The First Miraculous Sign
日期：2008年9月21日
地點：CACC English Sunday Service
信息：The First Miraculous Sign
經文：John 2:1-11
2:1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there,
2:2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
2:3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
2:4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
2:5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
2:6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
2:7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
2:8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so,
2:9 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
2:10 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."
2:11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
我們若對耶穌生平有一些了解，對這個水變成酒的神蹟應該不陌生。在第 11 節，約翰解釋了他記載這個神蹟的目的，第一， 這是耶穌所行的頭一件神蹟。第二，這個神蹟顯出了耶穌的榮耀。第三，這個神蹟使門徒信了耶穌。由於耶穌將水變成酒，使得不少愛喝酒的人，喜歡採用這個故事來支持他們喝酒的習慣。
If you are familiar with the life of Jesus, then you probably have heard this story about Jesus changes water to wine. This story is popular among the people who love drinking alcohol. They like to use it to justify their drinking habit. However, in 2:11, John explained his reasons of recoding this miracle in his book. Firstly, this was the first miraculous sign Jesus performed. Secondly, this act revealed the glory of Jesus. Thirdly, this miracle caused the disciples to put their faith in Jesus. As you can see, John did not record this miracle to support any drinking habit.
撇開耶穌到底將什麼變成什麼，這一段經文倒是一個很精采的故事。這是個婚宴，喜氣洋洋的日子，慶祝得正高興的時候，卻發現酒喝完了。我們當中大多數的人都參加過婚禮，也或多或少見過婚禮當中的突發狀況。我因為從小在教會的詩班長大，參加無數次的婚禮，就見過許多各式各樣的突發狀況，比如結婚典禮剛剛結束，新娘的戒指就不見了，找了半個小時，結果在裙子的摺縫裏找到，或是在喜酒開始，要做謝飯禱告的時候時，發現主婚牧師全家都沒有出現，原來是沒有發晚宴的請帖給牧師。
Actually, this is a great wedding story. Personally, I think a perfect wedding is the one that no one remembers. And an unforgettable wedding is usually the one with some “incidents”. If you ever watch “America’s Funniest Home Videos”, then you know what I mean.
在今天這段經文裏，這對新人所面對的突發狀況是沒有足夠的酒可以供應大家。猶太人的婚禮可以長達一週之久，並且和華人的習俗一樣，喜酒是由男方負責。我們不知道到底是預備的酒不夠多，或是客人來的比預期的多，但是沒有供應足夠的酒，在當時的文化習俗是一件很失禮的狀況，新娘的家庭甚至可以將新郎告上法庭，那個年代也沒有像現在，走到哪裡都有 Supermarket 可以買酒。這時，耶穌大顯身手，將情勢扭轉，使得這個婚禮有個美滿的結局。從此王子公主就過著幸福快樂的日子。
In John 2, the unexpected incident of this wedding that they ran out wine. A traditional Jewish wedding could be one week long. And similar to Chinese, the wedding banquet is prepared by the bridegroom. However, according to their culture, running out of wine is really an embarrassing situation. The bride’s family could even sue the bridegroom. In those days, there were no supermarkets where they could buy wine.
Then a miracle happened. Jesus rolled up his sleeves and turned the situation around. He saved their face and gave this wedding a perfect ending. And then the prince and princess live happily ever after.
沒這麼簡單，這故事最奇怪的地方就是第4和第5 節。當馬利亞告訴耶穌「他們沒有酒了」之後，耶穌給了一個很奇怪的回答，而馬利亞的反應也一樣很特別，如果把這兩節經文刪掉，整個故事豈不是更流暢嗎？但是這兩句奇怪的話，卻在這個故事中佔有很重要的地位，因為它顯出這個神蹟是因著信心而產生的。
However, if you read this story carefully, you will notice that there are two verses seem to be out of place. They are verse 4 and 5. When Mary told Jesus, “they have no more wine”, Jesus gave her a strange answer. Mary’s reaction was also quite strange. In fact, if you delete these two verses, the whole story goes even more smoothly.
However, we know that this conversation between Mary and Jesus must be really important; otherwise John wouldn’t write them down in this Gospel.
What is the significance of this conversation? It shows that this miracle was happened because of faith.
