WEBVTT 00:00:07.970 --> 00:00:10.769 Thank you, worship team, and good morning. Thank 00:00:10.769 --> 00:00:12.949 you so much for being here. We are excited you 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:14.869 are here. If this is your first time here, I 00:00:14.869 --> 00:00:16.690 just want to introduce myself to you. My name 00:00:16.690 --> 00:00:18.949 is Daniel. I'm the lead pastor at Cornerstone, 00:00:19.010 --> 00:00:22.109 and we're really glad you're here. At this time, 00:00:22.210 --> 00:00:24.070 kids are dismissed. Junior high and high school, 00:00:24.109 --> 00:00:26.170 you guys are dismissed to head back to your class. 00:00:26.550 --> 00:00:29.030 And if you are not in one of those age ranges, 00:00:29.250 --> 00:00:31.129 then I want to ask you to turn with me in your 00:00:31.129 --> 00:00:35.090 Bibles to John chapter 2. to the book of John 00:00:35.090 --> 00:00:37.289 chapter 2. We're really excited you're here. 00:00:37.369 --> 00:00:38.770 We believe it's no accident that you're here, 00:00:38.829 --> 00:00:41.130 and this week we are starting our new summer 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:44.549 sermon series looking at the seven signs of John. 00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:46.549 But before you get there, as you're turning your 00:00:46.549 --> 00:00:49.310 Bibles to John 2, I just want to bring up two 00:00:49.310 --> 00:00:52.030 or three things real quick from your bulletin. 00:00:52.030 --> 00:00:53.770 First, we've got a members meeting this evening 00:00:53.770 --> 00:00:56.689 at 6 30 with some snacks beforehand. It's six, 00:00:56.789 --> 00:00:59.409 so come to that if you're a member. May 21st, 00:00:59.409 --> 00:01:01.490 there's a women's ministry dinner at 6 30. They're 00:01:01.490 --> 00:01:04.719 going to Baxter's. Men, this is new as of 20 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:06.500 minutes ago. Men, we are going to go to Hickory 00:01:06.500 --> 00:01:09.359 River Wednesday night. Kids are also welcome 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:10.819 to come with us to Hickory River. So we'll have 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:13.239 a men's ministry dinner at Hickory River at 630. 00:01:13.540 --> 00:01:17.019 Women's ministry dinner at 630 at Baxter's. So 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:18.939 keep that in mind. And also, June 1st, there 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:21.060 is the dessert auction. We're raising money for 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:22.840 student ministry for camp and other parts of 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:24.920 student ministry. I've been asked a couple times, 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:26.959 is there a sign -up sheet? Do I need to tell 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.060 you what I'm bringing? No. Just bring a dessert. 00:01:30.670 --> 00:01:32.909 bring something, come have a good time. We're 00:01:32.909 --> 00:01:34.590 raising money for a great cause, so come and 00:01:34.590 --> 00:01:37.689 join us June 1st. Let me open us with a word 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:40.450 of prayer. God, thank you so much for today, 00:01:40.590 --> 00:01:43.469 and God, we just thank you so much for what took 00:01:43.469 --> 00:01:47.329 place in John 2, 1 through 11, God. God, thank 00:01:47.329 --> 00:01:51.370 you for showing us who Jesus is, God, for showing 00:01:51.370 --> 00:01:55.689 us Jesus's power, for showing us his great provision. 00:01:57.090 --> 00:01:59.719 God, we're just thankful for that. And so this 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:01.560 morning, God, as we come to you and come to your 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:03.599 throne, God, I just ask that you would quiet 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:06.219 our spirits, God. God, I ask that you would remove 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:09.000 any distraction from us, God, and that you would 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.680 help us just to focus entirely on you, God. Lord, 00:02:13.740 --> 00:02:16.360 thank you for bringing us here today. God, thank 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:19.080 you for bringing us together. And God, I just 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.780 ask that you would move, that you would strengthen 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:24.319 our souls, God, that you would encourage us to 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:27.599 draw closer and closer to you, God. I ask this 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:30.659 in your name. Amen. So like I mentioned, we're 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:32.099 starting this new sermon series looking at the 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:34.599 seven signs in the gospel of John. So I just 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:36.699 kind of want to take a quick minute just to talk 00:02:36.699 --> 00:02:39.300 a little bit about why John does this, because 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:40.659 there's a reason that John does this. It's not 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:43.060 just pure coincidence or accident that John does 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:46.000 this. See, John has seven signs he records throughout 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.060 the gospel of John with a very clear purpose. 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:50.919 Each one of these seven signs shows us another 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:54.819 part of who Jesus is. Each one of the signs is 00:02:54.819 --> 00:02:56.699 going to show us something else about Jesus, 00:02:56.780 --> 00:02:59.319 something else that we need to understand about 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.560 who Jesus is. And that matters because John writes 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.219 his gospel with the explicit goal of making clear 00:03:05.219 --> 00:03:09.000 that Jesus is the Son of God. If you hear nothing 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.599 else about the gospel of John today, hear that 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:12.379 if you read the gospel of John, you will come 00:03:12.379 --> 00:03:15.280 away from understanding that Jesus is the Son 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:18.960 of God, that Jesus is fully God and fully man. 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:21.379 In fact, that's exactly what we see in John 1, 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:25.530 1 through 14. is this beautiful passage that 00:03:25.530 --> 00:03:28.169 John writes talking through how Jesus is both 00:03:28.169 --> 00:03:32.810 God and Jesus is man. And so John shows us these 00:03:32.810 --> 00:03:35.729 seven signs to show us different parts of what 00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:38.389 we need to know about Jesus. John loves the number 00:03:38.389 --> 00:03:40.069 seven, I'm convinced, because also throughout 00:03:40.069 --> 00:03:43.310 the gospel of John, John records seven I am statements. 00:03:43.409 --> 00:03:44.949 There's seven statements that Jesus makes where 00:03:44.949 --> 00:03:47.210 he says, I am this, I am this. For instance, 00:03:47.310 --> 00:03:50.479 I am the vine, I am the good shepherd. And John 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:52.259 loves that number seven. But this summer, we're 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:54.939 looking at these seven signs, seven things that 00:03:54.939 --> 00:03:57.340 Jesus does that we need to understand that teach 00:03:57.340 --> 00:04:00.639 us more about who Jesus is. And so this morning, 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.539 our main point kind of summarizes what that is 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:05.400 we're going to learn about Jesus today. Here's 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:08.719 what it is. It's Jesus has authority and power, 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:12.360 and miracles show this. Jesus has authority and 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:18.290 power, and miracles show this. You know, so often 00:04:18.290 --> 00:04:21.069 we read John 2, 1 through 11, when we see the 00:04:21.069 --> 00:04:22.610 miracle that's going to take place, we get so 00:04:22.610 --> 00:04:25.170 caught up by what happens that we almost miss 00:04:25.170 --> 00:04:27.509 the greater meaning of it. But unfortunately, 00:04:27.569 --> 00:04:30.189 the truth is that John 2, 1 through 11 is not 00:04:30.189 --> 00:04:31.949 just about a wedding. That's a little spoiler 00:04:31.949 --> 00:04:34.870 alert. John 2, 1 through 11 is really about who 00:04:34.870 --> 00:04:38.189 Jesus is. It's really about what Jesus has done 00:04:38.189 --> 00:04:40.730 for us and what Jesus continues to do for us. 00:04:40.769 --> 00:04:42.910 It's about how Jesus has authority and how Jesus 00:04:42.910 --> 00:04:46.199 has power. And so as we start our series looking 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:47.439 through these, I just want to give us a very 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:49.800 quick word of context about where we are in the 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.759 gospel of John. So John 1, 1 through 14, like 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:55.420 I mentioned, tells us in a very poetic way who 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:58.839 Jesus is. It tells us what the gospel of John 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:02.060 is going to talk about, about why it matters, 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:04.860 and then how we should respond to it. And then 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:07.240 John 1 begins to switch its focus a little bit, 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:09.019 starts to tell the story of Jesus. It explains 00:05:09.019 --> 00:05:11.689 to us Jesus's life. And it starts by switching 00:05:11.689 --> 00:05:13.850 its focus to John the Baptist, who's going around 00:05:13.850 --> 00:05:17.009 testifying about who Jesus is. That John the 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:19.509 Baptist recognizes Jesus is Lord, and he does 00:05:19.509 --> 00:05:21.209 so, in fact, actually in front of two of his 00:05:21.209 --> 00:05:24.610 disciples. One named Andrew, and then one is 00:05:24.610 --> 00:05:26.569 John, who would later go on to write the Gospel 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:29.610 of John. Now, interestingly enough, John does 00:05:29.610 --> 00:05:32.009 not talk about himself by name in his Gospel. 