John 2:1-11

So please turn with me to John chapter 2, and as you turn there, I'll give you the outline

John 2 · chapter mention

! for this sermon that we'll be going through. So first is the conflict in verses 1 and 2.

!

And that's because it's a very good way to understand a narrative in any form.

So let's read the passage together, starting in verse 1 through verse 11.

On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of

Jesus said to him, they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me?

My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. Now there

were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons.

Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, and they filled them up to the brim.

And he said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. So they took it.

When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from,

though the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom

and said to him, everyone serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely,

then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. This, the first of his signs,

Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

So now that we're all familiar with the passage, let's proceed again to the beginning of the story,

beginning with the scene, verses 1 and 2. First, on the third day. If you've been tracking along with

us from previous sermons, you may remember that John really likes chronology. And I think this

third day lead-in phrase is building on a pattern that John has already set up from the back half

of chapter 1. So in the back half of chapter 1, if you'll flip over a page or just look back,

he uses a lead-in phrase very similar to this, the next day, three times.

So in verse 29, verse 35, and verse 43, each time this phrase is used, the end of that section

is a revelation of Jesus' identity being shared, declared, or confessed. So first, in verse 34,

corresponding to the next day of verse 25, John the Baptist says,

and I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. Next, looking at verse 41,

corresponding to the next day of verse 35, Andrew says to his brother Simon, about to become Peter,

we have found the Messiah. And John adds his own parenthetical clarification, which means Christ.

These are big statements to be said about a Jewish man from Nazareth, to be sure.

Third, looking at Nathaniel, says in verse 49 of chapter 1, his life-changing interaction with Jesus

turned his skepticism in verse 46 to this declaration in verse 49,

Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. That's an absolute 180-degree turn from

can anything good come out of Nazareth, to you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.

Both here and in the second examples, we see the disciples specifically making messianic connections

to Jesus, though not with perfect understanding. These three passages have been well covered over

the last couple weeks, but I wanted to make sure that the pattern that John had set up did not fail.

Over and over, the authors of scripture use patterns so that they can be easier for us to remember,

and also to draw our attention when something changes. So here the leading phrase is similar,

on the third day, but it's not the same.

I think we would do well to expect a similar revelation as before, being about Jesus' identity,

but not quite the same.

Continuing, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.

So a little bit about the location. The group has not traveled far in the last two days,

this being the third day. The group has not traveled far

since Philip and Nathanael began to follow Jesus.

They are still in Galilee, as they were previously in chapter 1,

and John 21, 2 identifies Nathanael as of Cana in Galilee.

So Cana was most likely Nathanael's hometown or village,

so this was likely where he encountered Jesus for the first time.

So they've been hanging out here for a couple of days now.

Perhaps these new, excited disciples had time to discuss what Philip meant in verse 45,

where he said to Nathanael,

we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote.

Certainly these men would have been eager to dive into the scriptures

to see if these things could really be true.

They may know that there is much that they do not know.

They refer to Jesus as rabbi,

understanding that they need teaching, they need instruction from him.

Undoubtedly, they do not know how much Jesus will change their paradigm

of who the Messiah will be and what he will do.

So still setting the scene,

let's talk about the people we know at this wedding.

In the back half of verse 1 through verse 2.

So first, the mother of Jesus.

This is the first mention of Mary in John's gospel.

I think it's worthwhile to briefly consider the portrait of Mary in the gospel of Luke,

as this will give us additional insight as we read this account of John.

So while pregnant with Jesus, Mary sang a song of praise in Luke 1, 46 through 55.

A beautiful song.

I'll only read the first and close of it,

so you can see Mary's reverence of and hope in the Lord.

It begins with this first sentence.

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

And it ends with this.

He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our forefathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

There's a wealth of biblical themes

that is worth much study to unpack from this song,

but we don't have time to unpack all of it here.

But I'll summarize to say that Mary is clued in

to what God is doing in Israel throughout its history.