這個神蹟是因著信心而產生的，首先讓我們看看馬利亞的信心。2:1告訴我們，「耶穌的母親在那裡」，這表示馬利亞當時可能居住在迦拿，(迦拿離拿撒勒並不遠，大約等於從這裡到St Luke Shopping Mall的距離。)至少她在這場婚禮中的身分，在某個程度上包括了對宴會的安排，因為她會知道沒有酒了，，又能指揮佣人聽從耶穌，而且聖經只有形容耶穌和門徒是被邀請去作客的。耶穌的出席，也表示祂不是一個憤世嫉俗或不食人間煙火的人。
This miracle was happened because of faith, especially the faith of Mary.
John 2:1 tells us “Jesus' mother was there”.This could mean that Mary was probably living in Cana during that time. Cana is not far away from Nazareth, roughly about the distance from here to Manukau shopping centre. Mary seem to involved in the planning of this wedding, because she knows that there was no more wine, and she was able to order the servants to follow the instructions of Jesus. And the Bible also only describes that Jesus and his disciples were “invited” to the wedding. Jesus showed up in the wedding, proved that he is not a hermit or a boring person who does not know how to enjoy life.
酒喝完了，可是馬利亞沒有通知管筵席的，卻是去找耶穌，為什麼呢？有一點我們要記得，當時耶穌還沒有行過神蹟，所以我們不能假定馬利亞期待耶穌行神蹟，不過，根據聖經學者的研究，馬利亞的丈夫約瑟多半已經去世了好幾年，所以最合理的解釋應該是，身為寡婦，馬利亞已經養成了依賴長子的習慣。
When the win ran out, it is pretty strange that Mary did not inform the master of the banquet, instead she went to see Jesus. One thing we need to remember that Jesus has not performed any miracle by that time, therefore we cannot say that Mary was expecting Jesus to perform a miracle. However, according to Bible scholars, Mary’s husband could have passed away for a few years. As a widow, Mary might have become used to rely on her first born son to make decisions.
讓我們再看一次第4節。
耶穌說：「母親（原文是婦人），我與你有甚麼相干？我的時候還沒有到。」
Let us look at v.4 again.
"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
耶穌這一句話，表面上聽起來似乎相當無理，但卻帶出了一個很重要的神學觀念。首先，「婦人」這個稱呼並非不敬，但是當耶穌稱祂的母親為「婦人」時，就刻劃出耶穌與馬利亞之間關係的改變。馬利亞必須學習不再看耶穌為她的兒子，而是要視祂為彌賽亞，這其實是很不容易的功課，作父母的就知道，當自己的兒女長大成人，甚至結婚生子，有時仍不免將他們當作小孩子看待。因此，馬利亞需要額外的信心來接納她與耶穌之間關係的改變。
Jesus’ words sound a little rude, but it brings out a very important theological concept. Firstly, calling Mary “dear woman” is actually a polite form of address and is not disrespectful. However, when Jesus calls Mary “dear woman” instead of “mother”, this shows that the relationship between them has changed. Mary no longer should view Jesus as her son. Rather, she needs to treat Jesus as her Messiah. Parents know how difficult it is to cope with that transition. Sometimes they still treat their children as little kids even when they have grown up, married, and have their own children. Therefore, we know that Mary really needs extra faith and strength to cope and accept this relational change between her and Jesus.
「我與你有甚麼相干」這一句話並不是很明確，聖經學者一般上認為這可能是一句希伯來俚語，意思是「我與你所等待的都不相同」，換句話說，馬利亞所關心的是酒不夠喝怎麼辦，耶穌所關心的則是祂來到這世界的使命。
The meaning of “why do you involve me” this phrase is unclear. It can be translated as “What do we have in common” or “How can this matter that concerns you be of mutual interest to us?” In other word, Mary was concern about the wine, and Jesus was concern about his mission in this world.
「我的時候」這句話在約翰福音中出現很多次，是指耶穌受苦與受死的時候，是約翰福音的一個重要的主題，因此，從這裡一直到11章，都是說耶穌的時候還沒有到，從12章到17章則說耶穌的時候到了。
The phrase “my time” has appeared many times in the gospel of John. It points to the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, which is one of the key themes of this book. If you study all the “my time” passages, you would notice that from chapter 2 to 11, Jesus’ time “has not yet come”, and from chapter 12 to 17, Jesus’ time “has come”.
