Well, we take some time now to go to God's Word.
And so I invite you to open up to the Gospel
according to John, John chapter 2. We are starting
a new sermon series today on the miracles of
Jesus. And as we're going to see, as we look
at this, we're going to see a great purpose behind
these miracles that Jesus performs. They are
really intended, yes, they're intended to help
people who need healing. And yes, Jesus performed
these incredible signs to help drive out evil
spirits. And yes, as we see in our text, this
changing of the water to wine. But behind, underneath
all of the miracles that Jesus does, is the purpose
that people would see and recognize and know
that Jesus is the Christ. I think it's very telling
that within the gospel, according to John, the
word that is commonly used here is not the word
miracle, but it's sign. Jesus' signs are significant.
They were significant then, and they're significant
now. And so let's give attention to this first
one here, John chapter two, verses one through
12. 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. When the master of the feast
tasted the water now become wine and did not
know where it came from, though the servants
who had drawn the water knew, the master of the
feast called the bridegroom and said to him,
everyone serves the good wine first. And when
people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.
but you have kept the good wine until now. This,
the first of his signs Jesus did at Cana in Galilee,
and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed
in him. After this, he went down to Capernaum
with his mother and his brothers and his disciples,
and they stayed there for a few days. The grass
withers and the flower fades, but God's word
stands forever. Let's pray. Father, we thank
you for your word. We thank you for this perfect,
inerrant, and infallible, and life -giving word,
and we ask that as we study this today, Lord,
that you would be at work, that you would open
up our hearts and our minds, Lord, to hear from
you, to know that Jesus is the Christ, and to
live for him always. These things we pray in
his name. Amen. In the 1910s, liberalism was
on the rise in this country. Liberalism within
churches. And so to combat that, some ministers
of the gospel got together in the Northern Presbyterian
Church and they came up with what was called
the essential and necessary doctrines. They needed
a safeguard against unbelief. For Christians,
we're saying, I don't have to affirm what the
Bible says on this. I don't have to affirm what
the Bible says on that. And so they said, no,
we need some way to safeguard from that. And
so they came up with these essential and necessary
doctrines. And I'll tell you what those are in
just a second. But 14 years later, in 1924, a
group of supposed ministers of the gospel, in
great number, 1 ,200 men said no to those things.
They said, no, we don't need to affirm the inspiration
and inerrancy of Scripture. No, we don't need
to affirm the virgin birth. No, we don't need
to affirm substitutionary atonement. No, we don't
need to affirm the historical resurrection of
Jesus, and those people said, we do not need
to affirm the miracles of Jesus. Can you imagine
denying those things and calling yourself a Christian?
I cannot. And yet, just as it happened in 1924,
So it happens in our day that people deny these
things, but this is clearly what the scriptures
teach. And so we affirm them. We say that Jesus
really performed the miracles that we're going
to look out for the next ten or so Sundays, Lord
willing. The miracles of Jesus showcased for
us the power of God, the mercy of God. The signs
of Jesus affirm to us who Jesus is as the Son
of God and the Savior of sinners. The miracles
of Jesus authenticate who he is. So this is what
we're looking at. And you can see in John chapter
two, this is the first of Jesus's signs. Looking
into the context of this, Jesus in the prior
chapter had just chosen some of his disciples
there in chapter one. Now what's the first thing
you do with your disciples? Apparently you take
them to a wedding. Call it team building or something.
And so they go to this wedding. It's in the city
of Cana in Galilee. And they don't crash the
wedding, don't worry. It clearly says Jesus was
invited to this along with his mother. But let
me tell you, I don't think that you've ever been
to a wedding like this one. Now, that doesn't
mean that there was anything extremely special
about this wedding, you know, except for the
wine to water thing. But what I mean by that
is that weddings in Jesus' day in this place,
these celebrations would oftentimes go for as
long as a week. Can you imagine celebrating?
a wedding for a week, not your wedding, but celebrating
the weddings of other people for a week, and
you thought it took a long time for the bridal
party to take pictures. Here, we have this ongoing
celebration, but the ongoing celebration takes
a turn for the worse. Look in verse three. The
wine runs out. the wine runs out. Friends, in
Jesus' day at this time and this place, for the
wine to run out, this was a big deal. This is
a no -no. This would have brought extreme embarrassment
upon the married couple, the couple to be married.
