Chemistry 101
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Introduce series- 7 signs (Why does John do this? EVERY SIGN HAS AN AUDIENCE) (Basic structure of John- He talks a lot about location and is emphasizing how JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD! John EMPHASIZES HOW JESUS IS GOD- hence the 7 signs.)
John lived with Jesus for 3 years. He recognizes that He cannot pass everything that he saw on. John 21:25
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.
So, he doesn’t! Instead, he writes down the MOST ESSENTIAL HIGHLIGHTS!
Today’s sign is something that we know is not possible physically. But that’s why it’s a miracle! It’s a miracle because it IS NOT possible by human power.
Main Point: Jesus has AUTHORITY and POWER. MIRACLES show this.
Main Point: Jesus has AUTHORITY and POWER. MIRACLES show this.
Body
Body
As we start our series looking at these 7 signs in John, we start in John 2. Let me just give a quick word of context about where we are.
John 1 starts with 14 verses poetically explaining WHO JESUS IS, WHAT THE GOSPEL OF JOHN IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT, WHY IT MATTERS, AND HOW WE RESPOND!
John 1 then switches its focus to John the Baptist who is testifying about WHO JESUS IS!
John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as Lord, doing so in front of 2 of HIS disciples- one is Andrew and one is John- who would later write the Gospel of John.
Interestingly, John doesn’t talk about himself by name in His Gospel. He instead prefers to use other titles such as “the other disciple,” or “the one whom Jesus loved.”
This came from a place of humility while also showing that John was an eyewitness of what he recorded.
He tells these disciples who Jesus is and they begin to follow Jesus!
Then, we see Jesus call Phillip and Nathanael as disciples.
Chapter 1 ends with this.
Chapter 2 picks up with something else.
John 2:1-2
John 2:1-2
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.
A few days later there was a wedding. The wedding is said to be on the third day- that is Tuesday.
You might be thinking- WHO GETS MARRIED ON A TUESDAY?
In Jewish culture, that was a normal thing. It was normal for brides who were virgins to get married on the third day and widows remarried on the fourth day.
It’s also important to point out just how different a Jewish wedding at this time was. When Hope and I got married, the ceremony started at 5 and by 10 we were done.
In Jesus’s day, wedding feasts were decadent and could last up to a week!
There were large crowds, drinking, eating, singing, praising God, giving to the poor and more!
The traditional Jewish wedding was different then what our modern weddings are.
So Jesus and His disciples are invited to this wedding in Cana of Galilee.
Cana was located about 11 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus spent a lot of his ministry by the Sea of Galilee and here He is WITH His disciples IN GALILEE BEFORE THE WEDDING!
Now, let me be clear- we don’t know WHO’S wedding this is. And the wedding really isn’t the point. The purpose of this passage isn’t really to think about who was getting married and who had Jesus on the guest list, but instead, the purpose is to SHOW US SOMETHING ABOUT JESUS!
See, like I mentioned earlier- throughout the Gospel of John, John records 7 “signs” of Jesus that TEACH US WHO JESUS IS!
And before we get to the actual sign- this is Jesus’s first sign, we need to take note of something that John records. John records that JESUS IS AT THIS WEDDING AND SO ARE HIS DISCIPLES!
That INCLUDES JOHN!
John wrote this account as an EYEWITNESS OF WHAT HAPPENED!
How do we have confidence in what happened? WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BECAUSE JOHN WITNESSED THESE EVENTS!
John ACTUALLY SAW THIS MIRACLE TAKE PLACE!
This gives VALIDITY TO WHAT WE READ IN SCRIPTURE!
John 2:3-5
John 2:3-5
John 2:3-5 sets the scene for what is about to happen.
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.
As the party goes on, the wine runs out and Jesus’s Mom, Mary, comes to Him and wants Him to fix this.
Listen, we don’t know exactly why. In all likelihood, this was some sort of a family wedding and Mary is worried that they will look bad. We know from Luke 2 that Jesus’s family was not wealthy.
They probably didn’t get enough food or wine for the wedding feast.
So Mary comes to Jesus.
Look at how Mary comes to Jesus- she says, “They don’t have any wine.”
