JOHN 2:1-11 | GLORIFYING OBEDIENCE

JOHN 2:1-11 | GLORIFYING OBEDIENCE

ILLUSTRATION: There are some Christmas presents that you receive as a kid that you never forget.

One of those for me was the year I received a magician set.

I remember it came in a big black box and inside it there were a variety of items for various magic tricks.

There was a fake thumb for which I could stuff a handkerchief to pull out.

There were the deck of cards with instructions for various tricks you could do with them.

There were different ropes and fake swords for all kinds of different tricks you could do.

All tools that could be used as illusions to convince the audience in my magic tricks.

We’ve all probably seen an illusion before.

It’s an attempt to keep you looking one way with a distraction, while the real trick is going on somewhere else.

It’s the “look here at this hand” while the real work is being done with the other hand.

A distraction that leaves you saying “Ohhh” and “Ahhh”

EXPLANATION: The verses before us this morning could be similarly view that way.

The overwhelming focus so often of these verses, truly overshadows what is going on in the story.

You see the emphasis of these verses is so often put on the subject of the wine in the passage.

If you grew up in a church similar to mine, there was an attempt to use this passage to emphasize that the wine in the passage was only grape juice.

This position, that would often be shared in my youth group, or in youth service, or just in Sunday church in general was dogmatically stated as being the truth.

And then there is the counter-argument by so many that say that Jesus clearly approves of alcohol based on the fact that He turned water into wine.

Here is the problem with it… both positions are using a passage of Scripture to attempt to prove a point that isn’t the point of the passage!

These verses were not meant to be a prescription on if someone should be allowed to drink wine or not.

That is why these verses are left vague on what the “oinos” (the Greek word for wine) is actually referring to.

The truth is that the Greek word used throughout the Scriptures as “wine” can refer to both grape juice as well as alcoholic wine.

Now, I’m not going to take a deep dive into the study of alcohol and wine this morning because we did that recently in a service and I want to get to the point of the passage.

Here is what I’ll say about the subject in brevity.

Wine was a part of the daily lives of those in Bible times.

Far more than it is a part of our lives today.

Wine had various purposes:

It was used for medical disinfectant

We find that in the story of the good samaritan.

When he finds the jewish man on the side of the road left for dead, he pours wine in his wounds and bandages him up.

It was used for pain relief

When Jesus was hanging on the cross they offered Him vinegar (a sour wine), which he rejected.

It was used for water purification

The water that was readily available was often stagnant and full of impurities.

They had two options for purifying water.

The first was to boil the water.

The problem was that wood was a hard commodity to come by.

Often, they would reuse the wood for the crosses when they would crucify because it was so hard to find.

The second option was to mix with a little wine, and anything stronger than a 3 to 1 ratio (water to wine) was considered a strong drink, which was around 2% alcohol.

More commonly it was mixed at a 10 to 1 ratio water to wine, making the alcohol content negligible.

Wine served a purpose in the life of everyone, Christian or non Christian, during the time of the Bible because that was what they had.

Now is it true that some people drank wine to become drunk… absolutely.

That has been the case since the beginning of time

You can find examples from Genesis all the way through the OT

But you never find a positive example of drunkenness being approved by God or the Scriptures.

So we can be confident Jesus wouldn’t have done something that contradicted the rest of Scripture.

Proverbs 20:1 KJV 1900

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Isaiah 5:11 KJV 1900

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; That continue until night, till wine inflame them!

Proverbs 23:29–32 KJV 1900

Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; They that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it giveth his colour in the cup, When it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.

Based on Scriptural precedence, I think we would be safe to say that Jesus wouldn’t have made alcoholic wine in contradiction to Scripture.

But now that we’ve taken that little detour, let’s get back to the real point of the passage and let’s learn from those who were involved.

Through chapter 1, John the author has shared his perspective and has called on the testimony of John the Baptist to prove Christ’s deity.

But here in chapter 2, John points to the first time Jesus himself demonstrates His deity through His power.

Jesus and His followers from chapter 1, were invited to a marriage feast and it would seem that Mary, his mother, had some part to play in the ceremonial feast.

Wedding feasts were different at this time than they are today.

The wedding feast was an event that was expected to last in the range of a week to 2 weeks.

There was a person who was in charge of ensuring that the feast went off without a hitch, whom the Bible refers to as the “governor of the feast”

Over the days of the marriage feast he ensured food was where it was supposed to be, people were where they were supposed to go… and there was plenty for everyone to drink.

To run out of food or drink would have been a huge embarrassment to the family of the bridge and groom.

