Jesus First "Sign" - The Wedding at Cana

Jesus Lived and Died for the Gospel

Purpose of The Gospel

— It was written so that people, all people might believe in Jesus

John 20:30–31 ESV

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

— The opening verses declare that Jesus is God!

— This relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit is simple... It is also very complex and never fully explained in scripture

— I think God intended it that way to be a faith builder for us.

— We know there is a unique relationship between the three persons… God, Son and Holy Spirit and we accept that as a part of our faith journey.

“I am” Statements

— There are 7 “I am” statements that are recorded.

— These 7 put a framework around the Gospel.

— We will stop at each of these “I am” statements and have some discussion around each of them.

Here are the Statements

1) "I am the _______ of life"

2) "I am the ______ of the world"

3) "I am the _______"

4) “I am the _____ shepherd"

5) "I am the ___________ and the _____"

6) "I am the way, the truth and the life"

7) "I am the ___________"

1) "I am the bread of life"

2) "I am the light of the world" ...

3) "I am the door" ...

4) “I am the good shepherd" ...

5) "I am the resurrection and the life"

6) "I am the way, the truth and the life" ...

7) "I am the true vine" ...

Followed very closely by the seven “sign” miracles

— Turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee

— Healing of the royal official’s son — Healing of the paralytic at the Bethesda pool.

— Feeding of the 5,000

— Jesus walking on water

— Healing of the man born blind

— The raising of Lazarus

John, Chapter One

— In the first chapter, it is written and driven home that Jesus “is God”

— Jesus was in the beginning with God

— All things were made through Jesus and without Him nothing was made

John 1:4 ESV

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Jesus brought Grace and Truth

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Truth without _____ is correction without love.

_____ without truth is mercy without justice.

-Truth without Grace is correction without love.

-Grace without truth is mercy without justice.

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— We do serve a God who is Just, Graceful, Merciful and He knows what we need at any particular moment.

— Whether it is a kick in the pants or a shoulder to lean into, God understands and supplies all of our needs.

— Our passage for today is John Chapter 2, Vs. 1-12

— The Gospel of John is packed full of sermons, and in reality our year here in this book is going to scratch the surface.

— What I’ll do with each message is clearly state the purpose. Our purpose for today is

PURPOSE: John relates the first great sign performed by Jesus to demonstrate His deity, the turning of water into wine

John, Chapter Two, Vs. 1-12

— Stand if you will and I’ll read

John 2:1–12 ESV

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 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 this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 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. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

— Please be seated

John 2:1 ESV

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

— The wedding in first century culture was a different experience than we have.

— First it lasted in many cases a full seven days.

— Virgins were married on Wednesdays

— Widows were married on Thursday’s

— These weddings were largely “arranged” marriages.

— That’s one of the reasons they lasted so long. The Bride and Groom may have met their spouse just a few days before this ceremony.

John 2:2 ESV

2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

— Somewhere along the line here the Apostles’ have gotten co-mingled with the Disciples.

— John addresses them all as “Disciples.”

John 2:3 ESV

3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

— Wine. A standard part of meals in that culture.

— Wine also symbolizes joy and God’s blessing.

— From the Book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 3:10 ESV

10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

OK… back to John

John 2:4 ESV

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

— Jesus’ use of “woman” in direct address was normal and polite. It showed neither disrespect nor lack of love.

--In the present passage the force of the expression seems to be to deny the authority of Mary over Jesus.

— In Jesus true Glory… Jesus is saying that it is not his time yet.

— That is, the time and the manner in which the Son would reveal his glory to the world.

— That is especially true on Easter morning when we see Jesus, Glorified in His resurrection.

John 2:6–10 ESV

6 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. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

— The fact that the jars are stone, rather than earthenware, is important.

— According to Jewish law, earthenware jars, if contaminated, had to be broken.

— But contaminated stone jars could simply be washed.—

— In order for Jews to make themselves acceptable to God they must obey many rules about how to wash.”

— if they are to worship God in the way they think is right.”

— “They (= the water jars) are used for the purification required by Jewish Law.”

— The Bride and Groom would also wash ceremonially as a part of the wedding ceremony.

So… Where is the miracle?

— The water in the STONE jars chemically reoriented itself to change from water to wine.

— God and Jesus are even masters of science, recombining molecules to create new substances [water=wine]

John 2:11 ESV

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

Pay close attention… “manifested his glory” and “his disciples believed Him”

— This is the evidence of Jesus identity as Messiah and God, incarnate.

— This “manifested” glory came upon Jesus a few different times.

— This glory is a gift from God… Only given to the Son!

John 2:12 ESV

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

— Literally “went down to.” This verb expresses a geographical situation: Cana is in the hill country, while Capernaum is below sea level, on the shore of Lake Galilee.

— Let’s review our PURPOSE

PURPOSE: John relates the first great sign performed by Jesus to demonstrate His deity, the turning of water into wine

Is the object of this statement, Jesus’ first sign [turning water into wine] or is the object Jesus being equated with deity?

Well it could be both… IF you are ranking them; it is far more vital for the world and Jesus ministry to establish Jesus as God than almost anything else

SO WHAT?

— What are we supposed to do with this knowledge about Jesus?

— Well there are some options… we can ignore it, to the detriment of ourselves… eternally

— We can ACCEPT, this as what it is… It is scripture, it’s truth, It’s in the form of Jesus who speaks with authority .

— We have an opportunity to share this Gospel message with many.

— in the same way that you first received this message… Jesus is God, fully and completely.

— He of course can rearrange water molecules to be changed into wine. That is a no-brainer!

— Penetrating the harden shell of a person without the Gospel, is our challenge. Your testimony, is a powerful place to start.

— To the one that God has escorted to you, Become friends, share needs, share a meal, Then… maybe just maybe they will respond simply. Like this

“I believe in the Name of Jesus,” He has died for my sin and the sin of the world. Welcome brother or sister into the family of God.

Let’s Pray as the Worship Team Comes