Water to Wine

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

If you have ever traveled east on I-10 toward Willcox, you’ve probably seen some billboards that look something like this:

[Billboard for “the Thing”]

I’m just wondering whether any of you ever actually stopped there to see “the Thing”? I’ll admit, I have stopped there before because there is a Dairy Queen there, but I’ve never actually paid the required entrance fee to see “the Thing”.

If you ever drive that stretch of I-10 I guarantee that you can’t miss the signs. But in order to actually see what the signs point to, you have to take the right exit, get out of your car and pay the admission fee to actually see “the Thing”.

For the next seven weeks, we’re going to be talking about some other signs that are far more important than those signs on I-10 because they point to who Jesus is.

But just like it is possible to see all the signs that direct you to “the Thing” and still miss it, we’re going to find that it is possible to see all these signs that point to Jesus and still miss out on who Jesus is.

These seven signs are found in the gospel of John. But before we dig in to the first of those signs this morning, we need to spend a few minutes talking about the purpose of signs in the Bible.

We often equate signs with miracles, but there is actually an important distinction between the two.

In the Old Testament signs often involved God performing supernatural events through a human servant - like the plagues against Egypt that are carried out by Moses, or when Elijah called down fire from heaven in his showdown with the prophets of Baal. But not all signs involved miracles. For instance, God instructed Isaiah to walk around barefoot and naked for three years as a sign of coming judgment on Israel. But the one thing all signs had in common is that they confirmed the authenticity of the messenger.

In the New Testament, and particularly in John’s gospel, as we’ll see over the next seven weeks, signs authenticate the identity, message and ministry of Jesus. In his gospel, John records the seven signs we will study in this series. And all seven of those signs are recorded in the first half of the book. So why these seven? I’ll let John answer that question in his own words:

John 20:30–31 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The Greek word translated “signs” in verse 30 is that same word we’ll see used to describe each of the seven signs in John.

Greek semeion =

an outward indication of a truth

that which distinguishes a person or thing from others

While the ESV consistently translates that noun “sign”, unfortunately some other translations choose to translate it “miracle”. As we’ve already discussed some signs do involve miracles, but there is a distinction between the two.

John tells us that Jesus did many more signs in addition to the seven he has chosen to include in his gospel account. But he has chosen these seven because each of them point to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, so that his readers will put their faith in Jesus and receive eternal life. Individually and collectively these signs authenticate who Jesus is and why He came to this earth. As we’ll discover, each sign adds to our understanding of Jesus and His mission and by the time we put all seven of them together, there can be no doubt about either.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS SERIES

• Already a disciple of Jesus: a deeper understanding of His glory

• Not yet a disciple of Jesus: to put your trust in Jesus and receive eternal life

With that in mind, we are now ready to take a look at the first of the seven signs in John’s gospel. It is found at the beginning of John chapter 2.

John 2:1–11 ESV

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

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

Let’s begin by identifying the purpose of this first sign and then we’ll use the text to help develop that idea further:

This first sign points to the superiority of the joyous salvation for those who believe in Jesus.

One of the things that we are going to see as we study these seven signs is that John is very meticulous in describing each of them and therefore each detail in these accounts has significance.

That is certainly true when it comes to the way that John begins this chapter:

On the third day...

There are really two possibilities about what this could mean:

• It could be the third day after the previous event recorded in the last part of chapter 1

• It could be the third day of the week - Tuesday

I am of the opinion that John leaves this ambiguous intentionally because what is more important than which day of the week this event occurs on is how this phrase foreshadows of a much more important event in the life of Jesus - His resurrection on the third day. In both the Old and New Testaments, the “third day” is often one of new creation, of transition from old to new and of deliverance for God’s people.

From our perspective, this is neither the setting nor the miracle that we would expect for Jesus’ first sign. In fact, none of the other gospel writers even consider this event to be important enough to include in their accounts. But John rightly sees this as a sign that defines the very purpose for which Jesus came to this earth.

For the Jews that were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, both weddings and wine were important elements of His kingdom. We don’t have time to look at all the passages that connect the coming of the Messiah with both weddings and wine, but in your sermon outline, I’ve provided you with a list so that you can study those on your own.

Scriptures that picture the Messiah as a bridegroom:

• Isaiah 54:5, 61:10

• Jeremiah 33:10-11

• Revelation 19:6-9

Scriptures that associate wine with the Messianic kingdom:

• Isaiah 25:6

• Jeremiah 31:12-14

• Joel 3:18

• Amos 9:13

• Luke 22:18

Both weddings and wine are frequently associated with the coming of a Messiah who will right all wrongs and overcome death.

