Jesus' First Miracle

John 2:1–11

1 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, “They don’t have any wine.”

4 “What has this concern of yours to do with me,, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 “Do whatever he tells you,” his mother told the servants.

6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained twenty or thirty gallons.

7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.” And they did.

9 When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.”

11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020)

Introduction:

Last week we spoke about the first 5 verses in John, and how Jesus was the WORD in flesh. We are going to continue to looking through the Book of John. After we hear about how Jesus was the WORD we see John the Baptist testimony about being the voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. Kind of like an announcement that you see in movies that before the King comes into the room someone announces his coming, this is what John the Baptist was doing. Announcing that the King Jesus was coming.

Then we see the calling of the first disciples Andrew, Peter, Phillip, and Nathaniel.

John 1:19–51 had presented a series of days:

Day 1: The Baptist interacts with those sent from the Pharisees (1:19–28).

Day 2: “The next day” (1:29), the Baptist bears witness to the Spirit descending on Jesus to remain (1:29–34).

Day 3: On “the next day” (1:35), two of the Baptist’s disciples follow Jesus.

Day 4: “The next day” (1:43), Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael (1:43–51).

This means that when we arrive at 2:1 “on the third day,” this “third day” is also the seventh day, seven being a number of fullness or completion.Then this brings us to the passage today of Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding in Cana.

Message:

This is the story of Jesus’ first public miracle. In the book of John it marks both the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and the middle of his search for disciples. The story takes place at a wedding. Ancient Middle Eastern weddings typically lasted for seven days. Jesus’ family probably were close friends of the wedding family since Jesus’ mother was informed of the crisis and spoke to the servants as someone who had connections. Wine at a feast in ancient Israel was both a symbol of joy and a source of joy. Running out of wine at an ancient wedding would be like running out of food at a contemporary wedding after only half the guests had been served—the host family would be very embarrassed and maybe have some angry guests.

Sometimes we feel like what we’re doing for Jesus is foolish or will cause us great harm, but Jesus is trustworthy. We can trust him to keep us safe. In fact, after Jesus has proven himself to us, our faith increases.

the servants obeyed Focus on the servants. Imagine them as busboys at a banquet hall at the bottom of the waitstaff food chain in a big restaurant. All they know about Jesus is that Mary told them to obey her son. Jesus told them to do something that seemed crazy. They filled up the equivalent of five garbage cans with water. Jesus then told them to do some- thing quite risky. He told them to take this water and give it to the master of the banquet—their boss’ boss’ boss. This was a great risk. They were risking shame, money, employment, and their trustworthiness as employees or friends based on what Jesus asked them to do.

Jesus came through They risked a lot to obey Jesus, but Jesus delivered. Imagine the negative reaction the servants may have expected from their master. Imagine how happy they were when the master was thrilled to serve this high-quality wine to his guests. the servants became disciples The only ones to completely see this first sign were the first of Jesus’ disciples and the servants who obeyed Jesus in faith. Quite possibly these servants became disciples and followers of Jesus.

Jesus Has the Power to Transform Water into Wine

If I invited you to my house, showed you a bottle of water, and asked you to transform it into something else, an entirely different beverage, and you had to do it instantaneously without touching the water or even the bottle, could you do it? Of course not. Neither can I. What does that mean? It means there’s something different about Jesus. He can do it.

What are we going to do with this story about Jesus? We have two choices. Choice one: say it’s not true. The Bible can’t be trusted. The story is a fairy tale, and all who believe it are foolish. Choice two: realize the uniqueness of Jesus. He did something miraculous. How can he do this? The Bible says he can do it because he is the Creator.

Jesus Has the Power to Transform People’s Lives

The power of Jesus to transform water into wine is amazing, but the power to transform a rebellious sinner into a saint is even more remarkable. In this passage we begin to see this transformation take place in the lives of his disciples as they’re trusting in him and their faith in him grows. They hear the testimony of John the Baptist and begin to believe. The works and words of Jesus convince them even further, and as they trust in him, they are transformed from lowly fisherman to bold witnesses of his unmatched power.

The first of the signs. It’s possible John organized his Gospel around seven signs, though the exact number is debated. If John had seven in mind, this may have hinted at a kind of “new creation” story, which is also a part of the opening lines of his gospel.

Wine 2:1–11

Royal official’s son 4:43–54

Paralytic at Bethesda 5:1–15

Loaves and fish 6:1–14

Walking on water 6:16–21

Blind man in Jerusalem 9:1–41

Lazarus 11:1–44

The big question: What is Jesus asking you to do or be that seems to defy logic and is a huge risk?