Unexpected Glory – 2nd in Series on the Glory of God.
Last week, I introduced the concept of God’s glory, with the definition that God’s Glory, also known as the “Shekinah” glory of God. We tried to grasp the fact that God’s glory, just like His nature, defies definition. And we also came to understand that God’s glory essentially is the sum of all of His attributes.. By attributes, we know them as His love, mercy, justice, providence, etc. Sum all of them together and they total far more than we can ever imagine.
We found that the word “glory” is in the Bible over 300 times, and that most of us “gloss” over it, without ever trying to comprehend what the Bible means when it refers to God’s glory.
Last Sunday, we also learned that the Shekinah glory of God, is most often described as the VISIBLE MAJESTY OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE. So in a very real way, every time that God provided a visible sign of His presence, His glory was being revealed and demonstrated. The most commonly recalled times of His glory being revealed was during the Exodus, while the Israelites were in the desert and the column of smoke by day and the column of fire by night led them through the wilderness.
Finally, we learned that God’s agenda is His glory…to reveal it and make it known to His creation.
1. Introduction
a. What kind of Glory would we expect to see if we were to see Jesus?
i. The glory of God we would see would be exactly the same as if we were looking at the Father.
1. Jesus, while on earth, masked much of His divine nature behind his human nature, but revealed it over and over again, sometimes reluctantly, some times for just his closest disciples, and yet other times for everyone to see.
b. In the next few weeks, we will get a glimpse of that glory, through the eyes of his disciples, hopefully, as if we were there ourselves seeing it for the first time.
i. Keep in mind, that when Jesus called his disciples, he seemed like a teacher to them, one whom John the Baptizer pointed to as the Annointed One of God or the Messiah.
1. They felt a compelling tug when he called each of them.
a. And they followed him, just like many teachers had their “following” in those days.
b. Some of the disciples asked their friends to come see and hear this unique teacher and each of them had the same opinion…he is the Messiah.
2. But something else was different about Jesus. The longer they hung around him, the more they listened to him, the more and more they realized that he was no ordinary Rabbi.
3. In fact, even their opinion about what kind of Messiah he was began to change. They, like most Jews, expected a deliverer to restore the glory of the nation to Israel.
a. They expected a conquering king.
b. But as they watched and listened, they had to begin to wonder about their preconceptions.
ii. As we follow these disciples, we are using the book of John to see what they saw. You might want to spend some time reading the book of John in the next few weeks, and try to put yourself into their sandals as you read it.
1. At the point in the gospel of John where we pick this story up, Jesus has called most of his disciples, some of whom have confessed faith in him as the Messiah. They are leaving behind a life to follow him. And there are sharing his life and living and traveling with him.
2. How Jesus reveals His glory
a. John 17:24
i. "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
b. What kind of “first” miracle would reveal Christ to others?
i. If Jesus had to pick a single action to reveal His glory to his disciples, what would it be?
ii. Maybe a resurrection? Feeding several thousand? Heal someone who is dying? Cast out a devil out of a possessed man? All of these are things he did…but they were not the first action of self-revelation of His glory.
c. At Cana – the improbable revelation, the unexpected revelation of His glory.
i. Jesus is 30 years old, he goes to a family wedding ceremony that His mother is likely a part of as at the very least, one who provides some of the food or planning.
1. His mother isn’t just a guest, but rather somehow connected to the wedding party.
a. Every Jewish woman, related to the parties, would have been a part of the preparation of this party.
b. But the passage in John 2:1-11 says that Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. They were participants, and it is possible that Jesus may have even be related to somebody in the wedding party.
2. These wedding parties lasted up to 7 days.
ii. Let’s read the passage:
1. 1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." 11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
iii. I need to break this passage down for you to grasp what is happening here.
1. Jesus & his disciples are invited, probably because the mother of Jesus was there and had a role in the wedding.
2. Now Mary comes to Jesus with a problem.
a. The wine has run out on the third day of the banquet, and as I mentioned before, it probably was going to run another 4 days.
i. This would be like running out of punch and cake at a modern wedding! Or only having enough hors-dourves for ½ of the guests.
ii. It would be a major social boo-boo.
b. Since Mary, Jesus’ mother is part of the planning of this wedding banquet, she has a dilemma. Why she comes to Jesus isn’t clear, but what is clear is that she is NOT looking for a miracle. The passage later says that this was his FIRST miracle.
i. She has no conception that her son can do miracles.
ii. She is like a mother coming to her son to say, “Son, they are out of wine, can’t you help us out here by coming up with some plan, idea, or strategy?”
iii. It is almost as if she is saying, Jesus, I know you are an invited guest, but can you give me a hand…we are in an embarrassing situation as we don’t’ have enough wine to serve these guests.
c. Jesus gives a curt reply.
i. “Dear woman, why do you involve me?”
ii. If we didn’t already know the story, we might even say that it sounds as if he is expressing his “boundary” to his mother by telling her that this is her problem, not his!
iii. It may be a way of distancing himself from his family relations.
