The Word Became Flesh
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Last week we looked at what was in a name. Where we saw that Jesus’ names show us that He is God. That the Word was God.
Now this week we are going to look at how the Word became Flesh!
John 2:1-12 is our text this morning where we see that Jesus goes to a wedding in Cana.
Introduction:
Jesus is the lamb of God and this is made known to us in John 1:33-34
And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
We learned this lesson last week and now this week we are certainly learning that He is God in the flesh.
Jesus’ first miracle happened not in the temple but at a wedding in a private home. Jesus’ earthly ministry begins at a wedding.
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
Weddings in the East are different than the West. In the West it is all about the Bride but in the East it is all about the groom. Not only is it all about the groom but the groom pays for the entire affair. There is also an open house for wedding guest for the entire week and the couple hosts the affair.
The setting for Jesus’ first miracle is given in verses one and two,
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
Why was a miracle needed here at all?
This morning I want you to notice three things with me about this miracle.
The Reason for the Miracle
John 2:3-5
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
The Request of Mary
The Request of Mary
“And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."
Apparently, the amount of wine needed for the wedding feast has been underestimated.
Whenever one is trying to figure out how much we need for a function it is hard to know for sure. It is something I always find hard to do. I end up over doing it than underdoing it. I guess I was taught better to have too much than too little. There is the ever present fear that supplies will run out before everyone has been served.
The problem is that the wine had run out and there appears to be no solution. Either there is no more wine available or there is no money to purchase more wine.
So Mary takes the problem to Jesus. This in no mere report and although we really have no way of knowing what Mary’s expectations were when she made this statement to Jesus, she informs Him with the hope that He might do something about the situation.
Mary knew who Jesus is. Also, she knew he would be able to handle the problem however it needed to be handled.
Jesus’ response
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Although in English Jesus’ use of the term “Woman” in addressing His mother seems harsh and abrupt, it was in fact a common term. It is the same form of address He used with the woman at the well (John 4:21) and with the woman taken in adultery (John 8:10) and with Mary Magdalene at the Tomb (John 20:15).
It is also the same form of address He uses from the Cross to commend her into the Apostle John’s care (John 19:26). There is no harshness in his voice on any of those occasions.
Jesus goes on to say, “What does your concern have to do with Me?” (v. 4). A literal translation of the Greek phrase would be, Jesus is asking his mother just what has caused her to think the problem was His problem as well as hers. It is as though Mary has said, “Jesus, they are out of wine and WE need to do something!”
Jesus responds in like matter with “Ma’am what do you mean we!” Jesus is asserting that not only is he a grown man no longer under the authority of his mother but he is the Messiah!
Jesus’ response seems to be setting new parameters in his relationship with his mother. For many years (Jesus is now 30 yrs old) she has raised Jesus as her son. It is perhaps a gentle reminder that she could no longer view him as other mother’s viewed their sons.
The only time that Mary is ever recorded as asking something of Jesus, she ends up simply turning to the servants and In verse five says, “….Whatever He says to you, do it.” That is still good advice!
Jesus adds, “My hour has not yet come.”
This must surely mean it is not yet time for me to act. Not until the till the wine was completely exhausted would his hour have arrived. All other help must fail before the hour for a miracle has arrived.
Notice Not Only the Reason for the Miracle but… that there will be a miracle.
Mary knows this for certain and tells the disciples to make sure they do whatever he tells them to do in verse 5. Mary knows Jesus is going to do something to help.
The Reassurance of the Miracle
The Reassurance of the Miracle
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so,
There were six stone water-pots that were used by the people who attended the wedding for ceremonial washing (according to Jewish customs people’s hands had to be washed before a meal), each of these pots would have held 20-30 gallons. Multiply 20-30 gallons by six and you have some 120-180 gallons.
Jesus does not wave his arms over the water-pots nor does He speak some magical incantation, there is no hocus-pocus no mumbo-jumbo in which he commands the water to become wine. It appears that He never even touched the water in the pots. The water simply becomes wine.
