Sermon_John 2:1-12

“Witness”

1 John 1:1–3 ESV

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

“You will be my witness”—what can we witness to, except what we’ve experienced?

Why would Merv devote time to teaching us HOW to give our testimony? Because what you see…what you hear…what you have experienced MATTERS. It matters to Jesus and it matters to other people…

And when you SHARE it…when you tell people who Jesus is TO YOU…what Jesus has done FOR YOU…What you have learned from Him…how you have learned to OBEY Him…YOU ARE HIS Witness. Testimony that proves his existence as YOUR lord and savior.

You see the plan of God here? Is it starting to sink in? You see why we want to you IN RELATIONSHIPS with eachother…”teaching one another to obey” all that Jesus commanded you?

This is the CONTEXT and METHODOLOGY of the ministry of Jesus…and it is CONTEXT and METHODOLOGY of the gospels. and it is the CONTEXT and METHODOLOGY of the CHURCH.

Each gospel represents the teaching the PEOPLE who were there. They SAW Jesus…they heard him…they touched him with their hands. And they told THIER story. That’s why gospels have diffrences in them. It’s the same story told from 4 different perspectives. For different experiences…four different IDEAS about what was important.

The story today is from John chapter 2…and it’s a super interesting one…but the book of John is the only place you’ll find it…the other gospels don’t record this story. But John thought it was important.

John wanted people to KNOW this stuff….not because of the stories…but because he want people to KNOW Jesus.

And in the beginning of the Church, this is what people did. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings. They wanted to know who this Jesus was…and they had the EYE witness account of people who where THERE and saw him. THAT’s where the early Church learned the truth. From the witnesses.

As the truth spread out from Jerusalem, people who WEREn’t there were told about Jesus…who HE is…and what He did. And they trusted HIM….and he changed THEIR lives. The Holy Spirit filled them..and they went out…taking the gospels with them… and THEY did stuff. THEY told people who Jesus IS…and now…they get to ADD their testimony to the choir of saints who proclaim the truth of the gospels…and tell MY story of what that truth did for ME!

Get it? So if you find yourself sitting there thinking “I have nothing to say…” let me ask you a question…”who do YOU say that Jesus is?” What have you seen? What have you heard? Start there. you don’t have to be a history professor or theologian…or ordained pastor…You just have to be alive.

And…if…in YOUR story…you haven’t met Jesus yet… you DON’t know who he is. You don’t know what he did for you…that’s okay…everyone in this room starts ….THERE. And the beginning is a good place to be. But it’s not a good place to stay…so come talk to me and i’ll buy you a taco and we can talk about it.

Okay…Turn to John 2

John 2:1-12

English Standard Version Chapter 2

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 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 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.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

What has happened immediately before this?….Jesus called his first disciples.

JTB was preaching and baptizing people near a town called Bethany, just south of sea of Galilee...There, Jesus called about half of the guys that He would travel with for his public ministry.

And the first thing John does is take us on a journey with them to a wedding in Cana.

Cana is about a 30 mile walk from Bethany…and this whole area is Galilee where Jesus grew up…where Joseph was a carpenter…Cana is only about 6 or 7 miles from Nazareth.

And Now…jesus goes to a wedding. We don’t know who is getting married…so i’m guessing that’s not an important detail. But we do know that Jesus was invited, along with his disciples…and his mother. So we know these aren’t strangers.

Now i’m going to stop right here for a second and tell you something I beleive. And pay attention, becasue there’s going to be a test later….

I believe in what’s called EXPOSITORY teaching. That just means that I’m trying to get you to SEE and understand what the text is saying. I’m trying to EXPOSE what the writer means.

Have you ever seen a photo that’s OVER-exposed? It’s so bright…so much information, you can’t tell what it’s a picture OF anymore.

I think sometimes we get so busy drilling down to the minute detail of the bible…every word has to have some hidden meaning…that we forge that this is a story…written by a guy…who saw something…and wants YOU…to know what he saw.

So as we go through this…I want to encourage you to look at the story…think about what it would be like to be at a wedding with friends and family… Imagine what it sounds like…smells like…looks like…

Your mom is there and she walks up and says…we have a problem.

We can relate to that…THAT’s what John is doing here…showing us somehting we can relate to.

Let’s pick it back up there. Verse 3. The wine ran out…now this is a problem. If you’ve ever been to the middle east, it’s a hospitality culture. And a wedding wasn’t just a one evening afair. A weddin was a multiple day party where the hosts were responsible for providing food and drink for everyone. To run out was terribly embarrassing.

Apparently Jesus’ mom has some stake in this…either she has some responsibility or she just doesn’t want them to be embarrassed, but she goes to her son and lays this problem on him.

Look at vers 4. Jesus says “Woman…what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Now this is interesting…I’ve called my mom a lot of things…Mostly ma’am. Even under my breath, i don’t think i’d call my mom “woman.”

Now i do NOT think that Jesus is being disrespectful here. In fact the word here is one of the highest respect. But i DO think that Jesus is putting a little bit of separation here. This word was polite and respectful, but it’s not the same word a hebrew or aramaic speakign kid would use to address his momma.

And it might be helpful for you to remember here, that John…the guy telling this story…is the SAME guy Jesus tells on the cross to take care of his Mom. He says “woman…behold your son.” and to John he said “behold your mother.” and John took care of them all the rest of her days. They ended up living in a tiny brick house on a mountainside overlooking the town of Ephesus.

So John clearly loves Mary too……and he also recognizes …we’ll say the strength of her personality. I think that’s reflected in the way this story plays out.

