Good morning, Watermark. The scripture reading today comes from John chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.
You can follow along on your bulletin, on the screen, or in your own Bible.
Starting in verse 1, we read,
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 20 or 30 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,
and did not know where it came.
When the master of the feast tasted the water, now became 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 fast,
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.
This is the word of God.
Great. Thank you, Iris.
Well, good morning, everybody.
If you're new to Watermark, my name's Kevin.
I'm one of the leaders here,
and great to have you.
If you are new,
won't you come and introduce yourself afterwards?
I'd love to meet you and say hi,
and get to know you a little bit.
I want to,
before we dive into this passage,
one or two quick updates I want to give us.
I meant to say this earlier,
I forgot.
Last week, we called up Aiyong here,
if you remember,
and Aiyong shared about how she works for an organization called Sons and Daughters,
and they were about to start an alpha course this coming Thursday,
in a bar on Lockhart Road in Wan Chai,
for the ladies that are working in the Red Light District.
Well, ICG went with her on Thursday,
and we started this alpha course,
and it was so exciting.
We had a number of ladies that we went down to the bars,
and met them,
and called them,
and invited them,
and there was food,
and there was jewelry making,
and there was the alpha course.
It was a really amazing evening.
So I wanted to let you know,
thank you for praying.
You can continue to pray for Aiyong and Sons and Daughters over the next 10 weeks,
as they do this alpha course in a bar on Lockhart Road.
So I just wanted to give you feedback.
That was a really great evening.
Okay.
Let's think about this passage.
For the last three weeks,
we've been working through John's gospel,
John chapter 1.
And John chapter 1,
John introduces,
or gives the background to Jesus' ministry.
And today,
as Iris read to us,
we get to chapter 2.
And chapter 2 is kind of the launch,
the start of Jesus' ministry.
But I want to just take a step back,
and remind us,
a bit of a high-level view,
what is John's gospel all about?
But in John's gospel,
John,
the author wants us to see something of Jesus' glory,
His majesty,
His uniqueness,
and to trust in Him,
and believe in Him.
So in chapter 1,
there's a very important verse.
He says this in verse 14,
the word that Jesus became flesh,
and dwelt among us.
We have seen His glory,
full of grace and truth.
And from this fullness,
we have received grace upon grace.
Jesus came,
that we may see His glory,
and from seeing Him,
receive grace.
And then at the end of John's gospel,
chapter 20,
John writes and he says,
Jesus did many other signs
in the presence of His disciples,
but these are written down,
that you may believe Jesus is the Christ,
and by believing,
find a life in His name.
And this is the reason why
John's gospel is written.
This is the reason why it's in the Bible.
God, and John, the author,
want us to see something of Jesus' uniqueness,
His majesty, His glory,
and by seeing that,
trust in it,
hope in it,
believe in it,
and then find life.
Life in Jesus,
life in His name.
John tells us again and again,
that life,
apart from Jesus,
is mere existence.
It's not fullness of life.
Life with Jesus at the center
is fullness of life.
And this is why the gospel is written.
That we may see Jesus,
trust and believe in Him,
and experience fullness of life.
Okay?
So,
this morning,
as we look at this passage,
my hope is that
we will meet God,
the living Jesus,
in these pages,
trusting Him,
experience life in His name.
So,
this passage,
John chapter 2,
let's look at Jesus
and His followers
are invited to a wedding celebration.
Obviously,
weddings are a big deal.
They're a big deal
in our day and age.
They're a big deal
back in the first century.
Weddings are not just
two people coming together.
They are two families
coming together.
Or maybe even two villages
coming together.
And in this day,
obviously,
it was a huge social engagement.
The entire village
would be welcomed
and invited
to the ceremony,
to the celebration.
And what would happen
in a typical Hebrew wedding
is that there'd be
a big feast
in the afternoon
or the evening.
All the family
would be around
and involved.
after the feast
would be a ceremony
of some sort.
They'd go through
a traditional
Hebrew wedding ceremony.
And at the end
of the ceremony,
as night is falling,
the bride and the groom
would be led
by the wedding party
or the family and friends
through the village
by torchlight
kind of campaign
or what is the word I had?
