2021 - 11 - 21 Spent some time n private prayer.

Welcome

I Greet you and welcome you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord

Chorus - 121 All over the world https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF9h9n19yz0

Chorus - 93 Change my heart O God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUjUvoynGMM

Confession of sin

Hymn - 116 Our eyes have seen the glory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maty13s_db4 Bruce please edit out the comments at the end of this song

The Power, Passion, and Promise of Jesus

John 2

Main Idea: Jesus’s own example and testimony are presented as evidence he is the Christ.

Bruce, if I colour something in red as below, it must be on a slide

Pop this whole outline on at the begining of the sermon please

I. The Power of Jesus (2:1–12)

A. Jesus has the power to transform water into wine.

B. Jesus has the power to transform people’s lives.

II. The Passion of Jesus (2:13–17) III. The Promise of Jesus (2:18–22) IV. Application

A. Remember the resurrection.

B. Recognize Jesus throughout the Old Testament.

C. Realize his power to transform.

New Slide

What we believe matters.

If we believe the economy is struggling, we choose not to invest extra money in retirement.

If we believe our children’s education is important, we hold off buying a new boat and instead save extra money for their future.

If we believe spending time with our children is vital, we turn down the job that takes us away from home.

If we believe a college degree matters, we say no to the party in order to study and pass the class.

What you believe is important, but ..-.. how did you come to believe it?

The apostle John understands how important it is to believe in Jesus, so he lays out a detailed analysis of Jesus’s life.

He presents evidence Jesus is uniquely trustworthy.

In chapter 1 John presented four men who made bold and convincing endorsements of Jesus, and in chapter 2 John spotlights Jesus’s own example and testimony as proof he is the Christ.

The Power of Jesus John 2:1–12

Jesus and his disciples are invited to a wedding. Jesus’s mother, Mary, seems to be involved in the wedding, so it may be that of a family member or family friend. They arrive and something terrible happens: the hosts run out of wine. Oinos. Running out of wine is a big deal. It’s the groom’s responsibility to provide fitting hospitality to all of the guests. To run out of wine is insulting to everyone who’s there. I do not think someone can run to the grocery store and pick up some more beverages. They’re stuck—out of luck. Mary walks over and fills Jesus in on the situation: “They don’t have any wine” (v. 3). Mary isn’t sharing the latest gossip with Jesus. She wants him to do something about it. He responds, “What does that have to do with you and me, woman?” (v. 4).

{Aside} If you or I called our mother “woman,” it would be disrespectful, but in that culture this title was not mean, rude, or disrespectful. In fact, it’s the same way Jesus addresses Mary when he’s dying on the cross: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son’ ” (John 19:26). In that context Jesus called Mary “woman” while caring for his mother. He made sure she would be cared for after his death. This title is not disrespectful, but it does demonstrate less attachment than another title might. Jesus could say, “Mother,” but he doesn’t. Mary has to learn to approach Jesus like everyone else—as a sinner in need of a Savior. Their relationship has fundamentally changed now that Jesus is embarking on his public ministry. No matter who you are, there’s only one way to come to Jesus: as a sinner in need of help. You could translate Jesus’s question this way: “Why do you involve me?” He did not come to earth to do what man wanted. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus demonstrates a single-minded focus to accomplish his Father’s will (4:34; 17:4).

He did not come to obey mankind—even his mother—but God. He did obey his mother. He never sinned. But Jesus did not leave heaven to please men. Otherwise he never would have offered his life as a sacrifice for sin. If he responded to what men desired from him, he would have filled bellies, healed diseases, and overthrown Rome, and then all humanity would have died and gone to hell. Jesus tells her, “My hour has not yet come” (v. 4). As we travel through the Gospel of John, the “hour” Jesus refers to guides our journey.

In chapter 7 John adds this note: “Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come” (7:30).

We find a similar statement in chapter 8.

At the end of chapter 12, after Jesus has made his final, triumphal entry into Jerusalem and he is preparing to lay his life down as the perfect Passover lamb, he says to his disciples,

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23).

