Water to Wine - John 2:1-11

Introduction

Prayer

Alright, 2nd—5th graders you guys are free to dismiss. And as a reminder, parents you can pick those children up at the Wetlands Building, and if you need any help finding where that is, don’t hesitate to ask someone with a lanyard.

If you’re new with us, my name is Andrew McClure and I’m one of the Pastor’s here, and today our study of the Gospel of John brings us to Chapter 2.

So if you have a Bible, please go ahead and turn with me there.

And if you don’t have a Bible, I want you to know that we have one for you.

Here at CBC we want the Word of God in your hands, in your head, and in your hearts. So on your way out today, you can pick one of those Bible’s up on the table just outside this room, take that home with you, its yours.

And before we read our passage, let me remind you of a little context in the Gospel of John this morning.

Context

John is the 4th Gospel in the New Testament, preceded by Matthew, Mark, & Luke

Now when I say “Gospel” I don’t mean, 4 differing messages of salvations, like there’s not 4 ways to heaven… instead when we say Gospels it refers to the 4 different accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry found in the New Testament

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,.

All named, after their authors.

And John is written by John, the Son of Zebedee, brother of James and one of Jesus’ 3 closest companions.

And although each were providing either their own, or a close companions first hand view of Jesus’ life and ministry, they each write with their own unique styles, emphasis, and purposes.

Matthew highlights Jesus as King, Mark emphasizes the deeds of Jesus, while Luke is written to emphasize the humanity of Jesus.

But what about John? Why did he write this book?

Well he tells us. In John 20:30–31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.”

John is writing so that you may believe Jesus is the Son of God, and by believing in Him you may have eternal life.

So like an expert attorney, he’s going to call witness after witness after witness to the stand…

These witnesses will be people, or experiences, or teachings of Christ, but all of them are going to testify that Jesus is the Son of God, and they are going to seek to persuade you to place your faith in Him. To truly believe in Him.

But not mere cognitive belief, but saving belief.

I’ve illustrated the difference before, but imagine your own a hike and come to a great chasm. Standing at the edge of a perilous cliff, and the only way to get to the other side and continue your walk is to cross a swinging rope bridge.

Well it’s one thing to look at that bridge and say, “I believe that bridge can hold me...” but its something altogether different to start walking.

Well John has written, and is laying before us all evidence after evidence, testimony after testimony, all to convince us that you can trust that bridge. That you can trust Jesus. YOu can give your life to HIm, and start walking with Him.

And in Chapter 1 he begins his persuasive assault with a beautiful prologue. Where he tells us that Jesus is the Eternal Word who created everything, was with God, who is God, who is the true light that gives light to all, and who took. on flesh and became human.

Then from the lips of John the Baptist we hear that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Messiah, the Christ, he who fulfills the OT Law and Prophets.

But as we enter into chapter 2, the emphasis, or source of witness, is going to shift some.

instead of John the apostles prose or the baptists preaching, chapter 2 inaugurates Jesus ministry.

so it will be jesus works, his signs that will testify to us that he is the son of god.

But the purpose is consistent… John wants you to see Jesus for who He really is, so that you may take a step onto that bridge, and trust Him with your life.

So with that in mind, let’s read our text for today, and then we’ll unpack it together.

John 2:1–11 ESV

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.

In an obscure city, at an obscure wedding, an obscure carpenter has just changed everything.

That’s what he does.

When Jesus entered that wedding, everything changed.

And when Jesus enters your life, the same is true for you.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The old is replaced, by the new.

And that’s the point of this passage… to show us that the Old has gone, and the New has come.

And there are 2 things that have to change here:

Relationship

Religion

Let’s begin with Relationship

Relationship

Our passage opens with a Wedding at Cana in Galilee.

Cana was just a handful of miles North of Nazareth, where Mary, Jesus and their family were from.

And most scholars believe Nazareth would have had a population of about 300-55, with Cana being slightly bigger. So between these two villages, seperated by just a few miles you may have at most a few thousand people.