Parade.
There would be
under a canopy.
There would be a canopy
over the bride and groom
and they'd be led
through the streets
back to the house
that the groom
has spent many years
preparing for his bride.
And they'd be singing
and they'd be dancing
and they'd be celebrating
and people would be
leaning out their windows
into the streets
wishing them well
to the happy couple.
And they'd go back
to the house
and the celebration
wouldn't end there.
Rather than going
on honeymoon,
for the next week,
everybody would come
to their house.
They'd have an open house
and celebration
would continue
and there'd be feasting
and food
and celebration
and wine
as everybody celebrates
the happy couple.
Okay?
Now,
in our passage today,
Jesus and his disciples
are at such
a wedding celebration.
Maybe it's a family member
of Mary,
his mother,
and something goes wrong.
The wine runs out.
Now,
for us,
that may seem
like a nuisance,
bad form,
but not the end
of the world.
In that day and age,
this is disastrous
because it was
the responsibility
of the groom
and his family
to provide
enough food
and wine
for the celebration.
And if they didn't do so,
that communicated
that either
they weren't prepared
or they didn't care enough
about the bride
and her family.
So it's kind of like
the groom saying,
your family's not
that important to us,
right?
We're just gonna
go cheap.
We're not really
gonna take care of you.
This was incredibly
offensive and insulting.
And so Jesus
does this amazing miracle.
He turns about
700 liters of water
into some of the world's
greatest Bordeaux blend
wine
and he saves
the reputation
of the groom
and he helps
this young couple
avoid the first
marital conflict.
Okay?
So,
thank you Jesus.
Now,
immediately
this passage
raises a couple
of questions
for us.
The one question
is this.
Does anybody
believe that
this really happened?
I mean,
let's be honest.
This is a pretty
strange thing,
right?
I mean,
how do we know
this isn't just
some fable?
I mean,
has anybody here
turned water
into wine recently?
Okay,
I've never seen
that being done.
But if you know
how to do that,
come and talk to me.
I'd love to know.
this is a pretty
unusual miracle,
right?
And you may
be here thinking,
come on,
like,
this doesn't really
happen.
I can sympathize
with that sentiment.
But I want to put it
to you that the nature
of miracles
is that they are
unusual
and out of the
ordinary.
That's the definition
of what a miracle is.
A miracle is not
something that
normally and usually
happens.
And throughout
the Gospels,
there are many
miracles that take
place,
things that are
unusual and out
of the ordinary,
and they're there
to make us sit up
and to ask the
question,
what's so special
about Jesus?
If these things
happen ordinarily,
they wouldn't be
called miracles.
And the Bible's
claim is that
the divine being
who is beyond
our realm
of time
and space
and the limitations
of time and space
has stepped
into our
time-space-bound
world,
but as the
creator of
this material
world,
he's not
bound by the
limitations that
we creatures
are bound by.
And so in some
sense,
you're going to
ask the question,
well,
what would you
expect would
happen if the
divine being,
the creator,
came to our
world?
If the creator
of everything
that exists
stepped into
our world
and just acted
ordinarily like
nothing was
different,
that would be
unusual,
right?
You'd almost
expect that the
one who's beyond
time and space
and the limitations
of this world,
when he steps
into our world,
he's going to
act a bit
unusually,
differently,
but out of the
ordinary.
And so part of
the fact that he
is the uncreated
being beyond time
and space and
steps into our
world means from
time to time,
he does things
that are unusual,
out of the
ordinary,
even miraculous.
So yes,
this is unusual,
but not impossible
for one who
claims to be the
person that Jesus
claims to be.
Okay?
But he had two
other questions.
So the miracles
aside,
here's two other
questions that this
passage asks us.
The first is this,
why does Jesus
speak to his
mother this way?
I mean,
look what he says
to her,
right?
Mary asks him to
do something about
the wine problem,
and Jesus says,
woman,
what does this have
to do with me?
Now,
if one of my
children spoke to
their mothers,
i.e.
my wife this way,
I would be all
over them like a
rash.
They would know
all about it,
right?
Nobody gets to
speak to my
wife like that.