Let me make this clear- Mary is EXPECTING Jesus to do a miracle.
We read that and we hear, “Oh no! That stinks for the party!”
Mary is really saying, “Hey Jesus, it’s time. Do this miracle for me because I’m your mom.”
Here’s the thing about miracles though- Jesus did not do miracles to make people happy. Jesus wasn’t a performer, Jesus IS the SON OF GOD!
Jesus did miracles to BRING GLORY TO GOD AND TO BRING PEOPLE TO REPENTANCE!
So Jesus responds to Mary.
Now in English it comes across as rude. I don’t know about you, but if I started calling my mother “woman” it wouldn’t go super well.
But in reality, we need to understand that Jesus’s response is really a cultural idiom of sorts, before addressing His mother in a respectful way.
Jesus essentially was saying, “Ma’am, I’m an adult now, so I’m not under your authority anymore.”
It’s not about Him being rude or not, instead, the emphasis is on how JESUS gets to make the calls about WHAT MIRACLES HE DOES!
Jesus then says- “My hour has not yet come.”
When He says that, Jesus is making clear that He works on GOD’S TIME, not on Mary’s time.
To say this another way- this interaction back and forth is significant because it SHOWS THAT JESUS HAS HIS OWN AUTHORITY!
JESUS IS AUTHORITATIVE!
And of course He is! JESUS IS FULLY GOD! JESUS HAS ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH AS WE READ EVERY SUNDAY IN MATTHEW 28:18!
JESUS HAS ALL AUTHORITY!
But notice what Jesus doesn’t do- Jesus doesn’t say no.
Jesus is going to do something here, but He’s going to do it FOR A REASON OTHER THAN MAKING HIS MOTHER HAPPY!
JESUS IS GOING TO DO IT BECAUSE OF HOW IT IS GOING TO BRING PEOPLE TO FAITH!
Mary in this moment tells the servants to obey Jesus and to do whatever He says, so let’s see what Jesus tells them to do.
John 2:6-8
John 2:6-8
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.
John tells us some more details about the setting here- there are 6 stone water jars set up for purification- which was part of the wedding feast. These jars also would have ONLY EVER HAD WATER! THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE HELD ANYTHING ELSE!
Understand- purification (Leviticus 12-13) had to do with SIN and showing their desire for SPIRITUAL RENEWAL! This step was called the “Mikveh.” It was a reminder of Israel’s NEED FOR A SAVIOR!
IS IT ANY COINCIDENCE THAT JESUS- THE SAVIOR- USES THESE JARS IN HIS FIRST MIRACLE? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Think of what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 1:3!
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
JESUS CAME TO EARTH ENTIRELY TO MAKE PURIFICATION! THIS IS NO COINCIDENCE!
And John tells us that each of these could hold 20-30 gallons of water.
Let me be really clear on something- THESE ARE HUGE!
A gallon of water weighs about 8.3 pounds. A 30 gallon jar would weigh 250 pounds PLUS THE WEIGHT OF THE JAR when it was full!
AND IT WAS A STONE JAR, SO THIS IS A HEAVY JAR!
These are ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!
I don’t know about you, but typically when I’ve read this passage I picture guys taking little pitchers and bringing them to Jesus.
That’s not the case at all! THESE SERVANTS ARE MOVING HUNDREDS OF POUNDS OF WATER!
But notice- they obey! They do WHATEVER Jesus tells them to do. JESUS ONCE AGAIN CLEARLY HOLDS AUTHORITY!
Once they are filled to the brim, Jesus gives them their next instructions- they are to TAKE SOME OF THE WATER TO THE HEADWAITER.
They obey again and they take water out of the jars.
But let me be clear. What has not happened? NOTHING HAS BEEN ADDED IN!
NOTHING HAS BEEN PUT IN THESE JARS OR IN THE WATER, THERE HAVE BEEN NO GRAPES ADDED IN TO MAKE WINE!
These servants had to be so confused. Like, “Jesus, we just put water in this. They asked you for wine, not water.”
But nonetheless, they do it. And why? BECAUSE JESUS HAS AUTHORITY!
We see Jesus’s authority throughout His ministry- through His teaching- Matthew 7:28-29, through His miracles, and through so many other things.
