
of Jesus' signs.
Think about
what is a sign.
Well, a sign
points
to the reality
of something greater.
And this is the word
that John uses
most frequently
to describe
Jesus' miracles.
He doesn't use
the word wonder,
sort of something
that emphasizes
how astonished
we are at it.
He says
they're signs.
They're pointing
to the reality
of who Jesus is.
He wants us
to see something
about who Jesus is
in every one
of the miracles
Jesus does.
He does seven of them
throughout the gospel.
So every time
Jesus does a miracle
that is recorded
in John's gospel,
we need to ask
what is this sign
pointing to
about Jesus himself?
And the answer
to that question here
is that John
wants us to see
that Jesus
is the true
bridegroom
who has come
to establish
a new and better
covenant
with his people.
Now you might say,
how do I get that
from this story?
Well,
John gives us
three hints
that point us
in that direction.
verse 1,
John gives
a subtle hint
indicating that
Jesus has come
to begin
something new.
And most of us
might miss this hint,
but when we look
closer,
it is there.
When it talks
about the timing
of the wedding
being on the third
day.
Now,
two weeks ago,
Pastor Nick
pointed out
that the first words
of John's gospel
are also the first words
of the book of Genesis
in the Old Testament,
in the beginning.
And if we look
more closely,
we might notice
another potential
parallel between
the first two chapters
of Genesis
and the first two
chapters of John.
They both begin
with a week
of events
culminating
in a wedding.
So the book
of Genesis
describes a week
of God's creation
culminating in
the wedding
of Adam and Eve
when God brings
Eve to Adam.
And there's this
sort of wedding
ceremony
in the Garden
of Eden.
And John
also begins
with a week
of God's action,
a week of Jesus
coming on the scene
in chapter 1.
So four times
in chapter 1,
verse 29,
it says,
the next day.
Verse 35,
the next day again.
Verse 39,
they stayed with him
that day.
Verse 43,
the next day.
And then chapter 2,
verse 1,
on the third day.
A week has passed
and guess where
we find ourselves?
At a wedding.
And so if you
had been familiar
with that pattern
in Genesis
and you see this
pattern in John,
you think,
huh,
that's an interesting
echo.
John must be saying
that Jesus has come
to make a new
beginning,
to start something
new.
And you might
even think,
maybe he's
the new Adam
over a new creation.
Well,
verse 6,
John gives us
another hint
indicating that
Jesus has come
to establish
not just something
new,
but something
better.
Something better
than the old
covenant provided.
John mentions
that these six
large stone
water jars
were used
for Jewish
rites of
purification.
That is,
they represented
the rituals
of the old
covenant.
But Jesus
has come to
bring something
new.
Right?
Jesus says,
fill them to
the brim.
In other words,
they've come
to their
fulfillment.
And Jesus
has come to
bring something
even better.
A kind of
purification that
wasn't previously
possible,
a kind of joy
that won't run
out.
But the
clearest hint
is in verse
10 at the
climax of the
story,
when the
master of the
feast says to
the bridegroom,
you have
kept the good
wine until
now.
Now,
think about
that statement.
We know
that the
master of the
feast is giving
the credit to
the bridegroom
that he should
be giving to
Jesus.
Right?
Because the
unknown bridegroom
has actually
failed to be a
proper host to
his guests.
he doesn't
deserve any
credit at all.
But where the
unknown bridegroom
failed,
Jesus has
provided all
that was
needed.
And more,
even something
even better.
So Jesus
hasn't only
fulfilled what
was already
expected of a
host, he has
surpassed all
expectations.
His provisions
are unquestionably
superior.
Jesus is the
true and better
host, the
true and better
bridegroom.
And if we
had missed all
of those hints,
in chapter 3,
John says even
more explicitly,
if you look in
chapter 3,
verse 28,
John the
Baptist says,
I'm not the
Christ, I'm not
the Messiah, I've
been sent before
him, and in the
next verse he
compares himself
to the friend of
the bridegroom,
who rejoices
greatly at the
bridegroom's
voice.
And John says,
he must increase,
but I must
decrease.
So John the
Baptist points to
Jesus and says,
the long-awaited
bridegroom has
finally arrived.