It seems in some way Mary was involved in making sure these items were taken care of as well because of her concern about the problem of them running out of the wine

John 2:3 KJV 1900

And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

To which Jesus responds: John 2:4

John 2:4 KJV 1900

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

This response is misunderstood in our common vernacular.

To refer to her as “woman” was actually a term of respect.

But it was more than that.

It also demonstrated a transition from Jesus’ earthly position as a “son of Mary” to His purpose on earth as the “Son of God”

His statement, “What have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come” might be better understood in our language today as, “Why are you asking me to do this? The time for me to be revealed isn’t yet.”

Jesus wasn’t at the wedding to do some cheap tricks for an audience.

Nor was this the time or the place for Him to show everyone in the attendance Who He was.

That time was coming soon, but according to Jesus, it wasn’t yet.

Clearly Mary didn’t take Jesus’ response as an insult because she says in John 2:5

John 2:5 KJV 1900

His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

She moves forward assuming that Jesus is going to take care of the need that has been presented.

But don’t miss what she said as it was an important lesson for the servants and it is an important lesson for us here today:

“Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it”

Long before Nike coined the phrase, Mary had already said it and truly deserves all of the royalties… “Just do it”

ILLUSTRATION: I had the blessing last week of preaching a revival meeting in Vancouver, WA.

Before one of the services I challenged those in attendance to make a commitment before the service even started.

My challenge was: “Whatever God tells you to do tonight… make the decision right now to say ‘yes’ and do it.”

APPLICATION: So often we approach the Bible from a place of skepticism… “Whatever God says, I will consider.”

Friend, it isn’t our job to evaluate and consider Scriptural commands… it is our responsibility to “do it”

When the Word of God speaks to your heart, can I encourage you with the words from Mary the mother of Jesus, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”

For many Christians, your greatest struggle is not figuring out how to do the things you don’t know from the Bible… it’s simply obeying the things you do!

For Christians to have revival and truly walk close to God, it doesn’t require some great act of faith…

It requires you to do the things you know to do:

Read your Bible

Pray

Tell others about Christ.

When Christians do the things they are supposed to do the church will see revival!

Friend, do what God says to do!

EXPLANATION: In the case of this story, Jesus’s command to the servants seems simple, and it was… but the decision to obey carried with it heavy significance.

For a few moments let’s learn a couple powerful lessons from some servants who just did what Jesus said to do:

V.6-7, THE FILLING OF THE WATER POTS

John 2:6–7 KJV 1900

And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

EXPLANATION: When Jesus gives this command, it seemed simple enough, until you see the small phrase in v.6, “6 waterpots of stone, after the manner of purifying of the Jews”

In this culture, the Jewish population believed that the Gentile population, or anyone that wasn’t a Jew, was unclean.

They viewed themselves as being on another level, and the Gentiles were of lesser value.

This theme will follow throughout the life of Jesus as He travels and often intentionally puts Himself in a situation amongst the Gentile population.

When a Jewish person would return home from being out for the day, whether at the market or maybe filling up their camel and the gas station, they would enter their house and they would wash themselves with these ceremonial pots of water.

These pots were fashioned from a single piece of stone, not from clay which was considered an unclean vessel.

They would enter their house and they would dip their hands and their forearms into the pot of water as a symbol of a ceremonial cleansing.

In this simple command Jesus is showing these servants there was no longer a need for some ceremonial cleansing… because as John the Baptist so clearly stated in chapter 1, Jesus was here “to take away the sins of the world”

Jesus wasn’t concerned with rituals… He was concerned with their heart.

And when Jesus gave the command, the servants had to decide to let go of their ways of doing things and listen to Christ’s way.

APPLICATION: Are you willing to set aside your ways of doing things, to follow God’s way of doing things?

What if what the Bible says contradicted your life? Would you be willing to change to align with God’s Word?

What if God’s Word does show that you should abstain from alcohol, would you be willing to do it?

What if God’s Word shows you that you should change the way you parent your kids, are you willing to change?

What if God’s Word shows you that what you believe about controversial subjects like abortion or homosexuality were wrong, are you willing to set aside your beliefs and the way you’ve always done things and instead follow what Christ and His Word says?

What if God’s Word show you that there aren’t many ways to get to heaven, but there is only one way to Christ, would you be willing to follow God’s Word?

Friend, there are some stone pots in your life that are your personal sacred held positions on things, and you need to decide today that if God’s Word contradicts what you hold to, you need to change!

ILLUSTRATION: We had some family friends who had a home on a lake in Minnesota.

