THE NEW WINE OF THE KINGDOM
Have you ever wondered how the stories recorded in the Gospels came to be selected out of the many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the events in the earthly life of Jesus? (John 20:30; 21:35). The evangelist John gives us the reason for their inclusion in Scripture: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (20:31). The keyword is ‘Life’.
In all likelihood John was the longest living disciple of Jesus and had ample time to reflect on the significance of the public ministry of Jesus. A characteristic of John’s Gospel is his inclusion of seven miraculous signs. These signs or wonders by Jesus of providing help or healing to those in need were recorded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They reveal his glory to those who believe in him and so "have life in his name."
John records these supernatural acts as historical events but also sees them as symbolic parables pointing beyond what happened to demonstrate how we can obtain the fullness of his blessing. God knows how slow of understanding we are and so he’s provided us with illustrations and examples to illuminate the message. John is fond of dropping hints, inviting us to see a deeper meaning in what we read.
The first of these signs - the changing of water into wine (John 2:1-11) - is history, but has a wider significance in speaking to us of the new wine of the Kingdom. It’s an event that reveals who Jesus is and what he does. Let’s look at:
THE SCENE OF THE SIGN
Jesus had been invited to a wedding at Cana, a village near Nazareth in Galilee. The fact that Jesus, together with the handful of disciples who had recently begun to follow him, attended the happy function shows that he’s not an antisocial killjoy. On the contrary, he’s pleased to enter into the whole spectrum of human life. It’s an occasion like this that Jesus gladly shared. It’s quite likely that there was a family link behind the invitation because his mother, Mary, was also present and evidently had some responsibility for the celebrations.
When we’re invited to a wedding we can reckon on writing off a whole day but in Israel wedding celebrations sometimes lasted as long as a week! The newly married couple didn’t go away for their honeymoon but stayed at home, keeping open house for their guests. I think I prefer the modern arrangement! And so we come to:
THE PROBLEM OF A CATERING BLUNDER
It can happen in the best of circles! It was probably the length of the festivities that was the reason for the lapse at the centre of the story - the wine supply having dried up! This was a serious social error and would reflect poorly on the bridegroom. I’ve read that lawsuits were not unknown in these circumstances when there was a row between the families as to who was to blame for the disaster!.
Mary appears to have had a leading catering role at the wedding. If you’ve ever been involved in the organisation of a wedding you know how demanding it can be! Imagine then how concerned she was when she learned from the head servant that the wine had run out. This was serious - the family would be in disgrace! She knew that if the dilemma became public it would place the host family in an extremely embarrassing situation. But she tried to keep calm - don’t panic, she told herself. Her mind went into overdrive in thinking what could be done to retrieve the situation. Perhaps the servant could run out and buy a fresh supply from the local off-licence! No, there wasn’t time and anyway the gap in providing refreshment would be noticed. But why was she worrying? There was no need to as it suddenly dawned on her that:
THE ANSWER WAS JESUS
The solution to her problem had been present all the time. Of course! Jesus was here. Surely he would know what to do. After all, only three days previously his cousin John, now a popular prophet, had proclaimed Jesus to be of a higher rank than himself, and the one that Israel was waiting for! She remembered what the angel had said to her about the very special baby she was going to have: "So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Here was a wonderful opportunity for him to disclose himself in the company of his relations and friends! That was Mary’s strategy, but did Jesus agree? We shall see.
Mary could smile again. "Don’t worry," she advised the servant, "I’ll tell my son, Jesus. He’ll know what to do!" She had no doubt at all that this problem was well within his scope to deal with. It’s likely that Mary had been widowed for some years and in the absence of Joseph Jesus could be depended on to help in a variety of family needs. It’s true that this situation was quite beyond the normal but she’d heard that at the Jordan "the Holy Spirit descended on him" (Luke 3:22). After all, he was her son, and if he were truly the Son of God he could easily use his power and get the family out of a fix! - and here was a golden opportunity.