And this is YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF JESUS’S AUTHORITY!
Jesus speaks to the servants and they OBEY HIM!
(And yes, they are servants, but they have just been told to bring water to their boss! Their boss asked for WINE! If I asked someone to do that, it doesn’t matter if I’m in charge of them, I’m going to get some hesitation- not Jesus.)
So what happens with the Headwaiter? Let’s see in John 2:9-10.
John 2:9-10
John 2:9-10
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.”
The headwaiter takes the water and drinks it- but it isn’t water anymore! It is WINE!
Jesus has changed this from WATER TO WINE!
Listen, I wasn’t incredible at chemistry, but I was fairly good at it. Liquids don’t go from water to wine without SOMETHING HAPPENING!
There’s a missing ingredient that is needed.
And here’s the missing ingredient- THE POWER OF GOD!
ONLY THE POWER OF GOD CAN DO THIS!
The Headwaiter is STUNNED because he has NO IDEA where this wine is from!
The servants know that SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED! Imagine what their response must have been! The sheer surprise that they are feeling as they realize what Jesus just did!
THAT IS NOT NORMAL!
And in this moment of surprise, the headwaiter talks to the groom and gives him a bit of a hard time because he kept the best wine until the end!
By this point in time, people aren’t paying attention to the quality of wine, so cheaper wine was served later on in a party.
And for this groom, he’s thinking, “Wait a second, I thought we already served the good wine?”
But once again- this isn’t really about the wine. THIS IS ALL ABOUT JESUS’S POWER!
JESUS’S POWER SHINES BRIGHTLY WHEN HE TURNS WATER INTO WINE!
THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE ANY OTHER WAY!
This is TRULY A MIRACLE! IT IS A PHYSICAL IMPOSSIBILITY FOR WATER TO IMMEDIATELY BECOME WINE WITHOUT ANYTHING BEING ADDED INTO IT.
Yet, I want to challenge that this miracle should bring our mind to something more than just what Jesus did. This miracle should remind us of an Old Testament event.
See, in the Old Testament there’s a link between blood and wine. Genesis 49 talks about the spilled blood of a savior by talking about this savior’s garments being WASHED IN WINE!
And there’s another OT reference that I think our minds should go to.
In Exodus 7 we see the first plague upon Egypt. In Exodus God is BRINGING HIS PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR BONDAGE! AND WHAT ARE THEY STUCK IN BONDAGE TO?
THEY ARE STUCK IN BONDAGE TO AN EVIL RULER WHO PERSECUTES THEM AND KEEPS THEM FROM WORSHIPPING GOD!
God sends 10 plagues on Egypt before they let the Israelites go. In the first plague God turns the water of Egypt to blood.
God turns WATER into BLOOD! Remember- there’s this old testament link between WINE AND BLOOD!
But it doesn’t end there!
Instead, think about another thing with me.
Just before Jesus dies as He is hanging on the cross, WHAT IS HE OFFERED TO DRINK?
He’s offered WINE!
In a way, this miracle is a SMALL FORESHADOWING OF JESUS’S TRUE MISSION!
JESUS’S MISSION AND PURPOSE WAS ALWAYS TO REDEEM US AND TO SAVE US FROM SLAVERY TO SIN!
When we boil this miracle down to just being about wine, we miss so much of what is going on! We miss the POWER OF GOD, we miss how JESUS IS ANNOUNCING WHO HE IS, and we miss how JESUS IS FORESHADOWING WHAT HE IS ON EARTH TO DO!
GOSPEL! (WHAT JESUS IS ABOUT TO DO- WATER TO WINE, JESUS’S BLOOD TO OUR BEING BOUGHT BACK!)
John 2:11
John 2:11
Now look at John 2:11 with this in mind.
11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Simply put, this is what John 2:1-10 was immediately about! This miracle- as with all miracles makes God’s Glory GREAT and reveals it to PEOPLE!
Jesus didn’t change water into wine because His mom asked Him to!
Jesus did it to reveal HIS GLORY!
Notice what happens when the disciples see Jesus’s glory- THEY BELIEVE!
THEY SEE WHO JESUS IS AND THEY BELIEVE!
