John 2 (1)
When things change with Jesus
- Read John 2:1-12
This passage begins with the words, “on the third day”. Evidently this event took place shortly after the events that had occurred in John chapter 1. Jesus had called some disciples and they were traveling with Him, hanging out with Him to check Him out.
It is amazing how much you can learn about a person by spending time with them. It’s easy for a person to put on an act when you only see them from time-to-time or when you are only with them for short periods of time, but it is something entirely different when you spend extensive periods of time with the person.
So, several of the disciples were traveling with Jesus, checking Him out, checking to see if He is the real deal.
Jesus goes to a wedding in Cana of Galilee, to attend a wedding. Can you imagine that RSVP? Jesus sent it back with a note, “I’ll be attending and bringing 12”.
So Jesus and His disciples went to the wedding.
He saw His mother there, and there He turned water in to wine. Yes, Jesus turned water in to wine.
There are a great many who would use this passage as a pretext to preach, or to teach about alcohol. That is not the focus nor the purpose of this passage, so I will not; but so that I will not be accused of sidestepping or avoiding the subject, which is clearly discussed in scripture, I will quickly make a few points on the subject before we move on.
I. What the Bible says about alcohol:
1. Jesus did turn water into wine. Jesus did turn water in to alcohol. Many try to jump through hoops and perform all sorts of linguistic calisthenics to try and say otherwise, but I believe they are mistaken. Jesus turned water in to wine.
2. No where in the Bible does scripture condemn alcohol. No where in the Bible does scripture say that you cannot drink, that you cannot consume alcohol. To say otherwise would be scripturally dishonest.
3. The Bible specifically mentions a couple good uses of alcohol.
a. Alcohol was used medicinally -
> 1 Timothy 5:23, “Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
Alcohol in the Bible was used as medicine, and it still is. I have a nephew who is pharmacist. Several years ago he told us that a spoon of alcohol was as good for a cough as any prescription medicine they had.
When I was young, I was a bit sickly. I know that comes as a surprise when you see the strapping model of manhood standing before you today, unless of course, you’ve heard me the last couple of days, sounding like I was about to lose a lung from whooping cough or something.
When I was a kid, our pediatrician told my mother to get a little whisky and mix it with lemon and honey and give it to us for our coughs. My mother, quite indignantly told him that she had never tasted alcohol in her life and wasn’t about to give it to her children. Our doctor showed her the ingredients in the cough syrup she had been giving us and pointed out there was alcohol in it and told her to do like he said.
My mom sent my dad down to slink into a liquor store to get some, because she didn’t want to be seen around the place.
Alcohol was used medicinally.
b. Alcohol was used for relaxation
> Psalm 104:14-15 He causes grass to grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate, producing food from the earth, wine that makes man’s heart glad— making his face shine with oil—and bread that sustains man’s heart.
There are times, when the use of alcohol might be acceptable for relaxation and such.
4. The Bible has many warnings about alcohol
a. We are not to get drunk.
> Ephesians 5:18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.
I have known a number of people who have destroyed their lives with alcohol, but I have never known a person who became an alcoholic who never took a drink.
When my grandfather was a young man, he began to have a lot of pain in his right arm and leg. They sent him to the doctor but they couldn’t find anything wrong, they couldn’t find the problem. They didn’t have MRI’s and cat scans back then. He began to drink to relieve the pain.
Many years later, after the invention of the MRI, they finally found the problem, he had a small tumor on his spine pressing on a nerve there. That tumor eventually led to paralysis on the right side of his body. It didn’t matter much by that time, because he had already become an alcoholic. He would often drive the back streets of Dinsmore, Florida, drunk, and pull over to the side of the road and pass out wherever he happened to be at the time.
He began using alcohol for one reason and it ended up destroying him. How accurately do the scriptures describe alcohol when it says:
> Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler, and whoever staggers because of them is not wise.
b. We have a responsibility to others.
> 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 Everything is permissible,” but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything builds up. No one should seek his own good, but the good of the other person.
We are to act not just how we think we want to, but we are also to act in ways that help other people. We are responsible not only for our lives but also for our testimonies, the way our lives impact others.
5. If you want to do something, you can find an excuse.
I know a lot of people who know nothing about the Bible, who know nothing about the scriptures, but the vast majority of them can tell you about when Jesus turned water into wine. They do not know that the vast majority of the time in those days, folks would dilute their wine with 2 parts water to 1 part wine, with their goal not being to get drunk.
I don’t believe for a minute Jesus created a drink equivalent to the alcohol increased beverages we have today, when He knows of the number of lives destroyed, and families damaged by such a thing, and yet people who know nothing else about scripture often know about this event. Why is that?
It’s because if you want to sin, if you want to go your own way and do your own thing, you can find an excuse. You can find a reason, and if not, the Devil will give you one. He gave Eve a reason, an excuse for eating the fruit in the middle of the Garden, and look at the grief it caused.
If you want to do something, whether it’s right or wrong, you can find a reason. You can find an excuse. You can justify your actions, but that doesn’t make it right and it doesn’t mean you are pleasing the Lord.
I tell you something the Bible clearly teaches:
> 1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.
I’m not telling you, you have to a tee-totaler. I’m not your daddy. I’m your pastor. It is my job to share God’s word with you, and it is the Holy Spirit’s job to apply that scripture to your heart and to your life, and it is your responsibility to decide if and how you will strive to serve and please the Lord. That’s on you.
Now, if I have discussed the subject of alcohol enough, from a passage that does not teach on the subject, that you will not accuse me of ignoring it, then I will move on.
Let’s look again at John 2 and verse 1.
> Read John 2:1-2
As we look at this passage, there are several items I would like to note. There are several lessons I believe we can learn from this passage.