這裡的疑問是，馬利亞說「他們沒有酒了。」耶穌說：「我的時候還沒有到。」這豈不是答非所問嗎？但是當我們仔細閱讀約翰福音時，就會發現耶穌時常如此說話，例如祂與尼哥底母夜間的對話，直接從耶穌所行的神蹟的正統性，跳到重生的必要性，或是在井邊與撒馬利亞婦人的對話，從喝水這件事，直接轉到耶穌的身分，又轉到敬拜神的地點和方法。耶穌這些看起來似乎答非所問的對話，其實是將生活上的事情，連到屬靈的教導。
When Mary said, “They have no more wine”, why did Jesus reply with “my time has not yet come”? That’s weird isn’t it? However, if we read the Gospel of John carefully, we find that Jesus actually often speaks like this.
For example, when Nicodemus went to see Jesus, he was checking out the authenticity of the miracles that Jesus performed. But Jesus jumped the subject to the necessity of second birth. When Jesus met a Samaritan woman by the well, their conversation jump from drinking water to who Jesus is, and then jump to where and how to worship God. From these conversations, we realize that Jesus connects ordinary daily events into spiritual teachings.
從馬利亞的反應，我們可以看出她真是一個大有信心的女子，也是個具有敏銳的屬靈眼光的人。她不因耶穌的責備而退縮或起反感，反而吩咐佣人們聽從耶穌的指示。她雖然不知道耶穌會做什麼，但她知道她能夠完全信賴耶穌。因此，當她以母親的身分要求時，遭到耶穌的拒絕，但當她以信徒的身分要求時，她的信心就蒙悅納了。
Mary’s reaction to Jesus’ strange reply shows that she really is a woman of faith and a person who is sensitive towards spiritual things. She did not withdraw or became defensive when Jesus rejected her request. Rather, she ordered the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. Although she had no idea what Jesus would do, but she knows that she can totally trust Jesus. Therefore, when she requested Jesus as a mother requests her son, she was rejected. But when she asked Jesus as a disciple asks her Lord, her faith was accepted and her request was answered.
當我們向主禱告祈求時，不論是為自己的事，或是為別人的事，我們有沒有像馬利亞那樣堅定的倚靠耶穌，相信祂必定會成就呢？
Today we already know that Jesus can perform miracles and that He still performs miracles. But when we pray to Jesus, whether for ourselves or for others, do we have a faith like Mary, trusting Jesus without a doubt and believe that He will accomplish?
讓我們一起讀 2:5-8
Let us read 2:5-8 together (perhaps that will wake you up)
在這幾節經文中，我們可以清楚看見馬利亞堅定的信心，加上佣人的順服，神蹟就產生了，我很好奇這些佣人到底知不知道這些水是做什麼用途的，如果不知道，至少也會奇怪為什麼要將潔淨用的石缸裝滿水，裝滿之後，為何又要把水端給管筵席的人。無論如何，如果這些佣人沒有順服耶穌的指示，這個神蹟就不會產生了。因此我們可以學習到，如果我們想要看見神的作為，就必須先順服祂。
In these verses we clearly see that the miracle came because of Mary’s faith and the servants’ obedience. I wonder whether the servants knew what the water is for. If not, would they be curious about why they need to pull the water into those jars or why they need to bring the water to the master of the banquet? Would they have discussed these questions among themselves? Nevertheless, if these servants did not obey the instruction of Jesus, this miracle wouldn’t have happened. Therefore we can learn a lesson from them. If we want to see the mighty work of God, we need to obey Him first.
至於耶穌為什麼不是將裝飲用水的水缸盛滿，而是使用潔淨用的石缸，有一些解經者就認為這個神蹟可能是暗喻代表舊約律法的水，被耶穌所帶來的恩典的酒所取代。
It is also interesting that Jesus asked the servants to fill up the jars that are for ceremonial cleansing instead of jars that are for drinking water. Therefore, some bible scholars think that this might indicate that the water of the Law of the Old Testament is replaced by the wine of grace of the New Testament.
平常每家猶太人是只有一個潔淨用的石缸，這家有六口石缸，表示來參加婚禮的客人很多。當這些石缸都裝滿水時，大約有500-750 公升的水。今天一瓶普通的葡萄酒是750毫升，也就是說，耶穌變出了大約670至1000瓶的酒，這是一個規模相當大的神蹟。在舊約聖經中，有酒可以喝，表示農產豐收，也表示蒙神祝福，因為如果沒有食物可吃，就不可能還有閒情逸致去釀酒。例如：
Normally, each Jewish family only has one stone jar for ceremonial cleansing. This household had 6 jars. They might have borrowed the jars from their neighbors, so that they will have enough jars for all the guests who came for the wedding banquet.