This would have brought shame upon them. There
is even some evidence that there could have been
legal ramifications for not providing wine to
last for the duration of the celebration. This
is bad for this couple and especially bad for
the groom. You see, hospitality was such a big
deal. Hospitality in our day, I think it goes
by the wayside. It's something we need to reclaim.
But in Jesus' day, this was a big deal. Now you
might say, well, a celebration that went on for
a week with a lot of wine, you can see how that
could be a problem. But in Jesus' day, wine was
often diluted because you can't imagine what
celebration for a week would do to a person drinking.
So it was diluted. But the purpose here then
of this scripture is not to promote drinking.
That's not the main point. We know that drunkenness
is sinful. Scripture speaks to that in many places.
But also see this, Scripture does not outlaw
alcohol. It does not. It does not hear, right?
Wine actually within the Bible typically symbolizes
joy. And a wedding is a joyous occasion. But
there's this problem. Where's the wine? And so
Mary says this to Jesus. They're out of wine.
There's urgency to this and so look in verse
4 for Jesus's response Jesus said her woman.
What does this have to do with me now when we
read that I don't know about you, but I'm wondering
something is Jesus being kind here is he being
polite Absolutely, we need to read this not just
the way it comes through in the English We should
understand that when Jesus says this woman. This
is a sign of respect This is a sign of being
polite. This is a common expression. Matter of
fact, do you remember Jesus on the cross when
Jesus said, woman, behold thy son? We might say
this is kind of like using the term ma 'am here.
Or if you're using the NIV, I think it says dear
woman to this effect. And so Jesus addresses
his mother and then he says, what does this have
to do with me? Now, again, this is Jesus's first
sign. So it's not like Jesus grew up performing
signs in the living room or something. Hey, mom,
check this out. By no means. And so have you
ever thought, what did Mary expect her son to
do here? Did she expect a sign? I don't know.
But I do think that Mary, we can say this, Mary
has not forgotten who her son is. You remember
the birth. You remember the announcement of the
angels, right? You remember perhaps being in
the temple with Simeon, right? Mary, I believe,
is recalling who her son is here. Luke chapter
2 says she treasured these things in her heart.
And so she has not forgotten who Jesus is even
if he has yet to show his glory. But the next
part of what Jesus says I think is often misunderstood.
My hour has not yet come. Here is the incorrect
interpretation of that. That we think Jesus is
saying Mom, I'm not doing anything about this.
My time is not now to perform signs. That's not
the correct view. The correct view is Jesus,
when he says that, he's not talking about the
miracles. He's talking about his death. He's
saying, it is not my hour to suffer. It is not
my hour to give up my blood. for my blood to
be shed on the cross. It is not time for that
yet. And I think I can prove this to you by looking
at some other scripture in John. If you would
like to flip over to John 12, 23. Considering
the words the hour. John 12 23 and Jesus answered
them the hour has come for the Son of Man to
be glorified and then jumped down to verse 27
now is my soul troubled and what shall I say
father save me from this hour but for this purpose
I have come to this hour jumped down to chapter
13 verse 1 now before the feast of the Passover
When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart
out of this world to the Father, having loved
his own who were in the world, he loved them
to the end. Again, the hour jumped to 17, chapter
17, verse one. When Jesus had spoken these words,
he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father,
the hour has come. Glorify your son. that the
sun may glorify you. Friends, the hour is his
crucifixion, and the wine is his blood. We know
this from John chapter 6. Let me read this, John
6, 53 through 54. So Jesus said to them, truly,
truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have
no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up on the last day. Jesus is talking
about his passion. Jesus is talking about giving
himself up on the cross. One commentator says
here, Jesus is saying in John 2 that though his
hour was not yet at hand during the wedding at
Cana in Galilee, it would eventually be at hand.
