It Started at a Wedding

Introduction: Dearly beloved we have gathered here today in the presence of God and these witnesses.

I’ve said those words a lot over my ministry because a part of what pastors do is weddings. It’s a fun part actually.

But weddings are a joyous occasion because they represent

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to John 2:1-11. We are continuing along a chronological timeline of the events that lead to Jesus’ public ministry. On the third day. Probably after He arrived in Cana of Galillee.

There was a wedding and Jesus and His disciples were invited.

And this is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

Introduce:

Big Idea: From the BEGINNING, Jesus’ Miracles TESTIFY to His True IDENTITY.

Read: John 2:1-11

John 2:1–11 ESV

1 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.

Big Idea: From the BEGINNING, Jesus’ Miracles TESTIFY to His True IDENTITY.

The Gospel of John records 7 signs.

The first sign occurs here where Jesus turned water into wine.

The second one is in chapter 4 where Jesus heals an official’s son.

The third is the healing of a man lame who is laying by the pool hoping to be healed.

The fourth is the feeding of the 5,000.

The fifth is walking on water.

The sixth is the healing of blind a blind man.

And finally the raising of lazarus from the dead.

However, many count an 8th sign which would be the utlimate proof that Jesus is the word become flesh….spoiler alert…He comes back from the dead.

These are specifically chosen to to testify to His identity as the Word become Flesh.

The first is important because it truly represents the beginning of Jesus’ earthly mininistry.

And as it happens…

1. Jesus’ MINISTRY started at a WEDDING. (John 2:1-4)

Explanation: Weddings represented a communal affair in Israel’s culture. It wasn’t just a limited number of attendees. The entire town was invited and expcted to participate. It wasn’t just one day, it was 7 days of celebration.

Goes all the way back to Genesis 2:20-25

Genesis 2:20–25 ESV

20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Now the wedding itself is not the point. I’m not sure we should draw too much from this fact.

What’s important is that there is a problem and Jesus’ mother calls Him to action.

They have run out of wine. This would have been an incredibly disastrous thing to happen. The groom was responsible for paying for everything. To run out would have been embarrasing.

Notice that Mary does not ask Jesus to do anything. There is a cultural aspect to this that some of us may recognize. She simply states the problem and Jesus knows that she wants Him to do this.

Woman is not derogatory in this case….even though I don’t recommend calling your mother “Woman.”

My hour has not yet come is not necessarily means that, while His earthly ministry was beginning as evidenced by the calling of disciples, His public appearance to Israel as a miracle worker was not yet.

And even as He obeys His mother and performs the sign, He does it largely secretively so that no one but a few people know.

Something we refer to as the Messianic secret is in full effect. He did not come to be a side show magician or even a miracle worker for the sake of wowwing an audience. He came to be the savior of the World.

Each sign would build a case that He is the savior. One a time leading up to His death burial and ressurection.

What Jesus is saying is, it’s not time for me to go public.

Still this was important to His mother.

Illustration:

Application: There is so much imagery all over this text. But we need to be careful to recognize that John is not trying to make theological arguments about 1st century cultural settings.

He is telling us what happened as detailed as necessary.

Weddings are good. It is not a waste Jesus’ time to attend a wedding. Jesus is not above small seemingly unimportant miracles…even when it seems like there are more important things for Jesus to care about…He cares about the little things in your life.

Because the ordinary things can lead to big faith.

I’m not sure what the application of this will be for you.

This whole scenario is meant to challenge your unbelief and get you to believe in Jesus.

2. Jesus demonstrates His POWER to turn WATER into WINE. (John 2:5-7)

Explanation: Again Mary doesn’t ask Him, because that might leave it up to Him to say no. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

And in this moment, Jesus is obeying the 5th commandment…He is honoring His mother.

But it’s more than that. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus can do nothing apart from the Father and the Holy Spirit. So that this miracle takes place shows us that it was always meant to be this way.

There a part of this story that highlights both the humanity of Jesus and the divinity of Jesus in equal parts. On the one hand, Jesus is a first century Jewish son of a Jewish mother. He is under the OT Law in the same way as others. He is without sin.

But at the same time we are beginning to see that this is more than just a mortal man.

And we get the first glimpse of that in the most unlikely of miracles.

The point of this whole story is that Jesus has the power over the very elements of reality and can change them as He sees fit.

The water was changed into wine. This wasn’t a mass hallucination that Jesus performed over people to make them think they were drinking wine.

