John 2:1-12 “The First Sign”
If you have been here with us for a while you know that I am preaching through the Gospel of John. I talked with Ralph about weather or not to preach this passage this morning do to the fact that he just preached this passage a few months ago. He told me to “Go for it”. That together with the fact that the season of advent is a time of Joy, I thought it would be fitting to preach a passage that is full of joy.
Remember the gospel of John is one large evangelistic letter given to us through deep theology. John tells us this in Jn 20:30-31″Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” So if we read the Gospel of John and miss that these words are written for the sake of mission, then we miss the heart of John and therefore the heart of God. We see very clearly that John’s mode of evangelism is by way of deep theology. In our day and in our area geographically we have a tendency to downplay the importance of theology in evangelism. Not John. This evangelistic tract starts by way of Trinitarian theology Jn 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” So what I am doing when I walk through this book is simply trying to preach the word faithfully believing that if by God’s grace I do then believers will grow in their theology and non-believers will be converted to the faith.
Another thing to keep in mind before I get into the passage this morning is the structure of the book of John. This book can be broken into half’s. The first half of the book (Chapters 1-11) contain specifically selected Signs, and deal with approximately the first 3 years of Jesus ministry. The second half of the book (Chapters 12-21) focus on one week leading up to Jesus death and resurrection. So as we look at Jesus first sign this morning we must keep in mind that final week and second half of the book. By doing so we will be able to see so much more that Jesus turning water into wine, we will see the very Gospel.
Read John 2:1-12
The first thing I want us to look at in this passage is verse 11. Verse 11 is where we are going to end up this morning, but it contains so information that will help us navigate through the first 10 verses. Notice how verse 11 tells us 3 important things. We are told that what Jesus just did was his first sign, that Jesus manifested His glory, and that the disciples believed in Jesus.
What does a sign do? A sign points to the point. If all we do is get through this story and walk away thinking “Wow Jesus turned water into wine” then we miss the point. The signs of Jesus are never actually the point but they point to the point.
We are also told in verse 11 that Jesus manifested His glory by doing this sign. This sermon will miss the point if the Glory of Jesus is not on display. Something about the happenings at this wedding in Cana reveal to us the Glory of Jesus. So we ought to see it!
The last thing verse 11 tells us is that the disciples believed in Jesus. This is certainly fitting since this is the main aim the John the Evangelist. John desires his readers to believe in Jesus and that is exactly what we find in this passage, people believing because they saw Glory of Jesus beyond the sign. So my hope this morning is for those who have never believed in Jesus to believe and for those who do believe in Jesus to believe even more.
Now, lets look at verses 1-3. What we have is a wedding in which the mother of Jesus, Jesus, and his disciples were a part. Mary the mother of Jesus, for some reason or another (Possibly because this is the wedding of family members or close friends) comes to Jesus with a problem. Well what is the problem? The wine ran out. We have to ask ourselves 2 questions. First, what is the big deal about the wine running out? And second, who’s responsibility is it to provide enough wine for the ceremony?
So what is the big deal? Vs 10 gives us insight into the answer of both questions. We are told that at other weddings the good wine is served first and then the bad wine is served last. This tells us that it is normal for weddings to have plenty of wine. It is not then the custom of the day to run out of wine. This is where some commentators can help us out. Don Carson tells us in his commentary of John “A wedding celebration could last as long as a week, and the financial responsibility lay with the groom. To run out of supplies would be a dreadful embarrassment in a “Shame” culture; there is some evidence it could also lay the groom open to a lawsuit from aggrieved relatives of the bride.” pg 169 So running out of wine is quite the big deal. The responsibility of providing enough refreshments lay at the feet of the bridegroom. This is not how this bridegroom wants to start his life with his bride. We all know the tensions that can come with in laws. Even though I have great ones they still think I am weird! What do you think this would have communicated to the families of everyone involved? The wine running out means the bridegroom is unprepared, immature, possibly poor, and should be ashamed! He is failing at his job!
Jesus mother Mary however, knows her son Jesus is responsible. So she comes to Jesus with the problem. Look with me at verses 4 and 5. Much ink has been spilled over these to verses. Six other times in the Gospel of John we hear Jesus reference “His Hour” and it exclusively refers to His crucification in the place of sinners. So why does Jesus respond to His mother in this way after this particular statement from His mother? I believe based on Jesus saying “What does this have to do with me?” that He is telling his mother that He is under no obligation here. He is not obligated to act at her bidding, for He only does what He sees His father doing (Jn 5:19). Jesus is obligated to go to His hour but He is not obligated to do anything His mother asks Him to do unless His heavenly father is asking through her. If Jesus is going to do something to solve this problem and help this groom who is failing in his responsibilities then it would be solely out of Grace. Jesus owes nothing to His mother or this unworthy bridegroom. So what will Jesus do?