Mary quickly found Jesus and simply said to him, "They have no more wine" (2:3). The words can’t be criticised but what matters is the way she says it: "Do something about it: you can, you must!" She stood waiting for him to solve the problem. It was then that she had the surprise of her life. Jesus spoke, gently but firmly, "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come." Mary was perplexed, perhaps even hurt. Why had Jesus addressed her as "Dear woman" instead of as "Mother"? She felt as if her own son was rebuking her. What had happened to their relationship? He had never acted unfairly, and he had never given her cause to believe that he didn’t love and respect her. And then the penny dropped!
Mary realised that Jesus now stood before her not just as her son but as a mature man. Parents tend to regard their grown-up children as "my boy" or "my girl"! But of even greater significance, Jesus was engaged on God’s mission to mankind. Their respective positions were now changed. He couldn’t allow their human relationship ever to influence him or manoeuvre him into doing anything that wasn’t in line with what his heavenly Father was saying. He wouldn’t be pushed into disclosing prematurely his true identity as the Son of God. He wouldn’t be manipulated by the mother-son relationship.
And why did he say, "My time has not yet come"? There’s only one adequate explanation: Jesus is filled with a messianic consciousness. He knows who he is. He knows why he’s come into the world but he’ll reveal himself in his own time and in his own way. He serves God, and God has sent him on a mission and has given him an "hour" and told him what to do and when to do it. Mary must not interfere. Yes, she was his mother for the purpose of his coming into the world as a human being, but when he entered into his great ministry he was subject only to his Father’s will. The previous natural relationship they had must be revised.
Now what does this tell us about our approach to Jesus when we have a particular need? Mary’s request, essentially informing Jesus of the pressing need, is a helpful model of intercessory prayer. So what was wrong? Prayer can’t be used to dictate to God! Our part is to lay the need before him, and then to trust him to respond as he will. Aren’t we guilty at times of the sin of presumption? We rush into his presence and say, "Grant me this, I must have it. You’re able to give this, why don’t you do it?"
More often than not, those prayers don’t get the answers we desire. God is a sovereign Lord. He knows his own will. He decides when and how to act. We are supplicants, not dictators! We can make no demands. We deserve nothing. And yet how reassuring it is to know that he understands the human predicament. He knows us intimately and individually. He knows all about us - our fears, our cares, our problems, our anxieties and our difficulties. Nothing escapes his attention. This thought leads us to see:
THE KEY TO BLESSING
Mary is now prepared to adjust to her revised relationship with Jesus. She now responded as a believer. It was no longer whatever she said to Jesus he would do. She wasn’t treating him as a tame magician who could be relied upon to come up running whenever she crooked her finger. He wasn’t a genie to make life easier whenever she rubbed the lamp. No. He was the Son of God; he would do whatever he decided to do. And whatever he said would be good and right and acceptable.
Mary was now on the firm ground of believing faith. She spoke confidently to the servant, "Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you." That’s the best advice that anyone can receive in facing life’s problems. As in the story of the wedding at Cana, we also "have no wine". We’ve reached the end of the line. What are we to do? Well, Jesus is the answer, and the only answer. "Do whatever he tells you." Here’s an important principle: there are two elements in knowing God’s blessing, two sides, and if we forget one or the other, we’ll go astray. There’s his part - that is vital - but there’s our part also. The danger lies in emphasising one at the expense of the other. We can see it as two sides of a coin: one is marked "trust" and the other is "obey". It’s activity under God’s control, or, to put it the other way around, it’s his activity through us. The balance is essential to knowing his blessing.
The servants weren’t left to wonder what they should do. It was the last thing they would have thought of: "Fill the jars with water." There’s nothing more ordinary than that! What a menial job! Mary may have expected some dramatic action. But no, this is our Lord’s way. It’s useless to expect any great blessing from God if we are disobedient to his known will. It’s so easy to fall into the temptation of wanting to do things our way. You know Frank Sinatra’s famous song, ‘I’ll do it my way.’ That’s the philosophy of self and of theis world – but not God’s way for us.
