READ
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Now there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
WE really don’t know what to do with Jesus...
A Jesus that Chose to Do his 1st miracle at a Wedding that Was the Turning WATER into WINE
We either water down the miracle into grape juice...Unfermented...
We struggle with the fact that Jesus would show up at a Party – LOUD...FESTIVE...
"Wohoo"...Free Bird...
We Struggle with the STUFF & We almost Miss the Miracle!
Swiss German theologian, Karl Barth, draws attention to what he calls the "strangeness" of biblical text. Rather than seek to make the text reasonable, we should, according to Barth, allow its peculiarity to challenge and change us. As Christians, we often feel an obligation to make the Bible intelligible, or to present it in such a way that it makes perfect sense. I am not so sure that this is always desirable. I am not even sure that the Bible always makes sense or that it can always be understood. Often we need to subject ourselves to the mystery of the word of God and if need be, let the Word speak strangely. The words of Stephen Neil made some thirty years ago about Jesus, are still applicable today: "The danger for the interpreter lies always in his tendency to domesticate Jesus Christ, to make him out to be less dangerous than he really is, to rob him of his mystery, and to offer solutions of the gospel problems which are no real solutions."
In 2002 – We really find it hard to:
Accept Ourselves AS WE ARE...
Believe that Jesus would show up at a Party...
Accept that He wants to Step into our needs & meet them...
Believe that He wants to be a part of our lives EVERYDAY...
Sell out to Him...
NOTE – the Miracle is Definitely NOT about Permission to DRINK! THE Story is MUCH BIGGER than That!
Today I want to Speak to you about –
"AN END or a BEGINNING"
Truth – You Can’t Have 1 Without the OTHER!
Whether in a Book...A Quarter in Football...The 2nd ½ in Basketball...The next Inning in Baseball...
TODAY Is about:
EMPTINESS...LACK...INABILITY (I Can’t – HE Can)
AN END of SELF & ALL OUR ABILITIES/RESOURCES...
AND THE BEGINNING of GOD...JC...
The WILLINGNESS of JC to STEP into Our POINT of NEED
& TURN THINGS AROUND
I. SCRIPTURE
This is the 1st Miracle by Jesus Christ
It’s Interesting that HE would Perform his 1st Miracle at a Wedding - The Result of a FLAW...MISTAKE...
Ø NO WINE
Here - Talk About WEDDINGS
I’ve Never Seen a Perfect Wedding – Have You?
Some of my Memories...
Ours – Unity Candle...
Dalziels – 45 minutes late...
Rings not fitting...
Wrong words – sung & spoken...
People passing out...Tripping...Laughing...
Here we are – in the Bible – OUT of WINE
Cana of Galilee. Weddings were a Big deal. Protocol was to be followed. Ceremony @ evening after a time of feasting. Home of the groom. No short ceremony...
Lasted for days. Great celebration.
Host discovers – no wine. Improper to not have wine.
Jews did not get drunk at these celebrations—drunkenness was considered a disgrace.
Water pots that were for hand washing. Guest had someone pour some water over their hands. To eat with unwashed hands would have been a defilement.
180 gallons of wine.
Jesus did not just make some ordinary wine. No, the wine was better than that which they had started the celebration with.
Someone once said, “Don’t focus on the stone water pots—and miss the whole point—Jesus is about transformation.
At a WEDDING –
Water to WINE...
There’s a BIGGER STORY THAT is to BE HEARD
He turned water into wine -
He turns frowns into smiles
He turns whimpers of fear into songs of hope
He turns deserts into gardens
He turns sorrow into joy
He turns sin into grace
Death into life.
Jesus is all about transforming power. Changing people—that’s what its all about.
1. OT/NT
This miracle speaks of the OT versus the NT
The NEW COVENANT with JESUS
When HE Stepped into our Lives & Offered CHANGE
Life AFTER Jesus is BETTER than Before Jesus
2. 2002
In 2002 it’s About Coming to that Place in LIFE - That POINT of NEED, THAT ENDING
Where We Will Look to Jesus - FOR a NEW BEGINNING
SPIRITUALLY - For Salvation
DAY to DAY - It can be Hard to ACCEPT that JESUS wants to be a PART of Our EVERYDAY LIFE!
Ø WINE
Wine stood for many things in scripture.
Wine stood for more than Alcohol...