Why does Jesus
speak to his
mother like this?
And here's the
second question.
Why the
arbitrary,
seemingly arbitrary
miracle of
turning water
into wine?
John tells us
this is one of
the first miracles
Jesus does.
If Jesus wants
to make a
statement,
why not arrive
with a bang,
like raise
someone from
the dead,
or pass
through walls,
or turn the
little olives
that are on the
table into gold
coins,
or something
useful,
right?
Why the
arbitrary sign
of water
into wine?
Surely Jesus
could do
something more
interesting than
this.
Well,
these two
questions reveal
two things about
Jesus.
The way that he
speaks to his
mother and the
nature of his
miracle help us
see two things
about Jesus that
help us to see
his glory,
his majesty,
his uniqueness,
and by seeing
that,
hopefully will
call us to
trust in him
and find life
in his name.
So let's look
at those questions
together.
Okay, let's
look at the
first one.
Why does
Jesus speak
to Mary
like this?
Why?
Because Jesus
is the
perfect son.
Jesus is the
perfect son.
Look at verse
three and four
with me in your
Bibles if you
have it,
or in the
bulletin.
Jesus'
mother Mary
comes to him
and says,
Jesus,
they've run
out of wine,
do something
about it.
And Jesus
responds,
woman,
what does this
have to do
with me?
My hour has
not yet come.
Now,
according to
the culture
and the
language of
that time,
to call
his mother
woman was
not as
offensive as
it comes
across in
our day
and age.
Okay,
for us,
that's highly
offensive.
In that
culture,
it wasn't
quite as
offensive,
but it
also wasn't
massively
polite.
So Jesus
is not being
rude,
he's not being
disrespectful,
but he is
being rather
abrupt.
He is being
rather surprising.
There's
nothing
linguistically
or culturally
necessary
for him
to call
her
woman.
He could
have
called
her
mother.
There's
other
verses
in the
Bible
that talk
like that,
but it
is rather
surprising.
It's rather
abrupt.
And then he
says,
what does
this have
to do
with me?
Again,
I don't
know about
you,
but if
your mother
or your
wife
asks you
to do
something,
it has
everything
to do
with you,
even if
you didn't
think it
did before.
It now
does,
right?
But Jesus
here says,
why does
he speak
like this?
Jesus
is showing
us,
and he's
showing Mary
something
incredibly
important.
He's
redefining
the
relationship.
Jesus
is showing
us that
long,
long before
he's the
son of
Mary on
earth,
he's the
son of
the father
in heaven.
That long
before he's
the son
of Mary
on earth,
he's the
son of
God,
the uncreated
one.
And that
as much
as he
wants to
please
and honor
his mother
Mary,
his primary
purpose in
life,
and his
primary
purpose in
coming,
is to
please and
honor his
father who
sent him.
And this
is a point
that Jesus
is going to
make throughout
the gospels
again and
again,
that he
only ever
acts in
accordance to
the will of
his father
in heaven.
Listen to
what he says
in John 5
verse 30,
I seek not
my own will,
but the will
of him who
sent me.
John 6
verse 38,
I've come
down from
heaven,
not to
do my
will,
but the
will of
him who
sent me.
John 4
verse 34,
John 14
31,
I do as
the father
has commanded
me.
Again and
again and
again,
Jesus says
this,
my primary
identity is
not that I'm
the son of
Mary of
Nazareth
or Jesus
of Nazareth,
I'm the
son of my
father in
heaven.
And I
have come
and every
decision I
make,
every thought
that goes
through my
mind,
goes through
the filter,
the paradigm
of what
does my
father call
me to do.
Jesus is
the perfect
son,
the perfect
example of
filial piety.
I've come
to honor
my father.
Okay,
you ask,
well,
big deal.
So what
does that
mean for
us?
Well,
I think
this has
two implications
for us.
First one
is this,
Jesus shows
us uniquely
the priority
of faith
even over
family.
The priority
of faith
even over
family.
Jesus shows
us that his
family going
forward is
not necessarily
made up of
biological
relatives or
blood relatives,
it's made up
of those who
come to him
on the basis
of faith.