She seems to think that the Messiah's life

could not be more humble than beginning with her.

But again, that's part of her not yet perfect understanding

of who this Messiah will really be.

After Jesus' birth in Luke 2

and the visitation of the shepherds to Mary and Joseph,

there is a succinct description of Mary

in verse 19 of chapter 2 of Luke.

Mary treasured up all these things,

pondering them in her heart.

My point in going to these texts in Luke

is to illustrate that Mary believes in her son,

not merely how my mom believes in me as her special boy,

but Jesus as Messiah.

The angel told her in Luke 1, 32 and 33,

this is the angel speaking to Mary,

he will be great about Jesus,

he will be great and will be called the son of the most high.

And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

And of his kingdom, there will be no end.

A correct understanding that Jesus is the Messiah,

but not yet a correct understanding

of how Jesus will be the Messiah.

Mary likely, likely the same as the disciples,

has hoped and believed that this eternal reign of Jesus

that's communicated to her by the angel,

would be temporal, national,

and most importantly, start right then and there.

So let's talk about his disciples who were also here,

mentioned in verse 2.

We know by name there would be at least four

from, again, the previous chapter,

Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel.

And as Nathan argued last week,

most likely that other disciple

that's not named in the previous chapter

that was with Philip

is most likely John the Apostle.

Let's talk about wedding.

So twice, just in these two opening verses,

John mentions the wedding in specific,

and I don't think that's an accidental repetition

by any means.

So a few points to derive from that.

First, God loves marriage, plain and simple.

The Father gave marriage to humanity

as a gift to man and woman,

so it is no surprise that the son,

who is one with the Father,

would be in supportive attendance at a wedding.

Also important to note,

this is not the only wedding

about which John writes.

This first wedding in John 2

is where Jesus begins his ministry,

as we saw in verse 11,

the first of his signs.

John writes about another wedding

on the other side of Jesus' ministry

in Revelation 19, 6 through 9.

And this is worth reading together,

so I'm going to ask you to flip over

to Revelation 19,

keep your place in John 2,

and as you get there,

I'm going to take some time

to get some water.

So this is towards the tail end

of John's life,

as well as the Revelation.

So as a kind of climax before,

the new heavens and new earth

are created.

So Revelation 19, 6 through 9,

John writes this of what he sees.

Then I heard what seemed to be

the voice of a great multitude,

like the roar of many waters,

and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder

crying out,

Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God,

the Almighty reigns.

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,

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds

of the saints.

And the angel said to me,

Write this,

Blessed are those who are invited

to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And He said to me,

These are the true words of God.

At this wedding in Cana,

Jesus appears as an average guest.

We're about to see Him cause a miracle,

but it's known to few at the time,

and He does not make Himself the focus.

The marriage supper of the Lamb

will be different.

Jesus Christ will be the center.

A few weeks ago,

my wife and I had the lovely opportunity

to witness the marriage

of Gaines and Taylor Kidd.

And it was lovely.

It was so much fun,

lots of great memories,

and good times to share.

Taylor's father even made me

tear up a little bit

during his very heartfelt speech

during the reception.

Very grateful for it.

And happy month anniversary.

But it wasn't perfect,

because it's an earthly wedding.

The marriage supper of the Lamb

will far exceed all categories we have

for a glorious wedding.

And we eagerly await that day.

Come, Lord Jesus, come.

This wedding in Cana was also not perfect.

So let's turn our attention back to John 2,

continuing in verse 3,

considering the conflict.

So my first question here,

let's read verses 3 through 5 together.

When the wine ran out,

the mother of Jesus said to Him,

They have no wine.

And Jesus said to her,

Woman, what does this have to do with me?

My hour has not yet come.

His mother said to the servants,

Do whatever He tells you.

So my first question here is,

why does Mary even care

that they ran out of wine?

Personally,

and you may,

this is my more laissez-faire mentality,

events run out of supplies,

it happens, you know.