00:05:32.370 --> 00:05:34.250 He instead prefers to use other titles, such 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:36.149 as the other disciple, or my personal favorite, 00:05:36.329 --> 00:05:40.240 the disciple whom Jesus loved. Which is a beautiful 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:42.319 thing, but also makes me laugh a little bit inside. 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:45.500 And he doesn't use his name actually on purpose. 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:47.639 It comes from a place of humility, but it also 00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:49.860 shows that John is an eyewitness of what he writes. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.100 So when we see something like the events of John 00:05:52.100 --> 00:05:53.839 2, 1 through 11, when we read something that 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:56.079 seems too good to be true, we can actually have 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:58.639 confidence. We can have confidence because we 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:01.019 know this to be true, because John who writes 00:06:01.019 --> 00:06:04.360 this was actually there. John who writes this 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:08.220 was physically present for this event. And so 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:11.980 Jesus talks in John 1 to Andrew and to John. 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:14.800 He calls them to be disciples. Andrew goes and 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:16.959 tells his brother, who later is renamed as Peter. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:19.600 And then Jesus also calls Philip and Nathaniel 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:21.079 to be his disciples. And that's where chapter 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:23.779 1 ends. And then chapter 2 picks up with something 00:06:23.779 --> 00:06:25.639 else. It's only recorded in the Gospel of John. 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:28.100 There's something so beautiful, I think, so helpful 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:30.720 for us as we consider who is Jesus about the 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.720 events of John 2. So look at John 2, verses 1 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.060 and 2 with me. It says this, On the third day, 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:39.300 a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus' 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:41.319 mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:44.420 were invited to the wedding as well. So a few 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:46.139 days later, at some point during the week, there's 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:48.399 a wedding. Now, we read this. It says the wedding's 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:50.600 on the third day. That's on a Tuesday. And if 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:52.379 you're like me, you're thinking, who gets married 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:55.259 on a Tuesday? That makes no sense at all. Why 00:06:55.259 --> 00:06:56.639 would you get married on a Tuesday? I remember 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:58.160 when Hope and I were choosing out dates for our 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:00.199 wedding, and we're going between Friday, Saturday, 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:02.620 Sunday. And we're like, what's easiest for people 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:04.939 to make it to? Tuesday never crossed our mind. 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:06.639 We never thought, well, you know what we'll do? 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:09.019 We'll go get married on Tuesday. But in Jewish 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:10.519 culture, that was actually a very normal thing. 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:12.540 It was normal for brides who were virgins to 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:13.959 get married on the third day, that's Tuesday, 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:15.660 and then for widows who were getting remarried 00:07:15.660 --> 00:07:17.500 to get married on the fourth or the fifth day. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:19.399 So it's also important, though, to understand 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:21.779 just how different a Jewish wedding at this time 00:07:21.779 --> 00:07:24.120 was. When Hope and I got married, our ceremony 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:26.480 started at 5 after being delayed by 30 minutes 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.240 by our DJ, and then it ended at 10. And by 10, 00:07:29.259 --> 00:07:31.500 when I say it ended, I mean we were gone. Everything 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:33.120 was gone, everything was cleaned up, everyone 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.199 was gone. They were home, they were back at their 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:37.939 hotels. But in Jesus' day, wedding feasts were 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:39.939 decadent. They could last for up to a week, depending 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:42.180 on how wealthy the couple getting married was. 00:07:43.379 --> 00:07:45.779 These were large crowd events with drinking and 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:47.420 eating and singing and praising God and giving 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:49.319 to the poor and more. In the traditional Jewish 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:50.959 wedding, we could summarize like this, it was 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:53.240 different than what our modern weddings are today. 00:07:53.860 --> 00:07:55.519 See, so often we read this, oh, they were at 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:56.899 a wedding, we think, well, they were at the ceremony. 00:07:57.240 --> 00:07:59.420 But in reality, the ceremony was a very intimate, 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:02.300 close, family -only event. So maybe he's at the 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:04.120 ceremony, maybe he's not. But this is really 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:06.860 taking place at the reception. They're invited 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:08.680 to this wedding reception in Cana of Galilee. 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:12.220 And Cana is about 11 miles southwest of the Sea 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:14.819 of Galilee. Now Jesus spends a lot of his ministry 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:16.740 by the Sea of Galilee. Some of his most famous 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:19.300 miracles happen in this area. And here he is 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:22.660 with his disciples in Galilee just before the 00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:25.720 wedding. Now let me be clear on something. We 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:27.899 don't know whose wedding this is. If you're like 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:29.420 me, you would love to know whose wedding this 00:08:29.420 --> 00:08:31.139 is. And you're probably curious, well, why does 00:08:31.139 --> 00:08:33.000 it matter so much that Jesus is at this wedding? 00:08:33.019 --> 00:08:35.039 And why does Mary care so much about this wedding? 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:38.230 Whose wedding is it? But the purpose of this 00:08:38.230 --> 00:08:40.169 passage isn't really to think about who is getting 00:08:40.169 --> 00:08:42.029 married and who had Jesus on their guest list, 00:08:42.129 --> 00:08:44.950 but instead the purpose is to show us something 00:08:44.950 --> 00:08:48.210 about Jesus. Remember, the purpose of a miracle 00:08:48.210 --> 00:08:50.629 is simple, and here the purpose of this miracle 00:08:50.629 --> 00:08:53.809 is to show us that Jesus has authority and power, 00:08:53.929 --> 00:08:56.289 not just that Jesus has family and friends who 00:08:56.289 --> 00:09:01.409 got married. Before we get to the actual sign 00:09:01.409 --> 00:09:03.990 that we go through, let me just take note of 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:05.409 something and really highlight something that 00:09:05.409 --> 00:09:07.769 we need to understand from this passage. John 00:09:07.769 --> 00:09:09.990 records that Jesus goes to this wedding with 00:09:09.990 --> 00:09:13.870 his disciples, including John. This matters because 00:09:13.870 --> 00:09:16.590 John was actually an eyewitness of what happened. 