WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT
John 2:1-10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A man got a ticket to the Superbowl. He was happy until he got to his seat in the nosebleed section. He got his binoculars out and began looking around the stadium.
2. He spied an empty seat on the 50-yard line and decided to walk down there and see if he could sit in it. He asked the man in the next seat, “May I sit here?” “Sure,” the man replied. “This was my wife’s seat. She was a huge football fan and we always came to the games together until she passed away.”
3. “I’m sorry for your loss; but I’m curious – why didn’t you give the extra ticket to a friend or relative?” The widower replied, “Because they’re all at the funeral.”
B. TEXT
1 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 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour 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.”
C. THESIS
1. This is not only a story of the first miracle of Jesus, this story also is a parable about life and how Jesus turns our lives around for good.
The title of this message is, “When the Wine Runs Out.”
I. THE PROBLEM AT THE WEDDING
A. MARRIAGE HONORED
1. There is probably no more important event in our adult lives than our marriage -- the union of two lives to form a lifetime partnership of love.
2. Marriage is God’s idea. He established the pattern with Adam & Eve – one man and one woman together for a lifetime. Here in John 2 we see marriage honored by the Son of God. In spite of His urgent mission and busy life He took time to attend the Wedding at Cana.
B. JEWISH WEDDING CUSTOMS
1. Weddings in Jesus’ day were week-long festivals. The whole town was invited and all came because it was considered an insult to refuse an invitation.
2. To provide for so many people, careful preparations had to be made. To run out of provisions was more than an embarrassment -- it would be a social disaster!
C. THE GROOM’S NIGHTMARE
1. Evidently a lot more people showed up than they were expecting. The 7-day celebration was probably half-way through when word came to the groom; “We’re out of wine!”
2. The groom looked at the empty wineskins, thought of his guests and the terrible insult. His reputation would be shot. It would have been better he’d not gotten married.
3. The occasion of his wedding, which held so much promise and should have been the happiest day of his life, was on the brink of becoming the worst day of his life!
4. Like the wine, his hopes ran out. The joy he hoped for was gone. Aren’t there a lot of things like that?
II. WHEN OUR WINE RUNS OUT
A. OF OUR HOPES AND DREAMS
1. How many of us started off with lofty dreams? Most Americans dream of being successful in their careers & making it to the top.
2. Of becoming a Doctor, Lawyer, C.E.O., Astronaut, a famous musician or actress, or of striking it rich. But somewhere along the way, ‘the wine runs out.’ Our dreams fizzle out and come to nothing.
3. The brilliant mirage we expected our life to be, evaporated and we were left with a common & mundane job & ordinary rewards. Maybe disillusionment replaced our dreams.
B. THE WINE RUNS OUT...OF OUR MARRIAGES
1. Yes, most married couples DO start off with a lot of unrealistic expectations, but they also start off with a lot of love.
2. ILLUS. One man asked his girl to marry him. She said, “Ok, when you have $50,000 in the bank, I’ll consider it.” Six-months later, he kissed her and asked her to marry him again. “Remember my condition?” she said. “Exactly how much money have you saved?” He said, “Seventy-five dollars.” She sighed and smiled, “I guess that’s close enough!”
3. During the different phases of marriage (child-bearing, raising small children, teenagers, empty nest, the later years), marriages go through a variety of crises; love waxes & wanes, we reassess our relationship, we’re tempted to ‘cross the line’ into infidelity – and it appears OUR marriage is a failure, or doesn’t measure up to what others have. In short – the wine appears to have run out.
4. ILLUS. One jeweler was asked to tell about his most memorable client. He said, a divorcee who wanted earrings made out of her wedding band. One earring said, “with all” and the other said, “my love.” “Why do you want it like that?” “So that the next time someone says that to me, I’ll let it go in one ear and out the other!” [Susan Christensen]
C. WINE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE LORD GONE
1. Many Christians begin walking with God thinking;
a. I’ll never face hardship;
b. My busy life won’t affect my relationship w/ God;
c. My experience with God 5-yrs ago will get me through.
2. But difficulties DID come; our relationships are too shallow, and the ‘wine runs out’ – the good evaporated. That happened to the groom in this story, but I’m glad that WASN’T THE END OF THE STORY!
III. THE SOURCE OF NEW WINE
A. JESUS WAS AT THE WEDDING
1. There was someone special at the wedding, someone who could do something about the wine running out. Jesus is present in your life too!
2. He can take the plain, worthless water of your life and transform it into something miraculous. He can take your:
Emptiness Unhappiness
Disillusionment Dashed hopes,
and resurrect them and breath new life into them.
3. That’s what He did at this wedding; He more than met the need. He provided 120-180 gallons of wine!
B. SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST
1. The master of the banquet told the Groom, “You’ve saved the best until last! This means...
2. Not only does God restore to us what we lost, but He also makes it better than it ever was before! So God promises:
Brighter Dreams than our originals,
Better Marriages than we could produce, and
A walk with God closer than ever before!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: GOD SHOWED UP AGAIN
1. In Vietnam in 1971, was an interpreter named Hien Pham who was an energetic young Christian. He worked with American forces and with missionaries. Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ideals and the Christian faith.
2. He was subjected to communist propaganda and a daily deluge of Marxism; it began to take its toll. ‘Maybe,’ he thought, ‘I have been lied to. Maybe God does not exist. Maybe the West has deceived me.’ So Hien determined that when he awakened the next day, he would not pray anymore or think of his faith.
3. The next morning, he was assigned the dreaded chore of cleaning the prison latrines. As he cleaned out a latrine, his eye caught what seemed to be English printed on one piece of paper. He hurriedly grabbed it, washed it, and after his roommates had retired that night, he retrieved the paper and read the words, ‘Romans, Chapter 8.’
4. Trembling, he began to read, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . . for I am convinced that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Hien wept.
5. He knew His Bible, and knew that there was not a more relevant passage for one on the verge of surrender. He cried out to God, asking forgiveness, for this was to have been the first day that he would not pray.
6. Eventually he was released from prison and fled to Thailand. Today he is a businessman in the United States, a radiant Christian and a living testimony to the power of God’s Word and its transforming power. [Rodney Buchanan]
B. THE CALL
1. Bring God a ______, and He’ll fill it! (Thimble, bucket, barrel). Which best describes your expectancy of God?
2. Has the wine run out of your dreams? Marriage? Walk with God? Some other area?
3. “Whatever He says to you, do it!” Mary said. The water pots were for purification of uncleanness. Do you need purification from sin? Does your marriage need a boost? Let’s come and pray about these issues. PRAYER.
