Invited to the Wedding
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: John 2:1-11
Context
Context
We have come to a pivotal moment in the life of Christ. We have looked, so far, at the events leading up to His birth, and how God divinely orchestrated those things. We have seen the birth of Jesus and how He narrowly escaped death through divine warning from above. We have seen the only account of His adolescence in Scripture and the significance of that.
We have also seen the forerunner of Christ, who came to pave the way for the Christ to begin His ministry. We have seen Christ declared as deity by many thus far, and John 1 gave us a host of them.
The first 18 verses of John 1 is the testimony of John the Apostle himself concerning Jesus as the Christ. Within his testimony, he speaks of how the Word, who is Jesus Christ, is God and with God, and how He created everything. He also speaks of how He is the light and the life of men.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
He says that Jesus manifested the glory of God Himself, but yet He is distinct from God.
Starting in verse 19, we see another testimony, but this one from John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the greatest man who had ever lived up until his time. He was the last and the greatest of the OT prophets, but he was also the first preacher of Jesus Christ. He also affirms the deity of Christ when he says, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Finishing out the chapter starting in verse 38, we see yet more testimonies to the deity of Christ as He begins to call His first disciples. Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael are their names, and each of them had something to say of Jesus:
Andrew called Him the Messiah.
Philip called Him the One “whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote...”
Nathanael, after seeing Him with his own eyes proclaimed, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
The entire first chapter is that of verbal testimony to Jesus as the Christ, the prophesied Messiah, the Son of God.
This is the purpose of John’s Gospel.
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John tells us that Jesus performed many other signs and miracles besides what he included in his Gospel, but he wrote to us concerning these signs, that we might “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” and that through our belief in Him, we might “have life in His name.”
That is the purpose of this Gospel. That is what we have seen so far. Those who come into contact with Him, with open and searching hearts, have all walked away believers. Today, as we venture in Chapter 2, we set yet again how that belief continues.
John Chapter 2 moves us from the verbal testimony of Christ to the actual works of Christ. In Chapter 2, Jesus begins His public ministry. That public ministry continues all the way through the end of Chapter 12.
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
Content
Content
The Party
The Party
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
It is the third day, after the previous meeting with His disciples, and now we find ourselves at a wedding in Cana.
The Jewish wedding was one of the most important, anticipated, recognized, and celebrated occasion of their day. Today, a wedding lasts somewhere between 15 to 30 minutes. During their day, the celebration went on for days. They would sing, dance, parade through the town, and the actual ceremony would take place at the end of the celebration.
Cana was a small village about 9 miles North of Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. Nazareth is estimated at this time to have a population of around 500 people. Cana, being a much smaller village off the beaten path, was estimated at much less. Suggestions range from a few dozen to maybe 100.
Being such a small town meant most were probably related but all were well known to one another.
Nazareth, being only 9 miles away, was probably well aware of the event as well, which would easily explain why Mary and Jesus were both invited. This could have even been extended family to Jesus.
John also tells us in a couple places throughout his Gospel that Nathanael was from Cana as well, so he also probably knew those getting married or was possibly kin to them.
The fact that Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding, emphasizes the sanctity of that covenant.
Weddings matter. Public covenant matters.
Marriage is a condition of life that is designed by God, ordained by God, and authenticated in an open public covenant.
It is the highest, noblest, and best of all human relationships. No other human relationship is as wonderful as marriage.
Let me also just point out how amazing it is that they invited Jesus to their wedding.
How much better would our society be today if every couple invited Jesus to their wedding?
God honors Biblical marriage. Any nation that upholds and honors biblical marriage receives honor, protection, guidance, and blessings from God.
Throughout history you can see an undeniable trend. The great fall of many nations can be directly linked to the sexual immorality of that same nation. As the nation became more sexually corrupt, the nation lost its footing in power and influence.
When the biblical mandates of marriage is lost within a nation, it begins a treacherous path of corruption and ultimately leads to its downfall. If we truly want America great again, we need Jesus back in the homes of every single family, leading, guiding, and convicting that family based upon biblical principles. When that happens, then you will see revival in this once great nation. Only Jesus can fix this mess we are in.