Unlike
every king,
every president,
every emperor
or dynasty
leader in the
ancient world
and the modern
world,
Jesus shows
us that blood
relatives have
no priority
in his kingdom.
So just think
of,
I'll try not
mention any
names,
but think of
even in the
modern era,
right?
If there is a
king who's on
the throne or
president who's
on the throne,
think of the
privileges that
their blood
family get,
right?
Or the
sheikhs in
the Middle
East.
Think of
the presidential
pardons that
family members
get because
their relatives
is on the
throne,
right?
In every
culture,
every dynasty,
every presidential,
every political
administration,
the relatives of
the person on
the throne get
special privileges.
privileges.
Jesus shows us
here that not
even his blood
relatives get
special privileges.
It's those who
come to him on
the basis of
faith,
not family,
that are included
in his kingdom.
At one point in
his ministry,
Jesus is speaking
in someone's house
and someone comes
to him and
says,
Jesus,
your mother and
your brothers are
here.
They're seeking
you.
They want you to
come speak to
them.
And Jesus says,
who are my
mother?
Who are my
brothers?
Then looking at
those around him,
he says,
here,
here are my
mother and my
brothers.
What's his
point?
Jesus shows us
that it's not
those that have
social or
religious or
filial standing
who have any
claim on him
at all.
Friends,
you can be the
son of Tim
Keller,
C.S.
Lewis,
John Piper,
Billy Graham.
It doesn't
matter who you
are.
You have no
claim on Jesus
unless you come
to him on the
basis of faith.
It's those that
have faith that
are included in
his family.
But here's the
second implication.
Jesus is entirely
committed to
pleasing his
father even to
the point of
death.
Look at what he
says here to
his mother Mary.
He says,
Mary,
what does this
have to do with
me?
And then he
says,
my hour has
not yet come.
Now,
in John's
gospel,
whenever Jesus
talks about his
hour,
what's he talking
about?
He's not talking
about the hour
that he goes to
bed or the
hour of his
appointment or
something.
He's talking
about the hour
of his
crucifixion,
the hour of
his death,
the hour when
Jesus will be
nailed to the
cross on Mount
Calvary for the
sins of the
world.
Jesus will take
upon himself the
wrath and the
judgment of God
the Father for the
sins of all those
who trust in him
and hope in him.
Listen to what he
says in John 12.
He says,
now my soul is
troubled.
This is a few
hours before he's
going to go to the
cross.
In 24 hours time,
Jesus is going to be
nailed to the
cross.
He says,
my soul is
troubled.
What shall I
say?
Shall I say,
Father, save me
from this hour?
No, for this
purpose I have
come to this
hour.
Father, glorify
your name.
In the face of
the crucifixion and
the cross, Jesus'
face is steadfast,
is focused.
This is why I've
come.
Father, glorify
your name.
Friends, Jesus'
death on the
cross was not
random.
It wasn't
arbitrary.
It wasn't the
unfortunate consequence
of a political
situation that
unfolded in
Jerusalem.
It was
purposed, it
was deliberate,
it was chosen
before the
foundations of
the world that
redemption and
restoration and
hope and healing
and salvation will
come to the world,
not automatically with
his coming and his
birth, but through
his death, through
his hour.
And here at the
very beginning of
his ministry, Jesus
turns to his
mother and says,
my hour has not
yet come.
I haven't come to
make a spectacle.
I haven't come to
show everybody that
I'm the Messiah.
My time is still
coming.
Wait.
But soon his hour
would come.
And at that time,
Mary's heart would
be broken.
Her heart would be
pierced as Jesus
hangs on the cross
to make atonement
for sinners and
rebels.
For this purpose, I
have come to this
hour.
Father, glorify your
name.
So Jesus is the
perfect son, not to
Mary, but to God
the Father.
And because he's
the perfect son, that
means he goes to the
cross for people like
you and me.
Jesus is the
perfect son.
But he's not only
the perfect son, he's
also the perfect
savior.
And that's the
answer to the
second question.
Why does Jesus do
this strange miracle,
turning water into
wine?
Well, the reason is
because he's the
perfect savior.
you see, for the
people in Jesus'
day, this miracle,
water and wine
help deep, deep
symbolism.