So its not surprising at all to see that Mary, the mother of Jesus was there at this wedding.

Everybody would have known everybody else. This was Southesat America small town feels on steroids.

And the mobility we know today, where we move wherever we want, or wherever our jobs want… didn’t exist then.

Right, some of you are here because you were tired of the snow, and wanted the sun.

And you got it congratulations, we just didn’t tell you that it comes with sand gnats.

But we’re glad you’re here.

But we’re a mobile people. We live in a mobile society.

But not back then.

Most people lived in the city in which they were born until they died, and it was probably the same city their parents, and grandparents, and great grandparents hailed from.

So it’s not surprising that Mary, and Jesus and his disciples would have been invited, everyone would have known one another.

For that’s what verse 2 says, is John 2:2 “Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.”

Now at this point it was only 5 disciples. We saw this last week.

Andrew and John, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael.

And can I just add really quickly, that the mere fact Jesus was invited to, and attended a wedding shows that he is no mere monastic, monkish, ascetic, that we try to make him out to be.

He wasn’t some kill-joy, who only spent his time praying and preaching.

He lived life. He had fun. He had friends. He attended weddings.

So our passage opens at a Wedding, and this would have been such a big deal.

It’s hard for us to understand the scale of a Traditional Jewish wedding, because even the most extravagant weddings in America are what? A few hundred people?

And I’ve officiated my fair share of weddings, and I’ve yet to come across a bride and groom that request a long ceremony.

Short and sweet is the order of the day, most want to go from processional to recessional in 30 minutes or less!

And I’ve yet to meet a groom, or even family that wants the reception to go on all night.

Maybe midnight at best.

Well in most cultures, especially cultures with high collectivistic values, or values of hospitality…. weddings are the premier event not just to celebrate a couple, but to portray the substance of an entire family.

It’s a status maker.

It doesn’t matter how much debt you incur, you invite any and all. The more people, the more important the family is revealed to be.

The more lavish, the more valuable the family is portrayed to be.

Not only that, but a wedding then would have lasted as long as a week, which was a HUGE financial responsibility.

And all of this makes the following statement in verse 3 shocking and shameful to the wedding party.

John 2:3 “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.””

To run out of supplies, especially wine, would have been a generational shame and embarrassment.

There is also evidence that it could open the groom up to lawsuits! He was legally obligated to throw this party, and provide for his patrons.

And Mary understood this. She understood the weight and the gravity of the situation.

That she was so personally concerned, has led many to speculate she was related to the wedding party. Quite Possibly this is true, and as part of the family she felt responsibility to cover the shame that could be incurred for this miscalculation of wine.

And really quickly… ya’ll this was wine.

Fermented Grapes, with alcohol content.

Any argument that this would have been unfermented grape juice is driven by personal, pastoral agendas and not a commitement to the truth of Scripture.

This is evidenced in vs. 10 when the maiter de says, John 2:10 “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.””

In essence, when people get a little tipsy then we bring out the bad stuff.

YET, YET— wine then was commonly and widely diluted with water… anywhere between 1/3 to 1/10 parts water.

So you would have to consume a lot of wine in order to be inebriated, because the goal wasn’t drunkenness or too get a little buzzed in order to be more comfortable in your own skin.

No… water would be impotable. So wine would be added to water, to kill the bacteria for drink.

So the point of drinking, was that it was the common thirst quencher of the day.

Drinking any alcohol to the point of inebriation or affecting mind and judgement was AS MUCH AS A SIN then, as it is today.

And somebody here needed to hear that.

Given the size of this room, it wouldn’t be a farcry to assume that many of you have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

For whatever reason, alcohol to you has become a source of escape, or comfort, and dependency, and although I personally believe moderation requires more self-control than abstentation… some of you simply lack that control, and need to give it up for good.

Alright… tangent over.

So Mary has come to Jesus, panicked, feeling the societal weight of shame, and says John 2:3 “They have no wine.””