There’s a story told by a preacher of a young woman who came up to him at the end of a meeting when God had spoken to her. "I want to serve God," she told him, and she went on to say that if he felt she should give up her good employment in Manchester and go to work for the Lord in the heart of Africa, she was prepared to go. "All right," the minister said, "but what if your calling to is stay here in Manchester and go on doing what you are doing - are you prepared to do that?" And immediately her face fell. She was prepared for heroics but not the humdrum! Even sacrifice doesn’t count with God if we’re not keeping his commandments. There are no short cuts in the Christian life.
I can imagine that the servants were puzzled at the strange command to fill the jars with water. The headman had to stir them into action, "You heard him - get on with it!" But the next command really bewildered them: "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." This was the limit! It was bizarre! In fear and trepidation the servant dipped a pitcher into the stone jar now filled to the brim with water and carried it to the host. Wonder of wonders, the water had turned into a first class vintage - genuine wine! What had happened?
IT WAS A MIRACLE
Incredible! But it had happened, there’s no doubt about it - Jesus had turned water into real wine, and it was of the best quality. This was no theatrical trick! It wasn’t a matter of putting something - some chemicals and colouring - in the water to make it nice and tasty! This was a miracle - a supernatural action by God; an action which is above nature. It doesn’t break its laws but acts in a realm above. Think of the way in which wine is normally made. The basic ingredient is the grape subjected to rain and sunshine followed by its harvest - it’s the process of nature taking several months.
Often, when a miracle takes place, God speeds up the whole process. But in the miracle at Cana the most important element was his creative, supernatural act of starting with water only. If we believe in God, we shouldn’t be troubled by miracles. He is the Creator God. The opening statement of John’s Gospel confirms this: "Through him all things were made" (1:3). God normally chooses to act in an ordinary, orderly manner, but when it pleases him he may show his glory and power in an unusual and exceptional way.
There’s a rather symbolic detail in the story. The water in the stone jars was used to wash the feet and hands of the guests. The Law of Moses set out the ritual for purification but at best it provided only a temporary cleansing; it had no power to bring about a permanent change. The prophets looked forward to God overcoming this weakness through the "new covenant written on the heart" (Jer 31:31-34). John’s purpose in recording this sign was to invite his readers to look beyond the miraculous act to the God who could bring about fundamental changes not only to ordinary water but also in the lives of men and women. This miracle can happen again as the water of guilt and failure is transformed by the word of the risen Jesus into the wine of forgiveness, victory over sin and joyful obedience. This leads us finally to think of:
THE NEW WINE OF THE GOSPEL
The story builds up to a great climax. We’re told, "The master of the banquet tasted the wine … he called the bridegroom aside and said, ’… you’ve saved the best till now." But what he didn’t know just then that there were six stone jars of the best vintage awaiting the wedding guests’ enjoyment! This tells us in a pictorial form that the Christian experience, lived as God wants us to live it, is a growing life; it’s an increasing life; it’s an abundant life. We’re not meant to live as spiritual paupers! God doesn’t merely start and then abandon us. Certainly not! When Moses handed over the responsibility of the nation of Israel to Joshua he said, "The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deut 31:6). He’s an unchangeable God who is with us to the end of life’s journey.
What a glorious heritage we have in the new wine of the Kingdom. It’s a life developing and increasing until we find ourselves face to face with our Lord, knowing no longer in part, but made like unto him. May we all realise its potential. Jesus "revealed his glory" in the miracle of water into wine with the result that "his disciples put their faith in him." He calls on us to do the same. What we hear of the Gospel isn’t only for our information but for our transformation.
While our thoughts are centered on "the new wine of the Kingdom" we’re going to sing Marilyn Baker’s song, "Jesus, you are changing me." (Springtide/Word Music (UK) 1981)