So that's what
John wants us
to see in this
story about
Jesus.
That's what this
sign is pointing
to about Jesus,
that he's the
true and better
host, the true
and better
bridegroom who
has come for
his people.
You see,
throughout the
Old Testament,
the prophets
had spoken of a
future day when
the Messiah would
come and when
feasting would
abound.
We heard one of
those prophecies
read earlier to
us from Amos.
Amos said,
the kingdom of
David will be
rebuilt and the
mountains shall
drip sweet wine
and all the
hills shall flow
with it.
There will be
wine and milk
and honey in
abundance.
It's imagery of
an unending
feast where
Jeremiah says,
they will rejoice
in the bounty of
the Lord,
the grain,
the new wine,
and the olive oil.
They will be like
a well-watered
garden and they
will sorrow no
more.
Jeremiah 31,
12.
And just a few
verses later,
Jeremiah wrote,
behold,
the days are
coming when I
will make a new
covenant with the
house of Israel
and the house of
Judah.
Not like the
covenant that I
made with their
fathers when I
brought them out
of Egypt,
they broke that
covenant though I
was their
husband.
But this time he
says,
I will write my
laws on their
hearts and I
will forgive their
sins and remember
their wickedness
no more.
You see,
Jesus is that
long-awaited
Messiah,
that long-awaited
bridegroom who
came to establish
a new and
better covenant,
who came to
bring new and
everlasting joy to
the hearts of his
people.
That's what John
wants us to see.
But you know,
when we read this
story and if we
see that,
we might ask a
question.
we might say,
but how does
Jesus seal the
deal?
Jesus doesn't,
you know,
this is somebody
else's wedding.
Jesus doesn't
establish a new
and better covenant
with his people by
turning water into
wine at somebody
else's wedding in
Cana.
Nope.
But remember what
Jesus said in verse
four.
He said,
my hour has not
yet come.
And nine times
Jesus refers to
his hour in the
gospel of John.
And every time
he's referring to
the hour of his
death on the cross
at Calvary.
That's where
Jesus would seal
the deal.
That's where the
glory of his
saving love would
be revealed.
That's where he
paid the price so
that we could be
ours or he
could be ours and
we could be his
forever.
You see, at every
wedding, two people
make a promise to
one another.
And they basically
say, what's mine is
yours and what's
yours is mine.
For better, for
worse, for richer,
for poorer, in
sickness or in
health.
And that's the
promise Jesus made
to us, to all who
would turn and
believe in him.
John 19
describes the
hour of Jesus
crucifixion.
And it says
this, as Jesus
was hanging on
the cross, it
says, Jesus,
knowing that all
was now finished,
said to fulfill
the scripture,
I thirst.
A jar full of
sour wine stood
there.
So they put a
sponge full of the
sour wine on a
hyssop branch and
held it to his
mouth.
When Jesus had
received the sour
wine, he said,
it is finished.
And he bowed his
head and gave up
his spirit.
And he
you see, what
does John want
us to see there?
He wants us to
see that Jesus
drank the cup of
our bitterness so
that we could
drink of his
everlasting joy.
He received
condemnation in
full so that we
could receive
forgiveness in
full.
He took on all
that was ours so
that we might
enjoy all that is
his now and
forever.
Friends, that's
the good news of
the gospel.
And it brings
joy like nothing
else in this world
does.
To know that
Jesus is yours
and we are
his.
That will carry
us through all
of our days.
So come to
Jesus, receive
his promise today,
taste and see
that he is good.
Let's pray.
Father, thank
you for the
grace that you
show us day
by day in
sustaining this
world, in
sustaining our
bodies, in
giving us moments
and days and
weeks of joy and
laughter.
Thank you for
all the ways that
you keep this
world from
immediately falling
apart as it
would do without
you.
Lord, thank
you not only
for that.
Thank you for
sending Jesus to
unite us to
yourself, to
bring us new
and everlasting
joy, to renew
us and heal us
from the inside
out.
Lord, we pray
that you would
grant us today
the joy of
knowing that we
are yours and
you are ours
forever.
Lord, give us
a taste of
that joy that
we will have
for all
eternity.
We pray this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.