Expecting A Miracle
Text: John 2:1-12
Introduction
1. Illustration: "The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus, you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life. And that’s sobering news to most of us, because we’re into comfort...but water walkers master failure... Did Peter fail?...Failure is not an event, but rather a judgment about an event. Failure is not something that happens to us or a label we attach to things. It is a way we think about outcomes...Did Peter fail? Well, I suppose in a way he did. His faith wasn’t strong enough. His doubts were stronger. 'He saw the wind.' He took his eyes off of where they should have been. He sank. He failed. But here is what I think. I think there were eleven bigger failures sitting in the boat. They failed quietly. They failed privately. Their failure went unnoticed, unobserved, un-criticized. Only Peter knew the shame of the public failure. But only Peter knew two other things as well. Only Peter knew other things as well. Only Peter knew the glory of walking on water. He alone knew what it was to attempt to do what he was not capable of doing on his own, then feeling euphoria of being empowered by God to actually do it. Once you walk on water, you never forget it--not for the rest of your life!" (Ortberg, If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat, 21-23).
2. Have you ever listened to a testimony of a living miracle that someone has received and said to yourself, "I wish that could be me!"
3. In our text today we have three different people who experienced a miracle.
a. Mary, who had expectant faith
b. The servants, who had obedient faith
c. The bridegroom, who had receiving faith.
4. Let's stand together as we read John 2:1-12
Transition: First there is Mary who had..
I. Expectant Faith (1-5).
A. His Mother Told The Servants
1. Sometimes miracles happen in unexpectant places because people have faith big enough to meet their need.
2. Our text begins with, "The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration."
a. Cana” may be Kefar Kanna (over three miles from Nazareth), but most scholars prefer Khirbet Kana (over eight miles from Nazareth). Either site would be close enough to Nazareth to explain how the host knows Jesus’ family (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
b. John does not disclose the identity of the happy couple, but the presence of the mother of Jesus (neither here nor anywhere else does he make use of her name) and the invitation extended to Jesus show that friends of the family were involved.
c. The whole attitude of Mary, her taking action when the wine ran out, and her giving of instructions to the servants accords with this.
d. It is sometimes said that Jesus and his disciples were unbidden guests, being "invited" only when they turned up unexpectedly.
e. It is inferred that it was their presence that caused the supply of wine to be inadequate. There is nothing in the narrative to show that this was in fact the state of affairs.
f. We know that marriage was preceded by a betrothal that was much more serious than is an engagement with us. It meant the solemn pledging of the couple, each to the other, and was so binding that to break it divorce proceedings were necessary.
g. At the conclusion of the betrothal period the marriage took place, on a Wednesday if the bride was a virgin and on a Thursday if she was a widow.
h. The bridegroom and his friends made their way in procession to the bride's home. This was often done at night, when there could be a spectacular torchlight procession.
i. There were doubtless speeches and expressions of goodwill before the bride and groom went in procession to the groom's house, where the wedding banquet was held.
j. We assume that there was a religious ceremony, but we have no details.
k. The processions and the feast are the principal items of which we have knowledge. The feast was prolonged, and might last as long as a week (Morris, The New International Commentary on the New Testament – The Gospel According to John, 156-157).
3. Then we see the need for the miracle arise. In v. 3 John tells us, "The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”
a. On this occasion the wine was all used up before the end of the feast. This meant more than the disruption of the festivities. There was something of a slur on the hosts, for they had not fully discharged the duties of hospitality.
b. This may indicate that they were poor and had made the minimum provision, hoping for the best. It is also possible that the lack of wine involved another embarrassment, in that it rendered the bridegroom's family liable to a lawsuit. They were legally required to provide a feast of a certain standard.
c. Until this time Jesus had never performed a miracle (v. 11), but his mother's words to him show that she trusted in his resourcefulness.
d. They may show more. It is possible that there was a "state of extraordinary exaltation" as a result of the events recorded in the first chapter.
e. Mary would have shared in this. In addition she knew that angels had spoken about Jesus before his birth and that she had conceived him while still a virgin.
f. She knew that his whole manner of life stamped him as different. She knew, in short, that Jesus was the Messiah, and it is not unlikely that she now tried to make him take such action as would show him to all as the Messiah she knew him to be (Morris, 157-158).
