Signs 1: Water Into Wine

Good morning, church family! It’s great to be together on this 3rd Sunday in May. Whether you’re online or in the room, thanks for being a part of our family gathering to worship our Lord and Savior. I want to give a special word of thanks to Tommy Donham and Keith Treece, who worked on our lights several times over the last couple of weeks, and for the time being, they seem to be in working condition!

Announcements

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve mentioned that we are going to have a special time during Family Worship next week, May 22. We’re working with a church consulting group called Auxano, which is a subsidiary of Lifeway. Clint Grider is our church partner at Auxano, and he’s an ordained minister and has been so great in helping us pray and think and unpack this process that we’re going through. He loves our church and has been really a part of the family for us. Clint is here with us this morning, and I’d like to thank him for being here. Part of what Auxano is doing for and with us is called a church assessment, evaluating our mission, direction, and readiness for the next steps that God has in store for Eastern Hills. Part of that assessment is a church survey that we will take all at the same time during Family Worship next Sunday morning. We’d like to make this a high attendance Sunday, so we can get as many people to complete the survey at one time as possible. You will be able to take the survey if you are online. I mentioned last week that the group that Auxano asked us to put together for this process has created a document called our “Case for Support,” which sets out the direction that we believe God is calling us as a church to in the years to come. This Case for Support is on our website under the “Family Life” tab under Auxano Church Partnership. Please download, read, and pray about the Case for Support this week. We also have some hard copies of the Case for Support in the foyer on the Get Connected table. Please plan to be here next week to take the survey with the rest of the church family, if at all possible!

Business meeting moved to 5/22

Series Opening

This morning, we’re going to open our new sermon series, called “SIGNS” with a little test. No one will be grading it… it’s really just for fun and illustration. It’s a road sign test. Let’s see how well you do identifying the various signage you might find on roadways in New Mexico. Some of the signs will have important information removed from them to make it a little more difficult:

Stop

Speed Limit

Road Work Ahead

Slippery When Wet

Lane Ends Ahead

No Parking

Roundabout

Just for Fun

The connection to the road signs test is that each of those signs tells us something important about where we are on the road: the rules of the road for that moment, upcoming changes or dangers ahead, or facts that might be of interest to us as we drive.

The signs that Jesus performed that John recorded were signs that gave evidence of His deity and His being Messiah. These signs were given so that we could know and follow Jesus as our Savior and Lord. The issue, even today, is one of interpretation and attention. Just like it would be problematic to misinterpret or ignore road signs while driving, it’s problematic to misinterpret or ignore the signs that Jesus performed that show that He is the Messiah and that He is God.

There are seven of these signs in the Gospel of John (thus the 7 in the logo), but we are going to spend nine Sundays in this series. I hope you’ll plan to be here for all of them. This morning, we will look at the first sign, found in John 2. Let’s stand in honor of God’s Word together as we read our focal passage.

John 2:1–11 (CSB)

1 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, “They don’t have any wine.” 4 “What does that have to do with you and me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 “Do whatever he tells you,” his mother told the servants. 6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained twenty or thirty gallons. 7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.” And they did. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

PRAYER (Carlisle Community Baptist Church, Tim Tsoodle pastor)

Message Opening

The road sign opening illustration was kind of fitting for us this morning in another way. Sometimes, a road sign with an important warning might come up completely unexpectedly, and we come away from that experience feeling like we would have liked to have a little more notice. In John chapter 1, the first part of the chapter is dedicated to John’s declaration of Jesus’ identity as the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, the true light that gives light to everyone that had come into the world, the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The remainder of the chapter is spent on John the Baptist and Jesus calling some of His disciples: Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael, and one unnamed one (John?). The flow suddenly shifts into this narrative about a wedding, and at the end of that section, we are told that this was the first sign. If we are using a Bible with section headings like the CSB, we even find the description of this section to be sudden: “The First Sign: Turning Water Into Wine.” Like a road sign that comes up unexpectedly, we find ourselves a little shocked at how quickly John enters into this description of the first miraculous sign of Jesus’ divinity.

