Miracles of Jesus - Water to Wine
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intro 1
intro 1
Jesus turning water to wine always comes with an explanation - explain about if drinking alcohol is a sin
indulge me in funny titles that came to me (you might find these amusing if you know the basic story)
keep the party going
mama wants wine
the Holy Bartender
the Brewmaster
I need a drink
Give me something stronger
it’s always time for wine
intro 2
intro 2
it can be scary to run out of out something
gas on the road
money in the bank
food to eat
joy, peace,
especially when others are looking to you to provide
We have been talking about miracles, we should look at the first miracle and be encouraged that if you stick with Jesus, you don’t have to be afraid of running out
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.
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.
Weddings were huge occasions. The most important social event of one’s life. Weddings often lasted a whole week.
When are you going to the wedding? Tuesday until the end
what about you? I’ll be there Thursday and Friday
And this wedding is in Cana, very small hamlet (less than 100 people).
Cana is jut a few miles from Nazareth (another small town). and Everybody knew everybody
and at this once in a lifetime social event, where everybody knew everybody, it is not surprising that Mary, Jesus, and his disciples are at this wedding
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
The wine ran out. This is a big deal.
In Bible days when people were betrothed (engaged), it was considered a marriage, just without consummation. In fact if a man wanted to break off the engagement, he had to divorce the woman (Mary and Joseph)
During that engagement period, it was for the man to prepare for a life with his wife.
prepare for their lives together
Prepare a place to stay (separate place, or add-on to father’s place)
prepare for the wedding, with wine being a chief part of that (like cake is to a b-day party)
the woman would have to wait until things were prepared, the timing was not up to her, but to the groom
no wedding would take place until the groom was ready.
and when the groom said all was prepared (often times under guidance of his father) . . . It was his way of saying I am ready to take care of my wife
ready for the responsibility
ready to care for children produced from this union
I would not have called everyone to the wedding if I was not ready
and for wine to run out was a social catastrophe, public disaster
its a sign that the groom is not ready for marriage, he is not fit to be a husband, for he can’t even provide wine for the wedding
everyone will be embarrassed
groom embarrassed
father of groom embarrassed that he didn’t raise a better son
father of bride embarrassed that he would give her to a man that had failed on their first week together
they have no wine . . . did they invite too many?
Did more people show up than expected?
Did ordered wine not show up on time?
we don’t know, but we do know that the party is in full swing, but the wine has run out
often in life, we run out of wine
we thought we were ready for life/situation, but the wine ran out
we thought we were ready for this/that, but the wine ran out
we thought we hand things handled, but the wine ran out
we thought things were set, but the wine ran out
maybe it was our fault, maybe it was things beyond our control, but the wine ran out
resources depleted
friends/family gone
opportunities lacking
plans fallen short
I used to be full of life but the wine has run out
and it is scary when things run out
and now I am facing a catastrophe/a complete disaster
Yet in this dire situation, the mother of Jesus turns to Jesus . . . They have no wine
She can’t solve the problem, but she knows who can
please understand that she is not informing Jesus, for surely JEsus being who he is, already knows
no, She is not informing, but involving Jesus, she is inviting Jesus into the situation
Mary is asking him to help . . . they have no wine
Don’t forget to involve Jesus
4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
interesting reply
using the word woman as it was used back in the day, was not disrespectful, but is was not a term of endearment either
Then Jesus says this is nor our problem
Then Jesus says this is not on my timetable or schedule
Put these three things together, and it seems the answer will be no
sometimes God makes it look like the answer to your prayer is no . . . .Sometimes God will test your faith,
we see in the Old Testament that God tested Abraham’s faith
Later in the gospels, Jesus tested Philip’s faith in the feeding of the 5,000
sometimes the devil is no where around, but God is simply testing you
And often the test examines two questions: Do you really know HE is, and do know who you are to HIM
my granddaughter calls me Dada, I’m not her daddy, but I act like a daddy
whatever she wants or needs, she ask me for: candy, toy, peanut butter sandwich, ice cream, use of the computer tablet . . . for that is my Dada and he has proven that he can make things happen
that’s my Dada and I’ve seen that he can give me whatever I need
I don’t know how he does it, but I do know that he is more than able
but sometimes I tell her no, not now, I’m busy, maybe later, perhaps, we’ll see, I don’t think that’s a good idea, I don’t have time right now
Why is it that after I say no, that she comes back after a few minutes with a sad voice, and puppy eyes, and arms around my neck?