THEY RECOGNIZE THAT JESUS ISN’T JUST ANOTHER RABBI, JESUS IS TRULY SOMETHING MORE!
This is so important! This miracle was never about the wedding party having enough wine to drink.
It wasn’t about Mary telling Jesus what to do- it wasn’t about the headwaiter not understanding. This miracle was ALL ABOUT SHOWING JESUS’S POWER AND GLORY!
It was ALL ABOUT SHOWING WHO JESUS WAS- SHOWING THAT JESUS WAS POWERFUL AND STARTING TO PUT THIS FORESHADOWING IN FRONT OF US THAT SOMETHING MORE HAD TO HAPPEN WITH JESUS!
THIS WAS THE PURPOSE OF IT!
THE PURPOSE OF MIRACLES IS ALWAYS ABOUT BRINGING GLORY TO GOD!
This is fundamentally what is wrong when people today start trying to chase after miracles. Miracles aren’t about us, miracles are about God! Miracles shine a spotlight onto GOD!
And John 2:1-11 shows us that by highlighting Jesus’s power and authority as He CHANGES WATER INTO WINE!
Application
Application
Jesus’s Miracles Call us to Believe
Jesus’s Miracles Call us to Believe
How we respond to the Gospel- BELIEVE! (CALL TO REPENTANCE- super quick 3 circles)
How we take the Gospel to the world- WITH NEWS THIS GOOD WE HAVE TO TAKE IT TO THE WORLD!
(WHO CAN YOU REACH THIS WEEK?)
Jesus’s Miracles Call us to Deeper Faith
Jesus’s Miracles Call us to Deeper Faith
Grow in our faith because we can COUNT ON JESUS!
Practical:
PRAYER!
How do we go to God?
Mary goes to God with an expectation and this idea that she could CALL THE SHOTS!
And listen, that’s not how we approach God.
In 1 John 5, John makes a distinction clear- 1 John 5:14-15
14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.
Here’s the difference- we ask in confidence but we TRUST THAT OUR PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL!
Jesus and Mary’s interaction in John 2 teaches us a lot about how we go to God!
We go to God in humility and in complete faith, knowing and trusting that God will provide.
So how does this help us go deeper in our faith?
We are REMINDED THAT WE ARE TO BRING OUR REQUESTS TO GOD AND THAT WE CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE!
But further, we are reminded that we have confidence not because of ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE, but BECAUSE OF WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED US!
And THAT matters! That matters because it’s exactly what we see in this passage! And we see that in our own lives because God answers prayers according to His Good and Perfect Will, so we don’t have to put ourselves on trial every time we pray to figure out if we have prayed hard enough, or long enough, or well enough.
This isn’t like the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings! God answers our prayers BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS, not BECAUSE OF WHO WE ARE!
So John 2 teaches us to DRAW CLOSER TO GOD BY SHOWING US HOW WE CAN APPROACH GOD- We approach confident in God’s Power and TRUSTING GOD!
This week, let me challenge you to PRAY BIG AND TO PRAY CONFIDENTLY!
BRING THAT REQUEST TO GOD AND LEAVE IT WITH GOD!
Secondly, this passage challenges us to respond with PRAISE!
How does this passage do that? John 2 challenges us to PRAISE GOD in verse 11. John 2:11
11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Jesus does this sign for a reason and for a specific audience to learn something!
Here, the disciples see Jesus’s GLORY!
Friends, let me challenge you- this passage challenges us to PRAISE GOD BECAUSE OF THE GLORY OF GOD!
This passage shows us WHO JESUS IS! IT SHOWS US THE POWER THAT JESUS HAS, THE LOVE THAT JESUS HAS! THIS PASSAGE SHOWS US THAT JESUS HAS AUTHORITY!
And that is something to GIVE PRAISE FOR!
How to do that:
PRAYER! (MAKE SURE YOU ARE GIVING THANKS TO GOD AS YOU PRAY- EXAMPLE!)
HOW YOU LIVE! (LIVE DIFFERENT! Friends, we have no need to worry or panic because we know who SAVED US! WE KNOW WHO IS IN CONTROL- AND NOTHING IS STRONGER THAN GOD! Practical- anxiety tie-in).