To me, it's no big deal.

For example,

at my bride and I's own wedding,

just four years ago,

recently,

we kind of infamously ran out of a lot of food.

So,

we had a kind of humorous interviews being done

by some guests,

you know,

for jokes.

And one of our friend's fathers,

when asked what was his least favorite part

about the wedding,

was,

they ran out of meatballs.

It was true.

We ran out of meatballs.

Guilty as charged.

So I want to say,

it's not that big of a deal.

But,

this was not the case here

about this wine.

So looking just after our passage

in verse 12,

we can see that Jesus' brothers

were also in attendance.

So from that,

we can infer

that this may have been a relative

or at least a very close family friend.

And if that close relationship exists,

which it presumably does,

Mary may have had some organizational duties,

responsibilities.

As we will see,

she gives instructions to the servants

and they listen.

Either way,

Mary wanted to spare the wedding host

severe public embarrassment.

This is far more serious

than running out of meatballs.

This would have been a social scar

on this family

for the rest of their lives.

Possibly even with legal ramifications

against the bridegroom and his family.

So whatever the exact situation,

we can know that this is a great,

genuine need for this family.

So let's consider this section of the story,

the conflict,

with three parts.

The request,

the hour,

and the command.

So first,

the request in verse 3.

Reading the text at face value

tells us that Mary was not exaggerating.

They were out of wine.

The wedding feast was a big deal

that could be as long as a week.

We don't know.

Presumably this is day 3 of,

you know,

4, 5, 6, 7.

So to be out at this point

is a big problem.

It's also,

I'd say,

impossible to know

for sure

what Mary had in mind

when she told Jesus

that they were out of wine.

By his response,

we can know that

he inferred

that she wanted him

to fix it.

Personally,

I do not think

that Mary had an ordinary process

in mind

for how Jesus would fix this.

I think if she did,

we would have read something

about money changing hands.

You know,

if my mom asked me

to go to the store

and get something for a party,

she's probably going to give me

something to that effect.

This isn't what happens here.

And considering the previous text

that we looked at,

where we read about

Mary's belief in Jesus,

specifically the Father

working through Jesus,

I think Mary is implicitly

asking for a miracle.

So let's talk about

Jesus' answer

in verse 4.

Woman,

what does this have to do with me?

My hour has not yet come.

The first half.

Jesus' answer here

is not disrespectful,

but it is abrupt,

and it is a bit startling.

It would have been

an unusual way

to address one's mother,

and it would have certainly

caught Mary's attention.

Jesus seems to be creating

or illustrating

some distance

between himself

and his mother,

as he is about

to be more wholly

pursuing his earthly ministry.

She, too,

needs a bit of correction

with her view of the Messiah.

Now, I think it's interesting

to note that

this small,

gentle rebuke

from Jesus here of Mary

is of a very different kind

than the rebuke

that Peter receives

later whenever he is

misapplying his understanding

of the Messiah.

But what about the hour,

the end of Jesus' answer,

specifically Jesus' hour,

my hour has not yet come.

This term is used

several times

throughout the gospel,

a few times by John

as the narrator,

and a few times

where Jesus says it

explicitly about himself.

So here, of course,

he's saying it about himself.

Let's look at an example

where John uses it.

So John 7, 30,

reads as this,

So they were seeking

to arrest him,

but no one laid a hand

on him,

because his hour

had not yet come.

Importantly,

John tells us this

in the middle

of a public debate

about Jesus' identity

in Jerusalem.

Let's look at somewhere

where Jesus used it

of himself

in the high priestly prayer

in John 17,

1 through 3.

So this is right before

the betrayal

and arrest of Jesus,

and Jesus prays this,

Father, the hour has come.

Glorify your Son

that the Son may glorify you.

Since you have given him

authority over all flesh

to give eternal life

to all whom you have given him,

and this is eternal life

that they know you,

the only true God,

and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent.