1. "What is that to you and to me" may be a common expression in the Semitic world (cf. 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21) that indicates non-involvement.
2. On one hand, Jesus’ answer may indicate that he doesn’t want to be involved with such mundane details of human life, like whether or not there is enough wine for a party.
iv. “My time has not yet come.”
1. This second statement is the one that should get our attention.
2. “I am not ready to reveal my glory yet”.
a. My hour is not here.
b. I haven’t heard from my Father yet concerning doing something that reveals Him in me.
c. This term refers to the time of eschatological fulfillment (e.g., 4:21, 23; 5:25, 28) and, most characteristically, to refer to the hour of Jesus’ glorification -- i.e., his death, resurrection, and ascension
d. And the mother tells the servants (which she has command of) to do what he says. It is as if she is delegating her responsibility for this potential social catastrophe to him. She must have some other responsibilities to take care of and expects him to help her out.
i. She is probably expecting him to order them to go out and get wine from the local wine merchant.
3. Now here is the improbable part.
a. If this were a modern party, we would probably expect Jesus to begin with a sermon lashing out at the dangers of alcohol, of immoderation in drinking and of the benefits of abstinence!
b. He could have scolded his mother and told her how dissipating the wine was to the participants in the party, and that it was a good thing that it ran out so that people could sober up before the end of the party!
c. But Jesus does the improbable. He doesn’t just turn water into wine, he doesn’t just make 50 bottles of wine, but he makes the equivalent of 50 CASES of wine. And really, really good wine at that!
i. Wine was very important. It was the normal beverage at meals -- and especially at festivals. Wine was a symbol of joy. One ancient rabbi stated, "Without wine there is no joy."
ii. At the same time, drunkenness was a great disgrace throughout scriptures. I don’t believe that Jesus intended all the guests to drink up all the wine that night. There was enough wine to satisfy a large number of guests throughout the rest of the wedding feast week
iv. Let’s look at this on another level as well:
1. Why did Jesus tell them to fill these “jars used for purification” or “jars for ceremonial washing” with water, which he turned to wine?
a. Why didn’t he simply tell them to bring back water in their buckets from the well and change it into wine as they walked past him?
b. Buckets are wooden- and wooden vessels cannot be purified- thus jars for purification would not have made use of water from a barrel. Purification jars had to be filled with water from a well or river or flowing stream. In the event at Cana, which is not close to a river, it is most likely that the source of the water was a well. John does not say all this because it is not necessary. His readers would have known it.
c. What was the purpose of the jars?
i. the purification jars are the key to the story. In the rite of purification, one hin (about the amount of water one could hold in a chicken egg) was enough to purify 100 people. Why? Because purification involved simply dipping the tip of the finger in the water, tilting the hand up until the bead of water ran to the wrist, and then tilting the hand back down. THAT is the rite of purification.
ii. Now imagine that you have 6 stone jars filled with 25-30 gallons of water. how many folk can be purified by that? Well, I am not real good at math- but a hin is about 1/4 of a cup. Multiply that by how many cups are in a gallon, and multiply that 6 times (the number of jars) and multiply that number by 100- and you have the number of folk who could be purified by those 6 jars.
iii. The point of the story, then, is that Jesus provides purification for everyone!
d. The water jugs of Jewish purification ceremonies were empty. They are now to be filled with new wine of the last times, and wine in abundance.
e. We have here a prophecy which would be well known to the Jews. The disciples would see in this action the abundance of wine as an OT eschatological symbol (Amos 9:13-14).
i. "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD,
ii. "When the plowman will overtake the reaper
iii. And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
iv. When the mountains will drip sweet wine
v. And all the hills will be dissolved.
vi. 14 "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel,
vii. And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them;
viii. They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine,
ix. And make gardens and eat their fruit.
x. 15 "I will also plant them on their land,
xi. And they will not again be rooted out from their land
xii. Which I have given them,"
xiii. Says the LORD your God.
v. Why couldn’t Jesus do a really religious miracle instead of one that probably led to these folks continuing the party for another couple of days?
