I Saw the Sign...And it Opened Up My Eyes

Good morning. Our passage is John 2:1-11. Follow along as I read.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank you so much for the opportunity to preach the Word at Christ Fellowship. I ask this morning that as we open the Scriptures that your Spirit would enlighten us to your truth and that you would plant your truth down deep in us. Change us from the inside out by the power of your Spirit as the Word is preached. As we look into our passage, help us to see that Jesus performed many signs, and the purpose of those signs is to produce faith in us. Bolster our faith in Jesus as we listen to this sermon. Now, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

INTRODUCTION:

There was a song by a group called Ace of Base released in 1993 called ‘The Sign.’ Many of you probably have not heard the original song, but maybe heard a popularized version of it that was featured in the movie ‘Pitch Perfect.’ The song repeats over and over this line: “I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes.” I am pretty sure that the original context of this song was a breakup, but I haven’t really done a deep dive into the textual aspects of the lyrics. However, I think the main line is interesting: I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes. Whoever was experiencing this heartache saw some signs and their eyes were opened to take action – in their case, break up. Seeing the signs didn’t lead to simply sitting back and not doing anything, but to actually take a step forward.

Today’s passage is a familiar one. I am sure that you’ve heard it or read it. Jesus turning water into wine has become known as one of his most famous miracles. But I want to kind of use this passage to teach on the entirety of John’s idea of miracles and signs. You see, John uses the term ‘signs’ when referring to Jesus’s act of turning water into wine here. And throughout the first half of the book of John, we will see Jesus perform 7 different signs. Anytime something is repeated this many times means we need to start looking for patterns. Repeated patterns mean that we need to look at what God has for us in Scripture.

In looking at the signs of Christ for the next few weeks, I want us to see something: The signs reveal Christ to produce faith in Christ. That’s the main point this morning as well: The signs reveal Christ to produce faith in Christ. That kind of goes along with the theme of this whole series and the gospel of John. Our series is called ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ which we believe to be the theme verse of John. John is showing us who Christ is over the course of several chapters and events and conversations. One way that John invites us to behold who Christ is is through the signs. The signs reveal more about Jesus and more about what he came to do. And the purpose of those signs was to produce faith in Christ. And again, that goes along with John’s purpose statement in 20:31: ‘I have written these things so that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in him.’ So we have the signs that Jesus performed to reveal who he was to produce faith in those who witnessed. So that they may believe.

In looking at this event that happened in Cana, we see three things that are consistent with Jesus’s signs, and those will be our main points today.

The Signs of Christ are True

The first thing to see about the signs of Christ are that they are true. Now this might be a surprising first thing to touch on this morning, but it’s where we must kind of lead off.

At our church, we confess and believe the following about Scripture: The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. We believe that every word of God’s Word is completely true and without error. Therefore, when we read about the events in Scripture – like this wedding in Cana – we believe that they truly happened as they are described in Scripture.

Scholars throughout the course of history have attempted to discredit or disprove the events of John. However, John is based upon eyewitness accounts from his life. This is written by John himself, the son of Zebedee, an apostle of Jesus. Eyewitness accounts are extremely important when we are trying to determine the truth of something. One scholar says this: “In all four Gospels we have the history of Jesus only in the form of testimony, the testimony of involved participants who responded in faith to the disclosure of God in these events… As with all testimony, even that of the law court, there is a point beyond which corroboration cannot go, and only the witness can vouch for the truth of his own witness.” We can take the Scriptures – John – to be true because John was closely involved with Jesus and responded in faith to him. John claims that his account is true and trustworthy, and we can take him at his word. He was there and witnessed the events. And above that, we believe that John was writing the words of Scripture when he was writing his gospel. We believe that God was inspiring every word that John wrote. When we read accounts in the Bible that can be difficult to believe or imagine being true, we can trust Scripture as it is based on eyewitness testimony and is the very word of God.

So, keeping in mind that the signs are true, let’s look at our passage today. We have a date: this event happens three days after Jesus called Nathanael and Philip. We also have a location. The disciples and Jesus had traveled from Capernaum out to a small town called Cana. This would’ve been about a nine mile journey and they probably would’ve walked.

Weddings were a big deal and were usually affairs that lasted around a week. So the event we are studying today has a date and a location and is contained with the Scriptures and was written according to the eyewitness account of John. He has proven himself to be a reliable eyewitness and so we can trust that the Word of God has the same trustworthiness as the giver of the words, God himself. There was a wedding in Cana on this day, and there was a man named Jesus there, and he did turn the water into wine. The signs really happened. We can trust that this happened, even if we’ve never seen anything like it. Each time we encounter a sign of Christ in the book of John, consider the truth-claim. This is a trustworthy account.

