Just Say the Word

As Advertised

It’s frustrating when things don’t turn out as advertised.

The car I owned before the GMC I drive now. A Toyota Camry. All reports are they are good vehicles. I guess I got the exception. It burned oil from the day I got it. The engine was not what Toyotas are supposed be.

This GMC is the best vehicle I’ve ever driven. 123,000 miles and no problems.

Most of us have Verizon cell service. You watch the ads on TV or read the ads on the internet and they claim to be the most reliable. I’m not sure that would be our experience.

How frustrating are dropped calls?! Every time we are on a call and drive over the bridge over Munds Canyon we lose the service.

I’ll be in my office and have to walk outside to be able to use my phone.

It may be hours after a vm is left that it shows up on my phone. I’ll see someone called, my phone never rang, then the vm shows up hours later.

Chief Tope has the best theory why our Verizon service has tanked over the past few months. It didn’t used to be this bad. Something clearly changed.

He has heard nothing about this, but something similar happened when a new Verizon tower was being build around NAU.

Verizon, knowing a new tower was coming online, redirected the existing towers to focus in other directions. They didn’t wait until the new tower came online. So, for a time, the service that had been good, was horrible.

Well, the Verizon equipment is on the tower at the fire station. Permits have been issued. Everything that is supposed to be there is there. All that is left is to program it and bring it online.

It may be a coincidence, but about time when it was announced the Verizon equipment was going to go on the fire station tower, the service coverage dropped dramatically.

So, maybe they redirected the surrounding towers away from MP, without waiting for the new tower to come online. Our service is not as advertised. And most of us have no other good options.

Then, there’s our internet service. We have a few options, but it seems none of them are very good. We have had Centurylink here at the church. About once/month, for a few days, the service goes out. We are dead in the water w/out it. We are dependent on the internet on Sundays. And I need it to do my sermon prep during the week.

There have been Sundays when I show up here to find no internet and I have to drive home, sit in my driveway, download my sermon to my iPad so I can preach.

When we moved here, 7 years ago, we were thrilled to get 1.5 mps. Flagstaff was getting 50 standard. Then, Flag got the megablast. 100 mps or a gigablast.

We were able to finagle up to about 15 or 20 at the best. Not horribly painfully slow. Just painfully slow.

We’ve switched to Starlink satellite service. So far, it is as advertised. We’ve done speed tests and found that our download speed is up as high as 80 mps. We love it so far. I’d take reliability over speed any day.

It is working as advertised and we are thrilled.

Sometimes ppl are not as advertised. A friend in SB tells the story about a time when his company brought a speaker in for a conference. My friend was responsible to chauffeur the speaker around. He had a preconceived idea of what this man was like based on the media’s portrayal of him.

The speaker was Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys. If you watch any sports news about him, or business news, you get the idea he is megalomaniac w/ and ego as big as the stadium he built outside Dallas. He’s worth billions, mostly oil and gas. But the Cowboy franchise has contributed to his fortune.

My friend expected an arrogant, aloof, self-centered, preoccupied, phone hog in his back seat. But what he got was a sensitive conversationalist that took a genuine interest in his family and personal life. Jerry Jones never once got on his phone, but engaged my friend in a personal dialogue intrigued in his entire life. Not as advertised.

PPL are not always as advertised.

Sometimes Jesus gets a bad rap. Expectations of him can be overblown, or undercooked. Sometimes our opinions of Him are too influenced by the ppl around us or the media’s portrayal of Him and what they think about the church.

John the Baptist introduced Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He said He came before him and followed him. He said he was unworthy to untie his scandals.

The disciple John, the first to join Jesus after he was baptized, wrote in his 1st chapter, that Jesus is the Word of God, was w/ God at creation, is God, the Son of God, the One who spoke at creation, giver of life, sustainer of all things, and light of the world.

Is He as advertised? Yes.

Jesus is as advertised and introduced, maybe better. He gives life to the lifeless, is generous and gracious, and nobody controls his schedule. All this from the first miracle he performed at the wedding feast in Cana.

The best decision we could ever make is to put all our faith in Jesus to save us and serve us. That’s what He came to do. And proved He could do it all at that wedding in Cana.

Invited to a Wedding

John 2:1–2 NIV

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

The 3rd day. 3 days after Philip and Nathaniel joined him becoming the 5th and 6th disciple, along w/ Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

Mary was probably a relative or at least a very close friend of the wedding party to get this invitation. Jesus was invited, too. It’s not clear if the wedding party knew Jesus would have a +6, not a +1.

That may have contributed to the problem Jesus solved later.

A c.1 Jewish wedding celebration was a big deal. It would last up to 7 days.

Sara and I met and got married in Dallas. All of our friends were there that we had together. She was raised in Tucson and her mom was none too pleased to find out our plan to be married in our church, not hers. Sara grew up in that church. But NW Bible in Dallas was our church.

The only way her parents would be okay w/ this was if we agreed to come thru Tucson after our honeymoon so they could have a reception for us there for their friends. Okay.