00:09:16.789 --> 00:09:18.809 So how do we have confidence that this happened 00:09:18.809 --> 00:09:20.970 when we read something that sounds honestly pretty 00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:23.509 wild? We have confidence because John witnessed 00:09:23.509 --> 00:09:26.559 these events. John actually saw this miracle 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.720 take place. And if you're like me and you ever 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:32.039 took Chemistry 101, you know that we don't typically 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:34.779 talk about water becoming wine. There's a missing 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:37.440 ingredient there. Something's got to come and 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.320 change water to wine. And so when we read this, 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:42.120 if we don't know where John is, if we don't know 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:43.519 that anyone actually saw this, we can begin to 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:45.600 be tempted to think, did this really happen? 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:48.899 But because we know that John is there, we can 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:51.299 have confidence knowing that this truly happened. 00:09:51.870 --> 00:09:54.129 It gives validity to what we're about to read 00:09:54.129 --> 00:09:58.230 in John 2, 3 through 11. So John 2, 3 through 00:09:58.230 --> 00:09:59.950 5 sets the scene for what's about to happen, 00:09:59.970 --> 00:10:02.110 for what this sign is about to be. So read this 00:10:02.110 --> 00:10:04.590 with me. It says, When the wine ran out, Jesus' 00:10:04.789 --> 00:10:08.389 mother told him, They don't have any wine. What 00:10:08.389 --> 00:10:09.769 is this concerning of yours to do with me, woman? 00:10:09.870 --> 00:10:13.419 Jesus asked. My hour has not yet come. Do whatever 00:10:13.419 --> 00:10:14.899 he tells you, his mother told the servants. So 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:16.759 as the party goes on, the wine runs out here 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:18.960 at this wedding, and Jesus' mom, Mary, comes 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:20.940 to him and says, hey Jesus, I need you to fix 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:23.639 this for me. And we don't know exactly why she 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:27.039 does this. In all likelihood, as best as commentators 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:28.919 can tell, this is probably some sort of a family 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.240 wedding, and Mary was worried they would bring 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.259 dishonor on their family by running out of wine. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:35.179 In other words, she was worried they would look 00:10:35.179 --> 00:10:37.700 bad. And we know from Luke chapter 2 that Jesus' 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:40.320 family is not wealthy to begin with. We see that 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:42.279 the sacrifices they offer when they dedicate 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:45.519 Jesus are the sacrifices given for a poor person 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:47.899 to offer. They don't have a lot of money. They 00:10:47.899 --> 00:10:49.440 probably didn't get enough food or wine, honestly, 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:51.840 for the wedding feast. And so Mary comes to Jesus 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:53.419 and she comes to him and says, listen, they don't 00:10:53.419 --> 00:10:55.899 have any wine left. Let me make this clear on 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:58.759 something. Mary is expecting Jesus to do something 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:02.100 here. I honestly don't... think Mary knows what 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:04.000 she's expecting, but she's expecting Jesus to 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:05.960 do something. Whether that's going and buying 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:08.659 more wine, whether that's finding more wine somewhere 00:11:08.659 --> 00:11:10.220 else, whether that's making a deal with somebody 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:12.740 to get some wine, somehow Mary is expecting Jesus 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:16.600 to come up with some wine. When we read that, 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:18.179 we're kind of like, man, that really stinks for 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:20.200 the party. Like, out of wine, out of fun, that's 00:11:20.200 --> 00:11:22.980 a bummer. But really, Mary is saying something 00:11:22.980 --> 00:11:26.620 like this. Listen, Jesus, I'm your mom. I'm telling 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:29.960 you what to do. Do this for me. Mothers, you 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:31.379 might have done that sometimes to your children. 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:32.639 Parents in general, you might have done that 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:35.360 to your children. Listen, I'm your parent, so 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:39.080 obey me. Just do this for me. That's kind of 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:42.539 what she's doing here. But here's the thing. 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:44.480 Jesus didn't do miracles just to make people 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:47.590 happy. He didn't do a miracle to make his mother 00:11:47.590 --> 00:11:49.970 happy because Jesus wasn't a performer. Jesus 00:11:49.970 --> 00:11:52.649 is the Son of God. Jesus did miracles to bring 00:11:52.649 --> 00:11:54.970 glory to God and to bring people to repentance. 00:11:55.330 --> 00:11:57.470 And so Jesus responds to Mary, and when we read 00:11:57.470 --> 00:11:59.529 it in English, it sounds really weird because 00:11:59.529 --> 00:12:01.809 if I said this to my mother, my mother would 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:04.169 never speak to me again. And I'm really not making 00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:07.149 that up, especially the part where he calls his 00:12:07.149 --> 00:12:09.779 mother woman. But in reality, what we need to 00:12:09.779 --> 00:12:11.580 understand is that Jesus's response is really 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.240 a cultural idiom of sorts. It's an idiom inside 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:16.139 of Aramaic, and then he actually is addressing 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:18.659 his mother in a respectful way. Jesus is essentially 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:21.100 saying this, ma 'am, I'm an adult now. I'm not 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:23.320 under your authority, and so you need to treat 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:25.259 me as another adult. So it's not about him being 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:27.580 rude or not being rude. Instead, the emphasis 00:12:27.580 --> 00:12:30.080 is on how Jesus gets to make the call about what 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.480 is going to happen, that Jesus gets to make the 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:34.700 decision, is there going to be more wine here 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:37.240 or not? No longer can his mom say something like, 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.220 Jesus, do what I tell you to do because I told 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:43.179 you so. And then Jesus says this, my hour has 00:12:43.179 --> 00:12:46.179 not yet come. When he says that, Jesus is making 00:12:46.179 --> 00:12:49.960 clear that he works on God's timing, not on Mary's 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:52.379 timing. To say this another way, this interaction 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:54.179 back and forth is really significant because 00:12:54.179 --> 00:12:57.889 it shows that Jesus has his own authority. That 00:12:57.889 --> 00:13:00.389 Jesus is authoritative, and of course he is, 00:13:00.389 --> 00:13:02.789 because Jesus is fully God. As we read last week 00:13:02.789 --> 00:13:05.490 in Matthew 28, 18, Jesus has all authority in 00:13:05.490 --> 00:13:08.990 heaven and on earth. That Jesus has all authority, 00:13:09.049 --> 00:13:11.649 all types of authority. But notice what Jesus 00:13:11.649 --> 00:13:13.730 doesn't do here, even as he has all authority. 00:13:13.950 --> 00:13:17.169 Jesus doesn't say, no, he's going to do something 00:13:17.169 --> 00:13:19.590 here, but he's going to do it for a reason other 00:13:19.590 --> 00:13:22.210 than just making his mother happy. He's going 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:23.970 to do it because of how it's going to bring some 00:13:23.970 --> 00:13:27.679 people to faith. See, so often when we read John 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.039 2, 1 through 11, we think the key verse is really 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:32.519 like verse 8 where the miracle happens, or the 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:35.320 key verse is here in verse 4. But really, the 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.360 key verse of John 2, 1 through 11 is verse 11. 