January 21, 2007                                              John 2:1-11

 

            1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."

            4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."

            5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

            6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

            7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.

            8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."

            They did so, 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 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."

            11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. (NIV)

 

            Sometimes it takes a long time for people to find their niche in life - that one thing that they are really special at and excel at.  Other people know it right away.  The artist or the musician knows from pretty early on what he is capable of.  Of such people they are called, “naturally born.”  So you hear mothers or teachers say of someone popular or successful, “I knew he’d be something special someday.”  Yet some people never do find their niche in life, either because they don’t have the opportunity - or they had the opportunity but were too afraid to take it.  They look back at their life and say, “only if. . .” 

             There would be no “only if’s” in Jesus’ life.  He was a naturally born Messiah - and He knew it.  Yet throughout his first 30 years of life, it may have appeared that he hadn’t found his niche.  That time was over.  It was time for Him to shine.  Let’s see it with wine. 

 

Watch Jesus Shine as Water Turns to Wine

 

I.  Jesus shines when and where he wants to

 

            Our story for today put Mary and six disciples in Cana for a wedding.  This period of Jesus’ ministry is very interesting in some respects.  He had been baptized and then gone to the desert - returned - and now had six disciples following Him.  Joseph is no longer present, so it is assumed he died.  Yet Mary was still there - now at a wedding with Jesus.  You can’t help but imagine that Jesus talked about God’s Word in their home.  How specific was He?  Did He talk about the specifics of His saving plan with his own family?   Even at age 12 the rabbis were amazed at his questions and depth of insight.  Jesus wouldn’t have been like so many of our family members who might talk about God in Bible class at most - but then never mention him around the family table.  So I would imagine that Mary knew that as the Christ and as God in flesh Jesus had the ability to perform all kinds of miracles.  Wouldn’t Jesus have said as much? 

            What I’m trying to do is to have you put yourself in Mary’s shoes.  Imagine having lived thirty years with Jesus - having raised Him or just lived with Him as your older brother.  In Mel Gibson’s movie “the Passion” I thought it had some powerful conjectures on the happiness that Mary must have had at raising such a boy.  Up to this point she had silently witnessed what a perfect child Jesus really was - how wise and obedient and faithful He wass.  For thirty years she waited for the words of Gabriel to show themselves.  Now Jesus had six disciples.  Jesus had been baptized with water.  Everything was coming to light.  It would appear that Mary simply couldn’t wait any longer.  When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."

            Obviously, Mary was expecting Jesus to do something about it.  It’s kind of like when your wife says to you, “honey, the garbage is full.”  Obviously, she is not saying that just as an innocent observation.  She is kindly asking you to perform your duty without asking you to do it.  You don’t have to respond, “and your point is?”  You know what her point is.  How many times might Mary have turned to Jesus and said, “there’s a leak in the wall, the table is broken,” or “your brother needs help.”  When Joseph was gone Jesus most likely gladly took on the role as the man of the house.  Here was the problem - Jesus was now at work - and Mary was treating Jesus like He was still at home.  Imagine if your mom came to your place of employment and started giving you tips on how to be a better boss or employee!  Not only would it be embarrassing, but she would also most likely have no idea what she was talking about.

            This was not her place, and Jesus let her know as much.  "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."   Notice how Jesus addresses his mother at this point.   Instead of calling her “mom,” He simply calls her, “woman.”  This was not meant to be a diss on women.  It was just a formal address, meant to remind Mary that when it came to Jesus’ public ministry she had no authority over him - no more than any woman in the world.  He would do the choosing as to when and where He would let His true colors shine. 

            This temptation, unfortunately is not only bound to women.  The same attitude is found in the prayers that we let out of our mouths at different times and in different ways.  Remember when Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier?  How many Christians didn’t want the Christian to let the Muslim know the true God is?  Wouldn’t it be nice if God would give just a miracle cure to your uncle who has that incurable cancer?  Wouldn’t it be something if He just helped you to win the jackpot of the Lottery instead of making you work for your money?  Wouldn’t that be a great testimony  - “hey Jesus, over here!  I’ve got the perfect place for you to shine!  Hurry up!” 

            Yet what is the real motivation behind these requests?  What was Mary’s motivation - was she perhaps doing this from a proud mother’s perspective?  How many times are our prayers laced with just plain bad motives - motives of personal revenge or pride?  How many times do they just come from a lack of patience and trust in God’s time table?  Do we forget that just because God calls us His helper - and just because we are His baptized children - it doesn’t make us the boss and it doesn’t make God our whipping boy.  God isn’t dumb.  He knows our hearts.  He says to us, “boy, girl, man, woman - what is this to you and me?  Since when did you get elected to run my calendar?  Don’t be bossing me around and treating me like your little puppet that has to go where you want me to when you want me to.  I will act when I want to and how I want to.  You are not the boss of me.”  Even with our status as “saints” do not forget that this status was not earned - and do not forget that you are still the slave of Christ - and not vice versa.  When you find yourself starting to get bossy with God, it might be a good idea to remind yourself of who you are - just a boy, girl, man or woman.