When all six stone water jars are filled, there is about 500-750 liters of water. Today a normal wine bottle is about 750 ml. That means Jesus has made 670 to 1000 bottles of wine. This was a miracle of big scale. In the Old Testament, if people have wine to drink, that means there was a harvest and that God was blessing them. Because if they did not have enough food to eat, they would not have enough produce to make wine.
申命記7:12-13
(摩西說) 你們果然聽從這些典章，謹守遵行，耶和華你神就必照他向你列祖所起的誓守約，施慈愛。他必愛你，賜福與你，使你人數增多，也必在他向你列祖起誓應許給你的地上賜福與你身所生的，地所產的，並你的五穀、新酒，和油，以及牛犢、羊羔。
箴言3:9-10
你要以財物和一切初熟的土產尊榮耶和華。這樣，你的倉房必充滿有餘；你的酒醡有新酒盈溢。
For example, in Deuteronomy 7:12-13, Moses says,
“If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you.
Proverbs 3:9-10 also says,
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
當以色列國和猶大國先後被亞述和巴比倫滅掉後，當猶太人被波斯人、希臘人、和羅馬人統治的時候，猶太人期盼著一位能拯救他們的彌賽亞出現，根據舊約先知的預言，當神的拯救臨到的時候，約珥書2:24 如此形容：「禾場必滿了麥子；酒醡與油醡必有新酒和油盈溢。」耶利米書31:12：「他們要來到錫安的高處歌唱，又流歸耶和華施恩之地，就是有五穀、新酒，和油，並羊羔、牛犢之地。他們的心必像澆灌的園子；他們也不再有一點愁煩。」
When Israel and Judah were destroyed by Assyria and Babylon; when the Jews were ruled under the authorities of Persians, Greeks, and the Romans, they were waiting for a Messiah to come to deliver them, and to bring a new era to this world. According to Old Testament prophecy, this is how Joel describes what would happen when God’s salvation arrived. Joel 2:24, “The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.”
耶穌將水變成了酒，表示預言應驗，神的祝福臨到，也證明祂就是眾人所期待的彌賽亞。
When Jesus turned water to wine, that means this prophecy of Joel has fulfilled. The blessings of God have come, and the miracle proved that Jesus is the Messiah they have been waiting for.
根據舊約和猶太傳統，婚宴是彌賽亞的象徵，也代表神的國度，因為婚宴理當是歡樂的時間，也是不會缺乏食物的地方。耶穌後來也在祂對天國的教導中，將自己比作新郎，供應充足的酒是新郎的責任，所以耶穌這個神蹟，也象徵了彌賽亞的時代臨到了。
According to Old Testament Jewish tradition, a wedding banquet is a symbol of Messiah and the kingdom of God, because wedding banquet is a time of celebration and a place that does not lack any food. Jesus has also described himself as a bridegroom in His teaching of the Kingdom of God. Since providing the wedding banquet is the responsibility of the bridegroom, this miraculous sign of Jesus also symbolize that the ear of Messiah has arrived.
講了這麼多有關酒的預表，我們不能隨便就下結論說我們可以自由地喝酒，我們必須認真的看聖經裡面到底對酒有什麼教導？
Although we have read so many verses about the wine and it’s meaning, we should not quickly jump into conclusion and say that we could drink freely. Rather, we need to study the teachings seriously and see what the Bible says.
首先，以前的人沒有濾水器，水質不乾淨時，必須摻一點酒進去，有消毒的作用，可以預防一些腸胃疾病。這就是為什麼保羅叫提摩太不要只喝清水，而要「稍微用點酒」。
Firstly, there was not filter in 1st century. If the quality of the water is not good enough, people would put a little wine in there. Alcohol works as a sterilizer and could protect people from getting certain illness. This is why Paul instruct Timothy in 1 Tim 5:23, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
第二，他們的飲酒習慣與我們不同。讓我示範一下。(Demonstration)
Secondly, the way they drink wine is very different from us.
酒摻水成淡酒是當時的社會習慣，不僅是猶太人如此，這更是羅馬社會的慣例。摻水的比例約從 1:3 到 1:20 不等，那時人們尚未發明用蒸餾的方法釀酒，所以酒精濃度最高只有14%，與我這一瓶紅酒相等，摻了水之後，酒精濃度就減低許多，不容易喝醉酒。
It was their tradition to add water into wine to dilute it. Not only had the Jews practiced it, but also the entire Roman Empire. One portion of wine dilutes with 3 to 20 portions of water. In those days, they had not discover the technique of using distillation to produce spirits like whiskey or vodka , therefore the highest alcohol concentration was only 14%, which is similar to a normal red wine or white wine. Once dilute by water, the alcohol concentration becomes much lower, and that people would not get drunk easily.
