Water to Wine

Today launches the first Sunday of Lent. This is the 40 day journey that brings us to Easter; it is the time when we focus and remember our own mortality and brokenness. But this is also the season that prepares us for celebration and salvation at Easter that comes through Jesus. You see, if we do not spend time assessing and recognizing the extent of our own sin and mortality, then we lose some of the amazing wonder of salvation; we lose a full view of just how hopeless our lives would be without Jesus. And all of this makes for a greater appreciation and understanding of just how much Jesus brings into our lives by taking our place and going to the cross for our salvation.

This year for the Sundays of Lent I invite you to focus with me on some of the ways which Jesus reveals his amazing salvation, and what that salvation means for us and our world today. We are going to do this by looking at examples of miracles which Jesus provided as a sign. In fact, more specifically, we are going to look at just the miracles of Jesus that show up in the gospel of John. Before we jump into our passage for today, let me take a few minutes and point out three features that set up how the miracles of Jesus are selected and arranged in John’s gospel.

not called miracles, but signs

First of all, John does not name these miracles of Jesus as ‘miracles.’ John is very intentional to call them ‘signs.’ He is signaling to his readers that these are not just amazing supernatural acts of Jesus, they are symbolic acts which point to something even greater.

2. John chooses miracles in his gospel for the purpose of helping people see that Jesus is the Messiah

Second, John gives a disclaimer in his gospel that he is being selective, and there is a reason for why he chooses some events to include in his gospel, and ignores other events. John gives this reason in chapter 20.

John 20:30–31 NIV

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John is intentional. He chooses miracles in his gospel for the purpose of helping people see that Jesus is the Messiah, so that people may know and believe in Jesus as the Messiah—the anointed one, the Son of God. These miracles in the gospel of John are all signs which point in that direction.

3. seven miracles in first half of gospel that point to one week of events in second half of gospel

And third, John happens to choose seven miracles to appear in his gospel. We’ve talked already about the significance of the number seven in the Bible. We just finished a series on the seven scenes of Psalm 23. And now here we are turning around the corner and looking at another example of seven scenes—this time the seven signs (or miracles) of Jesus that appear in the gospel of John. It is not accidental that John places all seven of these signs in the first half of his gospel. There are 21 chapters in John, divided roughly in half. The first 11 chapters of John are all about revealing the signs of Jesus that show he is the Messiah. The next 9 chapters of John from 12-20 focus mostly on the events of just one week, beginning with Palm Sunday and going through Easter. And chapter 21 concludes the gospel with the reinstatement of Peter and the commissioning of the apostles. All of these events selected in the first half of John are the set up for the one-week of events that take place in the second half of John. We cannot lose sight of the way these seven miraculous signs in John are all meant to point us forward to the one week between Palm Sunday and Easter.

Let’s get to it, then. The first sign which appears in John takes place at a wedding banquet.

John 2:1–11 NIV

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

There is a trend in our world of secret menus. Many chain restaurants have a few items that are not listed on the menu, but you can still order it if you know what to ask for. Because of the internet these things are not actually so secret. There are many off-menu drink combinations you can order from Starbucks—including the pup-icino, a drink for your dog. At Burger King you can order frings—which is a side mixed with half french fries and half onion rings. At Chic-fil-a you can order the fried club sandwich—which is basically just a larger and unhealthier but way tastier version of their regular chicken club. For the really brave culinary adventurist try the McDonalds land-sea-and-air. Think Big Mac, but instead of stacking just beef patties you also get a filet-o-fish patty and a chicken patty all on the same sandwich.

Today we look at a story from John 2 in which Jesus pulls up a secret menu at a dinner party. But unlike the usual secret menu which is limited to just a few with special knowledge, Jesus shares his signature cocktail beverage with everyone without them even knowing it.