And when it is at hand, it will become appropriate
to ask him to provide wine for the feast, the
feast of the kingdom of God. And so as we look
at this wedding, as we look at the wine running
out, friends, look to the Lord's Supper and what
that pictures. When Jesus' blood was poured out
for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus again is saying,
it's not my time to shed my blood, but it is
my time to begin these signs. And so we should
be reminded here of the ultimate purpose for
this miracle. Yes, Jesus is helping the groom
avoid embarrassment. Yes, Jesus will perform
miracles to help the suffering. Yes, Jesus is
going to drive out demons. But ultimately, the
miracles are designed to show that Jesus is the
Savior, that Jesus is the Redeemer, that Jesus
is the promised and powerful Messiah. Friends,
particularly, let me speak to children today.
Do you believe this to be true? Do you believe
that Jesus died for your sins? Do you believe
that Jesus performed these signs? You must see
the evidence here. It is overwhelming. Jesus
really did come. live and die for you and Jesus
is really coming again and so all of you do not
deny the miracles of Jesus do not deny the resurrection
don't be the liberals of 1924 or 2025 it still
works for if we believe that he died for our
sins do we not also believe in the signs that
he performed John 14 believe in me that I am
in the father and the father is in me or else
believe on account of the signs themselves the
signs had a purpose for Jesus's mother the signs
had a purpose for the disciples and this purpose
is still hold true today and so you see what
Mary does here she believes Jesus And she gives
the best instruction of all time in verse five.
This is the best thing you could say. Do whatever
Jesus tells you to do. Listen to him. And so
you see what these servants do. Jesus directs
them in verse six to these six stone water jars
there for the Jewish rights of purification.
They hold 20 or 30 gallons here. When it says
for purification, we must remember that the Jewish
people, they are a people of cleanliness. This
purification, they were at the very least washing
their hands and their feet before they came into
such a celebration. Cleanliness is a good thing,
but what they really needed, and what we also
really need, is to be cleansed from within, right?
when we believe in Christ the Holy Spirit and
dwells in our hearts and pardons us of our sins
and and cleans us from sin and we get the righteousness
of Jesus So you see there is there is great symbolism
here within this Jesus is not performing a haphazard
Miracle Jesus is not performing magic tricks
matter of fact this sign that Jesus does is actually
done very quietly, isn't it? Jesus doesn't have
special words over the sign. He doesn't wave
his hands about. Matter of fact, the credit here
actually goes to the groom, not the one who performed
the sign. And so Jesus gives this direction.
Fill the jars and draw some of it out and give
it to the master, the master of the feast, some
sort. of official overseeing this celebration.
And so this official, this master, he tastes
this wine. And what does he say? He says, hey,
this is good. This is good. Now, if you know
anything about wine, you know this shouldn't
be so because the best wine is aged wine, right?
But Jesus is the son of God. Jesus was active
in the creation of the heavens and the earth,
along with the Father and the Spirit. And so
turning water to wine shouldn't surprise us.
It's miraculous because we can't do it, but nothing
is impossible with God. But still, perhaps you're
like me and you wonder, all right, these servants,
they do what Jesus says, but what are they thinking?
What are they thinking as they draw out some
of this water changed to wine? Are they thinking,
Jesus, this man must be out of his mind here.