We honeymooned in their cabin in Pinetop. Came down for their reception. That meant, our wedding kind of lasted a week w/ twice the receptions, twice the ppl, and twice the presents. It was a win/win.

This wedding in Cana was about more than just the couple getting married. Marriage is a model, an example used in the Word of God to describe God’s relationship w/ us.

The relationship demands faithfulness to each other to continue as designed. And it requires grace. God is perfect, makes no mistakes, we don’t need t/b gracious w/ him. But if He isn’t gracious w/ us, then the relationship wouldn’t work. Likewise, two imperfect ppl come together must be gracious w/ each other. We have to show each other undeserved kindness and favor. No one deserves the commitment promised in a marriage.

It’s a big celebration. After a year-long engagement, all the anticipation and expectation. The first night couple consummates, then the family and friends party on!

But, they ran into a problem. This was a problem that would have tarnished the reputation of bridegroom and his family for the rest of their lives throughout the regions. A big deal.

They ran out of wine.

Big Problem

John 2:3–5 NIV

When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

There is no mention why it happened. Were they not expecting Jesus +6?

They had just traveled from Bethany, by the Jordon River and Jerusalem. Maybe they didn’t have time to stop by Total Wine on the way.

Was it poor planning by the family?

Whatever the reason, gloom would have fallen over the family once they realized what was happening. If the guests go home early, telling this story, their names were trashed in the region.

Mary presented the problem to Jesus. This is a great way to pray. Don’t try to solve the problem. Don’t try to tell Jesus how to solve the problem. Just present the problem and let Him decide what to do about it.

No doubt she knew he was capable of things the others were not. We just don’t know what all she knew.

When Jesus replied using the term, ‘woman’, he was not being disrespectful. Today, in our culture, “Woman...” is a term of belittlement and disrespect. That was a different culture.

He was being kind and respectful to his mother. And while he respected her, he was obliged to obey His Father’s requests over his mother’s. God’s timeline over Mary’s.

She had no idea that he was going to spend 3 years teaching, leading, preparing the disciples to lead the church after he was gone. She had no idea He was going to leave, certainly by way of crucifixion, if at all.

In her mind, she may have thought this is it. Right now. Kingdom. Let’s go.

So, when He replied his hour had not yet come, she didn’t fully understand what he was saying.

It didn’t mean He can’t, or won’t do something. It means she doesn’t control his schedule or tell Him what to do and when to do it. Nobody does, except His Father.

That was not the time to announce publicly and show the world Who He is and What He can do.

Jesus worked hard early in his ministry to limit the exposure and popularity of his work. Once word got out, he was mobbed and no longer able to connect w/ people personally in a small group.

That wedding was way too early to show the world what He can do.

Wine is a sign of joy in God’s kingdom. It is predicted that there will be wine when the Messiah shows up. The Messiah was there.

What Mary did understand was, he could do something, He might do nothing, so the servants should do whatever he said to do, if anything. Whatever it was, it would be okay.

Think about what He could have done. He could have created money and sent the disciples down to the wine store. If God wanted us to be rich, He could give us the mega lotto numbers or print money in heaven and have it rain dollars, euros, drachmas, or shekels. But, that’s not what he does.

He could have had the wine store owner show up out of the blue w/ cases of the cheap stuff, Boone’s Farm or 3 buck chuck. He didn’t do that either.

What Jesus did do was private. No one knew what happened except the servants and the disciples.

It was gracious. Jesus prevented the family from losing face. They didn’t deserve what He did. But He blessed them w/out them even knowing it.

And, Jesus blew up the traditions of the Jewish cleansing rite and foreshadowed what He was going to do to the entire law in a few years.

He solved the problem. And He did much more than just turn water into wine.

More than Wine

John 2:6–11 NIV

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 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.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

6 stone water jars used for ceremonial cleansing.

Each jar held up to 40 gallons. They were used by the family and Jewish friends for their purification rites. Before and after they ate, they would make a big deal about washing their hands and faces w/ this special prayed-over water believing it had something to do w/ washing away the contamination of their sin.

During a week-long wedding celebration they would have been used many times.

Where did this rite come from? The OT law did several things. It taught Israel how to worship. It taught them how to deal w/ their sin. It pointed to Jesus. And, it kept Israel healthy and alive while other nations were dying out due to diseases.

The Kosher laws included things like, don’t cut meat w/ your butter knife and don’t spread butter w/ your meat knife. Why? B/C prior to modern food processing, the chemical reaction between the meat and dairy would kill you.

If you accidentally mixed you knives up, the prescription was to bury the knife for 2 weeks. The dirt underground would kill the bacteria making the knife safe to use again.

The water pots. God instructed Israel to wash their hands before they ate. Long before germs were ever discovered, they were supposed to hold their hands under running water to wash away what could make them sick and kill them.

Then, wash again after you ate. Why? B/C food particles collect bacteria in beards and on skin.

So, while they were making a big deal about ceremonially washing using the water in these pots, God would have been in heaven saying, “Oy veh. You idiots. You’re not removing your sin. You’re removing germs.”

Jesus communicated to them, even though they didn’t realize at the time, the old was on its way out and the new was on its way in. Out w/ the useless rites and rituals. In w/ the useful relationships.