John MacArthur points out that Jesus has spent 30 years in obscurity. He has spent all of His time working and helping to maintain the family home. He is now beginning His public ministry. The bridge that connects the two is this wonderful miracle for his family and friends. What a beautiful way to begin.
The Predicament
The Predicament
3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
The wine ran out. Now that’s a problem. That’s a big problem.
The groom had spent a year trying to prove that he had what it took to take care of his bride.
He had to build her house.
He had to acquire everything that was necessary for them in marriage.
He had to demonstrate his ability to take care of this woman for the rest of their life. Her father was handing her over to him and needed to know she would in good hands.
And now they are out of wine. This is the fear that every father has for his daughter. It is the fear that the young man she decides to spend the rest of her life with simply can’t cut it.
If word gets out that they ran out of wine, public disgrace will follow this young man for the rest of his days. As we have already stated, this one of the most celebrated events of their day. Everyone is there and those who are not there, are talking about it. It will be the talk of the town for weeks to come. This is a massive uh-oh.
Mary does the most natural thing in the world. She comes to Jesus with the predicament.
Some have suggested that Mary came to Jesus because she wanted Him to perform some kind of amazing miracle and solve this dilemma, but up to this point, Jesus had never performed a miracle before. This is the first one. So it is doubtful that she came to Him under this mindset.
The more logical conclusion was that she simply did what she had always done. Notice that it does not speak of Joseph here. Most believe that Joseph was already dead by this point, which explains a lot of things for us.
Joseph’s death explains why Jesus stayed home so long, into His early 30’s. He was helping mom out until the other children were old enough to help take care of the home and stand on their own two feet.
If Jesus stepped into that role of being the man of the house, it means Mary would have relied on Him for most all her needs.
Furthermore, why would you not go to Jesus with all your problems, especially when He lived in your own house. You know He had all the answers to all the problems. He knew the root cause of every situation and exactly what needed to be done to resolve it.
He was the best advice giver in the world....literally.
He was perfect. You know He never gave her bad advice. He always led her in the right direction. He always had an answer every time she needed one.
Mary simply did what she had always done. She went to her firstborn Son and made Him aware of a problem.
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
Woman
What does your concern have to do with me?
My hour has not yet come.
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
The Provision
The Provision
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
Six stone waterpots each with a capacity of 20 - 30 gallons.
120 - 180 gallons of water.
Used for ceremonial cleansing.
Jesus tells them to fill them up and they filled them to the brim.
They needed to be full. If not, someone could have simply said that Jesus added something to them. If they were completely filled, there was no room for anything else. That was the point.
He then tells them to draw out the water and serve it to the head waiter, the Mater D if you will. Since new wine was going to be used, he needed to approve before it could be given to the guests.
Verse 9 says that the master of the feast tasted the water that was made wine.....Wait a minute. When did that happen? It must have taken place somewhere in the white spaces between vs. 8-9.
This is so underrated. Think on this for a moment. He didn’t say some special incantation. He didn’t say a special prayer. He didn’t add any ingredients. He could have at least said, “Let there be wine.”.....or something.
Every physical act that took place with this water turned wine came from a group of uninvested servants who knew nothing of His deity or was looking to prove anything one way or another. They filled the pots with water to the brim. They drew it out and served it. Jesus never touched it. Amazing. The only action allowing this miracle to take place was their complete obedience.
Jesus used other people to bring about this great miracle. They were not looking for a miracle, asking for a miracle, or even expecting a miracle.
God is more than capable of doing this very thing today, and does consistently in our lives. How is that perfect strangers just so happen to be in the right place at the right time to take care of things they knew nothing of. God is unmatched in His ability to use others for His glory and every time He does, we are the ones to benefit from it. Praise God!!!
And.....it was the best wine. It was such good wine that the head waiter calls over the groom and says, what is this?
Nobody does this. Everyone gives the best wine first and then follows up with the lesser quality stuff later on. You did it backwards. You have saved the best for last.
This is no different than someone coming over your house for dinner. You prepare a quality meal for them first. If they keep on eating, sooner or later they will be eating left overs from a day or two ago.
The Purpose
The Purpose
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
Jesus manifested His glory.....Why? So that His disciples would believe in Him.
31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Commitment
Commitment
There are three groups of people in the world. You are in one of these three groups.
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