The hour is the time of his suffering and death.

The hour is the pinnacle of human history, when the perfect Son of God became sin for us so that we might be made righteous.

The hour is the reason Jesus came to earth. He came to offer his life on the cross for our sin.

He was born for this hour.

He was born to die. If you combine this statement about his “hour” with an understanding of his purpose to do his Father’s will, you’ll see early on that Jesus came for a greater and grander purpose than even his mother or disciples realized at the time.

In spite of his mild rebuke, Mary is confident Jesus could and would do something (v. 5).

I wonder if she had seen Jesus doing things during his childhood or teenage years, thus had confidence in His ability?

She demonstrated faith—a willingness to leave it in his hands, confident that whatever he said and did was best.

Wow, was she right!

He makes the servants fill six large, stone water jars (each of which held between twenty and thirty gallons) to the brim (vv. 6–7).

This was no trick by a cunning magician; there was no room left to slip something into the jars. Clear water was pulled from the well, poured into each pitcher until it reached the top, and when water was scooped from the pot, it was no longer water but wine. No hocus-pocus. No waving the hands. Without any outward sign Jesus is able to transform one substance into another.

Why does this account give the purpose of the water jars (v. 6)?

Is it more impressive to turn water into wine if it’s in jars used for purification?

The inclusion of this detail shows us that the rituals associated with the old covenant are giving way to something far greater.

The shadow found in the law has been replaced by the substance.

Now that Jesus is here, things have changed.

The water of ceremony has been replaced with something far better.

External purification has given way to internal cleansing.

The servants take the wine to the headwaiter, and he’s startled (v. 10). Apparently, the tradition was to use the best wine first, but the wine Jesus creates is far superior to what they had before.

Even the quality of the wine testifies to the extraordinary nature of what Jesus did. It’s so good that those who know what happened can draw no other conclusion than that it’s miraculous.

The point of this story is to reveal the power of Jesus. We see that power revealed in two ways.

Jesus Has the Power to Transform Water into Wine

If I invited you to my house, showed you a bottle of water, and asked you to transform it into something else, an entirely different beverage, and you had to do it instantaneously without touching the water or even the bottle, could you do it? Of course not. Neither can I. What does that mean? It means there’s something different about Jesus. He can do it. What are we going to do with this story about Jesus? We have two choices.

Choice one: say it’s not true. The Bible can’t be trusted. The story is a fairy tale, and all who believe it are foolish.

Choice two: realize the uniqueness of Jesus. He did something miraculous.

How can he do this?

The Bible says he can do it because he is the Creator.

Jesus also has the Power to Transform People’s Lives

This story ends with an editorial comment by John (v. 11).

There are three key words in verse 11: signs, glory, and believe.

Signs D. A. Carson writes about signs: John prefers the simple word “signs”: Jesus’s miracles are never simply naked displays of power, still less neat conjuring tricks to impress the masses, but signs, significant displays of power that point beyond themselves to the deeper realities that could be perceived with the eyes of faith. (John, 175)

Glory The glory of Jesus is made visible in this act. By performing this miracle, Jesus clearly shows one of his divine attributes. His disciples saw his divine power on display, and they believed. The point of this account is not that Jesus can meet needs.

Believe The point is that Jesus is uniquely the Son of God here to do God’s work, and we need to believe him. The power of Jesus to transform water into wine is amazing, but the power to transform a rebellious sinner into a saint is even more remarkable.

In this passage we begin to see this transformation take place in the lives of his disciples as they’re trusting in him and their faith in him grows.

They hear the testimony of John the Baptist and begin to believe.

The works and words of Jesus convince them even further, and as they trust in him, they are transformed from lowly fisherman to bold witnesses of his unmatched power.

Bruce Sermon Ends here -

Notices John Oberholtzer.

Collection

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Prayers of intercession

Hymn - 67 To God be the glory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-15v9iworAU

Benediction Isaiah 61:11 and Numbers 6:24-26

For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Now unto Him Benediction page 1 of St. Paul’s Chorus Book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAx6FCXctwU

Go with God.