1. Jesus did nothing thoughtlessly. His actions were intentional. That he chose to enliven a party should make us pause and wonder why.
2. It didn’t seem like the right time, as can be noted by his comment to his mother.
3. It didn’t seem like the right place.
4. It was however, the right Lord.
5. What happens is that the disciples see His glory. This is the end result.
6. Jesus’ miracle was not something that had all sorts of meaning for the party, for the wedding or for his own mother. Its meaning is found in its profound effect upon his disciples.
7. Jesus makes no comment on the consumption of alcohol here. Just as he never makes a comment about the injustices of Rome or railing against the common sin of the common man.
a. No Jesus has a higher purpose. In fact the bible tells us that he spends time with drunkards, tax collectors and sinners.
b. And he doesn’t spend time condemning them. He spends his time showing who He is to them.
vi. What happens at Cana is the first revelation of who Jesus is. The bible calls it the first of his signs (one of seven found in the book of John).
1. The bible says that 11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
2. His glory was manifested, revealed. That is, who he is was revealed. And it led to them putting their faith in him in a new sort of way.
3. Now we know that his disciples already were his followers. We know that they had some belief in him, or they would not have followed him up to this point.
a. But faith and belief are not static events.
b. Faith is dynamic…it changes, and it grows.
c. The faith you and I have today is not the same as it was in the 3rd grade, the 12th grade, or even last year.
d. Your faith started as a tiny kernel and hopefully has grown over the years.
4. Faith typically exists in three stages or levels.
a. Stage One: When belief is based upon the testimony of others.
i. We are witnessed to. We read our bible. Our parents, our teachers, our pastor tells us that Jesus loves us and we believe what we have heard. This faith level essentially is the beginning of a relationship with Jesus Christ.
b. Stage Two: When we experience Jesus Christ for ourselves…
i. When we hear Him in prayer.
ii. When we hear Him in the Bible
iii. When we talk with Him and know that we know that we know that he hears us.
c. Stage Three: What happened to the Disciples at Cana.
i. They have heard about Jesus.
ii. They have talked with him. They have gotten to know Him. They spent time with him.
iii. But suddenly, the relationship has changed.
iv. This stage of faith occurs when we personally experience and observe the POWER and WORKS of Jesus just like the disciples did at Cana.
v. This stage of faith, which is the stage of faith that God desires for us, occurs when Jesus makes a difference in our life. The disciples looked at him differently after this miracle than they had looked at him before.
1. He was no longer just a teacher.
2. He was no longer just a good person.
3. He wasn’t just a friend.
4. He was God, He was the Messiah, and he has the works to prove it!
5. Where is your faith today?
a. Is Jesus just a religious figure that you believe in your head is a great person?
b. Is Jesus a personality that you know about? Maybe talk to in prayer occasionally?
c. Or is Jesus someone that you have put your entire trust in, someone you have leaned on completely, with all of your strength, to support and to carry you?
d. Is your faith the same as it was 10 years ago? Is God the same to you today as he was then? Or has he become the center point of your life? That is the power of His glory.
e. Have you let Him make a difference in your life? Or have you kept him at arms length?
i.
3. Jesus is the glory of God revealed to man.
a. Jesus comes to earth and he has a multifaceted role. Glory Acrostic
i. Explained in overview form (we will study these tonight during our Shepherd Ministry)
1. God – Christ’s Power (Jn 1:1-3 Col. 1:16, Heb 1:3)
2. Lamb – Christ’s Perfection (Jn 1:29 1Pe 1:18-21)
3. Only Begotten – Christ’s Place (Jn 1:14, Jn 3:16, Col 1:15,18)
4. Revealer – Christ’s Proclamation (Jn 1:18, Mt. 11:27, Jn 14:9, 1Jn 1:1-4)
5. Your Savior – Christ’s Purpose (Jn 1:12 1Tm 1:15)
b. Scriptures (NT & OT) that tell us he is the exact rep. of God.
i. Hebrews 1:3 The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly. He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command. After he died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God of heaven.
ii. Jn. 1:14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father
c. His Divinity (God in Man revealed)
i. Why this is important?
1. First of all, if Jesus is just a mere man, then he is a liar. All that he has taught is a lie because he himself claimed to be God.
a. His disciples understood Him to be God.
b. His disciples worshiped him as God.
c. And the Jews crucified him because he claimed equality with God.
d. If he lied about himself, then he was not even a good moral teacher, but one who was totally and completely morally bankrupt, unworthy of our worship, our devotion or our attention.