I'm about to serve water to the master. I cannot
wait to speak to these servants. I believe they
must be with Jesus. I would love to ask them,
what were you thinking in this moment? but you
see their obedience they just do it and the master
gives praise you have kept the good wine till
now if only he knew of the crisis that was averted
if he only knew how jesus changed the water to
wine but you see jesus is so humble right jesus
doesn't point at the big water jars and say look
what i did that's probably what i would do That's
not what Jesus does. He doesn't have to. Jesus
quietly goes about his work, and he saves the
bridegroom from shame. At the same time, he reminds
his mother that he has work to do, and the servants
observe all of this. But I think the greatest
benefit of this sign is for the disciples, because
look in verse 11. And his disciples believed
in him. This is for their benefit. This is for
their benefit. And it is for our benefit. It
is for you to see and to know that Jesus is that
promised and powerful Messiah. But let's say
that you have believed in Jesus for a long time.
Let's say that you've grown up in this church.
You have followed Jesus closely for decades even.
You might say, what's the application for me?
What do I do with this passage? Is Jesus simply
keeping the party alive? How can I apply this?
Perhaps four points of application. Remember
the setting of this is a wedding. And you see
those servants obey Jesus. And so as Christians,
are we obedient to the scriptures? Are we obedient
to Christ? Are we living after the instruction
of God's perfect word? You've perhaps been in
a wedding, maybe you've even been wed. You ever
had a wedding planner? You gotta do what the
wedding planner says. Jesus is so much greater
than any wedding planner. But we recognize as
Christians that we must live obediently to the
Scriptures, which tells us something else. We
must know the Scriptures. We cannot be obedient
to the Scriptures if we are not in them. And
so friends, get alone with God. Get alone with
God in His Word. Get alone each day for time
in the Word, even if it's just a verse. Get alone
with God for time of... Prayer. Praying over
the Scriptures. Be in Sunday school. Come to
the other ministries of this church or other
good churches. Be studying the Word so you can
be obedient to the Word. Secondly, this also
shows the importance of the changed heart. The
Jewish leaders and the people, they were very
good at kind of the externals of religion. But
inside, they needed to be changed. It's only
with changed hearts that we can rightly worship
God. And so pray for God, for the Spirit to sanctify
you to be more and more like Jesus, that you
may rightly worship him. Thirdly, the emotion
of a wedding. There is great joy at weddings.
There should be God uniting man to woman. There
is great joy there. Imagine having Jesus on your
guest list. Jesus here doesn't say, you know
what, I got better things to do than go to this
wedding. I've got people to heal. I've got classes
to teach. Jesus doesn't do that. He goes to the
wedding. We as Christians should be growing in
joy. That's in that great list of the fruit of
the Spirit. Friends today, if you are lacking
in joy, go to a wedding. Now make sure you're
invited, but go to a wedding and celebrate the
good gifts of God. Celebrate the good things
in your life. and celebrate the things in the
lives of other people. If you find that you're
lacking in joy, pray and celebrate the good things.
Fourthly, hope. The analogy of the wedding used
throughout scripture, that Jesus is the bridegroom
who laid down his life for his bride. Jesus is
committed to the church. All this is pictured,
as I said, within the Lord's Supper. It's also
pictured in our baptism, right? And it's also
pictured in something that we have to hope for,
the marriage supper of the Lamb. Isaiah 25 pictures
this, predicts this, on this mountain the Lord
of Hosts will make 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.
This sign should have us looking to eternity.
Consider Revelation 19, 9. Blessed is the one
who is invited to the marriage supper of the
lamb. Will you be there? Will you be at the marriage
supper of the lamb with Christ? The wedding invitations
have gone out. They have. They go out through
the proclamation of the word. And so you have
heard the word. Your seat at the marriage supper
of the Lamb is only reserved through faith in
Jesus Christ. And so if you are lacking in that,
if you don't have assurance of salvation today,
if you're not sure what to make of Jesus, pray
today. Pray now. And ask God to grant you the
gift of faith that you will be. there because
Jesus is committed to the church. His hour came.
He answered the call. Jesus laid down his life
for you to wash you clean of sin. Jesus is the
groom and he loves you very, very much. Let's
pray.