 

II.  Jesus shines how he wants to

 

            In spite of Jesus’ response - Mary seemed to feel that Jesus was going to do as she asked.  His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."  That’s when Jesus did it.  In the middle of this approximately week long celebration, Jesus spoke a simple word, required a simple action from the servants - and through the process ended up turning water into wine - His first miracle. 

            Out of all of the places in the world - is this where you have chosen to perform your first miracle - in the small town of Cana?  And out of all of the miracles in the world you could have done, would you have done this one?  Jesus did many other miracles after this - walking on water, stilling a storm, and even raising the dead - but this one seems so small and insignificant.  A majority of the guests probably did not even realize what had happened.  The wine taster had no clue.  Yet Jesus chose this miracle to show his power. 

            This reminds me of the time of Elisha - where miracles from God seemed to come att a dime a dozen.  2 Kings chapter 4 tells of how Elisha provided a widow of a prophet with a miraculous flow of oil to sell to her debtors.  A little while later he performs another miracle to help a man find a lost axhead.  When you read these stories in the Bible - they seem so meaningless in the big picture of things.  What difference does a found axhead have in the world?  What does it really matter in the big picture of things whether this man had wine or not at his wedding?  It seems so small and insignificant.

            Yet when you think about it - it’s that very concept that sets our God apart from any man made fabrications of God.  If man were to write this story, Jesus would have performed a huge and powerful miracle in the middle of Jerusalem - perhaps having the clouds split apart and then calling angels down to earth.  Yet God - in His wisdom - chose to reveal His glory in a hidden manner - where probably a majority of the people at the wedding didn’t even realize what had happened - and even if they were told about it they probably wouldn’t have believed it.  So we see how God likes to work.  Even when He does perform miracles - He manages to do it in an almost dull andd hidden manner - if that is possible.  In his wildest imagination man would never choose such a seemingly insignificant and dull way to let our own light shine.

            This first miracle then lays for us the modus operandi of God in the flesh.  It shows us how Jesus would work.  When Jesus would perform miracles, he would tell those who were cured not to tell anyone.   When Jesus walked on water and stilled the storm - it was only in front of the twelve discipples.  When the people tried to make Him bread King after feeding five thousand of them - He immediately left the scene.  He wanted to reveal Himself - but even in the midst of this He still seemed to want to do these miracles in an almost hidden way.  So we see how Jesus was trying to reveal Himself - a glamourous God without the glamour.  A glorious God without the glitz.  Isn’t it then fitting that the last miracle that Jesus performed in His humiliation was the most unflattering thing that he could do - to die on a cross.  Yet in the midst of this terrible suffering and death we hear Jesus proclaiming that our sins have been paid in full.  We hear Him trusting in the Father - knowing that He will accept His sacrifice for our sins.  The most glorious miracle of Jesus was the ugliest and darkest act He performed - of dying on a cross.  All of this started with a seemingly dull miracle of turning water into wine.

            So if you want to find miracles - learn to find them in the dull and mundane.  Do not expect Him to split the heavens for you and heal your every disease and sickness.  Instead seek the miracles within the deepest and darkest - the most mundane things in life.  Think about the baptism of an infant, for instance.  Here this baby has no clue as to what is going on.  We pour water on the child’s head - and the child sometimes cries.  We wipe off the head and then go back to our worship.  Yet in the midst of this most seemingly mundane ritual we believe that the Holy Spirit is working faith and washing away sins.  Why?  Because God says so.  (Acts 2:38) Think also of the Lord’s Supper.  We come forward, kneel down, drink some cheap Mogen David wine and eat some tasteless wafers of bread.  Yet in the midst of this a miracle occurs.  Even though we can’t see it - under the bread and wine are hidden the body and blood of Christ.  What an awesome miracle!  To the eyes of the world - this is a boring and meaningless ritual.  To us - we are being reconnected to very body of Jesus Christ in a very physical manner - and being assured that Christ is in us and has died for us.  Look at yourself.  Within your dull and sinful life, God worked a miracle and implanted His Holy Spirit.  Within your own sinful body and soul God provided holiness and forgiveness.  This is the way God has chosen to work - through mundane things.  If we were writing the book we would have the Holy Spirit come visibly through the air after a magical incantation.  God chooses to come and reveal Himself through words, water and wine - it’s unbelievable. 