Ø COMMUNION – BLOOD...
Matt. 26:27 This is my blood of the NT...shed for the remission of sins...
In life - there are times when the wine runs out.
The joy is dry! Ability to Cleanse ourselves is over...Can’t heal ourselves...Depression sets in because of no joy...
Families...Individuals...Homes...Marriages...
You and I have no resources available within ourselves to replace the joy.
New wine ONLY comes from Jesus.
Ø JOY
To the Jewish people wine symbolized joy. The Jewish rabbis had a saying, ‘Without wine there is no joy.” A reminder of the emptiness of our life without Christ. In relationship to our lives. It’s scary when the “wine runs out.”
Ø CLEANSING – Wine was poured into wounds & the blood was Cleansed by it
Luke 10:34 – Poured oil & wine into the wounds...
Ø SICKNESS – Wine was used for disease...
1 Tim. 5:23
Ø HEAVINESS of HEART – Given to those depressed
Prov. 31:6
They came to an END of their ABILITY & the BEGINNING of JESUS’.
Stands for the Atonement & the Complete work that Jesus Would Accomplish for Each of Us at Calvary.
JOY...CLEANSING...SICKNESS...HEAVINESS of HEART...
Ø VESSELS – Old common pots...20-30 gallons apiece...
About the Vessels
YET –
Someone had to RESPOND...OBEY...
FAITHFULNESS...TRUST...
INTERACTION w/JESUS...
FAITH...
3. CHANGE
Truth –
Before We Will Change – WE Have to Come to a PLACE UNCOMFORTABLE ENOUGH to CHANGE
Even then –
Most of us TRY to Not START OVER...NEW...
Just CONTINUE with the PAST – Altered Enough to RELIEVE the PAIN...EMPTINESS...VOID...
Jesus wants to Offer us Something SO Radical that we won’t want the PAST (Old Wine) Any longer...
THEIR END was A BEGINNING ONLY Because of –
Their Willingness & the Presence of Jesus
W/out Jesus – NO WINE = NO WINE
W/JESUS – NO WINE = MIRACLE TERRITORY
So it is in LIFE –
W/out Jesus – No WINE = No WINE
w/out Jesus that is the end of the Story
We have no Ability within ourselves to change the situation
OUr Tendency – is to go buy wine – Repeat what we already KNOW
Jesus wants us to break free of the PAST So that we might have something New
With Jesus – no WINE is the POTENTIAL BEGINNING of Something Better than What we Currently HAVE
With JESUS
Better > Before
FUTURE Greater than the PAST
HAVE > HAD
TRIAL = TESTIMONY
EMPTINESS = FULL
NEED = NEED MEETER
END = BEGINNING
You can Have what you already KNOW & YOU KNOW what you’ll GET
Or You can Come to Jesus with your Inability & TAP into HIS ABILITY
II Cor. 13:9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong...
II Cor. 12:9,10 ...He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” ...I take pleasure in infirmities...reproaches...needs...persecutions...distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Eph. 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Notice that first…
This sign informs us that…The wine can run out.
When we run out of wine
This sign teaches us that…When the wine runs out, Jesus can turn the water into wine.
If we look at the first miracle of Jesus we see this truth…Jesus is not just the giver of joy…he is the giver of “abundant” joy. He not only met their immediate need, but he gave an abundance.
The truth for us is this—Jesus is not going to just doctor up our lives a little bit. Just put a Band-Aid on our needs—no he wants to transform your life, just like he transformed that water. Our lives will take on a new nature.
This Sign teaches us that…Jesus offers an abundance of new wine at the end.
Sometimes it’s hard for us to understand God not only meeting our need but providing for us an abundance.
That’s the story of grace. There is no measure to grace. There will always be enough grace to meet our needs.
That’s the story of God’s love. There is nothing that you can do that will cause God to diminish his love for you.
Understand this principle of God today…God is not just a God of the required—he is a God of the abundance.
Not “just enough”—an abundance
So the wine is poured out and all the people who are present rejoice at the richness of this “new wine”.
This was completely against custom. The best wine was always offered first.
What do you do when the wine runs out? Mary showed us by example. She told the servants that if they would just do what Jesus commanded they would see a miracle. A miracle that not only met their immediate need...but a miracle of abundance.
Has your joy run out today? Jesus wants to transform you! Bring your need to him!