II. LESSONS TO LEARN
1. You can be a Christian without being a jerk.
A wedding was going on. They were about to have a great party and Jesus and His disciples were invited.
The people who invited Jesus and His disciples did not consider Him a kill joy. They did not consider Him a stick in the mud. He was an honored guest to their party.
Jesus was often invited to parties, and those parties were often filled with, let’s call them “Non-church people”. Matthew threw a party with a lot of His tax-collector friends, who weren’t exactly pillars in the community, and Jesus was there.
Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Jesus went to his house, there was a dinner party with many of Zacchaeus’ friends.
Evidently, when Jesus went to parties He didn’t sit in the corner, looking down His self-righteous nose, over the rim of His glasses, keeping records of who was doing what, so Jesus was invited to parties.
Did Jesus ever sin? No. Did Jesus ever compromise on what He believed or taught? No, and yet people wanted Him at their parties, at their socials. He hung out with so many lost folks that He was called a friend of sinners. Why? Because people knew He was real and that He loved them.
Oh, what a winning combination that is. To be yourself, to be real, regardless of the company you are in; and to sincerely love people.
We have too many religious folks running around today with rulers, worrying about how long a guys hair is or how short a girl’s skirt is. What a bunch of nonsense. No wonder folks want so little to do with Christians. They know a lot about what we’re against and very little about what we are for.
I once interviewed with a church in Arkansas who decided they didn’t want me as their pastor. You see, there was a bar that had recently opened in the area and they were doing everything they could to shut it down. They asked me what I would do about it. I told them I’d probably frequent the bar and visit with the folks there. They weren’t very happy with that answer.
When I was in seminary I read about the revival preacher who would go from town to town and visit in the bars. He often ended up holding revival meetings in the bars, and I decided that if I ever became a pastor that’s what I would do. I would visit folks in places they wouldn’t expect to see preachers.
The first church I pastored was in Ridgely, TN. I remember in seminary, reading about a revival preacher who regularly visited and witnessed in bars. I decided I would do the same thing, so I started visiting in one of the local bars.
The first time I went in there a man asked me, “Aren’t you that new preacher out at Madie?” I said, “Yes I am.” He said, “What are you doing in here? My mother attends your church and she would never set foot in here.” I answered, “One day you’re going to need a preacher and I want to make sure you know one.”
2 Months later his live-in girlfriend died of cancer. I preached her funeral and got to share the gospel with a lot of folks who would not have ordinarily listened.
It reached the point where I would walk in the door and someone would holler out, “Give the preacher a diet Dr. Pepper and put it on my tab.”
I got to know those owners, and several others to follow. My wife and I used to pick up the owners children each week and we got to lead one of them to the Lord. A later owner visited our church because I became her friend. I got to baptize and my wife and I became good friends with a young lady I first met in that bar who tried to pick me up when I was still single.
You can be a Christian without being a jerk and when you start being real and start being loving you will impact people’s lives.
2. There comes a time when your relationship with Jesus must change.
- Read John 2:1-4
Mary had raised this man. She knew Him from the time He was born. She nursed Him. She changed His diaper. She wiped His nose when it ran. She doctored his wounds when He would come to her crying with a scraped knee or elbow. She was His mother.
Now, they were at a wedding, and the hosts had run out of wine. She tells Jesus, “They are out of wine.” That was a big deal in those days, and a great social embarrassment. She says, “Jesus, they’re out of wine.”
And notice how Jesus answered. He says
- Read verse 4
Now, the way He responded was not quite as terse as it sounds in the English. It’s kind of like answering calling her “Lady”. It is a title of respect, but it is not “Mother” or a similar term one would expect to hear a son use when He addressed His mother.
You see, the relationship had changed. While still His mother, He was becoming her Lord.
I imagine she was taken back for a moment by His response, but she went right on and told the servants to do whatever He told them.
You see my friend, if you are truly a Christian, there must have been a time in your life when your relationship with Jesus changed.
When you were a child, you would hear the stories about a baby born in a manger. You heard about the shepherds and the wisemen. You heard all of that, and it was a neat story about a little baby.
When you got a little older, perhaps you began to hear about Easter, and about how that Baby born in a manger had grown up, and died on a cross for you and I, and how He rose again on the third day.
These are neat stories, but if He is truly your Savior these must become more than just stories. At some point your relationship with Jesus must change and He must become your Lord.
Has your relationship with Jesus changed? Is He just a story, a baby in a manger or a Savior on a cross to you today; or is He really your Lord? Do you really have a relationship with Him?
3. If a change has taken place, there will be evidence.
- Read John 2:5
If a change has taken place in your relationship with Jesus, then there will be evidence, and that evidence is obedience.
What did Mary tell the servants? Whatever He tells you to do, do it.
A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Veteran’s Day. Now, while those vets may have served in different branches of the armed services, and while they may have served in different places, they all have one thing in common. At some point in their lives they signed their names at the bottom of a sheet and said, “Whatever it takes, up to and including my life, I will defend this country from all enemies foreign and domestic.”
That’s the evidence we see in a life where the relationship with Jesus has changed, when He has truly become your Lord and Savior. On that day, at that time, you sign the bottom of a blank sheet and say, “Yes Lord.” Whatever You say.”
> Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and don’t do the things I say.”
> John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep my commandments.”
4. If a change takes place, you will see things others don’t.
- John 2:5-11
Mary and those servants got to see something none else at that wedding saw. They got to see a miracle. . . .
The wine steward didn’t see it. He only knew this was the best wine served that day, and he was surprised at how good it was. . . .
If a change has taken place, you will get to see things others don’t. You’ll see God blessed homes built. You will see God provide in ways and at times when you think there is no hope.
Has a change taken place in your relationship with Jesus? Have you told Him, whatever You want . . .