 

III.  The shining produces light for faith

 

            What happened as a result of this?  This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.   While the wine taster had no clue as to what happened, a small group of men and Jesus’ own mother were impressed with what Jesus did.  It proved that Jesus was who He said He was - the Son of God.  They put their faith in him.  In the latter case - the miracle performed it’s purpose.  It was, as John says, “a sign.”  A sign is put in the road to warn you as to what is ahead.  It is a picture of the reality coming.  These miracles were signs as to who Jesus was - proving that what He spoke of Himself was true. . 

            Think of the meaning of this sign for us.  Don’t let it go by without thinking about it.  Is it really just a simple and seemingly meaningless miracle?  Or is there a deeper message - a sign behind it?  Think about what Jesus did.  In the middle of this wedding festival, when the groom was about to embarrassingly run out of wine - Jesus turned about 120 to 180 gallons of water into wine.  Think about what this tells us. 


•                     Jesus chose to perform his first miracle at a wedding.  This first of all shows us that marriage is a blessed institution.  It is not something for weaker Christians.  God ordained it and He loves to celebrate marriage.  In a world that seems to avoid it like the plague and treat it as nothing more than a piece of paper - Jesus miracle tells us - “marriage is sacred!”

•                     This miracle shows us that nothing is too small - too mundane - for God to not care about it.  In Jesus’ sermon on the mount He told us to examine the flowers of the field - and see how God also clothes them.  God is concerned with the things of this world that we wouldn’t think He would care two bits worth about.  Jesus cared about this man’s celebration - He wanted it to go well.  If it means a lot to us - it means a lot to Him - no matter what it is - even a lost ax head.

•                     This miracle tells us that Jesus isn’t against having fun and celebrating portions of life.  Whereas God does say that drunkenness is a sin - (the wine taster’s statement doesn’t mean that these guests had had too much to drink) -  He doesn’t say that celebrating festive occasions is wrong.  Even though we live under a world that is contaminated with sin - we have reasons to rejoice when we look at what we do have as a gift of God.  If you can enjoy a drink with the self control of not getting drunk - there is nothing wrong with that.  We need to remember to celebrate the good things in life as well.

•                     The main lesson is that God performs miracles for a purpose.  He wants them to testify to who He is.  Our loving God and Savior.  This is what Jesus Himself said in testifying to the Jews in John 10:37-38 "Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."

In the midst of this miracle - the one man who testified to the miracle - the chief wine taster - seemed to have no clue as to what happened.  Here he was, enjoying the wine that was made by a miracle - yet he didn’t even know where it came from.  This is typical of millions of people in this world.  Think of how many Americans enjoy a healthy child birth, a good steak, or a nicely built house.  Never once do they stop to think about how they received these wonderful gifts - about who gave them these gifts.  The miracles of life are hidden behind good health and jobs - they don’t come in glorious enough packages - so we too miss them.  We go to work and go to sleep all the while forgetting about God’s gift of protection in the angels, health in the ability to work, and mercy in the simple fact that we are alive.   God have mercy on us all!

            Even though this was a simple miracle hidden behind the simple actions of some servants - the disciples still put their faith in Jesus.  They knew not only that this was a wonderful miracle - but that much more glorious things were to come.  Little did they know they would have to see their Savior suffer and die - but afterwards they saw Jesus rise from the dead and ascend into heaven.  This revelation of glory in the wine was only a taste of greater things to come. 

            Jesus promises us the same.  So first of all - don’t overlook the miracles that occur at every baptism and Lord’s Supper.  Then think of the promised miracles to come.  As we drink the wine which hides the blood - Jesus promises us another feast in heaven with him.  Even though God hides His miracles from our physical eyes - we will not be disappointed when Jesus comes in the clouds.  In the mean time, God calls for faith.  He says, “believe in these simple things - in water turning to wine - and you will see much greater things than these.  You will see your own body raise from the dead - changed from dust into a glorious and powerful creation.  You will see angels come in the clouds.  You will see Me face to face.” 

            Television has shown some simply unbelieving things in recent years - with magicians who can seemingly climb through windows, walk down buildings, and perform incredible stunts with cards and what not.  I don’t know how they do these things - it seems impossible.  Yet in the end - it doesn’t really matter.  Even if they are using Satan - all they are doing is entertaining people - no more and no less.

            Jesus didn’t turn water into wine just to entertain people.  He wasn’t performing magic tricks in order to get rich and make a name for Himself.  He was performing miraculous signs - to show people who He was - so they would listen to Him and put their faith in Him and be saved.  He did all of this to give His Name to us.  Turning water to wine was the first taste of many hidden miraculous signs to come.  Learn to see Him in the unflashy things, water, wine, crosses and tribulation.  Watch Jesus Shine as Water Turns to Wine.  Amen.