00:13:38.740 --> 00:13:41.220 And just to skip ahead real quick, verse 11 ends 00:13:41.220 --> 00:13:43.960 with this, he being Jesus revealed his glory 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:47.720 and his disciples believed in him. That is the 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:50.679 purpose of this miracle. He's doing this miracle 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:52.960 because he's going to bring people to faith. 00:13:53.610 --> 00:13:55.110 And so Mary in this moment, I don't know if she's 00:13:55.110 --> 00:13:57.129 fully grasping what Jesus is talking about, you 00:13:57.129 --> 00:13:58.769 know, we don't have the non -verbals here, but 00:13:58.769 --> 00:14:00.769 she looks at the servants and says, listen, whatever 00:14:00.769 --> 00:14:03.330 Jesus tells you to do, just go ahead and do it. 00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:06.230 Just obey Jesus, whatever he says, get it done. 00:14:07.110 --> 00:14:09.450 And so then we pick up in John 2, 6 through 8. 00:14:09.529 --> 00:14:12.309 It says this, now six stone water jars have been 00:14:12.309 --> 00:14:14.230 set there for Jewish purification. That was a 00:14:14.230 --> 00:14:16.450 part of the wedding ceremony. And each contained 00:14:16.450 --> 00:14:19.889 20 or 30 gallons, that's between 160 and 250 00:14:19.889 --> 00:14:26.000 pounds of water. It says, fill the jars with 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:27.899 water, Jesus told them. So they filled them to 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:29.980 the brim. And then he said to them, now draw 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:31.899 some out and take it to the head waiter. And 00:14:31.899 --> 00:14:34.379 they did. So John tells us some more details 00:14:34.379 --> 00:14:36.460 setting the scene here. There's these six stone 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:38.820 water jars set up for purification, which is 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:41.539 part of the wedding feast. Understand purification, 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.600 which is something we see in Leviticus 12 and 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.539 13, had to do with sin and people showing their 00:14:46.539 --> 00:14:49.320 desire for spiritual renewal or for their desire 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.360 to have a closer walk with God. So part of the 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:54.879 wedding ceremony was about renewal and saying 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.799 as a couple, we need more of God. We want to 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:00.200 walk in obedience to God. We need to follow God. 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:03.940 And further, this step called the mikvah was 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:06.700 a reminder of Israel's constant need for a savior. 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.179 It was a reminder that the Israelites needed 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:13.049 something greater. Is it any coincidence that 00:15:13.049 --> 00:15:16.289 Jesus, the one and the true Savior, uses these 00:15:16.289 --> 00:15:18.409 jars that reminded this entire wedding of their 00:15:18.409 --> 00:15:21.809 need for a Savior to do his first miracle? Absolutely 00:15:21.809 --> 00:15:25.470 not. Absolutely not. In fact, the writer of Hebrews 00:15:25.470 --> 00:15:28.169 actually uses very similar language in Hebrews 00:15:28.169 --> 00:15:31.090 1, 3, ending this verse saying this, after making 00:15:31.090 --> 00:15:34.029 purification for sins, Jesus sat down at the 00:15:34.029 --> 00:15:36.929 right hand of the majesty on high. There's that 00:15:36.929 --> 00:15:39.129 word again, purification, kind of linking what 00:15:39.129 --> 00:15:42.200 happens in John 2. all the way to what Jesus 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:45.940 does for us. See, Jesus came to earth to make 00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:49.840 purification. Jesus came to earth to save us, 00:15:50.019 --> 00:15:52.419 to make it so we no longer needed some ritualistic 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:57.600 form of purification. And John tells us that 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:00.059 each of these jars could hold 20 to 30 gallons 00:16:00.059 --> 00:16:06.320 of water. Let me be abundantly clear on something. 00:16:06.460 --> 00:16:09.820 These things are absolutely huge. A gallon of 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:13.639 water is 8 .3 pounds. So these jars are about 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:17.240 250 pounds, just with the water weight. And then 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:19.779 you add in the additional weight of a stone jar, 00:16:19.820 --> 00:16:23.820 a dense stone jar. These are absolutely massive. 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:26.179 I don't know about you guys, but typically when 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:28.480 I read this passage, I've read it and kind of 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:30.200 pictured in my head these servants going and 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:32.320 filling up like a pitcher, like we have a potluck, 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:34.340 and they bring it to Jesus. I'm like, okay, Jesus, 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:37.000 we did what you asked us to do. And in reality, 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:39.139 they're taking these massive jars and thinking, 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.440 this takes time, this is a lot of work. They're 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.700 moving hundreds of thousands of pounds of water. 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:47.740 But notice, they obey. They do whatever Jesus 00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:50.879 tells them, because Jesus, once again, clearly 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:55.320 holds all authority. Jesus is in charge, and 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:58.580 Jesus is the one calling the shots here. So once 00:16:58.580 --> 00:17:00.019 they're filled to the brim, Jesus gives these 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:03.220 waiters their next instruction. They take some 00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:04.539 of the water out and take it to the head waiter. 00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:08.799 Now, I don't know about you. Personally, if I 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:11.779 was them, I'd be a little confused. Jesus, I 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:14.420 just filled up this massive jar with water. It 00:17:14.420 --> 00:17:17.539 is only water. This is a purification jar, Jesus. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:19.980 This has never been used for anything other than 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:23.039 holding water. There's no way this is anything 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:26.000 but water, Jesus. So I will obey because you 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.299 have authority. I've been told to obey you, but 00:17:29.299 --> 00:17:31.940 nothing has happened. Nothing's changed. You 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:35.720 didn't put anything in these, Jesus. what are 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:37.500 you expecting this to be, Jesus? Like, they ask 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:40.119 for wine, not more water. That doesn't make sense 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:43.259 to me. But nonetheless, they do it. And they 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:47.480 do it, why? Because Jesus has authority. See, 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:49.920 we see Jesus' authority throughout his ministry 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:52.039 as a whole, honestly. We saw just a few weeks 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:54.859 ago in Matthew 7, 28, and 29, through his teaching. 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.299 We see it through his miracles. We see it through 00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:59.779 so many different things that he does. But here 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:02.640 is yet another example of Jesus' authority. that 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:06.839 he speaks and people obey. And yes, they're servants, 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:08.759 let's be clear. But they've also just been told 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:10.660 to bring water to their boss, and their boss 00:18:10.660 --> 00:18:13.539 asked for wine. I don't know about you, I would 00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:16.140 hesitate on that. But let's see what happens 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:18.759 in verses 9 and 10 with the head waiter. We read 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:21.799 this. When the head waiter tasted the water after 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.259 it had become wine, he did not know where it 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:26.140 came from, though the servants who had drawn 00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:28.200 the water knew. So he called the groom and he 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:30.700 told him, everyone sets out the fine wine first, 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:32.839 then after the people are drunk, the inferior. 