Water into Wine
In the Gospel of John, he makes no secret of why he write his account of Jesus’ life.
John 20:31
... that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John wrote the Gospel so that people may know who Jesus is, that He is Christ, the Son of God, and so that people might have life by believing in Him. John therefore picks out events in Jesus’ life, and teachings that He gave, that display Him for who He is. John includes in his Gospel the ’I am’ statements of Jesus. e,g I am the light of the world, I am the good shepherd etc. These statements show that Jesus is God, referring to the Lords description of Himself to Moses.
Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.’ "
These ’I am’ statements are meant to show more than who Jesus is in Himself, but also, and just as importantly, who He is in relation to fallen man, to you and to me.
John himself admits, in the verse before the one that we have just read, and at the end of his book, that there are many other things that he could have included. But instead John includes those miracles and teachings he records as evidence of who Jesus is to the people. Included are seven miracles which John explains are signs to show that Jesus is the one the prophets spoke of in the old testament. Through these signs John displays how Jesus is the fulfilment of the old testament.
Myself and Liz have just come back from holiday where amongst other things we climbed to the top of Mt Teide, the highest mountain in Spain. We went to the base by car and then did the rest with a mixture of a cable ride and on climbing foot. When were were about halfway up, and were walking through the heart of this dormant volcano, I looked around and was completely taken back by the scenery. It was completely breathtaking. I started to praise God for His wonderful works. God then revealed something to me. He said ’What you can see, however beautiful, is simply my signature. The beautiful creation is simply the signature of the creator.’ It gives us no excuse for not believing in Him.
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Through the scenery we could simply a small part of God. Through a signature we just get a glimpse of the person who signed it. That is why you get so many autograph hunters chasing the stars, wanting that little glimpse of who they are. Some people chase the signature more that the stars and we have to be careful not to do the same with God. In the same way the signs that John picks out are just a signature upon the life of Jesus, giving us a little glimpse of who He really is. But just as a signature testifies to the fact that the document has the approval of the one who signed it, these miraculous signs that Jesus performs show that he has the approval of God.
We see that John was very concerned with revealing Christ to the people and so I want to look at each one of these signs that Jesus gave and how they fulfilled there objectives. Today I want to look at the first sign, which is the turning of the water into wine, in chapter 2 of John. This sign, like most of the other six, has certain properties. Firstly there is a test show the level of peoples faith before the miracle, then Jesus performs the sign as a revelation of who He is, and then finally John records the teaching of Jesus in relation to this sign. He shows how the combination of these three things affects the people.
I want to put you in the shoes of the disciples at this point in the wedding at Cana in Galilee. Remember that they were just simple Jews from common backgrounds working as fishermen and the like. Some Jesus had called as He walked past, others had had Jesus recommended to them by other disciples, and still others had had Jesus pointed out to them by John the Baptist as being the one that they had been waiting for. They had been waiting for the saviour, the king of the Jews, and had known Jesus for only a few days. They would have been watching Him closely and listening to every word that He said to see if He was the one that they had been waiting for, the one sent by God to set the people free. They were waiting for the person who would bring to Israel the new wine.
Amos 9:13
"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the ploughman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.
Jesus decides to go to Galilee and ends up at a wedding. It was quite possibly a family wedding as it wasn’t far from His home town of Nazareth. A Jewish wedding was quite a big affair and could go on for several days. It would begin with a simple ceremony. When the bridegroom had built their marital home he would go to the brides house in the evening where she would be waiting veiled and in her wedding dress. The brides veil would be removed and placed on the bridegrooms shoulder. The bridegroom, along with his best man and friends, would take the bride to either his or his parents home, where they would begin feasting with all their family and friends invited.
It is at this point where Jesus and His disciples are in the middle of the festivities when disaster strikes and the wine runs out. This could have caused huge embarrassment to the wedding party, but Jesus rescues the situation by turning the water into wine. Wine that the Master of Ceremonies is surprised to find is the best wine of all.
John 2:1
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:"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time 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 realise 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."
11: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.
I want to look at this miraculous sign in the same way that I will all the seven signs of the Gospel of John. I will look at how Jesus tests the faith of those around Him before the miracle. Then the revelation of Himself through the miracle, and then finally the teaching that follows the sign.
The Testing.
Before each of the seven signs proceeding Jesus death and resurrection there is a test of some form to measure the peoples level of faith and understanding, before Jesus then reveals a little bit more about himself through the miracle. Here, with the first sign, Jesus tests His own mother, Mary.