Jesus told the servants to fill up the water pots w/ regular well-water. That would have blown them away. If the Jewish leadership knew about this, mixing well-water w/ the prayed over sanctified stuff was a stoneable offense.

The servants would have been beside themselves, questioning everything as they obeyed Jesus just as Mary instructed them to do.

6 water pots, 40-gal each. That’s a lot of wine. This was not a big drunken bash. It was customary to cut the wine w/ water. They certainly could have gotten drunk on it. But, what they drank did not have the alcohol content that’s in our wine today.

Jesus instructed them to immediately draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. He was taken aback by the quality of the wine.

It was customary to serve the good stuff first. Let the guests dull their taste buds and senses w/ the alcohol then bring out the cheap stuff to save money. This was well-aged, good wine.

Notice, which verse specifically explains the miracle? Did Jesus touch the water? Did He speak over it? Did He do a little dance?

Doesn’t say. Why not?

John, who wrote this, knew that we would likely deify the process and make it some sort of incantation or equation when praying to get what we want.

Like the words, “in Jesus’ name.” That was never intended to be a tack on to our prayers. We treat it like it’s the magic formula or equation that must be said to get what we ask for.

Praying, ‘in Jesus’ name’, is an attitude. A belief that we are praying what Jesus would pray if He were here to do it Himself. We are praying what Jesus intends to do. We know Him well enough to know what He wants here.

We tend to overcook the miraculous. We get side-tracked. Overly excited by the extraordinary and supernatural of the miracle. Jesus never intended us to react to miracles like this.

He intends for us to react to His message like this. And the miracles are all object lessons to prove the message he just taught.

When I taught thru Jesus’s miracles in the bible, I said many times, the miracle is never the point. It has a point. But it points to the point of the message.

It’s just like me using an illustration to help you understand and internalize the meaning of the passage. This is what is says. This is what it means. The illustrations help get to what it means to you, specifically, so you can land your plane. Don’t land mine. Don’t land your husband’s or your kids’ or your friends’ for them. Land your own and the miracle helps you get to your runway.

Just a few days earlier John the Baptist had introduced Jesus as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Just a few verses earlier, John, the disciple and author of this book, introduced Jesus as the Word, God, Creator, Giver of Life, Light of the World.

In 2:11 he wrote that this was just the first of the signs thru which Jesus revealed His glory. There will be many more.

Later, John wrote this:

John 20:30–31 NIV

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus performed a lot of miracles. Only 35 are recorded in the NT. Luke wrote that if everything Jesus did and taught were wrote down, there would not be enough space to store the books, or hard drive space or cloud space to store the documents.

The response of the disciples to the miracle at the wedding was faith. Faith is a process. They had already believed enough to leave their families, jobs, and home towns to travel w/ Jesus. But at first, they didn’t fully understand Who He is.

They learned a little more at this wedding. And their faith in Him grew stronger.

He is the Son of God who can do supernatural things. He can create life out of the lifeless.

He took water, which is inanimate, and created the juice of the fruit of a living vine.

He can take you lifeless life, and give you new life.

He can take you lifeless marriage, and give it new life.

He can take your mortal earthly body, and give you a heavenly one that will live forever.

Jesus is as advertised, maybe better. And we will not be disappointed by putting all of our faith in Him to save us and serve us.

Applications

Pray like Mary

Just tell Jesus the problem. Don’t try to solve it. Don’t try to tell him how to solve it. He’s God. He knows more about your problem than you do.

We can’t make. He will never say He can’t or won’t do something. But He may surprise you and He will do it in his own time and in his own way.

Learn to pray like Mary.

Life

Is there something in your life that needs new life?

Surrender it to Jesus. That means, give it up, give it to Him, don’t take it back.

Let Jesus have His way w/ it.

Your marriage. Your kids. Your heath. You.

Stop trying to control what’s lifeless and let Jesus bring it back to life.

Faith

Place all your faith in Jesus to save you and serve you. Don’t hedge your bets w/ anything or anyone else.

You will never be disappointed when you trust in Jesus.

He is Who He says He is. And He will do what He says He can do. Believe Him for it.

Sometimes Jesus gets a bad rap. Expectations of him can be overblown, or undercooked. Sometimes our opinions of Him are too influenced by the ppl around us or the media’s portrayal of Him and what they think about the church.

John the Baptist introduced Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He said He came before him and followed him. He said he was unworthy to untie his scandals.

The disciple John, the first to join Jesus after he was baptized, wrote in his 1st chapter, that Jesus is the Word of God, was w/ God at creation, is God, the Son of God, the One who spoke at creation, giver of life, sustainer of all things, and light of the world.

Is He as advertised? Yes.

This is not Santa Claus, This is Jesus.

Jesus is as advertised and introduced, maybe better. He gives life to the lifeless, is generous and gracious, and nobody controls his schedule. All this from the first miracle he performed at the wedding feast in Cana.

The best decision we could ever make is to put all our faith in Jesus to save us and serve us.

That’s what He came to do. And proved He could do it all at that wedding in Cana.