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:36.259 But you, you have kept the fine wine until now. 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:37.920 So the head waiter, this is the guy in charge 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:39.559 of the entire event, the day of coordinator, 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:41.839 to use modern terms, takes this water and he 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:43.960 starts to drink it. But it's not water anymore, 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.279 it's wine. Jesus has changed this from water 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:50.099 into wine. And listen, I was not incredible at 00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:52.839 chemistry, but I was pretty good at it. I passed 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:56.309 it really comfortably. And water has a very different 00:18:56.309 --> 00:18:59.730 chemical structure than wine. Something has to 00:18:59.730 --> 00:19:03.230 happen. Some change has to take place to go from 00:19:03.230 --> 00:19:06.690 a barrel of water to a barrel of aged wine. There's 00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:09.190 a missing ingredient there. And here's the missing 00:19:09.190 --> 00:19:11.589 ingredient. The missing ingredient is the power 00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:15.210 of God. Only the power of God can do that instantly, 00:19:15.349 --> 00:19:17.670 to take a barrel of water and turn it into a 00:19:17.670 --> 00:19:19.930 barrel of wine. And the head waiter is absolutely 00:19:19.930 --> 00:19:21.650 stunned because he has no idea where this wine 00:19:21.650 --> 00:19:25.509 comes from. The servants know, though. The servants 00:19:25.509 --> 00:19:27.589 know. Imagine what their response must have been 00:19:27.589 --> 00:19:30.150 like. The sheer surprise they're feeling as they 00:19:30.150 --> 00:19:33.250 realize what Jesus just did. That Jesus just 00:19:33.250 --> 00:19:36.410 took this barrel of water and turned it into 00:19:36.410 --> 00:19:40.710 wine. That's not normal. Purification jars don't 00:19:40.710 --> 00:19:44.529 just often spring up wine. In this moment of 00:19:44.529 --> 00:19:46.069 surprise, the head waiter goes over to the groom 00:19:46.069 --> 00:19:47.549 and he gives him a bit of a hard time, honestly. 00:19:47.650 --> 00:19:49.190 See, we read this so often. It's like, oh, you 00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:50.609 must be super rich because you saved the good 00:19:50.609 --> 00:19:52.769 wine for last. He's actually kind of giving the 00:19:52.769 --> 00:19:54.789 groom a hard time here. Why did you give out 00:19:54.789 --> 00:19:57.269 the bad wine first, dude? That makes no sense. 00:19:58.650 --> 00:20:00.210 Because by this point in the party, people are 00:20:00.210 --> 00:20:01.869 no longer paying attention to the quality of 00:20:01.869 --> 00:20:03.710 the wine, so cheaper wine is served later on. 00:20:04.049 --> 00:20:05.450 And for this groom, he's thinking, wait a second, 00:20:05.490 --> 00:20:06.789 I thought we already did serve the good wine. 00:20:06.829 --> 00:20:08.990 What are you talking about? But once again, this 00:20:08.990 --> 00:20:11.150 isn't really about the wine. This is all about 00:20:11.150 --> 00:20:15.089 Jesus's power. Because Jesus's power is magnified 00:20:15.089 --> 00:20:17.210 when he takes water and turns it into wine with 00:20:17.210 --> 00:20:20.109 nothing else happening. It's not possible any 00:20:20.109 --> 00:20:22.890 other way. It's a true physical impossibility 00:20:22.890 --> 00:20:25.609 for water to immediately become wine with nothing 00:20:25.609 --> 00:20:27.730 being added into it. I can't say that enough. 00:20:28.930 --> 00:20:31.009 But I want to challenge that this miracle should 00:20:31.009 --> 00:20:33.289 bring our mind to something more than just what 00:20:33.289 --> 00:20:37.009 Jesus did here. See, in a way, this miracle should 00:20:37.009 --> 00:20:38.569 remind us of something that takes place in the 00:20:38.569 --> 00:20:41.630 Old Testament. See, in the Old Testament, there's 00:20:41.630 --> 00:20:44.660 this link between blood and wine. Genesis chapter 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:46.960 49 talks about the spilled blood of a savior, 00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:49.299 but how the savior's garments will be washed 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:52.619 in wine. Kind of another Old Testament reference 00:20:52.619 --> 00:20:54.920 I think our mind should go to. In Exodus 7, we 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:57.119 see the first plague that God sends to Egypt. 00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:01.220 God is bringing his people out of their bondage 00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:03.240 to slavery, out of their bondage and slavery 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:06.839 to the Egyptian empire, to this evil ruler who 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:09.019 persecutes them and who keeps them from truly 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:11.680 worshiping and having a relationship with God. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.019 And God sends ten plagues on Egypt before they 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:15.920 let the Israelites go. And the first plague is 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:18.299 that God takes the water of Egypt and turns it 00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:22.880 into blood. God turns water into blood. God can 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.299 turn water into wine. And remember, there's this 00:21:25.299 --> 00:21:27.880 Old Testament link between this wine and blood. 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:30.599 But it doesn't end there. Instead, think about 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.640 another thing with me. As Jesus is hanging on 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:36.779 the cross, as he's just about to give his life 00:21:36.779 --> 00:21:39.819 for you and for me, what has he offered to drink? 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:43.509 He's offered wine. See, in a way, this miracle 00:21:43.509 --> 00:21:46.490 is a small foreshadowing of Jesus' true mission, 00:21:46.609 --> 00:21:49.329 that Jesus' mission and purpose was always to 00:21:49.329 --> 00:21:51.309 redeem us and to save us from slavery to sin. 00:21:51.549 --> 00:21:53.690 See, when we boil this miracle down to just being 00:21:53.690 --> 00:21:55.910 about wine, we've missed so much of what's going 00:21:55.910 --> 00:21:58.329 on. We miss out on the power of God. We miss 00:21:58.329 --> 00:22:00.910 how Jesus is announcing who he is, and we miss 00:22:00.910 --> 00:22:03.690 how Jesus is foreshadowing what he's on earth 00:22:03.690 --> 00:22:07.730 to do. And what is Jesus on earth to do? Jesus 00:22:07.730 --> 00:22:11.319 is on earth to save us. That just as Jesus can 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.700 turn water into wine, that Jesus' blood is going 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:19.019 to buy us back from sin. That Jesus' perfect 00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:22.640 blood will be spilled for us. It will take our 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:25.220 place. It will take our punishment that we deserve 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:29.920 for sin. And it will save us. So as we look at 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:33.579 John 2, 1 -10, don't get caught up on the wine. 00:22:34.339 --> 00:22:38.220 Instead, see the bigger picture. See Jesus' authority 00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:42.119 and His power. See how Jesus foreshadows what's 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:45.279 going to come later. See how Jesus is pointing 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:47.519 us towards what's going to happen on the cross. 00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:51.420 That Jesus is going to give his life. That his 00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:54.299 garments are going to be covered in wine, so 00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:58.160 to speak, to use Genesis 49 language. That his 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:00.980 blood is going to be shed for us so that we can 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:03.180 be saved, just as the Israelites were saved from 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:05.819 Egypt, but so much greater. Because we're not 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:07.980 just saved from some earthly ruler. we are saved 00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:10.160 from an eternal punishment, an eternal separation 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:13.400 from God. And so with that in mind, let's look 00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:17.279 at John 2, 11. It says this, Jesus did this, 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:21.180 the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He 00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:24.059 revealed his glory, and his disciples believed 00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:28.039 in him. Simply put, this is what John 2, 1 -10 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:31.059 was immediately and all about. This miracle, 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:33.359 as with all miracles, makes God's glory great 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:36.410 and reveals it to people. Jesus, understand, 00:23:36.509 --> 00:23:38.250 did not change water into wine because his mother 00:23:38.250 --> 00:23:41.349 asked him to. Jesus did it to reveal his glory. 