Because not only does she know who I am, she knows who she is to me, I am his “sweetie beety”
and he loves me
he love to bless me
and there is no good thing that he will withhold from me
Dada’s first response wasn’t positive, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t do it, because I know who he is, and I know who I am to him
Yeah, Mary hears “woman” . . . . Mary hears this doesn’t concern us . . .Mary hears that this wasn’t part of the schedule . . . . and Mary would say, I hear all that, but yet I know who Jesus is (an angel announced your birth), and I know who I am to you (MOmma)
Come what may, you ought to believe that God will move, because you know who he is
merciful, kind, loving, all-knowing, all-powerful
and you ought to believe because you know who you are to him . . . you are God’s child, son, daughter, the one he sent his best for
so she ignores his reply and confidently says in verse 5
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Whatever He says to you, do it
so simple, yet so difficult for many of us . . . Do what Jesus says, do what the Bible teaches
when things are running out . . . make sure you are doing what Jesus says to do
in the word of God, you will find commands that contrary to what you want to do.
in the word of God, you will find commands that are contrary to what you think is the right thing to do
in the word of God, you will find things that the the world says is right, but the BIble says is wrong (do opposite)
in the word of God, you will find directions that the Republicans will ignore
in the word of God, you will find instructions that the Democrats say forget about it
but the charge to all of us is “Whatever He says to you, do it”
don’t let you desires control you
don’t lean to your own understanding, and let it control what you do
don’t let popular opinion control what you do
don’t let the Republicans control what you do
don’t let the Democrats control what you do
it’s whatever he says]
Obedience is a lost talent
the ability and the will to follow instuctions is an undervalued gift
servanthood is underappreciated, people who will hear, understand and obey are special people . . . the best of us, not the lowest of us
ever worked with someone who wouldn’t follow instructions . . . it can be so difficult . . . if not, it was probably you
whatever he says to you, do it
some blessings come by straight up obedience
if you want the miracle you must follow the manual
it won’t work if you say, “I want what God has for me” but I will ignore what God says to me
some of us say we are waiting for clarification, but what we really need is courage to do what God has told us to do
when you are running out, whatever he says to you, do it
giving, then give
giving thanks, give thanks when you don’t feel like it
forgiving, then forgive
go back to school, go back to school
try again, try again
hold on, hold on
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.
six empty water pots, used to hold water for purification rituals, ceremonial washing, containing twenty or thirty gallons each
Jews were always cleansing things (clean or unclean) and water for such things had to be set aside
I believe that these large water jars, already have some water in them, and Jesus wants them to fill them all the way up
I say this because most translations say each holding, containing 20 or 30 gallons . . . and not could hold
I say this because for a wedding, plenty of water would need to be on hand for ceremonial cleansing, washing, and purification
I say this because it says they filled them up to the brim, as in they already had some water, but they added enough to fill it to the brim
I say this because a wedding is going on and wine is needed now. They don’t have time to go to make a trip to the local well and get 150 - 180 gallons of water
but the lesson is that when you are running out, God often uses what is available, nearby, already there
Moses - he used the rod in Moses hand to perform miracles
David - use the normal tools of a shepherd to slay a giant
Elijah asks the widow woman what did she have left, “ little flour and oil” . . . use that
Later Jesus would use the loaves and fish that were available to feed 5,000
don’t worry if you’ve run out, because God can use what’s already on hand
but you must be all in . . . fill the waterpots . . .fill them up
Jesus didn’t take 1 of the fish and three of the bread, he used it all . . . both fish and all 5 loaves
miracles occur when you are all in . . . the men with the paralyzed friend tore the roof off
the woman with the issue of blood fought through a crowd
Blind Bartimeus wouldn’t stop crying out, despite people telling him to be quiet
they were all in
we want to half step, but yet want a whole miracle
we try to small committments, but yet want a full deliverance
these servants obeyed and filled them 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.
take this water to the headwaiter . . . This is real faith . . . what will the headwaiter say if he taste water
a sign that you are actually using faith, is if your faith involves risk . . . If God doesn’t come through you will look like a fool
If God doesn’t come through
I will look like a fool for going to church every sunday
I will look like a fool for giving this much money to the church
I will look like a fool for staying in a situation that looked hopeless
I will look like a fool for getting out of a situation that look promising
faith involves risk . . . so if there is no safety net . . . welcome to faith
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.”
somewhere along the way Jesus transformed the water to wine, and when the headwaiter tasted it, it was wine
he didn’t know that it used to be water . . . but the servants knew
servants know the real deal . . . that’s a benefit of being a servant
servants know everything going on in the life of the person they serve: personally, in the business, in the family . . . cause they are always right there serving
the more you serve, the more God will reveal to you
God has multiplying power, he can take the little you have and turn it into a lot
but he also has transforming power, he can take what you have, and change it for the better, make it differnt . . . . he transformed the regular water into good wine
he can transform your regular into exceptional
the headwaiter called over the bridegroom (one responsible), you flipped it on us . . . you saved the best for last
and the groom who was about to be a laughing stock, about to be shamed . . . is now the man of the hour
whatever your situation, God can flip it
people think they have already seen your best, but God can flip it, and they will find out that they haven’t seen nothing yet
people will think you’re done, but God can flip it, and they will find out that you’re just getting started
people will think that there ain’t nothing to you, but God can flip it, and they will be asking you how did you do it!
11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
This was the first sign that that demonstrated his glory, who he was . . . caused his disciples to believe even more that he was the real deal
he had just told Nathaniel, I will show you more reasons to believe
the wine was a sign
sign that Jesus had transforming power!
sign that we whould do what he says!
Invitation
Invitation