This hour,

Jesus' hour,

is a recurring theme

throughout the gospel of John,

and it is referring

to Christ's crucifixion

being handed over

to lawless men.

This is how the apostle Peter

says it in Acts 2,

23 and 24.

This Jesus,

delivered up

according to the definite plan

and foreknowledge of God,

you crucified,

speaking to the Jews

in Jerusalem,

and killed by the hands

of lawless men,

God raised him up,

loosing the pangs of death,

because it was not possible

for him to be held by it.

Jesus is working on

the divine timetable here.

He knows his mission.

He knew he was walking

a long road

to the cross

for his beloved,

and he knew that

here at the wedding

in Cana.

Moving to the command

in verse 5,

Mary takes this,

turns to the servants,

and says,

do whatever he tells you.

Mary trusts that Jesus

will do something.

Perhaps she thought

this would have been

a great time

for Jesus to publicly

show his power.

A few days ago,

the new prophet

on the block,

John the Baptist,

said that the Messiah

was coming

and announced Jesus

as the Son of God.

Instead,

she calls the wedding

servants over

and trusts that Jesus

will do something,

even if it's not

maybe what she had

in mind.

But laser focused

on his mission,

the hour.

Jesus does not publicly

reveal himself here

as the Messiah,

but he does take

the servants with him.

This is a marvelously

compassionate action

toward the wedding

families and Mary.

And that takes us

to point number three,

the solution

in verses six through eight.

Now there were six

stone water jars there

for the Jewish rites

of purification,

each holding

twenty or thirty gallons.

Jesus said to the servants,

fill the jars with water.

And they filled them

up to the brim.

And he said to them,

now draw some out

and take it to the

master of the feast.

So they took it.

So I want to make

two observations

about this solution

of what Jesus does here.

First, it's out of focus.

These water jars

would have likely been

off to the side

in a storage room,

certainly not

in the feast area

with everyone else.

And Jesus does not

make a show of this miracle

by trotting out

the new wine

to the master

of the feast himself.

Instead,

he sends the servant

to deliver it

as if they found

new ordinary stores.

Now you may be wondering

why it was so important

that Jesus does

this miracle privately.

We've already talked

about the hour

and that certainly

is a part of this.

Later in John,

we can see two different

groups of people

that create problems

when Jesus does work

public miracles.

First, the crowds.

After Jesus feeds

the thousands in John 6,

John records this

in verse 15.

Perceiving then

that they were about

to come and take him

by force to make him king,

Jesus withdrew again

to the mountain

by himself.

This was not the mission

that Jesus came to do

at the time.

He did not come

to be a revolutionary

leader against Rome.

Second,

after the final

of the seven miraculous signs

that John records,

the raising of Lazarus,

the Pharisees gathered

their council

and John gives

this conclusion

of their meeting.

So from that day on,

they made plans

to put him to death.

Jesus, therefore,

no longer walked openly

among the Jews

but went from there

to the region

near the wilderness.

The hour was coming closer

but not quite yet.

So Jesus pulled back

his public appearances.

All this is to be done,

all this is done

to be perfectly in step

with God's plan,

including the timing,

for Jesus.

Second observation

about the solution.

Faithful servants.

Mary gave the servants

a command to do

whatever Jesus says.

And here,

Jesus then gives them

two separate instructions

and they do it.

No questions asked,

no deviation,

or half-heartedness.

The first command,

fill the jars with water

and their action

and they filled them up

to the brim.

I don't know about you

but I do not know

if I'd be so inclined

to do this unquestioningly

after the preparation

leading up to this wedding feast,

the grueling work

of serving for probably

a couple days at this point.

But they do it.

John says that the jars

are 20 to 30 gallons

so let's just take the middle

and say 25.

So that's about 200 pounds

of water per jar

and there are six jars

so that's over 1,000 pounds

of water

that they are drawing

and filling up

and carrying.

That's already a lot

of serious work.