They weren't just
arbitrary liquids.
They held deep
symbolism.
And when Jesus does
this miracle, every
first century Jew
familiar with the
Jewish scriptures
would have noticed
the deep symbolism
straight away.
So let's think about
this for a few
minutes.
Water.
What does water
mean?
For the Jewish
people, what did
water symbolize?
Well, this passage
actually tells us in
verse 6 what this
water symbolized.
Look what it says in
verse 6.
Now there were six
stone water jars
there.
What were they used
for?
Used for the Jewish
rites of purification.
In the Old
Testament, water held
two main symbolisms.
The one was life and
flourishing and health
and abundance and
blessing.
Okay?
But it also helped
the symbolism of
cleansing, of
purification, of
sanctification, of
holiness, right?
I think one of the
most famous verses
is Ezekiel 36.
Look at what it says
here.
God says to his not
so holy people, he
says, I will sprinkle
clean water in you
and you shall be
clean from all your
uncleanness and from
all your idols I will
clean you.
Okay?
It's a very, very
important verse in
the Old Testament.
I think it's also why
the Israelites had to
walk through the
Red Sea on the way
out of Egypt.
It's symbolic of
saying you've left
Egypt, you're walking
through the waters
symbolically on your
way to the promised
land.
I will cleanse you
from all the
uncleanness of 400
years of Egypt.
I'm going to wash
you and make you my
new people.
You were once slaves
in Egypt, you walk
through the waters,
you're washed, you're
cleansed, now you're my
people on the way to
the promised land.
In a sense, they go
through a baptism,
right?
That's kind of what
baptism is.
Baptism says, my old
life is dead, it's
washed away, it's
gone, I'm a new
person as I follow
Jesus.
The Israelites go
through the waters of
baptism as they leave
Egypt.
Water in the Old
Testament was symbolic
of cleansing, of
washing, of
purification.
Now remember, for the
people of God,
quintessential to what
it means to be the
people of God is to be
set apart for God, to
be consecrated, to be
not holier than thou,
but devoted to Him,
consecrated to God.
And this is what it
means to be God's
people.
You belong to Him, you
set apart, you
consecrated.
And so throughout the
Old Testament, God's
people are constantly
needing to wash
themselves, go through
all sorts of symbolism
and ceremony as a way
of showing that they are
set apart from the ways
of the world and they're
washed and devoted to
God.
So every Jewish person,
almost every day, would
have to go through
ceremonies of washing
themselves to show
their devotion and
their consecration to
God.
They wash themselves
physically, they go into
somebody's house and they
wash their hands, they
wash the utensils that
they're going to eat
worse, they wash the
seat that they're going
to sit down on, they
wash everything because
one of the worst things
that can happen to you
as a Jew is you come
into contact with
something that is
unclean or defiled.
If you come into
contact with something
unclean, it makes you
unclean.
So the Jews are
constantly washing
themselves, washing
their hands, washing
their seats.
Washing their
utensils to make
sure that they're
never considered
unclean.
Because to be
unclean means you're
not welcomed by God
in His presence.
God, the Holy
One, won't associate
with those of us that
are unclean or dirty.
Okay?
So that's what the
water is all about.
Jesus goes to His
wedding and they've
got these six massive
jars of water for
purification.
The water for
cleaning.
What about the wine?
What is the wine
about?
Okay?
Well, again, first
century Jews steeped in
the Old Testament.
And there's huge
messianic expectations
and excitement.
Every Jew would have
known that the
abundance of wine is a
symbol of the blessing
and the joy and the
celebration that will
come on God's people
when the Messiah comes.
When the Messiah comes,
it's going to be a time
of extravagant joy.
And this is symbolized
by wine.
Listen to Isaiah 23,
one of the most famous
verses about this.
It says, God writes
this, on this mountain,
He's talking about
Mount Zion or Jerusalem,
on this mountain, the
Lord of hosts will make
for all peoples a
rich, a feast of rich
food, a feast of well-aged
wine, of rich food full
of marrow, of aged wine
well-refined.
He will swallow up death
forever.