Let’s fill in the background to this story. Cana is in the hill country west of the sea of Galilee. It was a small village just to the north from Nazareth, the small village where Jesus grew up. It is not surprising that Jesus and his disciples were invited to a wedding event like this. These small villages in the hill region were close together. Weddings in small Jewish villages would have been events that included all the people in and connected with the village. It was expected that all the people would attend a wedding celebration, and it could last for several days. In fact, failure to show up for a village wedding celebration was a sign of disrespect and shame. Of course if there was a wedding taking place in Cana or Nazareth, Jesus and his disciples would have been there along with everybody else who lived in this hill region west of Galilee.

And speaking of disrespect and shame, to run out of wine at the banquet was no small mistake either. This would have brought an equal amount of shame on the host family. We should not underestimate the implications that come from this one small detail in verse 3 telling us that the wine had run out. We should remember also that wine was the customary drink to go with every meal. It was not something reserved only for special occasions like a wedding banquet. Wine was a regular part of the ritual habit of gathering with others at the table for a meal together. The point is this, it is not as though the banquet had a menu of other beverages available in place of wine. It’s not as though the host could just serve coffee and water instead. The depletion of wine essentially meant that the party was over; the wedding feast is stopped. This Jewish ritual custom that was such a significant part of their village life culture came up short and fell apart.

And in this moment, Mary the mother of Jesus calls on her son to step in and do something. On one level, John is giving us a picture of Jesus saving the day so that this village celebration would not end in shame and condemnation. On a completely other level, John is giving us a glimpse to a sign that signals Jesus as the one true Messiah sent from the heavenly Father.

Look at some of the imagery going on in this story. At first, Jesus seems to deflect the request. Is it that he doesn’t want to get involved? I don’t think so. It is more that John is alerting us to the detail that Jesus is only revealing his messianic nature to a few. At this point in the ministry of Jesus, only a few people catch an awareness of who Jesus really is. This miracle is not something witnessed on full display for everyone in the village to see. In fact, hardly anyone notices what Jesus does here. Only the disciples and the servants who fill the water jars are aware that a miraculous sign has just taken place. Everyone else in the village is completely unaware of what Jesus has just done; and yet they are all recipients of it by receiving the wine which Jesus provides on that day.

stone water jars were used for religious ceremonial washing symbols of coming before God clean and purified

Consider some of the other images playing into this story. Jesus tells the servants to use stone water jars. These large stone jars had a different particular purpose in Jewish culture. It was these large stone jars that would have been used to hold water for ceremonial washing. This wasn’t just about proper hygiene for coming to a meal. This was religious and spiritual in nature. The pattern of expected washing before a meal was all written out in the law of Moses. To sit at a meal without first going through this ritual of washing would have defiled a person as unclean; not just physically dirty, but spiritually impure as well.

These stone water jars were more than just containers that hold water. They were symbols of the religious rituals which allowed people to come before God as clean and pure. These ceremonial washings were daily reminders of the way in which God washed away the peoples’ impurity and sin by their systems of sacrifice and repentance and adherence to the Law of Moses. And it is this symbol of spiritual purity before God which Jesus chooses to bring as a sign of messianic identity in this miracle.

wine replacing water is symbol of Jesus replacing an old sign of covenant purity with a new sign of covenant purity

But now there is a twist. It is not water for ceremonial washing which comes from these stone jars. It is wine for consumption which is miraculously provided by Jesus that comes from these stone jars. Jesus is giving a sign of his place as the Messiah which is taking something old from Jewish religious custom and replacing it with something new. There is a sign in this miracle that the Messiah is taking making a new covenant with God’s people by using a symbol of the old covenant. Jesus is not abolishing this old covenant. He is not smashing these stone jars as obsolete and unnecessary. He is not dumping the water and draining it away. Jesus is fulfilling this Old Testament custom by giving it a new twist with something even better: water that is turned into wine.

it is a gift from Jesus which purifies the people before God with a new kind of righteousness—God’s own righteousness in Jesus given out for his people to receive

It is not lost of John’s Jewish audience that the water which comes from these stone jars is symbolically meant to bring the people spiritual purity before God. And now Jesus uses these jars as a way of providing a new wine which Jesus provides for the people a symbol of spiritual purity before God. This wine is no longer just a beverage at a wedding reception. It is a gift from Jesus which purifies the people before God with a new kind of righteousness—God’s own righteousness in Jesus given out for his people to receive.