4. However, Jesus responds to her, “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
a. Jesus' address to her, "Woman," is not as cold in the Greek as in English.
b. He uses it, for example, in his last moments as he hangs on the cross and tenderly commends her to the beloved disciple. Used in this tense it was "a term of respect or affection" (LS).
c. Yet we must bear in mind that it is most unusual to find it when a son addresses his mother.
d. That Jesus calls Mary "Woman" and not "Mother" probably indicates that there is a new relationship between them as he enters his public ministry.
e. And if the form of address is tender, the rest of Jesus' words make it clear that there was something of a barrier between them.
f. Evidently Mary thought of the intimate relations of the home at Nazareth as persisting. But Jesus in his public ministry was not only or primarily the son of Mary, but "the Son of Man" who was to bring the realities of heaven to people on earth.
g. A new relationship was established. Mary must not presume.
h. The meaning of "My time has not yet come" in the context is surely, "It is not yet time for me to act."
i. Yet we should notice a remarkable series of passages throughout this Gospel which refer to the "hour" or the "time" of Jesus.
j. But when the cross is in immediate prospect Jesus says, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified," and the same idea may be present here (Morris, 158).
k. Because Jesus’ “hour” in John refers especially to the cross, here Jesus is saying, “Once I begin doing miracles, I begin the road to the cross.” (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
5. But what happens next is the key to the whole passage. In v. 5 it says, "But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
a. Clearly Mary did not understand Jesus' words as a sharp rebuke. She doubtless realized that things between them were not the same as they had been before.
b. But she realized also that Jesus was not unmindful of the present difficulty, and that he would take what action was necessary.
c. So she commanded the servants to obey his instructions (Morris, 160).
d. Mary acts in confidence that Jesus will hear her entreaty. Ancient Jewish readers, who told stories of miracle workers who insisted that God would send rain, would read Mary’s action as demonstrating strong faith (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
e. Mary asked for a miracle and expected that she would receive it!
B. Expectation
1. Illustration: Oral Roberts used to use a chorus that some detested, ‘Expect a miracle every day, Expect a miracle when you pray, If you expect it God will find a way, To perform a miracle for you each day.’ - Expectations may be high and in the right place but there are still times of waiting for His answer! Even when things seemingly go wrong, as His children we can still trust-delight-commit our ways to Him. He is our firm foundation!
2. Miracles require the expectation of faith.
a. James 1:6-7 (NLT)
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
b. Think of it this way, why would you ask someone to do something if you really don't believe they will?
c. Then why would you ask God for a miracle and not expect him to give it?
d. When you ask for a miracle believe that you will receive it.
e. Have the faith of Mary who said to the servants "Do what he tells you."
f. Stand on his word that if you ask anything in his name it will be done.
g. Believe it, receive it, and expect it!
Transition: Next we have the servants...
II. Obedient Faith (6-8).
A. Fill The Jars
1. If believing for a miracle is the first step, then acting on that belief is the second step.
2. Look at what happens next, "Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons."
a. John now draws attention to the presence of six large waterpots made of stone.
b. The half dozen represented a good store of water for carrying out the kind of purification of which we read in Mark 7:1-4.
c. The description of the stone jars indicates that they contained enough water to fill a Jewish immersion pool used for ceremonial purification.
d. Stone jars were common because they were less likely to contract ritual uncleanness than those made of other substances (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
e. Before the meal servants would have poured water over the hands of every guest.
f. If there was a large number of guests a good deal of water would have been needed.
g. John does not elaborate, but says enough for his Greek readers to understand why so much water was provided (Morris, 160).
3. Then "Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions."
a. Jesus tells "them," evidently the servants (as NIV), to fill the pots. This they do, "to the brim."
b. This is possibly to indicate that there could be no addition to the contents.
c. These pots at the time of the miracle contained nothing but water (Morris, 161).
d. Jesus' next command is "dip some out" and then "take it to the master of the ceremonies."
e. This evidently means that they are to draw from the big water pots.
f. That they were filled right up to the brim surely indicates that they have some part to play in the story.
g. Since the verb can be used for drawing water from a large vessel we need not doubt that that is what was done.
h. "The master of the ceremonies" (an official mentioned here only in the New Testament) is apparently one of the guests charged with the duty of being the chairman who presided over the gathering (Morris, 161).
i. “Master of the ceremonies” was a position of hono; one of his primary duties was to regulate the distribution of wine to prevent excess that would (especially in a Jewish context) ruin the party.
j. At least in Greek banquets, guests elected this person to preside over the entertainment and to control the level of dilution for the wine; thus some observers might have held him partly responsible for the host’s running out of wine prematurely (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
k. However, the important thing we must see here is that if the servants do not fill the jars; if they do not act, nothing happens.
B. Step of Faith
1. Illustration: Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again -- until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other. (William Booth in The Founder’s Messages to Soldiers, Christianity Today, October 5, 1992, 48).
2. If you want a miracle you need to reach out and grab it.
a. Matthew 9:20-21 (NLT)
Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, 21 for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
b. Sometimes you have to step out and take risks.
c. We need to act in accordance to our faith.
d. We need to get out of the boat to walk on water.
e. We need to combine actions with faith.
f. We need to reach out and touch it!
Transition: The next person we see is the bridegroom who had...