We’ve talked about this before, but first century Jewish wedding feasts were community events that often lasted for seven days. And the hospitality provided during those feasts was important to a family’s standing in the community. So running out of wine was a serious matter.

Since they were all invited to the wedding, it is likely that Jesus, His mother and His disciples were friends or family members of the wedding party. So when the wine ran out, it’s not surprising that Mary wanted to help the family save face and help to remedy that situation. By this time, it is likely that Joseph has died and that Jesus is now the man of the house so she turns to Him for help.

Jesus’ words to His mother seem a bit harsh to us. While they are in no way disrespectful to Mary, Jesus does establish some boundaries here. But even more importantly, Jesus is also pointing to His mission of providing a joyous salvation for those who would believe in Him.

The only other time that Jesus addresses Mary as “woman” is recorded for us in John 19 while Jesus is hanging on the cross:

John 19:26 ESV

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”

So here we have what Bible scholars refer to as an “inclusio” where Jesus’ ministry here on earth begins and ends with Him addressing His mother as “woman”.

Next, let’s consider the phrase “What does this have to do with me?” is actually more literally translated:

What to me and you?

It is a Hebrew idiom that is used several times in the gospels by demons address Jesus with that same phrase. It serves to put some distance between the two parties and essentially means “What do you and I have in common?” With those words, Jesus is indicating to Mary that they have a new relationship now that He is entering His public ministry. He was now out from under her authority and under the authority of His Heavenly Father. He is no longer just her son, but also her Savior.

Finally, Jesus says to Mary:

My hour has not yet come.

This is clearly a reference to the cross. When Jesus prays just before going to the cross, He begins His prayer with these words:

John 17:1 ESV

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,

So with His words to Mary, Jesus is pointing ahead to His mission that involves dying on the cross to make it possible for all to have a joyous salvation by putting their faith in Him.

It is clear here that Mary is not offended by Jesus’ words because she tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do.

In many ways the six stone jars are the key element in this entire account. These large stone jars held the water that was used for the many Jewish washing rituals. They were there so that the guests could comply with the Jewish law. So it was certainly not the kind of water that anyone would drink. Those jars stood there as a reminder of the shortcomings of the people that required them to constantly perform their religious rituals to cover their sin. But Jesus was about to transform those same jars into a source of great joy.

When Jesus commanded the servants to fill those jars to the brim, that would not have been an easy task. They couldn’t just hook up a hose to a faucet. They likely had to go draw water from a well and bring it back in smaller containers over and over until the large jars were filled.

Then sometime between verse 7 and verse 8, Jesus changes all that water, somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of it, into wine. and not just any wine - the best wine.

The capacity of these stone jars is provided by John not only to provide his readers with an idea of the sheer magnitude of what Jesus did here, but the number would also would have had a deeper meaning to the Jews. Many of them would have been familiar with the Jewish tradition that is based on the apocryphal book of 2 Baruch. A passage in that book that refers to the abundance of the Messianic age contains this verse:

The earth also shall yield its fruit ten thousand times, and on each grapevine there shall be a thousand branches, and each branch shall produce a thousand clusters, and each cluster will produce a thousand grapes, and each grape will produce a cor of wine” (29:5)

A cor measured about 120 gallons, which would have been the minimum amount Jesus produced at the wedding.

It’s interesting to note that Jesus doesn’t in any way make a show of what He has done. He doesn’t gather all the wedding guests around and say “abracadabra!”. He doesn’t touch the jars. He doesn’t even pray over them. No one other than the servants even knew what had happened. Can you imagine the surprise of the bridegroom when the master of the feast came to him and commended him for saving the best wine for last? He probably knew that just a few moments before this they were running out of wine and now not only do they have plenty of wine, but it is the best wine anyone there had ever tasted.

With this sign, Jesus is making a statement about the Jewish Law. The Law was necessary and good and pure, and, in a sense, even life-giving. So the Law, like the water, was good. But Jesus had come to transform that into something much better - something that was not just necessary but also joyful.

This sign is also the fulfillment of something that John had written in the first chapter of his gospel:

John 1:16–17 ESV

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The contrast with Moses and the Law emphasizes the abundant blessings that Jesus bestows with His joyful salvation - an abundance that is symbolized by the abundance of water that He has just transformed into wine.

That abundance would be made possible through His own death on the cross. That would be the ultimate purification for sins that would fulfill the purification rituals in the Jewish Law. With this first sign Jesus is proclaiming the end of the old covenant and the commencement of a new one. So it is fitting that on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus would leave His disciples with an object lesson in which wine was used as a symbol of that new covenant:

Luke 22:20 ESV

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

We have seen this morning that...