The signs of Christ are true. If we can trust that the water turning into wine is true, we can accept all of the signs as true. What does that mean for us then? It means that we can read the Bible with belief. We don’t have to approach reading the Scriptures with suspicion. We don’t have to assume the worst about the intent of the authors. Instead, when we open the Bible we can actually have faith that every Word is true, every event happened, and it has been written for our good. As we move forward in this passage, remember that it is true. Jesus really did turn water into wine.

The Signs of Christ Reveal His Nature

Having faith that the signs are true leads us into the second and third points about the signs: They reveal his nature and produce faith. If these signs were not true but were just really good fiction, they wouldn’t actually reveal anything other than a really creative author. A really good storyteller. But because these signs happened, they reveal more and more about who Christ really is and what he really came to do.

Let’s take a look at the text to see what is revealed about Christ here. In verses 3-4, we have an interesting interaction between Jesus and his mother. The wine at the wedding runs out, and she brings him the issue.

We don’t know why she was in charge of letting him know, but she was acting in faith. Why? She knew that he could do something about this. Mary was well aware of who her Son was. She understood that he was capable of solving any problem. Mary and Jesus were probably related in some way to the bride or groom of this wedding, and we can even assume that Mary was helping organize, plan, and manage the wedding. It would have been an embarrassment to the groom (who was responsible for paying for the festivities) if the wine ran out. So, in order to save a relative from embarrassment, Mary approached her Son – in whom she had full faith to solve any problem.

Now, let’s take a look at Jesus’s curious response to his mother. In verse 4 He says, “ What has this concern of yours have to do with me, woman? My hour has not yet come.” When we quickly skim this passage, it can appear that Jesus seemed cold, or even rude, to his mother. But Jesus is doing something that we have a hard time wrapping our minds around. He is starting his ministry in public, and is showing the purpose of why he came to earth. His only will in life is to do “the will of him who sent me.” (John 5:30). Mary was the one who gave birth to Jesus and was chosen to be his mother. But Jesus’s relationship with his mother was now secondary to his mission that was given to him by the Father. This is hard to see Jesus do, but it’s an example for us, as well. Just as Jesus prioritized doing the will of the Father above all else, so too must we.

Then he tells her, ‘My hour has not yet come.’ Throughout the book of John, when Jesus refers to his ‘time’ or his ‘hour’, he is referring to his death on the cross. That’s the climactic moment of Christ’s life. So then why would he bring that up here? His mom was just asking him to solve this problem and save the groom from embarrassment. Why did he have to bring up his death? Because everything in Jesus’s life and ministry was pointing forward to his death, burial, and resurrection. That doesn’t mean that the events – like this one – that happened before were insignificant. No! It means that they are completely and totally significant and they find their significance in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.

So the signs are pointing forward to the glorification of the cross. Jesus is thinking on a greater scale than Mary could fathom. We are going to talk about how Christ reveals himself throughout the gospel of John. That is fully seen on the cross where Jesus died and the wrath of God was satisfied. Wrath that should have been poured out on sinners like me and you. But the hour of Jesus is when his glory is totally revealed – when it is shown fully and finally that he is the Messiah – is at the cross. So here in Cana, he is saying, ‘It’s not my time to show you what I am going to do that will show my full glory, but I will give you a sign.’ It wasn’t time for him to go to the cross – he had more to do. The Father had willed that Jesus had more to do, and his earthly mother didn’t quite understand that.

Quickly then, after that, Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. This is a bit of a strange turn of events, again. But Mary has just been reminded that Jesus is the very Son of God and has all the authority of God. He is the Word who is God, was with God in the beginning, and created all things. He is truly man, and also truly God. So she then acts in faith knowing that he will do something. She is changing from merely his mother to his disciple. She has beheld his glory in some ways, even through his answer to her. She is beholding the Lamb of God with faith. So she tells the servants to do what he asks because she recognizes that she isn’t in control of this wedding; God is. She believed in God’s sovereignty even over mundane things like wine running out at a wedding. And she was in the presence of God as Jesus stood before her. The signs were meant to reveal not only Jesus’s glory, but also his divinity, his God-ness.