On a couple of occasions we went up there with them to enjoy a week.

We spent a lot of time fishing, but inevitably, we would end up going tubbing.

They had a giant tube called “Big Bertha” and they would fly across that water and then turn to get the tube to fly around at incredible speeds.

The amount of G-Forces was unreal.

And I would hold on for dear life because I knew if I let go, there was a high likelihood of death.

My dad got talked into it and he wasn’t so lucky when he flew off the tube, he ended up cracking ribs.

So I was intentional about holding on with everything I had!

I can remember a couple times riding with someone else and they would try to pry my fingers loose of the handle we were holding onto.

What terrible friends I had.

APPLICATION: There are some of you here this morning, and you are holding on to something in your life like I was on that tube in Minnesota.

You are convinced that nothing would make you let it go.

Friend, can I encourage you this morning… hold firm to God’s Word like that!

But then allow God’s Word to pry your fingers from the areas of your life He wants you to let go of.

We see Christ’s working in the filling of the waterpots

V.8, THE BEARING OF THE WATERPOTS

John 2:8 KJV 1900

And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

EXPLANATION: Now, we can easily miss this part, but I want you to catch it.

The servants filled the pots with water, just as Jesus told them to.

And then Jesus tells them to take the water filled pots out to the governor of the feast.

Now don’t miss this… What was the problem?

They had run out of wine

Jesus had them fill the pots with water

And now he tells them to deliver these water pots for everyone to be able to enjoy.

Jesus never tells them to taste it… He never tells them that He has changed it into wine.

As far as they knew, they were delivering pots of water to a group of people expecting wine.

This would have been an incredible disappointment

A humiliating experience to admit they had went through all of the wine

And now these servants are bringing out water under the guise that it is wine.

Best case scenario they would have been humiliated and probably lost their jobs.

And yet, there is no pushback.

There is no questioning of Christ’s command.

There is just simple obedience to what Jesus has said.

APPLICATION: One of the great concerns that many are afraid of when it comes to obeying Christ is “what will this cost me?”

If I do follow Christ and do what He commands, I’m afraid of what I’m going to have to give up.

I’m afraid to have to sacrifice for Jesus… or for my family have to sacrifice because of my choice to obey Christ.

And sometimes we are just afraid because we don’t see the whole picture… we don’t fully understand.

And yet Jesus says, I just want you to bear the waterpots where I tell you.

ARE YOU WILLING TO OBEY REGARDLESS OF THE COST

Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV 1900

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.

ILLUSTRATION: When God came to Moses on the backside of the desert, there was concern of what it would cost him to obey God.

The Pharaoh in Egypt could kill him

The people could refuse to follow

Their were physical limitations that he would have to struggle through.

And yet God said, “Go anyway… and I’ll be with you.”

And if Moses hadn’t decided to go even in the midst of doubt, he would have missed the miracles of the plagues

He would have missed the miracle at the Red Sea

He would have missed meeting God on Mt. Sinai

He would have missed God feeding them by miracles in the desert.

But praise God he simply obeyed regardless of the potential cost.

ILLUSTRATION: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the idol.

And when the king gave them another shot, they answer by saying Daniel 3:16-18

Daniel 3:16–18 KJV 1900

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

They just simply obeyed God’s command not to bow down to idols…

If they hadn’t we never would have had the miracle of the delivery from the burning fiery furnace.

APPLICATION: Friend, how many incredible miracles and stories of God working have you missed, because you refused to simply obey because of the cost?

What are the waterpots in your life that God is challenging you to step our in faith with and watch Him work!

Ephesians 3:20 KJV 1900

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

CONCLUSION

When these servants simply obeyed Jesus with the waterpots, look at the results in v.11

Sure the governor of the feast was pleasantly surprised and no doubt the bride and groom were pleased, and the people continued on none the wiser… but look at v.11

John 2:11 KJV 1900

This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

Jesus was glorified and the disciples believed on Christ.

APPLICATION: Friend, don’t underestimate the power behind simple acts of obedience!

When God speaks to you from His Word and you respond in obedience, Christ can be magnified through your life, and others can come to Him!

What waterpots in your life does God want you to fill?

Are there areas of your life you are refusing to let go that God wants to work in and use.

Are you more concerned with what your obedience will cost you?

When you choose to simply take those steps of obedience they can lead to God being glorified in ways you could never imagine.

Friend, don’t miss the main focus of the story… simple obedience brings incredible glory to God and will turn others to Him.

So church… say yes to God this morning… and let’s glorify Him with our obedience to Him!