-Attending a wedding for the first time a little girl whispered to her mother, "Why is the bride dressed in white?" Because white is the color of happiness and today is the happiest day of her life." The child thought about this for a moment then said, "So why is the groom wearing black?"
-Some years ago when Johnny Carson was the host of the well known American chat show: The Tonight Show he interviewed an eight year old boy. The boy was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coalmine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Carson questioned the boy, it became apparent to him and the audience that the young man was a Christian. So Carson asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said he did Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday school?" "Last week," the boy replied, "our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." The audience roared with laughter but Carson tried to keep a straight face. Then he said, "And what did you learn from that story?" The boy squirmed in his chair. It was apparent he hadn’t thought about this. But then he broke into a smile and said, "If you’re going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus!"
-Relatively speaking we are essentially limitless on the discussion we can have this morning on the message from God’s Word in John 2.
-I could tell you of the Jewish wedding feast. If the bride was a virgin the feast would begin on Wednesday but if a widow it would begin on Thursday. It would carry about for a week with celebration. The couple would be king and queen for a week receiving their every desire.
-I could tell you of the significance of the wine. It was the groom’s parent’s responsibility to provide it and it would be disgraceful if it ran out. Wine is represented in God’s Word as a symbol of joy. The wine running out could be communicated to you and I as through our lives joy in life will end, what then?
-I could tell you how Mary playing an obvious significant role tells us that first of all this could have been a close friend of the family, possibly the groom, getting married, also this was a peasants wedding and Jesus performing His first miracle shows how, like at His birth, He came to those folks first.
-I could tell you how the crowd at the wedding symbolizes Israel and how their joy had run out and here was their Messiah standing in their midst.
-I could tell you that the seeming disrespect spoken of Christ to His mother was not disrespect at all. “Woman” was a word of respect and essentially what Christ was saying according to William Barclay was “Don’t worry; you don’t quite understand what is going on; leave things to me and I will settle them in my own way.”
-All of these are true and we could spend limitless time on each of these.
-This morning however I would like us to stand in the middle of the room that day with the attendees if the wedding and experience this first hand.
-One of my favorite board games growing up was clue. Wikipedia describes it this way, “The object of the basic game is for players to strategically move around the game board, (a mansion) in the guise of one of the game's six characters, collecting clues from which to deduce which suspect murdered the game's perpetual victim and with which weapon and in what room.”
-We, as scholars of God’s Word today, have the opportunity to stand in the midst of this room and look around at the surroundings and observe a miracle and leave with an amazing understanding of our Savior.
I. The wine can run out
A. This ceremony had gone on for hours if not days
1. People had come and gone from this wedding
2. Everything had seemed to be in order
3. They had experienced all that it had to offer and it had to offer quite a bit, the food, guest, celebration, wine, and traditions.
4. All seemed well and excitement of the marriage was high
5. No one saw the ensuing chaos that would come
6. Behind the scenes an unexpected problem was raising, the unforgivable lack of wine laid in wait, the joy and the celebration would soon come to a screeching halt.
B. Sometimes in life the joy seems to fall short of the expectations
1. To others that attend your life it may seem as if you have it all under control
2. You may have a seeming order to all that you do and to everyone else you may seem full of life and joy
3. Yet inside chaos begins to rule as your joy runs out
4. You strive to make sure all the “rituals” are in place
5. You put the front of accomplishment yet inside you are ruled by fear
6. Maybe it is to your family, co workers or fellow church members and all the while inside you scream for peace
C. Personal expectations in life can lead to feelings of failure
1. You might think you would be further along by now
2. Have the house of your dreams
3. Have the career you think you deserve
4. Family may not be where you think it should
5. These can all lead to loss of joy
D. Understand before we can get to the next point we must make this one
1. If Christ is not invited you will never experience a miracle
2.
II. The unorthodox miracle
A. No one expected Christ to do what He did
1. In the silence of the background, the place where no one was looking, at the source of the problem, hope had been lost
2. The joy had run out and the situation was about to be exposed
3. You may be here today and feel the very same way
4. You cannot hide it anymore and you are without hope
B. He called for the six pots
1. He did not fill the empty vats and skins that were used for other wine
2. He did not send someone out to find a winery
3. He called for the stone pots used for ceremonial washing
4. He took the very thing that the Jews or ring leaders of the religion said had to be used to make sure you were able to continue to look good
5. “fill them with water”
6. Give some to the master of ceremonies
7. The miracle He worked was for all to see
8. He did not make an announcement of the failure on the half of the grooms family, But the miracle was enjoyed by all
9. Your failures don’t need to be shown to all, but when Christ changes them all will see the success “all will know you by your fruits”.
III. The revelation of the giver of life
A. Mary said “Whatever He says do it”
1. You may be here today and know what God is asking you to do
2. The only way to experience this miracle is to obey Him
3. By the way, imagine the image the newly recruited disciples had of Christ after this wedding
