Outline:
WHAT’S THE POINT? What Jesus does here is a sign, which is initially fulfilled in the disciples’ amazed response to the miracle.
- John 2:11.
DAWNING AWARENESS: Beyond the initial “wow” factor, there is a lot here to show that God has “saved the best till now.”
- John 2:10.
a. This is good news for the least and the lowest.
- John 2:9-10.
b. This is permanent purity.
- John 2:6.
c. This is partnering with God, not running through ritual.
- John 2:5.
d. This is a forever family.
- John 2:4.
e. This is becoming God’s beloved.
- John 2:1.
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Full Manuscript:
WHAT'S THE POINT? What Jesus does here is a sign, which is initially fulfilled in the disciples’ What’s The Pointamazed response to the miracle.
- John 2:11.
- Why is this occasion worth a miracle?
- Jesus arrives at this wedding along with His disciples. There are only 5 or 6 disciples at this point.
- Wedding feasts were the huge parties that went for days (anywhere from 2-14 days, depending on the wealth of the family.) It was a huge shame to not have sufficient wine for the party.
- Because Cana was relatively near to Nazareth and because Mary seems to have some behind-the-scenes role (shown by her knowledge of the impending crisis), there is a strong indication that there may have been some distant family connection.
- But there’s something larger at work.
- “Sign.”
- It’s easy to overlook the idea that this is a sign, but it’s important to pause there. This is not important for the miracle itself inasmuch as something that points to higher and greater truths. Being a sign means that it’s a signpost toward something else. What is that thing?
- I think initially for the disciples the sign is just “Wow, this guy is a miracle worker!” Being able to do something extraordinary like this leads them to think that that something special is going on here. They’ve already been pointed to Jesus by John the Baptist. They’ve heard John call Him the Lamb of God. They’ve already seen Jesus amaze Nathanael with insider secrets. And, now, they see the water turned to wine.
- This leads us to two of the immediate consequences of Jesus’ miracle.
a. “Revealed His glory”
- The idea of “glory” brings us back to who Jesus really is. Jesus really is God Incarnate. Jesus really is the Son of God. This miracle definitively speaks to the reality of who this man from Nazareth really is. He always possessed that glory, but in this moment, He revealed His glory to Him.
- I believe that Jesus generally hid His glory for good reason. In the Old Testament, the revealing of the glory of God tended to make the Israelites (a) fear and (b) overwhelmed. Part of the Jesus coming in human flesh is to be able to share the message of God’s love in a way that did not create fear or leave folks overwhelmed.
- Jesus chooses relatively few moments to reveal His glory.
b. “and His disciples put their faith in Him.”
- This miracle creates a moment when the disciples cross a line.
- I think one way to say it would be that up to this point they had put their hope in Him. There were lots of hopeful things happening. John’s words. The insider knowledge with Nathanael. There were reasons to be hopeful that they were on the right path in finding the Messiah.
- Then Jesus turns the water into wine. They are all there to see it. They know the pots had water in them – they watched the servants bring bucket after bucket to fill them up. Then, somehow, inexplicably, at Jesus’ command, the servants dip their cups and there is wine. It is in that moment that the disciples no longer merely hope that Jesus is the Messiah, they put their faith in Him that He is the Messiah.
DAWNING AWARENESS: Beyond the initial “wow” factor, there is a lot here to show that God has “saved the best till now.”
- John 2:10.
- Echoing the theme early in chapter 1, the idea comes out again here of Christ as Creator. But beyond the initial amazement that He is able to transform something from one condition to another, we come to the question of what exactly He has created.
- Rather than a “take it if you have to” situation, what Jesus is opening up here is a “wow – this is incredible” situation.
- It echoes the later words of Christ about seeing the opportunity to enter the Kingdom as a chance of a lifetime (Matthew 13:44-46).
- This story is overflowing with allusions and references to deeper truths that are signs too.
- These point out that what Jesus did at Cana is a sign of what He wants to do within us.
- I want to unpack this passage and look at some of the signs here.
- We move from “He can do miracles!” to “Look at what miracle He has done!”
a. This is good news for the least and the lowest.
- John 2:9-10.
- The servants know, but not the groom, bride, or master of the banquet. (Of course, His disciples know as well.)
- That’s a telling detail. It helps us to see that this is not a Kingdom for the big shots and the influential.
- Matthew 5:3-10; Mark 10:15, 23; Luke 10:21; Luke 22:26; Romans 12:3; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; James 4:10.
- For all of us who aren’t the smartest, the most powerful, living at the top of the heap, this is good news. This is not a Kingdom just for the high and mighty.
- The lack of desire on Jesus’ part to publicize the miracle says a lot about Him.
- How many “miracle workers” only do their miracles on a stage in front of a paying audience? How many public figures want to have media attention anytime they do anything of even modest importance?
- Yet Jesus is content that the miracle handles the problem and that the only ones who know are His disciples and the servants. He doesn’t have them put the pots center stage. He doesn’t gather the wedding guests around.
- Also, part of this is, I believe, because doing that would have glorified Him at the expense of the bride and groom. After all, as previously stated, it was a huge embarrassment to run out of wine. To have emphasized the problem, even when immediately following that with a miracle, would have brought shame to the families.
- Also, Jesus knows, even at this early stage, that miracles will not lead to a lasting and solid faith. Even at the end of this chapter, it notes that Jesus did not trust Himself to people because He knew what was in them (vv. 24-25).
b. This is permanent purity.