And she’s dropped this big ole problem in Jesus’s lap. Somebody messed up. and it was beyond their ability to fix it. And it MATTERS to Mary. And she goes to Jesus because she knows he can…and she knows he will. She doesn’t even bother arguing with him…she just tells everyone else “do whatever he tells you to do.”

So now he’s got a pickle. See, Jesus KNOWs that it’s not time yet for people to find out who he is. That is NOT the will of His father. And ALL Jesus wants to do is honor His father.

BUT…Mary just saddled with ….what I think is….a pretty clear command to handle the problem. And Jesus KNOWS that he needs to honor his mother.

But these two things are in oppostion with eachother.

I think Jesus finds himself in a bit of a no-win situation here. And if you’ve been around very long…you probobly have found yourelf in a similar situation. If you honor one…you risk offending the other. And I do hear a little bit of frusteration in Jesus’s question: “What does THIS situation have to do with me?”

And mom…already KNOWS who her son is. Not just that he’s a miracle. Not just that he’s the Messiah…not just that he can do exceedingly abundatnly more than we can ask or imagine. She knew MORE than that.

Some people wonder if she had ever seen Jesus do miracles before. Is water into wine just something he did every night at dinner? Wammo!

A lot of people fight over that issue. I dont’ think it’s even important.

Why? Becaue Mary didn’t need to see a miracle to KNOW who Jesus is…Mary KNOWS his Character. For 30 years she saw this kid grow into a man. She Saw his wisdom and discernment…his love and patience. His mercy and kindness. She knows the MAN…the PERSON of Jesus Christ.

And when she has a problem…she knows she can count on him to fix it.

But she does NOT know what’s coming. She doesn’t know the fights he’s going to have to have with scribes and pharasies. She does NOT know the isolation and alienation he’s going to experience. She doesn’t know how much people are going to LOVE him…then hate him. She doesn’t know the timing of all this is very important and very sensitive. And she does NOT know that she is threatening all that by putting him in a situation where too many people find about him too early.

But Jesus knows…and he realizes this is dicey. Because his Father sent him here solve a problem, too. Everybody messed up…and it was beyond their ability to fix it. And it matters to the Father. And he sent Jesus because he KNOWs that Jesus can…and he KNOWS that Jesus will fix it.

See, Just even better than his mother…the Father KNOWS who Jesus is…his Character…his wisdom and discernment…his love and patience.. his mercy and kindness. HIs love and his obedience.

The No Win Scenerio

What John is trying to show us both the humanity and the diety of Jesus of Nazareth. John is dealing with some people saying he was just a man. And some people saying he was never a man…only a god.

And John is trying to show us he was both. The word…became flesh. To SAVE us.

So how does Jesus…man and God…handle a no-win situation? Faith.

He trusts his father. and is obedient to his mother. See…just like captain kirk…i don’t beleive in the no win scenerio. My Father is bigger than that. I don’t have to ACCEPT the premise that in order to obey in one area, i have to disobey in another area. I think that obedience to the father and trusting Him with the consequences is ALWAYS a winning option.

Jesus obeyed his mother…he HONORED her…just like his father told him to do…and he trusted his father with working OUT all the details of the pharasies and the fights to come…and the hour and who would find out about this.

He could trust his Father because he KNOWS his father…he knows his father’s heart, and character, and faithfulness, and power.

And the father DID work it out. Nobody found out about it except a few disciples and a couple servants. It didn’t cause a problem with timing. You know how I KNOW…Because this is only discussed in the gospel of John. Written 50 years later…

The father handled it. And Jesus KNEW he could trust him to handle it. Because he KNEW the father.

It’s the SAME reason you can obey Jesus and not worry about all the things outside your control. It’s why Husbands can love their wives and wives submit to their husbands. It’s why children can HONOR their parents, even when their parents aren’t honorable.

It’s why we can be graceful and merciful to people who have hurt us, or who are struggling with sin. It’s why we can LOVE our enemy and turn the other cheek.

It’s why we can pour ourselves out…share with eachother…and let HIM worry about the outcome.

It’s why you can give your 30 second testimony and not worry about being embarassed, or targeted.

Because you KNOW who the father is. you KNOW his character. Because you’re His witness.

Wrap it up

I’m gonna wrap this up…because i want to get to one more thing. And we also have some super exciting news we want to share in a little bit.

And i’m going to skip all the details of the miracle…there are a million commentaries on every single aspect of the next 6 verses. The significance of the jars…or the number of gallons…of the fact that he made wine for drunk people…

And i don’t know…maybe John really is trying to get us to see meaning in every single aspect of what happened here. I’ll trust the Holy Spirit to show me that when i’m supposed to see it.

But for now..what the Holy Spirit wants ME to see…Just like Josie saw something in the word of God and shared it with us this morning…likewise I’ll share with you something I saw…

look at verse 11.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him

What was the sign that made the disciples believe? water into wine? is THAT how Jesus MANIFESTED his Glory? The bible says he is HOLDING the entire universe together with the force of his will…he stopped the sun in the sky for 24 hours….that means he stopped the entire universe from moving for a whole day…he created the whole universe by speaking it into exsitence…Am i to believe that the manifestation of HIs glory is making water into win?

Or is it someting deeper than that. More important than that. Is it that he demonstrated his Character…his wisdom…his obedience….his love…and yes…also his power.

Jesus is starting his public ministry…and before he even gets 10 miles from home his mom jumps the gun… but that’s okay. We make mistakes. WE jump the gun. We get antzy. We get pushy and disobedient. But TRUSTING our father in heaven is always the right answer. And you CAN trust HIM because you KNOW his character. you KNOW who he is. you KNOW his power…you know his wisdom. You know his mercy. and you KNOW how much he loves you.

let’s pray.