We do not even know for sure at what point it became wine. Somewhere between the water pots and the master of the feast the water became wine.
It should perhaps also be noted that perhaps many miracles today occur in ways that seem so natural that they are not even recognized as miracles.
The Results of the Miracle
The Results of the Miracle
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 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.”
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.
In verse eleven, John says “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”
The Greek word (semeion) translated here as “sign” occurs 77 times in the New Testament, and is used to identify an act which calls for the exercise of supernatural power (John 20:30-31).
The miracle stories confront us with the question of whether the power of God was or was not revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The disciples had already believed in Jesus as least to the extent that they understood him. The disciples had only recently begun to follow Jesus and it was only two days before the wedding in Cana that Philip and Nathanael had been called to follow Him.
What the miracle in Cana did for them was to deepen their existing faith rather than to bring them to faith. They already believed in Jesus, but their faith grew and was strengthened.
When John tells the story of the wedding in Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle he wants us to believe in Jesus and the Father who sent him. And if we already believe he wants our faith to be strengthened.
Conclusion:
Four Things We Can We Learn From this Miracle:
•This Miracle Assures Us That Jesus is even Concerned About the Little Things In Life.
It is encouraging to note that the Lord’s first miracle is one that many would consider non-essential. A shortage of wine at a wedding may not seem like a big deal but Warren Weirsbe points out that it was necessary for the groom in those days to have adequate provision at the wedding.
It would be extremely embarrassing for him and his family to run out of food or wine. If the supplies had run out at a wedding feast, the family and the young couple would never have lived down the shame.
It is unlikely that Jesus would have performed a miracle just to save someone from a minor social embarrassment. What Jesus did was He rescued this young couple from a financial liability which had the potential to cripple them financially for years.
•This Miracle Assures Us That When God Takes Something That Is Ordinary He Makes It Into Something Wonderful.
John specifically points out the water pots were “for the Jewish purification rites” (v. 6). To eat with unwashed hands was an act of defilement. Therefore whenever guest arrived, water from these pots was poured over their hands in a ritual cleansing.
Jesus took the water from these water-pots and turned it into fine wine, the finest that the master of ceremonies had ever tasted. Nothing is ordinary after Jesus has touched it.
By the same token, the Lord takes some very fallible vessels, men like James, and John, Peter and Andrews, Philip and Nathanael and makes them in men who ultimately turned the world upside down.
•This Miracle Assures Us That With God
The Best Comes Last!
We are assured that the best comes last. The devil however, gives his best first. He lures us into sin with promises he cannot and does not intend to keep and doles out his trinkets up front. Whatever passing pleasures he does hand out in this life will be best that will ever be experienced. The devil never shows you where he is taking you; he only shows you the next enticing step.
Sometimes our heavenly Father gives us a bitter cup to begin with, perhaps the cup of conviction of sin, but its purpose is that we might take the cup of salvation.
Sometimes He gives us the cup of loneliness that we might drink from the cup of His presence. Or we are asked to drink from the cup of failure that we might remember that we serve Him alone.
But the day is coming in which our fortune will be reversed:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
•This Miracle Assures Us That God’s Provision is Always Abundant.
Jesus created over 120 gallons of fine wine, this is certainly more than was needed for the wedding.
Yet I think the amount is literal and that Jesus intentionally produced the wine in abundance.
The young couple would be able to sell the excess and start their married life with an asset instead of a crippling liability.
Not Only Notice the Reassurance of this Miracle but…
What miracle are you asking God for?
I know in this week of prayer there have been many days we have had emphasized. There are many people looking for God to do something in their lives, through the many prayer requests we have come our way.
This morning I ask you to take a moment write down a miracle that you are waiting on God to answer...
Write it in the comments of this service if you would like to share it and have others pray with you. But know the miracle working Savior is still able to perform miracles.
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Do not loose heart be encouraged my friends!