Set the Tone

Read- John 2:11-  This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

HOOK:  Set the tone

Mets vs. Braves- Mets lead by one game in the east

If the Braves win all three, they’ll clinch the east

Mets started their best 2 pitchers (Scherzer and Degrom)

2nd inning of the 1st game

Austin Riley hits a bomb

Next batter- Matt Olson

Next Night- braves jump on them early and beat them again

After that game- one of the mets said

“We threw our best at them, nothing we can do now”

Still one more game to play

The Braves jumped on them, and set the tone early!

From that second inning, you could tell that the mets knew the braves

Growing up playing sports

Set the tone

“Go ahead and let them know you’re here for business.”

Punch them in the mouth

We are the ones setting the atmosphere

It shows the opponents what they are in for and what to expect for the foreseeable future.

“Set the tone” defined

create or establish a general feeling or atmosphere among a group of people (about a particular subject):

When we look at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he comes and sets the tone.  John 2

He comes and sets the tone, and established a new atmosphere about to expected from now on

We eventually see how he had come to bring the new covenant.

He puts an end to sacrificial system of the old testament

He includes all of God’s people-not just the Jews

New way to approach God.

It’s in John 2 that we begin to see his plans and who he really was.

V. 11 “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

BOOK: John 2:1-11 “Wedding a Cana”

JESUS SETS THE TONE OF WHAT TO BE EXPECTED

Wedding in this culture were a huge deal

I have been to some nice weddings

Ours was a great and beautiful wedding

They don’t hold a candle to weddings in this time

These wedding feast would last up to 7 days

Jesus finds himself at a wedding-

It’s clear that he’s a sociable guy

Not a killjoy wanting to steal all of the fun, but he is celebrating with the people

Scripture implies that Mary may have been part of the catering role

She sees that they are running low on wine

She goes straight to Jesus, and lets him in on it

Through some conversation

Jesus then performs his first miracle!

It’s the moment where he first manifest his glory

His disciples first believed

The miracle was amazing

Its part of the way he began to manifest his glory

The entire story-we begin to see the foreshadowing of the new covenant

LOOKS- Jesus teaches us 3 things in this story about how he operates/about what his new commandment looks like

Jesus is not interested in status. (Look at the way he responds to Mary)

Verse 4 ““Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Jesus manifests his glory

Only the son of God can address their mom as “Woman:

Jesus is not southern

If you and me do this, we would have a tough time recovering

Mom/Amanda Illustrations

It seems that Jesus is being rude- not so.-

I personally think he says this with a smile

Its actually with affection

The last recorded time in Scripture, he says the same thing

This exchange marks the transposing of Jesus’ relationship to his mother, although still special, into a new key in the light of his Father’s mission and the shadow of its finale.

Jesus is setting the tone and praying down lines of status and hierarchy

In his culture, it was assumed that that his physical family had an inside track of influence and blessing

Jesus cut off that assumption, and focused attention not on physical relations, but spiritual relations.

“Your relationship with me as mother has no special weight here. You are a woman like every other woman.”

“My Father in heaven, not any human being, determines what miracles I perform. And the pathway into my favor is faith, not family.”

This is amazing news for you and I

It doesn’t matter what family line we come from

Best or the worst

Family, status, career, finances, don’t make us his friend

It’s our faith!

Maybe you’ve come in here this am, and you’ve always felt a little left out

God doesn’t see you in terms of your physical and social status

When he sees you, he sees something beautiful!

To become a son/daughter of Jesus, we put our faith in him

Have your trusted Jesus with your life?

He cares about the things we care about.

“My hour has not yet come

He goes ahead and performs the miracles

Jesus sees what could happen to the host of the party

The wedding is a week long event

This is a social catastrophe

This could be a great embarrassment

reflected poorly on the bridegroom

Lawsuits were not uncommon in a situation like this

We kind of see this as inconsequential

Big deal, the guys would be embarrassed

He probably would have recovered

But Jesus Does more than simply filling a need

He turned embarrassment into blessing

Instead of having to endure shame, the groom was publicly honored for his over-the-top hospitality

Jesus’ deep concern for meeting people at their point of need

No matter how small they may seem

Jesus set the tone and met people where they were at

He does the same for us

The things that matter to us, matter to Jesus

It may seem small to the world, but to Jesus, it’s a big deal

Do you have something this morning where you just need Jesus to step in

Jesus cares about the big things, and the small things.

He turns the ordinary into something that can be celebrated!

v6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

These jars were full of ordinary water

Not for drinking, but for purification

They were a religious act

Here he sets the tone for what he was about to do

It’s foreshadowing that he is coming to fulfill the law.

He takes ordinary water and changes it to something great

We see Jesus begin to change the “ordinary/useless lives around him

Tax Collectors

Ordinary fisherman

Prostitutes

Outcast

These are the people that Jesus transformed and then used

Not the religious elite

Not the ones at the top of the roman hierarchy

ordinary /everyday people

Maybe you came here this am feeling like you don’t have much to offer

Ordinary/not talents/shame/regret

You are in the right place!

Jesus is still in the business of changing the ordinary/worthless, into something great!

TOOK: There were really two outcomes to this miracle

He manifested his glory-he set the tone

We begin to see what is to come

It affected the people around him

V11- and his disciples believed in him

What I know to be true!

When Jesus transforms our life, it affects the people around us

It begins to trickle down!

Family

Closest friends

Co-workers, etc.

Call up musicians!

Is there something in your life that may seem small, that you want to ask God to intervene?

Do you want God to come and transform your life?

Maybe just come spend some time with Jesus.