- John 2:6.
- Let’s talk about the specifics on the jars.
- They were big and heavy, holding 20-30 gallons each. They couldn’t be moved, so the water would have had to be laboriously brought to them.
- Used for ceremonial cleansing, the water would have been dirty. For the waiters, taking whatever was dipped out of there to the master of the banquet must have felt like taking food that had fallen to the floor out to the biggest customer of the night.
- They were just another reminder of their ritual uncleanness. It’s an important detail that Jesus uses these from which to bring the wine.
- The water was for ongoing cleansing; the wine was for celebrating.
- Jesus has taken something that was a daily reminder of their shortcomings and made them into a source of joy.
- This is a reminder to us that the cleansing that Jesus is offering is not a temporary fix, needing to be redone again tomorrow. Jesus is offering us forgiveness that is lasting. Jesus is offering a relationship with God that is lasting.
- One of the easiest Christian doctrines to prove is that we are sinners. We all know that we’ve done things we shouldn’t have done, even though we make bold attempts to excuse or justify it.
- The Temple system offered a temporary, conditional forgiveness for the sins the people had committed. Jesus, on the other hand, comes to offer a lasting forgiveness. In Romans 6:10, Paul writes that Jesus died “once for all.” This is an amazing offer.
c. This is partnering with God, not running through ritual.
- John 2:5.
- What Mary says in v. 5 jumps out to me as well.
- In the previous system, the centerpiece was focused on ritual. You went to the Temple and offered your animal sacrifice.
- The call to “do whatever He tells you” echoes the call throughout the New Testament to do what Christ calls us to do and, in so doing, to become His hands and feet. Jesus has left us as His ambassadors and representatives here on earth.
- Jesus says, “I have called you my friends.” He is, unmistakably, our leader and Lord, which is why we do what He’s told us to do.
- Under a questionable leader, the call of v. 5 might be oppressive, but with Christ it’s an invitation to meaning and purpose in our lives.
- God has, in effect, given us the chance to partner with Him in what He is doing in the world.
- We have in the American church dumbed down salvation to be a mere belief that we sign our name to and then forget.
- Jesus had much more in mind. He expects and desires for us to be His disciples. That means that we’re His followers, His apprentices, His students.
- This should not disappoint us or leave us longing for an empty belief. This is an incredible opportunity. It means that our lives can matter. It means that our actions can be infused with God’s power and direction. It means that God is willing to not only work in us, but also through us.
d. This is a forever family.
- John 2:4.
- These are surprising words to His mother. There is definitely a sense that, while not being disrespectful, Jesus is establishing Himself as His own man.
- The fact is that Jesus’ relationship with His family would be tested by His ministry because He was establishing a new family – the family of God. And this family is our forever family.
- Matthew 12:48-50; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 2:19; Ephesians 3:15; Hebrews 2:11.
- It’s a comforting truth that our brothers and sisters in Christ here on earth are part of our family for forever. Even death cannot sever the bond that we share with them. Our hope is not merely for this world, but is eternal, and our relationships with them will also last throughout eternity.
- None of us are immune from the pain of death. None of us can escape the heartache of saying goodbye.
- Thankfully, through Christ’s resurrection, we have a hope of reunion. Not only will we get to see Jesus face-to-face, we’ll also get to see our brothers and sisters in Christ again as well.
- It’s sad to read Carl Sagan saying that he believed when he died that was the last he would ever see of his wife. Living on in someone’s memory is a hollow comfort. I want to actually live on!
e. This is becoming God’s beloved.
- John 2:1.
- We are not simply God’s people, but we are loved by Him.
- God doesn’t just “put up” with us. He loves us. He delights in us.
- He feels toward us the way that I feel toward my children.
- A turning point in my understanding of this in my life was our adoption of Jenna. Having our three boys, we were content and thankful. God miraculously opened the door for us to be able to adopt Jenna just out of His graciousness. It deeply emphasized to me that He delights in me.
- Old Testament passages referring to marriage and the Messiah: Isaiah 54:4-8; Isaiah 62:4-5.
- It is significant that Jesus’ first miracle takes place at a wedding. There are two primary Old Testament analogies used to describe the relationship of God and His people: a father/child bond and a husband/wife bond.
- This, of course, leads us in the New Testament to the idea that we are the Bride of Christ.
Conclusion:
- Consider again the words of v. 10 that the best has been saved till now. In all the ways we’ve talked about this morning (and many more), what Jesus offers is the best.
- As we look at all this together and consider what kind of a salvation Jesus is offering to us, it’s fitting that this story opens in v. 1 with the words “on the third day.”
- All of this is possible for us because of what Jesus did on the cross and what God did through Him on the third day, that breath-taking resurrection morning.
- It’s telling that Jesus chose a wedding for His first miracle. It was a celebratory occasion and the first miracle was one to keep the celebration going.
- Tony Campolo has written that “the Kingdom of God is a party.” As we look throughout the New Testament, the theme of the Kingdom being a great celebration occurs frequently.
- Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:15-24.
- Old Testament references to an abundance of wine accompanying the Messiah: Isaiah 25:6; Jeremiah 31:12; Amos 9:13-14; Hosea 2:14-23.
- Don’t merely accept your salvation. Rejoice in it. Relish it. Be amazed by it.
- Don’t treat your salvation