第三，聖經向來是以酗酒為罪，因為醉酒能使人做出愚蠢的事，創世記裡面就記載了兩個最早的醉酒事件，一個是在第九章，挪亞喝醉了，就赤著身子躺在帳棚裡，另一個醉酒事件，記載在第19章，羅得喝醉了，什麼事都不記得，甚至不知道自己與他的兩個女兒發生性關係，使她們都懷了孕。
Thirdly, the Bible does not encourage people to drink because drunkenness can make people do stupid things. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, recorded two incidents that related to drunkenness.
The first one was in chapter 9. Noah got drunk and lay naked inside his tent. Another incident is in chapter 19. Lot was so drunk that he could not remember anything, not even realized that he had sex with his two daughters and made both of them pregnant.
箴言20:1 說，「酒能使人褻慢，濃酒使人喧嚷；凡因酒錯誤的，就無智慧。」
Proverbs 20:1
Wine and beer make people loud and uncontrolled;
it is not wise to get drunk on them. (NCV)
在申命記21章也說到若有人的兒子是頑梗悖逆、 貪食好酒的人，眾人就要用石頭將他打死，把那惡從他們中間除掉。
Deuteronomy 21 also says, if a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, all the men of his town shall stone him to death, so that they could purge the evil from among them.
所以，不要以為耶穌將水變成酒，就是鼓勵大家多喝酒。並且保羅也在哥林多前書提醒大家，凡事都可行，但不都有益處，凡事都可行，但不都造就人，凡事都可行，但無論哪一件，我總不受它的轄制。
Therefore, do not think that Jesus change water to wine means that Jesus encourages people to drink. Paul also reminded people in 1 Corinthians that Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial.
Everything is permissible—but not everything is constructive.
Everything is permissible—but I will not be mastered by anything.
讓我們再回到約翰福音第二章。神蹟產生了，它帶出了什麼樣的結果呢？
Let us come back to John 2. What was the outcome of this miraculous sign?
第一，它顯出了耶穌的榮耀。耶穌是那位創造宇宙萬物的主宰，祂能使無變有，祂能改變東西的本質，祂超越自然界的限制，祂大有能力。
Firstly, this miracle revealed the glory of Jesus. It reveals that Jesus is the Lord of the Creation. He can make things out of nothing. He can change the essence of any item. He is supernatural and powerful.
第二，神蹟顯出了耶穌來到世界上的目的。「神蹟」這個字在約翰福音裡面是「記號」，也就是說，耶穌所行的神蹟，不是只為了顯出祂擁有超自然的能力，更不是要使人敬佩祂，而是一個「記號」，一個「指標」，要人們用信心的眼光去看那記號所指向的真理，也就是神的救贖工作。
Secondly, this miracle revealed the purpose of Jesus’ incarnation. Miracles in the gospel of John are always described as “miraculous signs”. In other word, when Jesus performed a miracle, it is not to show of his supernatural power, nor is it to make people admire him. Rather, a miracle is a sign like the road signs, pointing people to the truth, which is the salvation that God has provided.
第三，這個神蹟顯出了耶穌的性情，顯出了我們的神是一位滿有恩典的神。耶穌從來不為著自己私人的利益而行神蹟，祂所做的一切都是出於愛，因為祂就是愛。當耶穌將水變成酒的時候，這些酒不是普通的酒，而是上等的好酒，比新郎所預備最好的酒還要更好，這使得管筵席的忍不住地把新郎拉到一邊，質問他為何不遵照一般人上酒的習慣，先擺上好酒，後擺上次等的，(這就好像我們吃喜酒時，不會把龍蝦意麵留到最後才上桌)。
Thirdly, this miracle reveals the character of Jesus. It shows us that our God is a God of grace. Jesus never perform any miracle for his personal needs. Everything He has done are out of love for us, because He is love.
When Jesus changed water to wine, that wine was not a cheap wine but top quality wine. It was heaps better than the best wine that the bridegroom had prepared. This has made the master of the banquet called the bridegroom aside and questioned him why he didn’t follow the tradition of serving the best wine first.
