Water to wine
Notes
Transcript
Who’s Will?
Who’s Will?
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.
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
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.”
This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.
What does our text tell us about Jesus?
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
First we see that Jesus came to do the will of the Father. Look at verse 4 Jesus responds to His mothers request,
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
I agree with Pastor John Piper. Jesus is making a statement. That He has come to do the will of the Father above that of even His earthly mother.
So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
Jesus is also making a statement that His kingdom has nothing to do with heritage or earthly relationships. Let’s look at Luke 11 and Mark 6
As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”
But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”
48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
What else does our passage say about God or Jesus? No matter what we ask, God always sees the deeper need.
Look at verses 3 and 4
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
Mary was asking Jesus to save the reputation of the bridegroom. The quality of the wine and the amount was a reflection on him. And in their culture the reputation of the family name is very important. Some culture, people would rather die than disgrace the family name. And in our passage that is what Mary is asking Jesus to do use His divine abilities to save the name of the Bridegroom. My question to you, was that his greatest need? It may have been the most important cultural need. But what was actually the bridegroom’s greatest need? Salvation. Right? And why do I think this is what Jesus was thinking? Look again at verse 4
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
Jesus responds to Mary’s request with,
Jesus’ response is why I think He is looking past Mary’s request to the deeper need. What does Jesus mean My hour hasn’t come? He is talking about His crucifixion. Look at verse 30 of chapter 7
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
and verse 20 of chapter 8
These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Then look at verse 27 of chapter 12. Jesus is speaking this in the garden on the night of His betrayal.
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
Earlier in chapter 12 Jesus said
And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
I love the last point this passage reveals about God. He loves to use symbolism to teach us. Look at verses 6 and 7
Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
I do not think it is coincidence that Jesus has them fill jars that were used for Jewish ritual purification. The Jewish people used water to wash the dirt off and the dirt symbolized the filthiness of sin but can water wash away our sin? Can water purify us? No, look at 1 John with me
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
When we partake of communion, what does the wine or the grape juice symbolize?
What does our passage say about us? Look at verses 9 & 10
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 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.”
We like to put our best foot forward don’t we? We like people to think highly of us. We like to impress. We bring out the best wine first. We want people to be impressed with the wine we serve. Then once people are drunk serve the cheap stuff to either save money or maybe that is all we can afford. The text doesn’t tell us why the bridegroom ran out. Whether the good wine he bought was to expensive and he couldn’t afford enough cheap wine or maybe all he could afford was cheap wine but instead of swallowing his pride and serving only cheap he bought the good and hoped for the best. We don’t know why. All we know is he failed right? As men, we always fall we always fall short. But we see for the text that Jesus is the perfect bridegroom isn’t He. His wine was better. That is the first hope isn’t it. Our hope is that Jesus is our perfect Bridegroom. He never fails like we do. We can put our faith in Him we can trust Him He is perfect. Amen?
The other hope I see is, even we we are near sighted in our prayers, Jesus sees the deeper need. So if we are praying and it seems like Jesus isn’t answering as we want. Pray to see the deeper need or the deeper purpose. God’s view is always eternal.