III. Receiving Faith (9-12).
A. But You Have Kept The Best
1. It's a beautiful thing to see someone receive a miracle. It's evidence of God's soviergn had in our lives.
2. Look at what happens, "When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”
a. John does not say how or when the miracle took place. He simply speaks of "the water that had been turned into wine."
b. He does not even tell us how much water was changed into wine. It is usually held that it was all the water in the six waterpots, in which case Jesus was making a bountiful wedding gift to the couple, who were evidently poor.
c. Not only did he rescue them from what might well have been a crippling liability, but he provided that they began their married life with an unexpected asset.
d. There will be spiritual significance also, for the "sign" points to the truth that Christ abundantly supplies all the need of his people (cf. 1:16).
e. The master of the ceremonies did not know the origin of the wine he was tasting, but he recognized its quality.
f. He summoned the bridegroom (who was responsible for the feast), and commented on his departure from common custom.
g. People universally put out the better wine at the beginning of a feast, while palates are still sensitive. It is only when their guests are somewhat affected (the verb rendered "has had a lot to drink" means "are drunken" ) that they produce the worse wine.
h. This bridegroom, however, has kept the good wine until the end. We are thus left in no doubt as to the quality of the wine that resulted from the miracle (Morris, 161).
3. This is the first of many miracles that Jesus would perform on earth. John says, "This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him."
a. John rounds off the narrative with a reminder of the nature of the event and its effect on the disciples.
b. He gives a precise note of locality ("in Cana of Galilee") in accordance with his general tendency to stress the factuality of the events he records.
c. This is the first of Jesus' miracles, which John, as often, calls "signs." It is characteristic of them not so much that they arouse wonder and are hard to explain, nor even that they are demonstrations of the divine power, but rather that they point us to something beyond themselves. They show us God at work.
d. John tells us further that Jesus "revealed his glory." This is very important for the Evangelist. His declared intention in writing his Gospel is to show that "Jesus is the Christ."
e. This involves the clear recognition that he is fully man, it is true, but it also involves bringing out the truth that he is more.
f. Throughout the first chapter he has shown us both aspects. Jesus is the Logos who was with God and was God.
g. So now he tells us that the "sign" he has described displayed the glory of Jesus. This might be hidden from the casual observer.
h. Indeed, John says nothing at all of the effect of the "sign" on the master of the banquet or on the guests generally or on the servants who certainly knew what had happened.
i. But his disciples saw "his glory" and they "put their faith in him"
j. The disciples are now said to have "believed" in him. Nathanael has already been recorded as a believer, and now others join him.
k. They had known enough about Jesus before this to follow him. Now in this miracle they saw his glory, and despite his outward lowliness they put their trust in him (Morris, 163-164).
B. Receiving a Miracle
1. Illustration: Lake City Church - Madison -- God does a financial wow miracle. They were four days away from having to make their quarterly payment of $140,000 for their mortgage. Pastor John Ruck meets with all the finance wizards - bankers, Cpa's, business men. They asked him "How are you going to make this payment?" "You are $100,000 short?" He looks at them with no answers. But He feels God tell him to tell them that He will provide it --He replies "God will make the payment." They all look at him in disbelief -- "like are you nuts" -- they ask him again "What is your plan?" -- He admits, "I don't have one figured out -- but I know God has a plan," -- I believe God told me in prayer that He would provide." They all get on his case -- some angry --some are thinking -- "He has lost his mind!" So John calls the staff to prayer and others from the church and school to come help them pray through to a financial miracle. People come and they pray, pray and pray. Two teachers come to the prayer meeting as they walk into the prayer room they literally see God's presence all through the room as in a cloud. John told me that as he looked around you could feel and see God's presence all over the room. He said others came and God touched them supernaturally and they received physical healings. They prayed - they trusted God and the money came in little by little. Day after day. They did have a plan "The awesome wonder of God -- it was His Spirit that moved on people's hearts to give as they were prompted by the Holy Spirit. So four days later -- after praying as a staff, school and church, all the money came in -- they had all the money within 5 minutes before it was due. It came in from 1,000's of different people and resources. From kids giving their allowances -- to teens giving their work wages -- to people from other parts of country calling and saying God spoke to me in prayer to call and send you money -- where do I send it? When you hear a story like this does it not just awe you?
2. Are you ready to receive a miracle?
a. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
b. We believed God for a miracle...and he delivered.
c. We didn't know how we were going to remodel this building, but God delivered.
d. We didn't know how we were going to get the money to do it, but God delivered.
e. We didn't know how we were going to afford to finish the building, but God delivered.
f. We didn't know how we were going to make the mortgage payment, but God delivered.
g. God has a miracle for you. You may not know when or how but God is going to deliver!
Transition: Expect it, act on it, and receive it!
Conclusion
1. In our text today we have three different people who experienced a miracle.
a. Mary, who had expectant faith
b. The servants, who had obedient faith
c. The bridegroom, who had receiving faith.
2. What miracle do you need today?
Proposition: Ask God for it, have expectant faith, trust God, and he will deliver!