00:23:42.150 --> 00:23:44.150 And notice what happens when the disciples see 00:23:44.150 --> 00:23:48.470 Jesus' glory. They believe. They see who Jesus 00:23:48.470 --> 00:23:51.329 actually is. That Jesus isn't just another teacher. 00:23:51.390 --> 00:23:54.170 Jesus isn't just another rabbi. Jesus is so much 00:23:54.170 --> 00:23:59.289 more. And they believe. They recognize and believe 00:23:59.289 --> 00:24:03.960 that Jesus is something more. This part. This 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.839 part is the key of the entire passage. Because 00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:08.680 the miracle was never about the wedding party 00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:11.259 having enough wine to drink. It was never about 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.680 Mary telling Jesus what to do. It was never about 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:15.180 the head waiter not understanding. This miracle 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:18.480 was always about showing Jesus his power and 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:22.200 glory. And I love even more about this is that 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:24.880 in miracles there's always an audience. And Jesus 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:26.759 does this miracle with a very specific audience 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:30.099 in mind. And that is his disciples. These disciples 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:32.700 that he's just called. They would see his glory 00:24:32.700 --> 00:24:35.779 revealed, and they would believe. If you think 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:37.440 about it like this, when Jesus feeds the 5 ,000, 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:40.019 his audience is the 5 ,000 people who are there. 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:42.759 His audience isn't somebody over randomly in 00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:45.019 Spain in that moment. His audience is the people 00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:47.380 who see this. That's the same thing here in John 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:50.079 2. His audience is his disciples. They see his 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:53.900 glory, and they believe in him. And in addition 00:24:53.900 --> 00:24:56.940 to that, In addition to showing who he was, showing 00:24:56.940 --> 00:24:59.640 that Jesus was powerful, Jesus used this to start 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:01.740 putting a little bit of foreshadowing in front 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:03.640 of us, to start putting a little bit of foreshadowing 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:06.140 in front of his disciples, to show us that something 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:09.359 more was going to happen with Jesus. That something 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:12.799 more was going to happen. Because the purpose 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:15.960 of this was always about bringing glory to God. 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:20.220 I don't know if you're like me, but sometimes 00:25:20.220 --> 00:25:22.900 on Instagram, random things show up in my feed. 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:25.279 My favorite are when it's like the back hills 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:27.099 churches in West Virginia that are like doing 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:29.240 like the snake talking and stuff or they're like, 00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:31.420 you know, some dude who's like punching people 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:33.180 in the face like you're healed now. Like you're 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:34.960 not healed, you're just, you've got a sore face 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:37.720 now. So you don't think about your foot hurting. 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:40.680 But here's the issue. When people do this, when 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:42.819 people record this, they start trying to chase 00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:45.380 after miracles and turn miracles into being about 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:48.440 them. Their power, their holiness, their goodness, 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:51.769 their authority. But miracles are never about 00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:55.029 us. Miracles are always about God. Because miracles 00:25:55.029 --> 00:25:58.109 shine a spotlight onto God. Once again, how can 00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:00.829 water become wine? Only through the power of 00:26:00.829 --> 00:26:04.049 God. Only through the power of God can water 00:26:04.049 --> 00:26:07.210 become wine. And listen, that's going to bring 00:26:07.210 --> 00:26:10.930 us to our time of application. If we can go ahead 00:26:10.930 --> 00:26:14.130 and put the first slide up there. Jesus' miracles 00:26:14.130 --> 00:26:19.619 call us to believe. Jesus' miracles call us to 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:26.000 believe. When we see who Jesus is, our first 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:29.819 response has to be faith. Our first response 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:33.660 has to be to do something differently. When we 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:35.920 see Jesus' authority in front of us, we have 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:37.420 to recognize that it's calling us to something 00:26:37.420 --> 00:26:39.380 greater, something that's different than where 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:42.440 we were at beforehand. Otherwise, Jesus would 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:44.619 have just skipped over the miracle part, but 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:47.559 he didn't. So what do we do? How do we respond 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:51.740 to this? Well, see, as humans, we all live in 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:54.240 this state of brokenness. This place where we 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:55.740 are hurting, where we don't have enough wine 00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:57.680 at the wedding. We don't have the money that 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:00.759 we think we want. We've got needs and cares and 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:03.480 concerns. Maybe we don't know exactly what's 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:04.740 going on in our life. Maybe things feel a little 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:07.240 bit out of control. And there's a reason for 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:09.720 all of that. And the reason for that is sin. 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:12.819 See, all the way back at the very beginning of 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:15.829 the Bible, Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan 00:27:15.829 --> 00:27:18.430 and they listened, and in pride they disobeyed 00:27:18.430 --> 00:27:21.250 God. And from that day on, every person ever 00:27:21.250 --> 00:27:23.569 born has been born with a sin nature or a natural 00:27:23.569 --> 00:27:25.890 proclivity to run after themselves rather than 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:28.029 running after God. And throughout the Old Testament 00:27:28.029 --> 00:27:30.529 we see this system of sacrifices to remind the 00:27:30.529 --> 00:27:32.809 people of Israel of how much they need God, of 00:27:32.809 --> 00:27:34.150 how desperately they need God and they need to 00:27:34.150 --> 00:27:38.970 walk with God. But it's never enough. It's never 00:27:38.970 --> 00:27:43.130 enough. Think of somebody like David. David is 00:27:43.130 --> 00:27:45.750 called a man after God's own heart. Even David 00:27:45.750 --> 00:27:49.089 goes off and has his issues. David runs after 00:27:49.089 --> 00:27:52.210 Bathsheba in pride. David goes off and counts 00:27:52.210 --> 00:27:54.849 his fighting men to try to see how powerful he 00:27:54.849 --> 00:27:59.109 truly is. And all throughout the Old Testament, 00:27:59.210 --> 00:28:01.569 we're promised something greater. We're promised 00:28:01.569 --> 00:28:03.250 a Savior going all the way back to Genesis 49. 00:28:04.509 --> 00:28:06.410 That someone from the tribe of Judah will come 00:28:06.410 --> 00:28:10.890 and his garments will be washed in wine or covered 00:28:10.890 --> 00:28:14.829 in blood. And friends, that somebody is Jesus. 