Let’s take a look at the actual miracle now: look at verse 6 with me. ‘Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained twenty or thirty gallons.’ This looks like a simple verse, but I want to point something out quickly. These jars were not for wine. These jars were for guests to wash their hands according to Jewish customs as they went throughout the wedding festivities. But in a moment, this water was to be turned into wine by the action of Jesus. This law and custom, the old, was going to be replaced with something better and new. The jars were filled to the brim with water, which shows just how much wine is about to be produced. We’re talking about some jars that were used for washing now containing 120-150 gallons of wine. That’s a lot of wine. Jesus had shown that he was ushering in a new age, and this new age was symbolized by this wine. Before the action of Christ, the wine had run out, and these jars were merely used for washing. Christ performed his sign, and there is now a lavish amount of wine and the washing jars are unnecessary. They had accomplished their goal, and Christ’s work had made them obsolete. When Amos – the Old Testament prophet – foretold the coming age of the Messiah Jesus, the Lord led him to say,

“13 Look, the days are coming —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

when the plowman will overtake the reaper

and the one who treads grapes,

the sower of seed.

The mountains will drip with sweet wine,

and all the hills will flow with it.

14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel.

They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,

plant vineyards and drink their wine,

make gardens and eat their produce -- Amos 9:13-14 (CSB)

So in the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah was to be marked by a period where the wine will flow freely and be lavish in its amount. Here, when Jesus turned ceremonial washbasins filled with water into lavish amounts of wine, he is showing them in a small way that the time of the Messiah is here. The old has passed away, and the new age has arrived. And this new age is better than we can imagine – just as the headwaiter proclaims how great the new wine is: “But you have kept the fine wine until now.”

So the signs reveal things about Jesus. And what does this reveal about Jesus? We see that he is glorious. We see that he is divine. We see that he is obedient to his father’s will. We see that he is Messiah ushering in a new age of faith for his people. And that brings us to the final point.

The Signs of Christ Produce Faith

The signs of Christ produce faith. And if it were not a true event, it wouldn’t be worth putting faith in. But because this event was true and revealed Christ’s glory in a way, the disciples believed in him. Remember the whole point of John’s gospel is found in John 20:31: ‘I have written these things so that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that believing in him you might have life in the Son of God.’ John wants you and me to believe. He wants the reader to come away with a belief in Christ as Savior. He doesn’t want us to see Jesus as merely a miracle worker or a good teacher. John brings the facts to us and forces us to make a decision about who Jesus is: Will you believe that he is the Son of God or not?

Look at verse 11: “Jesus did this , the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.” Turning water into wine – and the rest of these miraculous things that we see Jesus do – are signs. John doesn’t refer to them as miracles, though they were certainly miraculous. He refers to them as signs. Now, what’s the purpose of a sign? To point you somewhere. And Jesus performed these signs not so that people would marvel at his ability to do supernatural things, but that people would believe in him when faced with his glory. When we look at the signs in John, we need to see the sign, but then continue to look at what the sign is pointing to, which is Christ and his glory. To merely stop at the sign would be like you’re on a trip to the beach, and you make it down to Jackson, Mississippi – about halfway there. You see a sign that says, “Gulf Shores: 236 miles.” And you stop. You say, “Well, I’ve seen the sign now, and that’s good enough for me.

We’ll just say that’s enough and go home.” How silly! If you think the sign is the greatest thing that Christ has to offer you, you’re wrong. If you think that the greatest thing that Christ has for you is a miracle or healing or any kind of sign, you’re missing out on what he really offers, which is a life lived in faith and in relationship with him. When we relegate the life and work of Christ to simply be a magic show or miracles or build ministries around signs and wonders, we are leaving out the most important aspect of those signs that Jesus performed: FAITH! We see the signs, and they open up our eyes to behold the glory of Jesus and we see him for who he is: The Christ! The one who has saved our souls by his most glorious sign: his death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus turned water into wine and his glory was revealed. And when faced with this glory, his disciples believe in him even more than they already did. They saw that he was the Savior and a Savior worth following. So they believed in him.

CONCLUSION:

As we close out, this sign actually happened. It is a true event. And it revealed Christ’s glory to those around him and to us as we read about it 2000 years later. And when they beheld his glory, the disciples believed. This is the pattern of the signs. And if this sign is true, revealing of Christ’s nature, and meant to produce faith then the greatest sign that Jesus performed is even moreso. Jesus came and lived and performed signs and taught, but was killed at the hands of those who did not believe. He gave his life up willingly on behalf of sinners like you and me, and was buried. But then he rose again victorious over death and sin and hell. This is the greatest sign. The cross and the resurrection is where Jesus displays his glory. Turning water into wine is a sign pointing forward to the gospel message that I just shared with you. Without the cross and the empty grave, turning water into wine means nothing. You can’t have Jesus as a good teacher and a miracle worker without having him as Lord. I would invite you today to repent of your sins and believe in him. We have looked into his glory this morning as we’ve spent time in his word. Believe on Christ today. If you have questions about how to do that, I would love to talk with you after service.

My prayer is that we would all behold Jesus more and more for who he has revealed himself to be, and revel in his glory. Let’s pray.