Common Cana
John 2:1-11
Many people say,
“I’m too ordinary!”
“I’m nothing special!”
“I have nothing to offer!”
At some point in life, everyone reaches that place
That place of inadequacy
Especially when it come to doing something for God that you’ve never done before
Certainly there are others who are more educated and better prepared for such a task
Tonight God wants to tell you that he is the master of taking the ordinary person and doing extraordinary things
He illustrates his use of the common for the accomplishment of the uncommon in the story of the wedding at Cana.
READ John 2:1-11
I. The Setting (v1)
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.
The point is Jesus was in a very ordinary place on that day
It was not the first wedding
It was not the last wedding
There is no indication that it was someone special getting married
II. The Substance (v7)
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”
There is no more common substance on planet earth than water
7/10ths of the earth surface is water
It’s used for cooking, cleaning, drinking, mixing, growing things, killing things,
It has multiple uses
And Jesus used it to perform his first miracle
He didn’t use grapes
Or grape juice
Or gasoline for that matter
He used plain old water
Abundant and ordinary
He didn’t even use special bottled water
Or water from some far away place
Or sparkling water
Or flavored water
Just water
III. The Servants (vv5,7)
5 His mother said to the servants…
7 Jesus said to the servants…
Servants were fairly common in the Ancient roman world
Everyone either had servants or was a servant themselves
Servant’s out numbered masters
Probably by a very large majority
There were servants everywhere
In fact in most circles they were looked at as less than human
They were the least educated in society
They were common in almost every sense
IV. The Stone Jars (v6)
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons
Remember, this story takes place in Jewish Palestine
For the Jew living under the Levitical Law ceremony meant everything
There were purification rites for nearly everything one did
Ceremonial washing was something they grew up with
V. The Savior (v11)
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
The result of Jesus performing this miracle is that he was revealed to be who he really was and People put their faith in him
Even those who had been following him for a time suddenly put their faith in him
Conclusion
In looking at each of these common things I am struck by the way Jesus uses them in a way no one had before
His ways are new ways
Whether you are a new graduate or an old saint
God can use you in new and exciting ways
However, I must point out that the success of this entire story hinged upon the obedience of the Servants.
They did what he wanted them to do
Not what they thought was the sensible thing to do