The Lord God will wipe
away every tear from our
face.
And the shame of His
people will be taken
away from all the earth.
Verse 9 goes on, I
don't think I have it up
there.
It says, it will be said
on this day, behold,
this is our God, we've
waited for Him, that He
might save us.
This is the Lord, we've
waited for Him.
Let us be glad and
rejoice in His great
salvation.
Or again, Amos 9, I'll
read this quickly.
Behold, the days are
coming, says the Lord,
when the mountains will
drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will
flow with it.
I will restore the
fortunes of my people.
They will build, rebuild,
ruin cities and inhabit
them.
They will plant vineyards
and drink deeply of their
wine.
They will make gardens and
eat their fruit.
And again and again,
throughout the Old
Testament, this idea of
wine is a picture of
feasting and celebration
and extravagance and
everyone coming together.
And God restoring for His
people all that was wrong
with the world.
And when the Messiah
comes, it's going to be a
time of celebration and
feasting.
The Messiah is going to
make right all that is
wrong and broken with the
world.
So here's this question.
Jesus takes, what do you
think it means when Jesus
takes these jars of water,
not drinking water, of
which there was plenty,
every table would have had
drinking water.
water.
Jesus takes purification
water, water for ritual
cleansing, ceremonial
cleansing.
And He turns it into an
abundance of extravagant
wine.
What do you think Jesus is
saying?
He's saying two things.
He's saying one, the
Messiah is here.
The Messiah has come, the
long-awaited Redeemer that
for thousands of years
Israel has been waiting
for.
The Messiah has come.
Christ the Redeemer has
come.
Jesus is not just a
miracle worker.
He's not just a religious
teacher.
He's not just a good
rabbi.
Jesus, the long-awaited
Messiah, the one who's
going to restore the
fortunes of Israel, has
come.
But here's the second
thing Jesus wants to say
to us.
Very importantly, Jesus
says that His coming
means that the old
system of purification
and cleansing and
putting yourself right
with God through washing
your hands and washing
your utensils, that
whole system of making
yourself clean and
acceptable to God has
changed.
And that system is done
away with and there's a
whole new system that's
come.
And it's a system that's
abundant with extravagant
joy and celebration.
Friends, Jesus coming
means that unholy people
like me and like you,
dare I say, no longer
need to clean ourselves
up, no longer need to go
through the purification
ceremony, no longer need
to have jars of water
outside to wash our
hands and wash us before
we come into church to
make sure we are
acceptable to God.
Jesus, the Holy One, has
come to make unholy
people like me and you
holy and acceptable
before the Holy God
because the Messiah has
come and because He's
come to cleanse us.
What all the ceremonies
and all the traditions
we're trying to
symbolize, Jesus says, I
have come to do it.
Does that make sense?
Listen to our Ezekiel 36.
This is the passage we
read earlier.
Look at what goes on.
It says this.
God says, I will sprinkle
clean water on you and
you will be clean from
all your uncleanness and
from all your idols I will
cleanse you.
And then He says, but I
won't just do the
ceremony on the outside.
I won't just clean your
hands.
Actually, I'm going to
clean your heart.
I will give you a new
heart and a new spirit I'll
put within you.
I'll put my spirit within
you and cause you to
walk in my statutes and
I'll cause you to walk
and obey my rules.
You will be my people and
I will be your God.
Jesus come to cleanse us,
not just outside, but on
the inside and to make
unholy people like us
acceptable before the
Holy God.
Now, what are the
implications of this?
Again, I think there's
two implications.
Okay.
The first one is this.
rest in the confidence of
God's gracious acceptance.
Rest in the confidence of
God's gracious acceptance.
Friends, let me ask you
this.
How many of us ever feel like
we need to clean up our
lives?
How many of us ever come to
church feeling like I don't
quite have it all together?
Maybe you don't feel like
that.
I feel like that regularly.
In fact, can I be honest
with you?
I felt like that today.
I came to church today
pretty weighed down.
I feel like God, I'm not
good enough.
I don't have what it takes.
I've got a bunch of fears
and things that I'm worried
about.
I don't know if I should tell
you the story.