00:28:15.970 --> 00:28:18.329 Jesus' miracles shine a spotlight onto Jesus 00:28:18.329 --> 00:28:21.849 and who he truly is. That Jesus is where we need 00:28:21.849 --> 00:28:25.190 to put our faith. See, Jesus came to earth and 00:28:25.190 --> 00:28:28.130 he lived a perfect life. He never sinned. Sin 00:28:28.130 --> 00:28:29.970 is anything that misses the perfect mark of God 00:28:29.970 --> 00:28:33.529 and we do it all the time. All the time we sin. 00:28:34.630 --> 00:28:36.589 The time that that person cuts you off in traffic 00:28:36.589 --> 00:28:38.089 and gets super mad and says some stuff you probably 00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:40.730 shouldn't say, that's sin. And if you're like 00:28:40.730 --> 00:28:42.450 me, that happens pretty often on Neal Street. 00:28:42.970 --> 00:28:47.049 Should I stop driving on Neal Street? Listen, 00:28:47.109 --> 00:28:51.369 sin happens all over the place. That time you 00:28:51.369 --> 00:28:53.150 get angry with your wife or your husband when 00:28:53.150 --> 00:28:56.230 you shouldn't have. That lie you told when you 00:28:56.230 --> 00:28:57.670 were a kid where you told your parents, oh, I 00:28:57.670 --> 00:29:00.150 totally went and cleaned my room. And deep down 00:29:00.150 --> 00:29:02.990 you know you did not clean your room. That lie 00:29:02.990 --> 00:29:07.309 is a sin. And we sin constantly. But there is 00:29:07.309 --> 00:29:09.700 hope. And there is hope because of Jesus who 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:12.460 never sinned like us. There is hope because Jesus 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:16.259 went to the cross. That Jesus lived this perfect 00:29:16.259 --> 00:29:18.660 life and then gave it up on the cross. That he 00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:21.240 was punished like a criminal. And while he was 00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:22.960 on that cross, he took on the weight of all of 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:27.380 our sin, of all of our guilt. And Jesus died 00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:31.980 on that cross. But Jesus did not stay dead. See, 00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:33.940 Jesus dies on Friday, but on Sunday morning when 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:35.799 the women go to the tomb, there is no body anymore. 00:29:36.310 --> 00:29:38.990 because Jesus has risen. And when he rises from 00:29:38.990 --> 00:29:40.930 the dead, he does a couple things. First off, 00:29:41.029 --> 00:29:44.269 he defeats sin and he defeats death. He makes 00:29:44.269 --> 00:29:46.730 it so that we can be saved. So we no longer have 00:29:46.730 --> 00:29:48.650 to live as slaves to sin, but now we've been 00:29:48.650 --> 00:29:51.349 set free from sin. And so I want to challenge 00:29:51.349 --> 00:29:53.309 you this morning, if you are here and your faith 00:29:53.309 --> 00:29:56.809 is not in Jesus, put your faith in Jesus today. 00:29:57.910 --> 00:30:00.230 Don't wait. Don't wait until next year or next 00:30:00.230 --> 00:30:03.190 month. Don't say, well, listen, I just don't 00:30:03.190 --> 00:30:04.569 think about this stuff because it just seems 00:30:04.569 --> 00:30:08.700 kind of scary to me. Today, behold, Jesus is 00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:11.759 who he is. Jesus, who can take water and turn 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:13.339 it into wine. And my favorite part from all the 00:30:13.339 --> 00:30:15.440 commentaries I read this week is every single 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:17.339 one of them was a little surprised Jesus made 00:30:17.339 --> 00:30:20.900 good wine. Because Jesus has all of the power 00:30:20.900 --> 00:30:23.779 and all of the authority. And so just as Jesus 00:30:23.779 --> 00:30:26.160 can make the best wine there, Jesus can turn 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:30.039 your life around. Jesus can take your hurt and 00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:32.240 your pain and your suffering and be with you 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:36.019 in it. And no longer is it terrible, now you've 00:30:36.019 --> 00:30:39.960 got hope. So let me challenge you today. When 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:42.099 I say that Jesus' miracles call us to believe, 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:47.279 first, believe. Do you believe? And if you don't 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:50.799 believe, today, put your faith in Jesus. Here's 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:54.599 the second sub -point under this. When we have 00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:57.460 news this good, When we have news this good that 00:30:57.460 --> 00:30:59.359 Jesus can do all this, that Jesus has authority 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:01.660 and that Jesus has power, we need to take this 00:31:01.660 --> 00:31:04.200 with us. We need to take this with us to the 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:05.859 world around us. I don't mean do it in a weird 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:08.519 way where you just drop a track on somebody's 00:31:08.519 --> 00:31:11.180 door and hopefully they listen to you. I mean 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:12.859 we take this with us every day when we go to 00:31:12.859 --> 00:31:15.220 work, when we go to lunch here in a little bit. 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:17.539 We take this great news with us. We look for 00:31:17.539 --> 00:31:19.880 opportunities to share this with the people around 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:22.440 us, that we invest in the people around us with 00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:24.819 the goal of being able to share this great news. 00:31:25.609 --> 00:31:28.630 that Jesus loves them, that Jesus has authority 00:31:28.630 --> 00:31:31.289 and power, and that Jesus has set them free. 00:31:32.269 --> 00:31:34.809 So let me challenge you. Who can you take this 00:31:34.809 --> 00:31:39.549 to this week? Here's our second application point. 00:31:40.069 --> 00:31:44.049 Jesus' miracles call us to deeper faith. Jesus' 00:31:44.210 --> 00:31:46.130 miracles call us to deeper faith. Just as we 00:31:46.130 --> 00:31:48.569 need to believe and take that with us, it also 00:31:48.569 --> 00:31:52.170 calls us to deeper faith. You could summarize 00:31:52.170 --> 00:31:54.339 it like this. We need to grow in our faith because 00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:57.299 we can count on Jesus. What we see in the miracles 00:31:57.299 --> 00:31:59.220 is that we can count on Jesus, that at all times 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:02.240 we can rely on Jesus and who Jesus says he is. 00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:05.299 So I want to give us kind of two practical takeaways 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:09.440 from this. Two practical takeaways. First, this 00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:12.059 should shape the way that we pray. How do we 00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:14.420 go to God on a daily basis? Well, it should be 00:32:14.420 --> 00:32:16.740 shaped in part by what we see here in John 2. 00:32:18.040 --> 00:32:19.900 See, Mary goes to God with this expectation, 00:32:20.019 --> 00:32:21.799 this idea that she could kind of call the shots 00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:23.619 and tell Jesus, you're going to do this, now 00:32:23.619 --> 00:32:24.559 you're going to do this, now you're going to 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:27.900 do this. That's not how we approach God. But 00:32:27.900 --> 00:32:30.220 we do approach God in full confidence. I love 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:32.180 what John, the same guy who wrote the Gospel 00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:35.180 of John, says in 1 John 5. He says this, this 00:32:35.180 --> 00:32:37.240 is the confidence we have before him, before 00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:39.759 God. If we ask anything according to his will, 00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:42.779 he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever 00:32:42.779 --> 00:32:45.059 we ask, we know that we have what we have asked 00:32:45.059 --> 00:32:49.220 of him. So here's the difference. We go to God 00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:52.039 in confidence, trusting that our prayers are 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:57.759 answered according to God's will. Jesus and Mary's 00:32:57.759 --> 00:32:59.359 interaction in John 2 teaches us a lot about 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:02.359 how we go to God. We go to God in humility first, 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:05.619 but also in complete faith, knowing and trusting 00:33:05.619 --> 00:33:08.319 that God will provide. So how does that help 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:11.859 us go deeper in our faith? Listen, we are reminded 00:33:11.859 --> 00:33:13.559 that we are to bring our requests to God and 00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:17.529 that we can have confidence as we do that. We're 00:33:17.529 --> 00:33:18.869 reminded that we have confidence not because 00:33:18.869 --> 00:33:20.809 of anything that we've done, but because of what 00:33:20.809 --> 00:33:23.849 God has promised us. And that matters because 00:33:23.849 --> 00:33:25.730 if you're like me, sometimes when you're going 00:33:25.730 --> 00:33:28.049 through a difficult season, you get this temptation. 