Marriage at Cana
Concerned parent - your child spent a night at a friends but ended up at a party where alcohol flowed freely, too freely. After the supply ran out, in comes the Youth Leader with a surprise. Not 1 keg or 2 - but 12 kegs! They didn't even all fit in his extended cab pickup. This will be the party of a lifetime, no one will forget this party - or, probably everyone will forget it.
There are things that Jesus does that we would have thought better of Him if He hadn't.
The Word
John 2:1-11 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."
5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
Examination
How do you explain to your teenager that Jesus made 180 gallons of top notch alcoholic beverage to bring out to guests who had already drunk all of the original supply?
Distilling made wine more potent - in Jesus day it was tough to get drunk on wine if it was new.
Modern orthodoxy includes a heretical thought - God is against drinking wine, alcohol.
God is against drunkenness - you do that to substitute glory with woozy.
Who was getting married? One of Jesus’ brothers (groom responsible even then for the drink and food) Was it the unnamed disciple of John’s gospel. - the one Jesus loved?
As Andy Rooney would say “NO one knows”
Midnight wedding - stars - sands - bless the nations
But Jewish wedding was focused on the feast - not the ceremony. Celebrate the PROMISE
Wedding feasts usually lasted 7 days - so to run out too soon is a bit of a concern.
What can you compare to running out of wine -
Jesus was undoubtedly dancing - maybe not the chicken or electric slide - but He partied
You may have a hard time imagining Jesus enjoying life - why is that?
Did your religion mess you up? Jesus messed up the religion of His day too.
Water jars contained water held for ceremonial purposes - washing rituals
Jesus was turning upside-down the rituals Don't put new wine in old wineskins?
Mary sounds a little whiny, she wants Jesus to fix the problem, like Shelley asking Kenny to go to the store to get more pop. Mom - I'm at a party!
Consider how the servants filled the jars - with a bucket drawn from the well - and they filled them with water - just like they had done a hundred times before
Look carefully at the passage - when did the water become wine?
This first miracle has nothing to do with healing or casting out demons or calming winds.
Ask people to consider why Jesus would do such a thing
Is it because Jesus is working up to bigger and better things
Is it because Jesus cares about your daily needs too
Imagination
Jacob and Rachel - 7 bottles left - save for special occasions, anniversary, birth,
seven children follow -Tabitha (dies 3 days later) - no opening wine now
Yeshua, Jacob, Mary and Elizabeth, Joseph, Simon - no 7th child born
1 by 1 they marry, give bottle away, grandchildren come.
Then after last child marries - what to do with 7th bottle?
Life had been good to them, made them happy and strong - but nothing prepared Jacob for this
Special supper set, best dishes and in the centerpiece is the bottle
Rachel tells him the sad news. Lump growing - Doctor says this will be the last winter
Jacob looks deeply into her eyes, tears roll down his face. They embrace. He opens the bottle and pours his wife a toast - (pour a cup of wine)
All night long they drink from the bottle and remember the wonderful life God had given them. The wine tasted even better than on their wedding - if that were possible. Before Jacob pours the last of the wine into Rachel’s cup, she stops his hand, For Tomorrow
The next night the table is set as exquisitely as the night before. Again in the center is the bottle of wine. As Jacob lifts it to pour, it is strangely heavy, full again. What mischief is Rachel up to. But no, she had not touched the bottle since the evening before. And the taste of today's wine is better than yesterday. 35 years after the miracle at Cana, the miracle continues.
Quick! Tell the children - open the bottle - drink deeply every day!
Application
Why so much - every guest gets a doggie bag (doggie wineskin)
Why so lavish - the best anyone ever tasted
Jesus refills cups for those who drink deeply from it, for those who dream
He has no need to refill cups for those who hoard it away - who refuse to drink deeply
God has always been more generous than we are comfortable with.
“immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20
Why did Jesus wait until their resources dried up before pouring out extravagant blessing?
Jesus saves the best for last - Satan gives his best first but that’s when the bad stuff follows
Don't be afraid - major theme in NT -
If some of your dreams don't scare you - (15” fish with 9” skillet)
Two people move into a new town - each stops at the drug store to ask what kind of people live in that town. “What kind of people did you find at the town you left?” Same kind here
God's spoken dreams into my heart many times, I'm not unique - He has for you too
Many dreams were scary to me - and to others. Many times others saw only failure, impossible
Don't mask pessimism as realism - it may be your chosen reality but not mine
I never saw a monument erected to a pessimist - Paul Harvey
Don't allow your mind to occupy thoughts of failure and pessimism until you have exhausted every possibility of gain. Don't you think that the devil wants to scare you away
People often don't know good when they see it - Jesus the Messiah, John the Baptizer
You can repent of small thinking and pessimism Shall we save our best for later
Tell your best stories, use your best shot each week. Don't save for later
This is a great scripture to begin new year - marriage, relationships - potential
The Conclusion
Robert Hotchkins writes, “Christians,” he says, “out to be celebrating constantly. We ought to be preoccupied with parties, banquets, feasts and merriment. We ought to give ourselves over to the passions of joy because we have been liberated. We ought to attract people to the church quite literally by the fun there is in being a Christian.”
Jesus transformed the water into wine, could He not then transform a whiner like you or me
Wrap your mind around this - every time you drink this cup (hold the communion cup) every time you remember Jesus - remember not just a cross but a celebration as well. Picture the twinkle in the eye of Jesus as he watched people one by one marvel over this joyful miracle. Imagine Jesus laughing out loud - imagine Him dancing! Clapping His hands and singing.
And when you drink - drink deeply for He will resupply
And when you live - live richly - for He will indwell your life if you let Him
And when you dream - dream big - for God's dreams for you are beyond your imagination
And when you love - love beyond measure - for that is how the Father loves you
Don't be afraid - Expect great things from God this year!