Last week, we were in
worship and there was a
little family dynamic going
on, right?
One of my kids wasn't at
worship and I really wanted
her to be worshiped.
So while I've got my hands
up, you know, sing the songs,
my mind's elsewhere.
I'm thinking, where's my
kid?
And then Claire says to me,
hey, this isn't the right
time to deal with it.
Just leave it very wisely.
And I, the great husband
that I am, ignore her
advice and then go outside
to go and find my kid.
And I'm a mess.
And on one hand, I'm looking
like I'm worshiping God
amazingly with a holy man.
Actually, inside, there's
all sorts of turmoil.
Friends, this week, there are
things in my life that I'm
not very proud of, that I
don't like about myself.
And there are things that
need to change and that I
want to change.
And if I'm honest, sometimes
I don't really know how to
change.
My point is, I come to church
sometimes a big mess.
And there's a temptation for
me to look for the water
jars.
Where are the jars?
Where can I clean myself
up?
What can I do to make myself
acceptable?
Jesus has come to wash away
the crap and the stuff in our
lives that doesn't make us
acceptable for God, to make
us clean.
Friends, anyone be able to
resonate with that?
Friends, anyone here feel
trapped by sin, by habits that
you can't break?
Friends, anyone here find
yourself going back again and
again, doing the same dumb
things and wishing you could
change?
Friends, anyone here bothered
by the damaged relationships
around us that we just keep on
seeming to perpetuate?
Friends, anyone here feel
uncomfortable about how we've
lived or acted or behaved this
week?
Friends, any of us here feel
dirty or unclean?
Maybe not by what we've done,
but by what others have done
against us.
Feel defiled by the sins that
others have sinned against us.
Jesus Christ says to us, you've
got two choices.
You can either try and clean up
your own act through self
justification or some self
atonement or moral improvement
project.
But the problem is that will
never ever work and you'll never
feel like you've done enough.
You'll tell yourself, I've got to
go on some pilgrimage to Mecca.
You'll go, you'll never feel
satisfied.
I've got to beat myself up.
I've got to fast.
I've got to punish myself.
You'll never do enough.
You can try and clean yourself up
through some self-justification,
self-atonement project.
It'll never work.
Or you can come to Jesus, the
perfect one who died on the cross,
to take your sin and your shame
for you so that you can stand
before God wholly.
You can see Jesus in his glory.
You can believe in him and let him
clean you and heal you and restore
you.
1 Corinthians 6 says this,
Do you not know that the
unrighteous, like me, will not
inherit the kingdom of God?
Do you not be deceived?
Then he lists a whole lot of
things.
Sexually immoral, adulterers,
idolaters, thieves, the greedy,
drunkards, revilers, swindlers,
et cetera, et cetera, won't inherit
the kingdom of God.
And he says, but such were some of
you.
Friends, that's our church.
That's us, right?
This isn't that church down the road.
This is us.
Such were some of you.
But you were washed.
You were sanctified.
You were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and by the
spirit of our God.
Friends, at the heart of Christianity
is the belief that I am made clean
because Jesus' righteousness,
Jesus' purity, Jesus' holiness is
credited to me when I come to him
and trust in him and believe in him.
So rest in the confidence,
abundant, gracious approval
that Christ gives you
when you trust in him.
But here's the second implication.
We're almost done.
Take joy in God's abundant approval.
I think it's important not to miss
that in Isaiah 25,
when it talks about what's going to
happen when the Messiah comes,
the tone of this passage is not
dreariness or weariness,
but joy and celebration.
Let me read again to us what
Isaiah 25 says.
It says,
On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will make for all
peoples,
not just those that have got it
together,
not just the Jews,
all people,
black, white, Chinese,
African, Hongkonger,
Filipino, Indonesian,
wealthy, poor, educated,
for all people,
a feast of rich food,
a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow,
of aged wine well refined.
He will swallow up death and sin
and condemnation and guilt and shame
forever.
The Lord will wipe away
the tears from our face
and the shame of his people
he will take away from all the earth.
It will be said on that day,
Behold, this is our God.
We have waited for him
that he might save us.
This is the Lord.
We've waited for him.