But really quickly, why did she come to Jesus? What made her take that course of action?

Now it’s easy for us to assume, she came to Him because she knew of his power.

She had been pondering the miracles and prophecies surrounding his birth (Luke 1:29).

And when Jesus was confouding the religious teachers at age 12 we read Luke 2:51 “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.”

So many speculate that she just knew. She knew. She’s a mom, of course she knew.

Sometimes I’d leave the house as a teenager, with only one plan and goal… mischief, and everytime. I mean everytime I’d start walkign out the door my mom would look into my soul and say, “Andrew… make good choices.”

And I would 100% of the time, disregard that advice, but the point is she KNEW!

HOW DID SHE KNOW!

She’s a mom.

And Mary’s a mom, and we assume she knew of His power so that’s why she came.

But there’s acutally a different and better theory.

Most scholars believe that Mary was a widow at this point.

We know she was a widow when Jesus died on the cross, because he entrusted her to John… which would have been unncessary if joseph was still alive.

But Joseph actually doesn’t make an appearance in any gospel after that day in the Jerusalem Temple when Jesus was 12 confounding the scribes.

And assuming Mary was a widow, whose responsibility does she become?

Who provides? Cares for? Supports? And problem solves for Mary?

Why, her oldest son… which was who? JESUS.

So picture Jesus the teenager, Jesus in his 20s making a living as a carpenter, and providing financially but also solving every dilemma Mary could have ever experienced.

I mean His wisdom is unsearchable.

I mean He was omniscient.

SOunds like a pretty good problem solver.

So most scholars think Mary is just doing here, what she’s grown accustomed to do… run to Jesus her eldest for help.

So given the societal shame of the situation, and Mary’s dependency on Jesus we can understand her concern…but it’s Jesus’ response we’ve got to unpack. Look at vs. 4.

John 2:4 “And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.””

Woman, now that sounds harsh. But many liken it to the way we use “maam” down here in the south.

It’s not inherently rude, but it’s also not a term of endearment.

Using “mother” would have been endearing.

“Mother” would communicate a nearness. A relationship of proximity.

But Jesus isntead says Woman--- which immediately puts some distance between them.

But then he goes on to say, “What does this have to do with me?”

This phrase is a very popular Hebrew Idiom that literally translates, “What to me and to you?” in essence “What do we have in common!”

It’s used 5 times in the Gospels and listen church… it always carries some degree of reproach or rebuke.

So Jesus’ title of Woman, and his following phrase is not inherently rude… but it is 100% abrupt and intentional.

And here’s the point.

He is redefining his mother’s relationship to Him. Changing it. The Old, is becoming New.

Mary, who had borne him, nursed him, comforted him, reared him, and taught him must no longer view Him as her child, BUT AS HER LORD!

She like everyone else must come to Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

There is no inside track. She must view Him, not as a child, but as Her God.

That’s what Jesus is communicating here.

That he would no longer be directed by his mother. That his activity would no longer be governed by his mother. That his human family would no longer be determining factors in his life.

Instead, as we’ll see in the Gospel of John---

John 4:34 ““My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

John 5:19 “For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”

Jesus is Redefining the Relationship. He’s changing it. THe Old is becoming New.

He is no longer about His Mother’s Business, but as he inagurates his public ministry He is always and only about His Father’s Business.

Oh how Jarring this would have been for Mary.

And yet, how jarring it must be for each one of us as well.

Church, when Jesus enters your life He’s not content with us dictating the terms of the relationship. He defines it.

So many of us want to engage with Jesus on our own terms, with our own plans, always putting front and center our own wishes and wants.

So many of us want Jesus as our savior from an eternity in hell, boss him around, or order him to meet our own needs.

But when He enters, he redefines the Relationship. He changes it.

And He is loving, and kind, and patient, and willing to help in our needs, but he is also Lord and Master, and commander in chief of the human heart.

He Changes the Relationship. WHat was Old becomes New.

Yet, Mary was undeterred. look at verse 5 John 2:5 “His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.””