Mary brings to Jesus the fact that the wine has run out. Jesus’ reply on first sight appears quite harsh but tests both the humility and faith of Mary.
John 2:4
"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
(The N.I.V softens the remark by adding the word ’Dear’ at the start. This is not found in the original.)
Many people would see this remark as a rejection. Jesus in this verse is simply making two things clear. Firstly, even though He is about to perform the miracle, it is because he is following the will of the Father, and no human will, not even His mothers. Secondly, in stating that His hour has not yet come He is saying that it is not yet time for Him to be lifted up. What He is about to do is simply a sign and not the time for Him to be glorified. This time we find is just prior to His death.
John 12:23
Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
In saying that His hour hadn’t come and making it clear He was only going to follow the fathers Will, Jesus was also testing Mary’s faith and awaits her reaction. What is Mary’s reaction? Does she worry that Jesus’ will might be different to her own? Does she try to argue that she is still His mother and he shouldn’t speak to her like that? Does she try to reason with Jesus and impress upon Him the severity of the situation and the fact that only He can help? On the contrary, Mary’s reaction seems to go against the trend of normal human emotion. Instead she simply instructs the servants to ’do whatever He tells you.’
Here we see the attributes of Mary’s character that enables God to move through her. We firstly see humility. The acceptance that Jesus’ will, or rather the will of the Father, is superior to her own. She does not try to tell Jesus what to do but simply leaves the situation in His hands.
We also see Mary’s faith. In instructing the servants to follow Jesus’ directions, she is believing that Jesus is able to do something. She is standing on the promise that was given to her thirty years earlier when Jesus was born stating that he was going to be special. She is believing that Jesus is going to be able to do something in the situation.
To humbly accept Gods will can be a difficult thing. When one great man of God some years ago was seen pacing up and down looking anxious, he was questioned as to why and replied, ’I am in a rush, but God isn’t.’ Mary was able to leave the situation at Jesus’ feet, enabling Him to perform the Fathers will.
The Revelation.
Next in this account we have the revelation, a miraculous sign that demonstrates a little bit about Jesus’ nature and about who he really is. Jesus takes six stone water jars, each with a capacity of 20-30 gallons and tells the servants to fill them up with water. He then instructs the servants to draw some water and take it to the M.C. Of the party in order for him to taste it.
Jesus has now turned the water into wine. Not just any old wine but the M.C. Testifies to the fact that it is the best wine of all. Normally the cheaper wine would have been left until last when everybody was slightly inebriated and wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
We read in verse 11 that this miraculous sign caused the disciples to put their trust in Jesus. Was it just the fact that this man had been able to do what was impossible that caused them to put their trust in Him or had He also demonstrated something more profound?
Firstly lets note the utensils that Jesus uses to perform this miracle. He takes the water jars that are used for ceremonial washing. This was one of the Jews many empty traditions as we read in the gospel of Mark.
Mark 7:3
(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.
4:When they come from the market-place they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
The Jews used these and other ceremonies to try and cleanse themselves, but Jesus told them that they were hypocrites and that they were left unclean. They were trying to be righteous by their own works. Jesus takes these very vessels and turns the water into wine. The wine in the new testament symbolises both the outpouring of the Spirit and Jesus’ spilt blood upon the cross. Here we see that Jesus was revealing a little bit more about Himself. He was going to take the useless rituals that could never make a person righteous, and replace them with His own sacrifice and the life giving Holy Spirit.
The Teaching.
When you read about the sign of the turning of the water into wine you may think that it simply commences at John 2:1 and concludes at John 2:11, and that Jesus never expands on this miracle or gives any verbal or practical illumination. On the contrary we find Jesus’ teaching by reading to the end of chapter 2 and the start of chapter 3.
Next Jesus goes up to Jerusalem and cleanses the temple. Many scholars align this account with the cleansing of the temple recorded in the synoptic gospels stated to be at the end of Jesus’ ministry. However I believe that it is not only possible, but probable that that these are two separate occasions in which Jesus is required to cleanse the temple separated by 2-3 years. John certainly writes as if this incident follows on from the wedding at Cana.
How is the account of Jesus cleansing the temple an expansion or teaching on the miraculous sign that was displayed at Cana? In the temple we find that the money changers and the market traders were operating inside the outer courts of the temple. In doing so they probably thought that they were providing a service, enabling animals for sacrifice to be purchased and exchanging gentile money for kosher money, but instead they were crowding out the true worship of God.