The narrative starts with the incredibly ordinary.

John 2:1–2 CSB

1 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well.

When I was in Israel in February, one thing that I would have liked to have seen was more of the area west of the Sea of Galilee. We didn’t go to Nazareth or to Cana (which is probably a town today called Khirbet Cana).

MAP

Nazareth is basically directly west of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee, and about halfway between the Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea, and Cana is about 8 miles directly north of Nazareth. Given the area, it’s not all that strange that both Jesus’ mother and Jesus were invited. It’s not even all that strange that Jesus’ disciples might have been invited, as Jesus hadn’t called all Twelve yet, and so probably only had four to six (four have been named to this point, and it is possible that John has been mentioned, and thus also possible James was there as well), all of whom were from the area of the Galilee. We can guess from Mary’s level of participation that this was a relative’s family or that of a very close family friend.

Weddings in ancient Israel were a big deal. The groom was expected to throw a celebration that lasted sometimes as long as a week, and was obligated to make sure that the food and wine on hand were enough to last the entire time, no matter how many guests were there. We see that a social catastrophe occurs at this feast:

John 2:3 CSB

3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, “They don’t have any wine.”

For most of us today, this was a culture that we might really find difficult to understand and identify with. Ancient Israel (and even modern Israel in many ways) was an honor/shame culture. For the bridegroom to not be able to provide for the wedding feast would have been a grave embarrassment, and one resource I read actually even suggested that a bride’s family could take some form of legal action against a bridegroom who failed to adequately host the wedding feast. In our culture, we would be more like, “well, it’s time to go home.” For this groom, this occurrence was a horrific first step in his married life.

So Mary, who incidentally is never actually named in John’s Gospel, she goes to Jesus and informs Him of the problem. Her taking it to Jesus might not have been particularly strange. He is, after all, her oldest son, and as we never see Joseph again after the incident at the Temple in Luke 2, we can safely assume that he has died by this point, so Jesus would be the son of Mary’s who could do something about the problem (even aside from the fact that He is God incarnate).

So for us this morning, it is in looking at Jesus’ response to this request in both His words and His actions that make up our consideration of this passage:

John 2:4–5 (CSB)

4 “What does that have to do with you and me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 “Do whatever he tells you,” his mother told the servants.

The first thing we need to address is Jesus’ response to Mary. We read the response as rude, and even condescending to His mother. He calls her “woman.” In that culture, especially at that time, this was not a condescending way of referring to one’s mother. While it’s not quite “mother,” neither is it an insult. In fact, in a scene much more “tender” than this one, Jesus refers to Mary in the exact same way:

John 19:25–26 CSB

25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.”

We certainly wouldn’t read rudeness or condescension into Jesus’ tone on the cross. In fact, we read into it great care and love because He is giving John the assignment of providing for Mary in His stead.

Now, to be fair, the rest of Jesus’ response back in John 2 is at the very least terse. He basically asks her why she sees that the wine is both her problem, and thus His problem to address. The reasoning for this brings us to our first point this morning:

1) Jesus kept the end in mind.

Scholars and commentators have all kinds of ways of looking at this exchange, and all kinds of ways that they interpret it. The rest of Jesus’ verbal response to Mary reveals to us why this implied request was a bit of an issue. Even at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus knew exactly where it was heading: directly to the cross. Jesus always had the end in mind throughout His earthly ministry, and He often referred to that fact, even if somewhat cryptically at first. Here, He was not cryptic at all:

John 2:4 (CSB)

4 “What does that have to do with you and me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”

He states that His “hour ha[d] not yet come.” The clearest way to understand this statement is to see it as referring to the time of His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection.

Even as soon as the end of this same chapter, Jesus tells the Jews who question His driving out the moneychangers that He would destroy this temple and raise it up in three days. John remarked that Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body:

John 2:21–22 CSB

21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.