But on top of that,

this is not our modern day

with spigots

from the city reservoir.

They were most likely

drawing this water

out of a nearby well.

So they're lifting

all of this water

a few times over.

This is some serious faithfulness.

And no matter how close

the well was,

there's still a lot of work

tied up in that phrase

and they filled it up

to the brim.

That's a lot.

It would have been

very understandable

to me

to fill those jars

mostly full,

maybe three quarters,

save yourself

a couple hundred pounds

and a lot of work.

But no,

they filled them up

to the brim.

These are faithful servants.

As servants of Christ

ourselves,

we ought to work

diligently.

For those of us

in Christ,

all we do

is for the Lord

and deserves to be done

with earnestness,

no corner cutting.

It's also good

to note the generosity

of Jesus here.

Using the average,

this would have been

150 gallons of wine

for the rest

of the feast.

This was an enormous,

plentiful amount

for more than the rest

of the feast.

We see the same abundance

when Jesus feeds

the thousands.

Seven and twelve

large baskets

full of leftovers

there.

Similarly here,

this is not merely

a sufficient,

scraping by miracle.

It is an abundant

blessing.

The second command

from Jesus,

draw some out

and take it

to the master

of their feast.

And their simple action,

so they took it.

Certainly this command

was not as much

physical work,

but it took some boldness

and some belief.

It is not evident

in the text

the exact moment

when the water

became wine.

The most we can

narrow it down

is somewhere between

when the cup is filled

and when the master

of the feast

takes a sip.

No matter the exact moment,

it would be understandable

for the servants

to let some doubt

slip in.

Maybe on the way

over to the master,

they began to smell

an aroma from the cup.

Even if they could

smell it themselves,

they could doubt

that it was really

the wine

and maybe it was

their tired mind

and body

playing tricks on them.

If they brought

the master

of the feast water,

it would not end

well for them.

Can't imagine so.

It would mean

embarrassment for them,

maybe even punishment.

But despite any fear

and doubt,

they went.

They carried this gift

of Jesus

from Jesus

to someone

who had no idea

what it cost.

They do not do

the miraculous

transforming work,

but they play

a vital role

and Jesus chose

to work alongside

their effort.

And what did

that effort bring?

Let's look at the result

in verses 9 through 11.

When the master

of the feast

tasted the water

now become wine

and did not know

where it came from,

though the servants

who had drawn

the water knew,

the master of the feast

called the bridegroom

and said to him,

Everyone serves

the good wine first

and when people

have drunk freely,

then the poor wine.

But you have kept

the good wine

until now.

This,

the first of his signs,

Jesus did at Cana

in Galilee

and manifested

his glory

and his disciples

believed in him.

So first,

let's talk about

who this master

of the feast

most likely was.

This was the servant

or employee

overseeing the feast,

specifically in charge

of arranging the tables,

tasting the food

and the drink

before it was served.

A couple of English

translations that made

this idea a little bit

more clear in my mind

was table master

or head waiter.

This is the guy.

Let's talk about

the miracle

of the water

into wine.

So as before,

Jesus does not make

a big show

or do a special dance

for this.

Rather,

he has such power

as the creator

to simply do it.

Yahweh creates

the world

in Genesis 1

and he does so

by his word.

Let there be light

and there was light.

Now,

the word become flesh

is here

at this wedding

in Cana

and he says,

draw some out.

When I was younger,

I played football.

I was very engaged

in the sport.

I'd go to football practice

sometimes twice a day.

Dad,

don't know how

you let me do that.

I watched football games,

listened to football analysis,

played football video games,

probably too many of those.

And one of the things

I learned during that time

is that coaches

didn't have much tolerance

for the gap

between what they would

say and instruct

to the players

and what actually happened

on the field.

On one of my teams,

we had a reverse play,

which means

everybody goes one way,

they give the ball

and somebody else

reverses going the other way.

