Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Men, has your wife ever casually said to you, “Trash day is tomorrow”?

When she says that, is she just simply informing you of a fact?

Of course not!

There’s a deeper implication to that statement, isn’t there?

But, oftentimes we men miss those deeper insinuations and just think our wives are making a random statement.

Have you ever read a passage of Scripture and thought to yourself, “I think there’s something more here that I’m missing.

There seems to be a deeper significance to this passage than what is evident at first glance.”

That’s happened to me frequently over the years, and usually, after a lot of careful studying, I find that there’s some cultural or historical difference between me and the original author and audience of the text which prevents me from understanding it fully.

Fortunately, most passages are pretty simple, but occasionally, we run into one of these challenging passages which forces us to think a little.

Our passage this morning is one of those kinds of passage.

On the surface, it’s pretty straightforward.

Jesus, his disciples, and his mother go to a wedding.

The wedding host runs out of wine for his guests.

Jesus turns water into wine.

Everyone is happy.

But all throughout John’s gospel, as we will see, he weaves in two layers of meaning.

In almost every passage in John, there is a surface level, physical meaning and a much deeper spiritual meaning.

This shows up in a number of Jesus’ metaphors— "I am the bread of life…unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you.”

(Jn.

6:53) Jesus chides Nicodemus for misinterpreting his commands and thinking that he has to be physically “born again.”

There’s a deeper meaning, a spiritual meaning that Nicodemus was missing.

Now, you don’t want to go allegorizing the whole Bible.

Not every author in Scripture uses this method.

But John cues us in to his method from the very first verse in his Gospel by using the metaphor of the “Word” to describe Jesus.

So, we’re justified in looking beyond the surface level when we’re reading John.

This is one of those types of passages.

So, we’re going to spend some time this morning digging into the background of this passage so that we can see the spiritual truths which John is trying to communicate to us.

Read

Some Cultural Obstacles to overcome.

The use of alcohol by Jesus and his disciples

In our culture—Southern, American, evangelical, Bible-belt Baptists—drinking is taboo.

So one of the first obstacles to our understanding this passage occurs when we realize that Jesus turned water into....wine?

Really?

I’ve heard a number of different “solutions” posed to this problem:

“The word for ‘wine’ is really more like grape juice.”

“The wine back then was fermented, but not nearly as alcoholic as today’s wine.”

“The water back then was tainted, so it was safer to drink wine than water.”

Or, my personal favorite, “I know that Jesus drank wine, but I sure wish he hadn’t.”

There are elements of truth to some of these objections, but none of them are really sufficient to “solve” the “problem.”

While there are several words in Greek which refer to various types of drinks, none of them—least of all οἴνος—refer to grape juice.

With a lack of refrigeration, grape juice would have spoiled quickly and would have been a very impractical drink.

There was a type of “wine” which was very commonly used back then which was less alcoholic than most of our modern wines.

This type of wine was called ὀξος, usually translated as “sour wine” or “wine vinegar” in most English translations.

It was a lesser quality wine with a high vinegar content, often diluted with water, and was far cheaper than the more expensive, good quality wine.

This “wine vinegar” was still alcoholic, but less so, and it was one of the primary drinks consumed by first century Jews.

This was the type of wine offered to Jesus on the cross.

But, it’s not what Jesus made at the wedding in Cana.

Of the range of words used in Scripture, the one used here in John 2 is οἴνος, which refers to the higher quality “good stuff,” as John makes clear in verse 10.

Water definitely is a dangerous thing when it’s not purified.

As missionaries in a third world country, we know that all too well.

But, we also know from Scripture that people drank water frequently.

Rain water was collected in cisterns—large, dugout containers—or accessed via wells.

In either of these methods, the water was reasonably safe to drink, and people drank it frequently.

Regardless, if wine or alcohol was inherently evil, then no excuse would suffice to make it acceptable to consume.

Better to cut off your hand than for your whole body to perish.

Better to die of thirst than to consume that which is forbidden.

So this objection—that the water wasn’t safe—ironically doesn’t hold water.

I once heard a Bible teacher whom I love and respect deeply, who realized the truth that Jesus turned water into real wine and that he and his disciples drank real wine, but simply couldn’t reconcile that with his understanding of the evil of alcohol, exasperatedly conclude, “I know that Jesus drank, but I sure wish he hadn’t.”

Well, at least that’s honest.

But, I think we can safely say that if our theology conflicts with Jesus, it’s probably us that need to change our theology, not the other way around.

The discomfort we have with Jesus drinking comes from a simple misunderstanding of Scripture’s teaching on alcohol.

So, how does Scripture view alcohol?

We don’t have time to examine every verse in Scripture about alcohol, but we’ll look at a few real quick.

First, the Bible views wine as a gift from God, something to be consumed in moderation and in faith with thanksgiving.

Passages which demonstrate that wine/alcohol has a proper use:

Ex 29:40, Lev 23:13 (Wine is commanded to be offered as a drink offering)

Deut 14:22-27 (Wine or "strong drink" to be consumed as part of their tithe with rejoicing and given to Levites, cf.

Num 18:12, 21)

Is 62:8-9 (God promises restoration of Israel's crops and wine and that they will eat and "drink it in the courts of my sanctuary")

Jer 31:1, 5, 12 (A great feast will happen when God restores his people's fortune, and the people will "plant vineyards" and thank God for "the grain, the wine, and the oil")

Joe 2:18-19 (God promises to restore his people and send them "grain, wine, and oil")

Mt 11:18-19 (Jesus rebukes the crowd for their sinful judgments.

John abstains from alcohol and is assumed possessed, Jesus eats and drinks with sinners and is assumed a drunkard and glutton.)

Mt 26:26-29 (Jesus and the disciples celebrate Passover with wine)

Mk 2:18-22 (Jesus uses wine and wineskins as a metaphor for the New Covenant)

However, Scripture also sternly warns against the evil of drunkenness and the potential danger of alcohol.

Passages which warn of the dangers of alcohol:

Pro 20:1 (General warning against being "led astray" by wine)

Gen 9:20-23 (Noah gets drunk and lays exposed)

Lev 10:8-9 (Levites forbidden to drink wine as part of their ritual purification before entering the Tabernacle/Temple)

Deut 21:18-21 (Rebellious son, a "drunkard and glutton," is to be stoned)

Is 5:11 (Judgment pronounced on those who "rise early...to run after strong drink")

So, how do we reconcile the two?

Should we all drink?

Should we all abstain, just to be safe?

The general rule is that you should follow your conscience and operate out of love and faith.

The act of drinking in moderation is morally neutral, if done properly.

“We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.”

(v.

8) Think of guns, drugs, and sex.

None of these are inherently evil.

Each has a proper and God-glorifying use.

Each of these has been perverted and corrupted in our culture and used for great evil.

Don’t drink if you’re a recovering or former alcoholic, or know that you will be tempted to overindulge.

Don’t drink if you’re in the presence of someone who is a former alcoholic or might be encouraged by your drinking to get drunk.

Don’t drink if your mind wavers or you feel guilty.

Do drink if you can do so without getting drunk.

Do drink if you can do so with a clear conscience, in faith, being fully convinced in your mind that it is not sin, giving thanks to God.

Resist the urge to judge Christians for their drinking or abstinence.