One more example: When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in chapter 3, He compared Himself to the casting of a snake attached to a pole in the wilderness that Moses had to make in Numbers 21, so that those who looked at it would be delivered from snake bites. Jesus said:

John 3:14–15 CSB

14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus said that He had to be “lifted up” like the snake—put up on a pole for people to see, trust, and be saved. This is the heart of the Gospel message. Jesus came always knowing that He would die, and why He would die: to display the love of God by rescuing people from the punishment that our sins deserve, if we would just look to Him in faith. Jesus knew that He would rise again. Jesus knew that He would be glorified. This is why He spoke of His “hour.” John would connect this statement in 2:4 to Jesus’ last night and crucifixion later in his Gospel:

John 13:1 CSB

1 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

John 17:1 CSB

1 Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,

Jesus came because of love. And He kept that reason in sight throughout His earthly ministry. This thing that Mary was asking of Him was not going to turn Him aside from His task. We might like to think that a miraculous solution is what Mary had in mind, but I tend to doubt that it was. Her response was a display of her faith and trust in His ability to handle the situation, certainly, but if we think of it in terms of His overall ministry, it helps make sense of His response about His “hour.” Jesus has started His earthly ministry, and will only go in one direction. For Him to now leave and do the task of procuring more wine pulls Him away from His now driving mission, and His response to Mary gives the idea that He is drawing a line in the sand, so to speak. He is going one direction, and one direction only, until the appointed hour of its completion. His mother will not be able to ask Him to change direction any more.

And this take on His response actually helps in one more aspect: why did He turn the water into wine if He wasn’t going to be distracted from His mission? I believe that it is because turning the water into wine was a picture of His mission. Handling the problem the way Mary expected Him to wasn’t. Mary apparently still trusts that Jesus will handle the situation, and responds in that trust by saying, “Do whatever He tells you.” to the servants who were there. She is leaving the crisis in her Son’s capable hands. In this way, she is a model for us as well: in the surprising and the ordinary crises in life, we can put ourselves in Jesus’ hands. Mary gets a greater solution than she expected.

This brings us to our next point:

2) The sign pointed to something new.

So how could it be that Jesus could say that His hour had not yet come, and then turn the water into wine because it was a picture of His mission? How does that make any sense? It’s because of how Jesus provided the resolution to the problem with the wine. He performed this sign to reveal His glory (as we will see in verse 11), and in so doing, He pointed to something new and different. Look at verses 6-9:

John 2:6–9 CSB

6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained twenty or thirty gallons. 7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.” And they did. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom

These large stone jars were set out to be used for purification, probably washing of hands and utensils. And they were carved from stone because under Jewish law, true stone was less likely to become unclean than earthenware pots. The water was needed for the religious rules to be followed.

Jesus decided to use these pots to solve the problem with the wine. He instructed the servants to fill them back up with water. I don’t think they were completely empty, but neither were they completely full. They were approaching a place of being no longer useful even for the purpose they originally had, and now Jesus completely redefined their purpose.

The servants, listening to Mary’s instruction, fill the pots completely to the brim with water. There’s no room for anything else. We often think of the pots as now being filled with wine, but it really appears from the text that the water in the jars was still just water. Even the verb used for “draw” is the verb normally used for drawing water from a well. The servants (with probably a lot of personal risk) took some of the water to the “headwaiter” (basically the person officially in charge of the servants at the feast), and somewhere between the two, the water became wine.

So how does this sign point to something new?

Jesus repurposed the ceremonial jars for purification and turned them into jars of provision, jars of deliverance, jars of celebration! No longer were they filled with the mere water of religious observance, but instead they were filled with the needed drink for the party of the bridegroom! No longer did the pots remind the people of shame before God because of their uncleanness, but instead they became the means by which the shame of the groom that day would be erased! No longer did the pots hold the water of ritual, but the wine of relationship!