Ideally,

the defense is so confused

that he,

the reversing player,

just walks all the way

to the end zone

and scores a touchdown.

That doesn't always happen.

So,

on my team,

the player that needed

to give the ball

to the reversing player

was a little uncomfortable

with a handoff,

just handing the ball to him,

but preferred

to do a little toss.

The reversing player

also preferred

to get a little toss

than have it handed to him,

just made them more comfortable.

But the coach said

over and over in practice,

don't toss it,

hand it to him.

So,

one game,

coach calls a timeout,

we need a big play,

everybody's on the sideline

and he calls

the reverse play

and he reiterates,

don't toss it,

hand it to him.

So,

we go out there,

everybody's going

to the right

and then the ball

is pitched up,

hits the reversing player

in the face mask,

the ball's lost.

The coach was fuming mad

and he wasn't mad

because he didn't know

what to do,

he was mad

that he didn't have

the authority

to carry it out,

to make the players

do it.

There is no gap

between what Jesus says

and what he has

the power to do.

When he told the servants

to draw the water,

he was not fretting

about the water

not transforming into wine.

There was no chance

that it was going to

not transform into wine.

The God-man,

Jesus Christ,

wielded his enormous

creative power

to transform the water

into wine

and he used the servants

to be the vehicle

of delivery.

And because this is done

by the almighty power of God,

it is really wine,

good wine,

nothing watered down.

Both from John's account

in verse 9

and from the table master's

reaction in verse 10,

we can see that this is wine.

John speaks to

the transformation

and the table master

speaks to the quality.

So first,

let's now look at

the table master.

The table master

calls over the bridegroom

and he sets the expectation.

He's telling him

what normally happens.

Everyone serves

the good wine first

and when the people

have drunk freely,

then the poor wine.

In other words,

at this point

in the celebration,

most people dial back

the quality of the wine.

This would have been

a gentleman

that's been to many,

many weddings,

served at many,

many weddings.

But then he gives

the bridegroom

this surprise.

But you have kept

the good wine

until now.

The bridegroom

was most assuredly

surprised and grateful

to hear this

and continue

the celebration

of his marriage.

A brief note

on good wine.

Before,

I had noted

Jesus' generosity

in the volume

of the wine

that he was creating.

Here,

it is worthwhile

to note

Jesus' generosity

in the quality.

From the table master's

comments,

it is clear

that this new wine

is of a higher quality

than what was expected

to be the good wine

at this wedding.

What an unexpected

blessing this must have

been for the bridegroom.

He thought that they

had already brought

the top shelf stuff out,

but yet,

this new wine

was even better

than what came before.

So not only did they

suddenly have a vast

store of wine,

but it was even better

than what they had before.

So continuing

with the result,

let's consider

what else came

from this miracle,

looking at the first

half of verse 11.

This,

the first of his signs,

Jesus did at Cana

in Galilee

and manifested

his glory.

We see that

through this sign,

Jesus manifested

his glory.

John records

seven specific signs

throughout the first

half of his gospel.

After this sign,

they're healing

the official son

in chapter 2,

healing the invalid

in chapter 5,

feeding the multitude

in chapter 6,

walking on water

in chapter 6,

healing the man

born blind

in chapter 9,

and finally,

raising Lazarus

from the dead

in chapter 11.

though this miracle,

this sign,

was intentionally seen

by fewer people

at the time,

it does show

Jesus as the

sovereign creator

of the universe

with the authority

to transform

and the power

to really do it.

Let's consider

the disciples' faith

and his disciples

believed in him

at the end of verse 11.

The disciples

that are here,

we already talked

about who they are,

are presumably

the same group

that were called

in the last chapter,

and we're calling him

Messiah,

the king of Israel,

the son of God.

So why does John

record here

at the end of verse 11

that the disciples

believed in him?

First,

I'd like to say

this phrase

does not necessitate

that previously

none of the disciples

really believed in Jesus.