Just as Jesus had previous exchanged the useless rituals of the cleansing waters for the new wine of Gods Spirit at the wedding feats, He was now exchanging the useless rituals of the money changers with the restoration of true worship at the temple. It is quite ironic that the Pharisees were keen to practice the ritual of washing their hands, but not to bother with the fact that the temple was being defiled with the cheating scales of the money changers.
Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus in chapter 3 of John further explains the meaning of the water into wine miracle. Nicodemus a Pharisee, and a member of the Jewish ruling council, questions Jesus. Nicodemus doesn’t know who Jesus really is but recognises Him as being a teacher with the stamp of Gods approval upon Him.
John 3:5
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6:Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7:You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.’
When we are born in nature we are born of the flesh like the water jars. Flesh gives birth to flesh and we can never be anything more. God however can give birth to Spirit just as Jesus turned the water into new wine. Just as water could only be turned into wine supernaturally, likewise new birth is a supernatural experience and man is unable to achieve this himself. Nicodemus failed to understand this concept.
Conclusion.
The Test:
Are we humble enough to allow God to move His way and to follow His will. Do we have the faith to leave our situations in His hands. Whatever difficulties you face or are facing, are you willing to leave these problems at Jesus’ feet. Maybe you have run out of wine in your life. Whatever your problem may be are you willing to simply accept His will in the situation and follow His commands however odd they may seem. It would have seemed odd to the servants to have to present water to the M.C. Remember that just as Jesus had mercy and was willing to help the groom in his situation, He doesn’t want us to fail either.
The Revelation:
Jesus wants to take your useless ceremonies and replace them with a spirit empowered life. I want to ask you, are you doing things in your own strength? Are there areas in your life where you are relying on your own abilities rather than on Gods power. You need to be able and willing to give up everything that you think is right and rely upon God to do the impossible.
The Teaching:
The Pharisees were more concerned with their cleansing rituals than they were with the fact that they had their temple worship obscured. Are you trying to defeat sin in your own strength when actually the main problem is that you have put something in front of your worship of God.
I had a problem with lustful thoughts and tried to defeat the issue on my own. God revealed to me however that going to the gym had become an idol in my life and was blocking my worship of God. Because I had allowed it to become an idol in my life it had led me into sin and no matter how hard I tried I wasn’t going to be able to be released from that until I cleansed my temple and removed it. I cancelled my gym membership and God dealt with my lustful thoughts. Instead of me trying to deal with the sin my my own strength, once that which was blocking my worship was removed I was empowered by His Spirit.
Is there something in your life that is blocking your worship of God. Are you trying to deal with the sin without first removing the problem or idol. Remove everything that is in the way of your worship of God giving up to him your useless attempts at self cleansing and replace it with the new wine of Gods spirit.
Be a new Wine Skin.
In many areas of this country the wine has run out. There are many movements that once moved in power that are now running dry. God has poured out new wine in the past and I believe that He is about to do it again. However we read in the synoptic gospels that he will only pour new wine into new wineskins. Wine expands while it is fermenting and a used wineskin will already be stretched to capacity. If new wine is poured in it will burst.
Luke 5:37
And no-one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.
38:No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
39:And no-one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, `The old is better.’
There will be many who won’t be able to take the new wine of Gods Spirit. If we are to have His new wine then we are going to have to allow ourselves to be stretched and that is a painful process. Are you willing to allow God to stretch you?
Recognise the New Wine.
We must also realise that new wine can also be from the enemy. We find in the book of Hosea that both old and new wine caused the people to sin.
Hosea 4:11
to prostitution, to old wine and new, which take away the understanding
As in the time of Hosea, as the country grows ever drier, people are seeking new wine. We need to make sure that any new wine is from God. How can we be sure the new wine is from God however when people even accused the God given new wine as being the type that will take away understanding? Acts 2:13. How can we tell the difference.
We need to test the new wine just as the M.C. Of the party did to see if it is good. We shall be able to tell when new wine comes from the hand of the master when we remember that the wine represents His sacrifice and His life giving spirit. If new wine is from God then it shall result in people coming to know Jesus and in power. Any true move of the spirit, any outpouring of God given new wine will produce new spiritual birth and miraculous events. Any new wine that only produces an experience, but doesn’t lead people to the knowledge of Jesus’ sacrifice has not come from God and only serves to take away understanding.
Lets us seek the new wine that Jesus is waiting to offer. Let us be willing to be new vessels for Him to be able to use us. Let us taste it and see that this is the best wine of all.