The picture of Jesus’ mission that He put on display at the wedding feast of Cana was the same picture that He put on display at the Last Supper, when He again was with His disciples, and now He took the wine of the Jewish observance of Passover and again repurposed it by declaring that it meant something new and different from then on:

Matthew 26:27–29 CSB

27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

The wine of the Passover feast is now reinterpreted, and symbolizes the blood of Jesus, poured out for our purification. It’s come full circle. The water of purification became the wine of relationship, and through that relationship, the wine becomes the blood that truly purifies us. It’s no longer about religious ritual, but about a restored relationship through what Jesus has done. Through faith in Jesus, we have direct access to God. Through faith in Jesus, we have the presence of His Spirit in our lives. Through faith in Jesus, we ourselves are made completely new.

And not only does the sign point to something new, but to something better.

3) The sign pointed to something better.

So not only was the sign of turning the water into wine a picture of Jesus’ mission because it pointed to something new, but also because it pointed to something better. At this point in the celebration feast, there is no telling how long the guests have been there. Certainly this is not the beginning of the feast, and in fact, we can see from the headwaiter’s response that it is nearing the end.

John 2:9–10 CSB

9 When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.”

Apparently the standard practice of these wedding celebrations was that the groom would put out the expensive wine first, while everyone was fresh, and then put out lesser and lesser quality of wine, perhaps even greatly diluted wine, as the party progressed. But now, the headwaiter tastes the water that has become wine, and he is so impressed that he approaches the groom (who likely didn’t have a clue) and complements him on his extravagant gift to his guests: he has brought out the very finest of wines at the point in the wedding where others would be bringing out the cheapest they had.

What an incredible reversal! Jesus not only prevents this groom from experiencing the shame of running out of wine, but He actually provides for him a means of being honored. What could be better than that?

But the meaning behind this for Jesus’ ministry is that Jesus is better. The law, represented by the pots, could never have saved. Instead, the law just pointed us to our need for something better—our need for God Himself to rescue us because we could never be good enough on our own. As John wrote in chapter 1 of this Gospel:

John 1:16–18 CSB

16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, 17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.

And Jesus has revealed the Father by revealing His own glory, so that those who look to Jesus for their salvation are looking to God Himself, because whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father:

John 14:7–9 CSB

7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Look to Jesus for your salvation. You can’t save yourself. Jesus is better. You can’t earn forgiveness. Jesus is better. You can’t reach God through chants or money or religion or being a “good person.” Jesus is the only way. Jesus is better. Surrender to Jesus Christ, trusting Him to save you. Jesus is better.

Believer: is Jesus better in your eyes? Is He better than anything else the world might offer? Better than the sin that wants to control you? Better than the things that become idols that pull us away from Him? Is Jesus better?

Closing

John closed this narrative by telling us that this display of Jesus’ glory was only the first sign:

John 2:11 CSB

11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

The great thing about this statement by John is that when we see the first sign, we know that more are coming. I’m looking forward to going on this journey together. And my prayer is that as we look at these signs that Jesus performed that showcased His glory and proved that He is both God and Messiah, that the faith of the church will be deepened, our worship of Christ will be strengthened, and that those who have never trusted in Jesus for their salvation would be convicted.

Jesus died so we could be forgiven, if we will surrender our lives to His work. He beat death and rose so that we could live with Him if we have trusted in His death for our forgiveness, a picture that we saw at the beginning of this service in the baptisms. What a great picture of the way of salvation that Jesus has provided! If you have never trusted in Jesus for your salvation, I plead with you: surrender to Christ in faith right now. INVITE

Church membership

Conviction and prayer

Giving

PRAYER

Closing Remarks

VBS Volunteers needed (10 would be great)

Updating Church Family Directory pictures

Bible reading: 2 Kings 2 today

Instructions for guests

Benediction

Romans 10:9–13 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

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