因此我們可以看見，當耶穌行神蹟的時候，當祂給我們祝福的時候，祂是毫無保留地將最好的給了我們。不只是那六大缸的好酒，祂甚至將祂自己也毫無保留地給了我們。是的，祂已將自己的性命毫無保留地給了我們，你接受了嗎？
From this story, we see that whenever Jesus performs a miracle, whenever Jesus blesses others, He always gives the best without reservation. Not just those 6 stone jars of high quality good wine, but He also gave himself to us. Yes, He has given us his own life. Have you received it?
從這個神蹟，我們也可以看見我們的神是喜樂的神，想想看，祂第一個神蹟不是醫病或趕鬼，而是將水變成酒，使這場婚宴能順利地進行下去，不用再擔心有任何缺乏。你能想像那些出席婚宴的人有多快樂嗎？想像耶穌在他們中間，一起吃喝，一起跳舞，一起歡慶，這是一幅何等喜樂、何等美好的畫面。
From this miracle, we can see that our God is a God full of joy. Think about this, the very first miracle that Jesus performed was not healing the sick or cast out demons. It was changing water to wine, so that a wedding banquet could continue without interruption or lacking drinks again.
Can you imagine how joyful those people who were in that wedding banquet? Imagine Jesus was among them, eat together, drink together, dance together, and celebrate together. So happy, so beautiful.
最後，神蹟的出現，也帶來了挑戰，它使看見它的人必須做出決定，是要接受或是拒絕。如果我們仔細閱讀四福音，就會發現耶穌所行的每一個神蹟，都讓人不能否認那確實是出自超自然的力量，不論是使生下來就瞎眼的人重見光明，或是平靜風浪，或是使死人復活，或是用五個大麥餅和兩條小魚餵飽五千人，每一個事件都是叫人沒辦法用自然的角度去解釋，都是叫人不得不承認這確實是超自然的現象。唯一的問題就是，這個超自然力量的源頭是什麼？這是出自於魔鬼，還是出自於神？換句話說，神蹟使我們必須選擇我們到底要不要信靠行神蹟的這一位，從 2:11 我們知道門徒看見這神蹟，就信了耶穌。
Lastly, a miracle brings a challenge. It makes those who witness the miracle to make a choice. They have to decide whether to accept the miracle or to reject it. If we read the four gospels carefully, we can see that every miracle Jesus performed was so obviously by a supernatural power. Whether it was to open the eyes of a man who was born blind, or was calming a stormy sea. Whether it was to raise the dead back to live, or to feed 5000 people by 5 barley bread and 2 fish. Every time the miracle is simply unable to explain through natural science or magic tricks, which force people to believe that these are really supernatural events. The only question is this: What is the origin of this supernatural power? Is this power come from the demon or come from God? In other word, miracles force us to make a decision. We need to decide whether we want to put our trust in the one who performed the miracles. From 2:11, we know that the disciples put their faith in Jesus after seeing the miracle.
今天下午，你雖然沒有親眼看見耶穌將水變成酒，但是你讀了這個神蹟的記錄，你的回應是什麼呢？你相信神蹟嗎？門徒看見神蹟，就信了耶穌，可是我們不知道其他的人是否也跟著門徒一起信耶穌，神蹟不一定能產生信心。
Although you did not witness the miracle of Jesus changes water to wine. But after reading this miracle this morning, what is your respond? Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe the Miracle Maker? We know that the disciples believed in Jesus, but we do not know whether anyone else from that wedding banquet believed in Jesus. Miracles do not always produce faith.
反過來說，馬利亞在耶穌行神蹟之前，就已經信靠耶穌了，也因著她的信心，神蹟就產生了，使得新郎免去一場尷尬，反而能享受耶穌賜給他的特別禮物。你有沒有像馬利亞一樣，堅定不移的信靠耶穌，使你身邊的人得到神的祝福呢？
On the other hand, Mary has already put her faith in Jesus before Jesus performed his first miracle. And it was because of her faith, this miracle took place. The bridegroom did not loose his face. instead he could enjoy the special wedding gift from Jesus. Have you put your faith in Jesus like Mary, in order to bring blessings to those who are around you?
Let us pray:
Dear Jesus. I praise you for your abundant grace. You are the source of our joy. Open our eyes, Lord, so that in our daily routine we still can see your presence, your blessings and your wonderful deeds. Oh Lord, when we feel like we just couldn’t see you or your grace, please strengthen our faith, so that we can continue put our trust in you. Because you said, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. May our faith be strong that whether sees us can see your love and grace in us, and will give all the glory to you. We pray in the wonderful name of Jesus, Amen.
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