2. But if Jesus is who He says he is, then he is the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies.
a. In fact, the bible says that it was necessary for Him to be both fully man and fully God so that God could take our sins upon himself on the cross.
ii. What scriptures support this?
1. In John 8:58, he claims he is the “I Am” of Exodus 3:14, and the Jews recognize it. They try to stone him for blasphemy.
2. In John 10:30-33, he says that He and the Father are One.
3. In John 17:4, he refers to sharing God’s Glory before the world began.
4. Hebrews 1:1-3 says he created and sustained the universe, and that he is the exact representation of God.
5. Titus 2:13 calls him, “our great God and savior, Jesus the Christ.”
6. Jesus is worshiped by the wise men in Mt. 2:11, the blind man in Jn 9:38, by angels in Heb. 1:6, by the disciples in Mt. 14:33, and Mt. 28:17, by the women at the tomb.
7. In Isaiah 9:6, we are told that one of the names for Jesus will be “mighty God.”
8. Isaiah 45:23 speaks of every knee bowing before God, and Philippians 2:10 and 11 applies this prophecy to Jesus.
9. God says in Isaiah 42:8 that he will not give his glory to another, yet Jesus speaks in Jn 17:5 of the glory he had with God before the world existed
iii. Why again?
1. Because God could go no further than to stoop down and draw near to man by becoming man. God who is spirit could do nothing more than give His only son to pay the price of our separation and sin by becoming man. Jesus left his throne in glory, set aside His glory, and became man.
2. Some would say that is too far! The Jew cannot fathom this. The Moslem cannot accept that. They say, “God is too Holy, too Majestic to come to earth and live among men.” The Jew at least has had God’s Glory present and speaking to them in a cloud and a pillar of fire. But the Moslem says God is too far away. They cannot fathom a God who is personal.
3. Yet this is what has happened. This is what God reveals at Cana. His personal nature, His concern for humanity, the preservation of His glory. God reveals His glory, in Jesus Christ at Cana.
4. And this was a turning point for the disciples. A paradigm shift. A change in the way they see God and Jesus. They now know Him in a new way. They likely do not understand what they are seeing at this point but they know Jesus is no ordinary man.
d. The Barcelona Olympics of 1992 provided one of track and field’s most incredible moments.
i. Britain’s Derek Redmond had dreamed all his life of winning a gold medal in the 400-meter race, and his dream was in sight as the gun sounded in the semifinals at Barcelona. He was running the race of his life and could see the finish line as he rounded the turn into the backstretch. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain go up the back of his leg. He fell face first onto the track with a torn right hamstring.
ii. Sports Illustrated recorded the dramatic events:
iii. As the medical attendants were approaching, Redmond fought to his feet. "It was animal instinct,"’ he would say later. He set out hopping, in a crazed attempt to finish the race. When he reached the stretch, a large man in a T-shirt came out of the stands, hurled aside a security guard and ran to Redmond, embracing him. It was Jim Redmond, Derek’s father. "You don’t have to do this," he told his weeping son. "Yes, I do," said Derek. "Well, then," said Jim, "we’re going to finish this together." And they did. Fighting off security men, the son’s head sometimes buried in his father’s shoulder, they stayed in Derek’s lane all the way to the end, as the crowd gaped, then rose and howled and wept. Derek didn’t walk away with the gold medal, but he walked away with an incredible memory of a father who, when he saw his son in pain, left his seat in the stands to help him finish the race.
iv. That’s what God does for us. When we are experiencing pain and we’re struggling to finish the race, we can be confident that we have a loving Father who won’t let us do it alone. He left His place in heaven to come alongside us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.
4. Where is your faith?
a. What is your relationship with Jesus like today? Has he been just a man in history? Has he been just a great teacher to you? He wants to be your Lord! He is God…and wants to rule your life, and not just be someone you look up to like a historical figure. He lives now and He desires to live IN your life.
b. If you haven’t taken the step of surrender to Jesus, you can today. If you have seen His glory, you are ready to receive Him. He is waiting to come into your heart. He wants to transform your life.
c. Let’s pray.
d. Jesus, there are some here who don’t know you as savior and lord. You are just a famous name. You don’t rule their lives. Today, Lord Jesus, some of these lives have been touched by your truth and power and they are ready to take a step toward having that relationship with you changed. Touch us. Amen.
e.