00:33:28.609 --> 00:33:30.190 You start to think, if I just prayed a little 00:33:30.190 --> 00:33:32.970 harder, if my prayers were just a little bit 00:33:32.970 --> 00:33:35.349 better, if my prayers were just a little bit 00:33:35.349 --> 00:33:37.369 more perfect, then God would do what I'm asking 00:33:37.369 --> 00:33:41.230 God to do. But that's not the case at all. That's 00:33:41.230 --> 00:33:45.150 not it. No, instead we go having total confidence. 00:33:46.399 --> 00:33:48.900 Total confidence that if what we are asking fits 00:33:48.900 --> 00:33:52.579 God's will, that God has already provided it. 00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:55.680 We have total confidence because like we see 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:58.160 in John chapter 2, it's not a matter of whether 00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:00.640 or not we ask in the right way or whether we 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:03.619 say all the perfect things. Instead, it's a matter 00:34:03.619 --> 00:34:06.539 of trusting God and having confidence in God. 00:34:07.900 --> 00:34:11.480 So let me challenge you this week. I just asked 00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:12.860 you, who's that person you can take the gospel 00:34:12.860 --> 00:34:17.059 to? What if in addition to that, What if you 00:34:17.059 --> 00:34:20.059 lift them up in prayer? What if you set a goal? 00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:22.340 Every day this week I'm going to pray for that 00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:25.639 person. And what if you prayed confidently for 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:31.559 that person? Saying, God, I trust you. And God, 00:34:31.579 --> 00:34:36.360 I know you. And God, I want so and so to get 00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:40.800 saved. God, I want them to walk with you. And 00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:43.440 God, I want to just bring them to you and lay 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:46.719 them at your feet, God. God, would you move and 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:49.860 would you open doors so that I can go, so I can 00:34:49.860 --> 00:34:51.900 confidently bring the best news of all time of 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:55.420 what Jesus did? Let me challenge you to pray 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:58.179 that in confidence, because God will open that 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:00.820 door. I promise you that God will open that door. 00:35:00.860 --> 00:35:02.960 It may not be Tuesday, it may be next Tuesday, 00:35:03.059 --> 00:35:05.980 but God will open that door. And so let me challenge 00:35:05.980 --> 00:35:07.940 you, take that person you just thought of under 00:35:07.940 --> 00:35:09.800 that last application point and bring them down 00:35:09.800 --> 00:35:12.000 here, and let me challenge you to pray for them 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:15.119 this week. Pray for them in confidence. And secondly, 00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:17.840 this passage challenges us to respond with praise. 00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:21.440 This passage challenges us to respond with praise. 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:22.639 That's what we see out of the disciples, that 00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:25.719 God revealed his glory in Jesus and that Jesus' 00:35:25.880 --> 00:35:30.300 disciples believed in him. See, Jesus does this 00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:32.480 sign for a specific reason, a specific audience, 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:35.840 and the disciples see Jesus' glory. And this 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:38.559 morning, we have seen Jesus' glory, seen how 00:35:38.559 --> 00:35:40.579 Jesus, with all of his power, can take water 00:35:40.579 --> 00:35:42.940 and turn it into wine, something none of us can 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:45.650 do. And so friends, let me challenge you. This 00:35:45.650 --> 00:35:48.929 passage challenges us to praise God because of 00:35:48.929 --> 00:35:52.650 the glory and the authority of God. This passage 00:35:52.650 --> 00:35:54.750 challenges us to praise God because it shows 00:35:54.750 --> 00:35:57.829 us who Jesus is. It shows us the power and the 00:35:57.829 --> 00:35:59.590 authority that Jesus has, the love that Jesus 00:35:59.590 --> 00:36:03.329 has. This passage shows that to us, and that's 00:36:03.329 --> 00:36:06.710 something to give praise for. So how do we do 00:36:06.710 --> 00:36:10.789 that? How do we do that? Let me challenge you 00:36:10.789 --> 00:36:13.500 with this. One of the best ways to give praise 00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:17.420 to God is to live differently. To live differently 00:36:17.420 --> 00:36:21.659 in life. You know, I feel like we talk about 00:36:21.659 --> 00:36:22.840 anxiety a lot, and that's because there's a lot 00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:27.159 of anxiety in the world. But sometimes as we 00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:28.539 move into a new season of the year, whether that's 00:36:28.539 --> 00:36:31.280 summer or maybe, you know, just continue on at 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:32.599 work, but things are a little different at work 00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:34.460 in the summer, sometimes it can bring up a little 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:36.019 bit of anxiety. There's new deadlines, there's 00:36:36.019 --> 00:36:37.579 more deadlines, maybe there's fewer deadlines. 00:36:38.699 --> 00:36:44.190 Sometimes they bring up some anxiety. let me 00:36:44.190 --> 00:36:46.510 really challenge us that the way that we handle 00:36:46.510 --> 00:36:49.289 our anxiety speaks to the faith that we have 00:36:49.289 --> 00:36:54.570 in Jesus. The way that we handle those moments 00:36:54.570 --> 00:36:56.329 where we're feeling overwhelmed speaks to the 00:36:56.329 --> 00:36:59.710 confidence that we have or don't have in Jesus. 00:37:02.070 --> 00:37:04.469 And see, John 2, 1 through 11 should be one of 00:37:04.469 --> 00:37:07.190 those passages that reminds our souls that we 00:37:07.190 --> 00:37:09.750 can count on Jesus. Because if Jesus can turn 00:37:09.750 --> 00:37:11.750 water into wine, how much more can Jesus get 00:37:11.750 --> 00:37:13.090 us through that meeting that we have that we 00:37:13.090 --> 00:37:17.110 don't want to go to? Infinitely more. And so 00:37:17.110 --> 00:37:18.510 friends, let me challenge you. Live differently. 00:37:19.230 --> 00:37:21.110 Live with that confidence that comes because 00:37:21.110 --> 00:37:23.849 of Jesus. It's not an empty confidence. It's 00:37:23.849 --> 00:37:26.610 not a cockiness. But live with that confidence, 00:37:26.769 --> 00:37:28.510 knowing that even as people around you maybe 00:37:28.510 --> 00:37:30.650 are nervous about something, that you don't need 00:37:30.650 --> 00:37:33.730 to be. That in a series of transitions or in 00:37:33.730 --> 00:37:38.239 a season of change, that Jesus is with you. That 00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:40.199 Jesus has already provided for you and that Jesus 00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:42.800 is going to provide for you every single step 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:45.559 of the way. So let me challenge you with this. 00:37:46.460 --> 00:37:50.880 John 2, 1 through 11 teaches us this. Jesus has 00:37:50.880 --> 00:37:55.219 authority and power. And Jesus reveals his glory 00:37:55.219 --> 00:37:59.119 as he turns water into wine. Let me challenge 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:03.320 you. How do you see God's glory on a daily basis? 00:38:06.099 --> 00:38:09.320 Father, God, I just ask that you would be, God, 00:38:09.340 --> 00:38:12.280 that you would just be with us today, God. God, 00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:14.559 I just ask that you would be glorified, God. 00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:18.579 God, I just ask that you would help us to see 00:38:18.579 --> 00:38:23.400 your glory clearly on a daily basis. Lord, I 00:38:23.400 --> 00:38:26.500 confess it is so easy for us to get busy with 00:38:26.500 --> 00:38:30.719 life and with work, God, to keep our eyes off 00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:36.579 of you, God, and to be filled with concern. But 00:38:36.579 --> 00:38:38.880 God, I just ask that you would remind our hearts 00:38:38.880 --> 00:38:42.159 this week. Remind our hearts this week of how 00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:44.619 you are with us, how you have all authority, 00:38:44.840 --> 00:38:48.000 and how we have confidence and can have confidence 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:52.340 in you because of that. God, we just thank you 00:38:52.340 --> 00:38:56.300 so much for this example in John 2, 1 through 00:38:56.300 --> 00:38:59.699 11. This very real event that took place where 00:38:59.699 --> 00:39:03.699 Jesus turned water into wine, where his glory 00:39:03.699 --> 00:39:06.559 was revealed, and where... his disciples put 00:39:06.559 --> 00:39:09.099 their faith in him. Lord, I ask that you would 00:39:09.099 --> 00:39:12.019 help us to go. You help us put our faith in you. 00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:15.460 You give us confidence this week, God. Would 00:39:15.460 --> 00:39:17.159 you move in the people around us and help them 00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:19.900 put their faith in you? Would you reveal your 00:39:19.900 --> 00:39:24.579 glory all around us, God? We ask this in your 00:39:24.579 --> 00:39:25.639 name. Amen.