As we look at this first sign we need to remember the finished work of Christ. I think Tim Keller used the movie The Sixth Sense to illustrate how we are to always read the bible through the lens of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. The movie the Sixth Sense is like many other movies that have crazy plot twists in the end. At the end of this one we find out the lead character played by Bruce Willis was actually dead for the entire movie. After finding this big piece of information out you can not forget it. So if you want the movie a second time, you watch in light of the fact that ole Bruce is actually dead. Knowing that he is dead helps to add depth and meaning that you don’t see the first time through. This is kind like the bible. If you read the bible without Jesus life, death and resurrection as the lense then you can actually miss the Gospel in the Gospels. The bible can be turned into moralism or a manifesto on social reform when the Gospel is left out. So we want to see the Gospel in this passage. We don’t want to simply stay surface level and say “Jesus went to parties and hung out with sinners. Jesus brought the open bar. Jesus is cool, you should be too.” So let’s look and see the Glory that this passage holds.
Lets look at a tale of two men. Let’s consider the first bridegroom. What do we know of him and what does he do? Well we know he is supposed to provide the wine for the wedding. We also know that he is has failed to do his job. He was unprepared for his own wedding. In today’s it is common for the bride to take care of most everything on the wedding day. She wants everything to be perfect and the way she always dreamed. If she hands over responsibilities to her husband to be she expects that he will do what is requested. Well, this is the kind of groom who fails at his delegated task. Simply put, he is unprepared. Notice his absent activities. The text shows us that the bridegroom does nothing. In verse 6 nothing. In verse 7 nothing. In verse 8 nothing. In verse 9 nothing. In verse 10 all he does is get credit. Our passage actually records the bridegroom as doing nothing to solve the problem that he created. He is careless and apparently does not care.
Let’s then look at what Jesus does. In verse 6 and 7 we see Jesus taking charge. Verse 8 Jesus makes wine for the party and not just wine but good wine. As we look at these passages we see Jesus actually doing the job of the bridegroom. This is interesting because John actually gives Jesus the title of Bridegroom in John 3:29. How interesting it is that the bridegroom who did none of the work gets the credit for the work that Jesus did. Ah!!!! There is more to the story that just water being turned into wine. I want to show you 4 ways I think Jesus manifested His glory at this wedding.
First, Jesus will do what Jewish rites of purification could never do. Notice what Jesus uses, six stone jars that were used to clean the outside of the body. Jesus thus shows us that He is going to fulfill and do enterally what the Jewish way hoped to do externally. Out with all this external religious non-sense. Jesus is in the business of cleaning more than hands, he will clean hearts. It is therefor no little significance that the jars used to make wine would point us deeper into the work of Jesus.
The second way Jesus manifests his glory is by showing us he is sovereign over water and wine. Jesus does a lot with water in the bible. He walks on water and commands water to be still. In vs 9 we see that Jesus can turn 120 to 180 gallons of water into wine. You and I may be able to do a trick with food coloring, but when people taste water with food coloring it would not be mistaken for wine. Jesus is in charge of the elements.
As if making 120-180 gallons of wine was not enough, Jesus is sure to make good wine. Now what makes wine good? Age. Good wine takes time to age. After the aging possess of wine, what becomes difficult is preserving wine in a way that it remains wine and does not turn into vinegar. By turning this water into good wine in all but an instant Jesus is showing us that He is in charge of time. What takes us years of time and great care takes Jesus only a millisecond. How incredible is to think that Jesus is in charge of the times. It is not just this second that He has authority over but Jesus has all authority now and forever more! He is my Savior and Lord and He is in charge of all.
The last way, I dare say, is the clearest and best way Jesus manifests His glory. Jesus manifests His glory by showing us how glorious of a Bridegroom He truly is. Notice how that unprepared bridegroom who should have received shame from the Master of the Feast, instead receives praise. The unworthy bridegroom gets the credit of the work of the true Bridegroom! Imagine what went through the mind of that groom. Wait…..!!!!!!! I did not hold back the good wine until now, why are you giving me the credit? Friends this is the Gospel. We are the unprepared groom who deserves nothing from Jesus. We are the ones who have nothing in our hands but that which brings us shame. We are the ones who have done nothing to fix our sinful state, and we are the ones who get the credit of Jesus.
This is the reason the story in Jn 2 is reason for great joy and celebration. We get the credit for the work of another. Every day will live in light of this great truth, which is why the life of a Christian contains the joy of a party. Jesus is the party we get to live everyday!
This whole things reminds me of another wedding celebration that John the Evangelist wrote about. You see Jesus first sign was at a wedding and it points us to a future wedding. Listen to the words of Rev 19:7-8 “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready: it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”
So may you see the Glory behind the sign and believe in Jesus. It’s the worship of Him that is the true party!
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