Jesus uses this sign to reshape peoples’ expectations of the Messiah

John uses the entire event at Cana to introduce us to this man, Jesus, who is so much more than a powerful prophet, or a wise teacher. John is giving us a peek at Jesus the Messiah. And more than that, John is helping his readers understand what it is the Messiah has come to do. Not only is John writing in order to show that Jesus is the Messiah, he is also writing to show that the kind of Messiah all the people were expecting had become misguided. The reason that so many of the Jewish people at that time dismissed Jesus as the Messiah is because they were all expecting the Messiah to be something completely different.

too quickly think to ourselves, they misunderstood the Messiah because they rejected Jesus, but we understand the Messiah because we accept Jesus

We have to admit today that it becomes all too easy for us to pass over this detail as though it somehow no longer applies to us today. Perhaps we too quickly think to ourselves, they misunderstood the Messiah because they rejected Jesus, but we understand the Messiah because we accept Jesus. Verse 11 tells us that the disciples who were there in Cana that day saw what Jesus did and believed in Jesus. But we should remember that even though these disciples believed in Jesus, they were still a long way from understanding what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah.

Passover wine has now become a symbol in remembrance of Jesus we still need reminders of what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah

It is not by accident that the very next story John tells in chapter 2 takes place at the temple during the time of the Jewish Passover. The Jewish celebration of the Passover centered around a meal gathering in which wine was symbolically included as part of the meal. It would be at another Passover meal three years later in which Jesus would pass the cup and tell his disciples that this wine which he shares with them takes a symbol of the old covenant and now becomes something brand new. The Passover wine has now become a symbol in remembrance of Jesus, part of the sacrament of communion which the church continues to repeat even to the very day. It is something which is taken from an old covenant ritual, and is now fulfilled in Jesus as a new covenant ritual.

in Jesus, the very best of God’s provision has come

not only purification for all that makes us impure and sinful before God, there is also nourishment for our souls, that Jesus gives something of himself which spiritually feeds us new life

John presses the point even further in chapter 2. When the master of the banquet is given some of the new wine which Jesus miraculously provides, he comments that the best has been saved for last. This new wine which has come from Jesus is far better than anything else that has been served before. In Jesus, the very best of God’s provision has come. In Jesus there is not only purification for all that makes us impure and sinful before God, there is also nourishment for our souls, that Jesus gives something of himself which spiritually feeds us new life.

the grace of God which is provided by Jesus is enough for all who come to God, and will never run dry

Jesus instructs the servants to fill each of the six stone jars. John tells us that these are large vessels that can hold up 30 gallons each, and they are each filled to the brim. That’s 180 gallons of choice vintage wine. The point being, there is an abundance, enough for absolutely everybody. The new covenant salvation that Jesus brings is not hampered by limited inventory. There is no way anyone will even question if there is enough. The gift of God’s grace is provided with enough for all who come to Jesus. God’s grace is never in danger of running out.

in this miraculous sign at Cana God has made his grace the main course for everybody who comes to him

There is no secret menu here. It is not some insider special that only a select few get to enjoy. What we see in this miraculous sign at Cana is that God has made his grace the main course for everybody who comes to him. We are the ones who receive that provision of grace from Jesus. Sometimes—like the disciples—we see just how powerfully amazing the provision of that grace is into our lives. Other times—like the wedding guests—we may be completely unaware of all the ways God’s grace is given to nourish our souls. But either way, grace is freely and abundantly given. And all we have to do is receive it in faith as a gift from God.