Without grapes, without time for fermentation. No magic words. By the very thoughts and intentions of His heart, He changed real water into real wine.

Now something that we might miss is what he used to make the wine.

6 stone water jars for the jewish rite of purification.

Hand washing bowls.

Hundreds of people washed their dirty hands in these stone jars. That’s what Jesus uses for the wine.

Jesus takes the worst that the people have to offer and makes it the best He has to give.

The servants must have thought Jesus was crazy. But He says fill them to the brim. And they do.

It is likely at this moment that the water became wine.

Illustration:

Application: Again, for many of us this might seem like a cheap parlor trick. There are sick people. Dying people. Hunger famine, wars, true evil in the world.

This miracles seems pointless to us and perhaps even a little licentious. They people have clearly had enough wine. Why make more.

But it’s also one of the more important miracles when you think about Jesus’ true power. You can explain away a lot of things that Jesus did.

But turning water into wine would be reserved for godly power.

And at the very beginning, we must recognize that we are dealing with someone more than just a mortal man.

The word become flesh can turn water into wine.

But you don’t miss the symbolism in all of this…there is more to this than just water and wine.

3. Jesus demonstrates His POWER to transform LIVES through FAITH. (John 2:8-11)

Explanation: Jesus tells them to draw some water and take it to the the master of the feast. And the master of the feast is a little upset because you aren’t supposed to serve the best wine last. In other words, “You’ve been holding out on me.” And this looks bad on the Master of the Feast because it looks like he made a mistake.

Now what is the spiritual significance of this?

This story starts with faith. Mary doesn’t just believe that Jesus is the Messiah. She knows that He is the messiah.

And over and over again the OT, the Messianic Kingdom is said to be one filled with wine. Wine is a sign of personal and national prosperity.

Jeremiah 31:12 ESV

12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.

Hosea 14:7 ESV

7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Amos 9:13–14 ESV

13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. 14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

In all 3 synoptic gospels Jesus talks about how he will drink wine with His disciples in the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps Mary is thinking about that in this moment.

However, I think there is a lesson to be learned from the use of the jars for ritual washing…and that John makes it a point to tell us.

That was the old way of purification. That was the old covenant and that water could not truly purify anything.

Jesus turns that water into wine.

And wine will become connected to something that can truly wash away sin…His blood.

When we gather to celebrate the Lord’s supper we do so with the fruit of the vine as representative of the blood of the new covenant that truly washes away sin and purifies us from all unrighteousness.

He takes the old, does away with it and makes all things new.

When they took the wine to the master of the feast, he was confused as to why the good wine had been kept until last.

Jesus didn’t just make suitable wine. He didn’t say, “it was the best I could do on such short notice.” He made the best wine that could have possibly been made, because Jesus doesn’t do things half way.

And the same is true of our spiritual lives. When He makes us new, He is going to go all the way.

You might ask, I don’t feel like I’m the best wine yet.

And that’s because He’s still transforming you.

And wine is an inanimate object that doesn’t get in the way of it’s transformation. Wine doesn’t rebel or be hard hearted and obstinate.

The water didn’t have a part to play.

We do. Which is why faith is so important.

And one day our faith will become sight.

But for now we are called to believe to have faith.

Illustration:

Application: John 2:11

John 2:11 ESV

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

This is the first sign.

He manifested His glory though the sign.

But more important that the sign itself is the impact that it had….

His disciples believed in Him.

And us as the reader today are asked that same question again.

Response: Are you READY to BELIEVE?

Summation:Big Idea: From the BEGINNING, Jesus’ Miracles TESTIFY to His True IDENTITY.

1. Jesus’ MINISTRY started at a WEDDING. (John 2:1-4)

2. Jesus demonstrates His POWER to turn WATER into WINE. (John 2:5-7)

3. Jesus demonstrates His POWER to transform LIVES through FAITH. (John 2:8-11)

Closing Illustration: Now let’s be clear, the Ministry of Jesus started at wedding. But all of history is moving towards another wedding. John the Apostle writes about that as well.

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Far too everything is about the wedding day. The dress, the flowers the food the dancing. The wine for the toast.

But anyone who has been married for longer than 5 minutes knows that the wedding day is only the beginning.

And this life….even following Jesus the best we can…is only the beginning.

We long for the eternal life that is promised to us.

We long for the day when all is made new, we receive our glorified bodies.

So let’s live daily in what’s coming.

Let’s pray.