Let us be glad
and rejoice
in his salvation.
Friends, I think it's no coincidence
that in the New Testament,
Acts chapter 2,
when God's Spirit
is poured out on his people
on the day of Pentecost,
those standing around the disciples,
what do they accuse them of?
Of having drunk too much wine.
Right?
Now, I don't think the point is
that when you're full of the Spirit,
you become inebriated
and you're like on the side of the road,
you know, passed out.
That's not what happens necessarily
when the Spirit comes.
The point is when we're full of the Spirit,
there's an abundance of exuberance,
of joy overflowing us
that somebody should say,
what's happened to you?
Right?
Friends, Isaiah 25 does not say,
on that day,
the Lord will pour out his Spirit
like rich wine
and everyone will just have to grin
and bear it
and keep on plodding through life
until one day they get to heaven
and finally they will be happy.
Friends, the Old Testament does not say
that when the Messiah comes
to deal with our sin
and our cleanness,
he will come,
but it will be pretty miserable fear
until finally we get to heaven
and then maybe it will be joyful.
Friends, Jesus didn't turn
700 liters of water
into cough medicine
or hand sanitizer.
No, he turned it
into the very finest wine.
It will be said on that day,
behold, this is our God.
We've waited for him.
Let us be glad.
Let us rejoice in his salvation.
And so as we come to a close,
let me ask you a couple of questions.
Friends, if you are a Christian,
are you glad that Christ has come?
Does your life exude the joy
and celebration that the gospel
is meant to bring?
Friends, has Jesus Christ
made any difference to your life?
This isn't in my notes,
but could it possibly be okay
that somebody accuses you
of having drunk a little bit
too much alcohol
because of the joy that you find
because Jesus comes to you?
Maybe that's heretical.
I'm sorry.
Elders, you can correct me
if I'm out of line.
Friends, is some worship a chore?
Or is it a drag?
Or is coming to worship God
something we delight in?
Friends, do you see Sunday morning
as a slog or as a time
to drink deeply of the wine
of God's presence,
the joyful welcome,
the grace of God Almighty
who says to us,
welcome, my sons, my daughters.
I have come for you.
Friends, Jesus the Messiah has come.
For 700 years,
God's people waited,
waited, waited
for the Messiah to come.
One who would deal with their sin
and their suffering
and their shame.
One who would turn their mourning
into rejoicing,
their guilt into freedom.
And John is telling us
in John chapter 2
that he's come.
He's the perfect son.
Not of Mary,
not of Joseph,
the son of God.
And because he's the perfect son,
he went to the cross
to die and rise again
that you and I
might be acceptable
and welcomed.
Jesus is the perfect son
and because of that,
he's also the perfect savior.
He came to open the way
that we who are slaves to sin
and our old lifestyle
can be set free
and can enjoy
the welcome of the father
and his gracious
and lavish acceptance.
So,
let's pray.
Let's come to him now
in prayer and response.
Chris and the team
are going to lead us
in a song of response.
But before we do that,
I want to just ask us
to take a minute
just in quiet reflection.
And what does it look like
for you to respond
to God's word?
Maybe I can ask us
two questions this morning.
One,
what has God wanted
to say to you this morning?
God's word should never
just be intellectual.
It should speak to our hearts.
What is God wanting
to say to you?
And secondly,
how are you going to respond?
For some of us,
maybe you need to respond
through adoration,
joyful celebration.
God has come.
Thank you, Jesus.
For some of us,
maybe we need to respond
with confession.
Some of us,
maybe we need to respond
with thanksgiving.
Maybe some of us
just need to come before God
with our requests.
God, I need you.
I need you.
Let's take 30 seconds
and respond to God.
Lord Jesus,
thank you for who you are.
God, the more we read the Bible,
the more we are astounded
by who you are.
You're the majesty,
you're king,
you're God almighty,
the uncreated one,
and yet you've come
to bring us into your kingdom.
Jesus, we love you.
Help us to trust you.
God, open the eyes
of our hearts
to see you,
to trust you,
to believe in you,
and so to find life
in your name.
I pray,
come and have your way
in our hearts
and our lives.
In your name I pray.
Amen.