She shakes off the rebuke, and leaves the matter in Jesus’ hands.

Now many see in this examplary faith.

D.A. Carson writes, “In verse 3 Mary approaches Jesus as his mother and is reproached. In verse 5 she responds as a believer, and her faith is honored.”

Others see in this the introduction of Catholicisms theology of Mary. To get Jesus to respond to our needs, we need Mary as an intermediary.

And that’s just a fallacy.

Jesus puts distance between himself and mary, he doesn’t exalt her to mediator. For there is only one mediator between man and God, and that’s Jesus Christ.

But at the end of the day, we don’t know what drove Mary to give this command to these servants, but apprently her wish was also the Father’s will, which leads us to Point #2.

Secondly, he changes our Religion.

Religion

John 2:6–8 “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.”

These jars were huge. I mean you’re talking a total of 120-150 gallons.

And they were there for the sole and specific purpose of purification.

They were stone, because according to Levitical rules, specifically Lev 11, eartenware, or clay pots were subject to contamination and impurity and consequently were regligiously unclean.

So any religioius vessel needed to be stone, and these huge stone jars were there for Jewish rites of purification, for religious ceremonious washings.

This would include before and after meals. Upon waking. Before prayer. After using the restroom. and many other situations.

And we see in Scripture that these washings were a very big deal to the religious people!

Remember Mark 7:3–4 “(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)”

ANd also the Religious Authorites were appalled at JEsus’ disciples when they said Matthew 15:1–2 “Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.””

So these washings were a big deal!

So these Jars played a significant role in their religion.

If they wanted to please God, or ascend to God, or be in right-standing with God they had to meticously follow the washings symbolized in these 6 stone Jars.

And yet Jesus, comes along and commands them to be filled to the brim and when the Maiter De, or Party Planner, or master of the feast tastes it we read

John 2:9–10 “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.””

Without any abracadbara, or fireworks--- the water had become wine.

The old had become new.

And the NEW was far superior than the old.

And that’s the symbolism that John the Apostle wants us to get…

The Old had its purpose. It had its use.

But the New has come, and it is superior than the old.

The rituals that were once believed to get us to God, have been replaced by a God who came to get to us.

Religion has Changed.

John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

And grace and truth is the good wine.

Church, when Jesus enters your life, your religion has to change.

We must stop thinking that we, in our own strength, according to our own good deeds, can attain God.

We must instead, allow him to fill our old stone jars with His Spirit, by His Power, due to His Grace.

We must stop trying to fill our lives with what we think God will accept, and instead empty our lives and allow Him to fill them.

As D.L. Moody once said, “It is good to be empty, that we may be driven to Christ with our necessity.”

Conclusion

In an obscure city, at an obscure wedding, an obscure carpenter has just changed everything.

That’s what he does.

When Jesus entered that wedding, everything changed.

And when Jesus enters your life, the same is true for you.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The old is replaced, by the new.

But you have to eyes to see it.

Look at verse 11.

John 2:11 “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

John says this was the first of his signs.

And he’s the only Gospel writer that prefers this term, the others use miracles or the Greek word dynamis, which is where we get the word dynamite.

And that’s what it communicates, an overwhelming display of POWER.

But John doesn’t use dynamis he uses Saymiion.

Literally translated Saymiion means, “a sign by which a person is distinguished from others.”

Sign is something that points beyond itself to deeper realities that can be perceived by faith.

Everyone can see the Power, but only those with faith can perceive the deeper reality.

And Of all the people there that day… only one category of people saw and walked away changed.

The servants saw it, but only the dynamis.

The master of ceremonies, saw it and was astounded, but only the dynamis.

But look at the end of vs 11…

This SIGN manifested His glory… and the disciples believed.

Those 5 had heard the testimony of John the Baptist, they had heard Jesus on words to Follow Him, but now they saw firsthand his glory… and they believed.

Why don’t you all stand with me, and I’ll pray, then our team will come back up and lead us through a song of response.