It could just as well

be the case

that the disciples

previously

thought he was the Christ,

the son of God.

In John 1.50,

Jesus says to Nathanael,

because I said to you,

I saw you under the fig tree,

do you believe?

You will see

greater things

than these.

And I will say,

this is a greater thing

that they have seen.

But I think looking

at the rest of verse 11

can help us

better understand

what to make

of this phrase

at the end of it.

His disciples

believed in him.

Specifically,

Jesus manifested

his glory.

Let's consider

that word glory

for a second.

Let's look at

where this was previously

and the only time

it's used before this

in the gospel of John.

in chapter 1,

verse 14,

John writes,

And the word became flesh

and dwelt among us,

and we have seen

his glory,

glory as of the only son

from the Father,

full of grace

and truth.

Jesus speaks

several times

in John 17

about glory.

And verse 5

gives us

succinct insight

into this term

in chapter 2.

This is what Jesus

prays to the Father.

And now,

Father,

glorify me

in your own presence

with the glory

that I had with you

before the world

existed.

That is the glory

that Jesus

is manifesting,

making visible

to the disciples.

The glory

that he had

with the Father

before the world

existed.

The glory

not just of

a righteous man

or great leader,

but the glory

of God.

The glory

of the transcendent

creator and king

of the universe,

is made visible

in part

to these disciples.

What else

could they do

but believe?

So,

a few closing

applications

for us today.

Application number one,

see Jesus'

glory as God.

This is the first

of the signs

that John records

for us,

but no sign

is greater

than the resurrection.

God raised him up,

loosing the pangs

of death,

because it was

not possible

for him

to be held

by it.

It is not

possible

for the glory

of God

to be held

by death.

Here,

on this

third day,

Jesus manifests

his glory

by transforming

this water

into wine.

His glory

by resurrecting

Jesus

at the empty tomb.

Our second

point of application

is to believe

in Jesus

as king.

You've heard

today

part of

Jesus'

the account

of Jesus'

life.

I pray

that there

is clarity

in what I've

said

and what I've

read,

that Jesus

is the second

person of the

trinity,

the word,

the logos

of God,

who became

flesh to show

the glory

of God

to us

and conquer

death.

The battle

is over.

The victor

has won,

and the right

response

is to kneel

before the

king,

Jesus.

Our sin,

our flesh,

will be repulsed

at giving up

idols and

submitting to

God.

Idols that

we made,

that we found,

that we coveted

from others.

So pray to God

that he will

give you grace.

Pray that he

would credit

the perfect

righteousness of

Christ to

your account

and receive

Jesus'

substitutionary

death,

which was the

wages,

consequences,

of all of

our sin.

And let's

not lose

sight of

the explicit

purpose that

John gives

us in

recording these

signs in

John 20,

30,

and 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.

Third

point of

application,

fully and

faithfully

obey.

This life

often feels

long and

we are

often tired.

I'm sure

I'm about

to learn

a new

level of

tired as

we're expecting

our firstborn

in just a

month or

so.

So let

us be

constantly

refocusing

our efforts

to diligently

serve our

King,

not for our

own glory,

but for

his,

to make

him known

to the

people that

do not

yet know

him,

and to

bring him

to remembrance,

bring him

to mind

among the

people that

do know

him.

As we

go,

remember the

glory of

God that

we have

experienced

through the

partaking of

the word

in the

Lord's

Supper,

the singing

of the

word,

the preaching

of the

word,

and the

hearing of

the word.

Jesus was

supremely

focused on

his mission

to fulfill

God's plan.

He did not

seek to glorify

himself at

the improper

time.

He did not

reach out and

take what would

seem good in

many human

eyes.

He chose

to use

humble,

ordinary,

obedient people

for his

miraculous,

transforming work.

And all

these signs

are written

so that you

would believe

that Jesus

is the

Messiah,

the Son of

God,

and that by

believing,

you may have

life in

his name.

Join me in

prayer.

prayer.