This first sign points to the superiority of the joyous salvation for those who believe in Jesus.

With this first sign, Jesus took the ordinary and transformed in into the extraordinary. And He wants to do the same in your life, too. He wants to give you a life that is full of joy and purpose, a life that has meaning.

But in order for you to have that kind of life, you must respond properly to what Jesus offers. In verse 11, we read that Jesus “manifested his glory” through this sign. We will find a similar statement when we study each of the other six signs as well. This is a great reminder of who Jesus really is. He is the divine Son of God who is both 100% God and 100% man at the same time. He always had possessed that glory, but while He was here on earth, He chose to only reveal that on limited occasions.

But even though everyone there at that wedding witnessed that sign at least to some degree and therefore had the opportunity to see His glory, they didn’t all respond in the same way. And their responses reveal three possible ways that we can respond to this sign today.

POSSIBLE RESPONSES TO THIS SIGN

• Indifference

This is how most of the people at the wedding responded. Even though they knew that it was unusual for the wedding party to serve the best wine last and that this was the best wine they had ever tasted, they really didn’t do anything to check and see how that had occurred. Even the bridegroom and the master of the feast, who knew that they hadn’t purchased that wine, apparently didn’t do anything to try and figure out who was behind that provision. They were all so self-centered that they really didn’t care how the wine got there as long as they could enjoy it.

There are a lot of people like that in the world today. They have been greatly blessed by God, but they are really indifferent to Him. As long as life is good for them, they really don’t think about where those blessings come from. In fact, they often go so far as to believe that they are responsible for creating that good life on their own. They essentially do what Paul writes about in Romans 1 and worship the creation rather than the Creator.

I doubt if there are many of you joining us today that fit into that category. The very fact that you are taking part in this gathering indicates that at least to some degree you acknowledge the role that God plays in providing for you. But it is very possible that you might fall into the second group.

• Astonishment

The servants certainly fit into this group. Other than the disciples they are the only ones who have observed what has been going on behind the scenes. I suppose you could even make the case that they have a certain degree of trust in Jesus. When they are commanded to take the water from the jars and take it to the master of the feast, they have to be thinking, “What is he going to do with this dirty water that has been used for people to wash with?” But they went ahead and obeyed anyway.

They were the only ones who had observed firsthand the miracle that had taken place. No doubt they were astonished at what had happened. But we get no indication that they understood the significance of the miracle or that their lives were changed in any significant way as a result of that.

I think that is probably the largest group in our culture today. A lot of people believe that Jesus was a good man and a good teacher. They might even believe that He really did perform miracles like changing water to wine. And they might be astonished by that, but that astonishment doesn’t lead them to fully put their trust in Jesus and let Him transform their lives the same way He transformed water into wine.

If that describes your life this morning, then my prayer for you is that today you would make the decision to be part of the third group.

• Belief

John ends the account of this sign by letting us know that the disciples believed in Him. At this point that was probably a pretty small group consisting of Simon Peter, Andrew, Philip and Nathaniel. At least they are the only followers of Jesus named so far in John’s gospel. Although we haven’t been told up to this point that they had observed what Jesus had done, it is obvious that to a large degree, Jesus performed this sign primarily for their benefit because they are the only ones who believe as a result of the sign.

Obviously those disciples didn’t fully understand the significance of this sign. In fact, most of them, especially Peter, would question the nature of His mission later in His ministry. But they nonetheless were beginning to develop a deep abiding trust in Jesus based on what they had observed.

This takes us fill circle back to where we began earlier this morning. Remember that John told us near the end of his gospel that he has included this and the other six signs in that gospel account...

so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John uses the word “believe” and the phrase “believe in” more than any of the other gospel writers. And if you study how he uses those terms, you will discover that the kind of belief he is writing about is more than just an intellectual understanding of a set of facts. It is a complete trust that results in a change in the way a person lives his or her life.

It is my prayer this morning that if you are not presently part of this group, that today the Holy Spirit would use this first sign to convince you to make that decision. And if you are already part of this group my prayer is that this sign would cause you to celebrate and give thanks for the joyous salvation that Jesus has made possible for you.

We began this morning by looking at a sign that you might see while driving down I-10. I’ll close with another sign that you might also see while driving on the interstate.

[Don’t make me come down there. - God]

Perhaps that is the way that you’ve seen God for all or part of your life. You see Him as a cruel tyrant who is just waiting to catch you doing anything that you might find enjoyable so that He can rob you of your joy.

But as we’ve seen clearly this morning, Jesus not only provides a life full of meaning and joy, He fills our lives to the brim with those things. And He doesn’t do that begrudgingly, but rather takes delight in doing that for those who are willing to believe in Him.