New and Everlasting Joy

Turn with me in your Bibles, if you have one, or look along on the screen.

We'll be reading from John chapter 2, verses 1 to 12,

John 2:1–12

as we continue in our series through this gospel account.

John chapter 2, starting at verse 1.

John 2 · chapter mention

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 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.

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.

After this, he went down to Capernaum,

with his mother, and his brothers,

and his disciples,

and they stayed there for a few days.

Things fall apart.

The center cannot hold.

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed,

and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned.

The best lack all conviction,

while the worst are full of passionate intensity.

Now, if you've never heard those words before,

you might think somebody wrote them

at some point in the past year,

to describe something that happened.

But actually, these words were written

a hundred years ago, in 1919,

by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats.

He was writing in the aftermath

of the First World War,

that had left 20 million dead

and 21 million wounded.

He was writing as political tensions

were high in his own country,

leading to the Irish War for Independence.

And he was writing in a time

of personal distress related to a pandemic.

His pregnant wife was slowly recovering

from a bad case of the Spanish flu

that nearly took her life.

But over the last century,

Yeats' words have resonated with many people.

They've been quoted or alluded to

in books, songs, essays,

novels, poems, movies.

Because isn't this what we often see

when we look around at the world?

We see things falling apart.

We see the world around us

gradually or even more quickly unraveling.

And that's the natural course of things

in this fallen world.

Empires rise,

and then eventually they fall.

Schools of thought

become all the rage for a time,

and then they fade

into the footnotes of history.

Great buildings are constructed,

and then they begin to deteriorate.

Even on a personal level,

every one of us is living in a body

that is in the process of aging,

decaying, and eventually dying.

Running low and one day running out.

Even the best things in this world

will come to an end.

But the story we're looking at this morning

shows us that Jesus Christ came

into an unraveling world

to bring new and everlasting joy.

So let's walk through this story together,

and then we'll consider what it means.

So first, let's look at the story

of this wedding at Cana.

Right?

At the beginning, we see Jesus

and his family members

and his disciples invited to a wedding.

Perhaps it was a family relative

or a family friend.

But at some point soon,

they're confronted with a miniature crisis.

The wedding is falling apart

because the wine has run out.

Now, let me give a little historical context

to put this situation in perspective.

Three bits of historical context.

First, back in the day,

wedding celebrations often lasted for seven days.

Now, not everyone would stay for the whole time,

but a wedding was an occasion of great joy.

And people would normally invite

as many guests, family, friends, neighbors,

distinguished personalities as possible.

And it would be an extended feast.

Second, the groom was the designated host.

So the groom and his family

were responsible to provide food and drink

for all the guests.

And back then, hospitality

was a very important cultural value.

I grew up at my mom's side of the family is Italian.

And, you know, I mean,

when you go to an Italian household, right?

You know, grandma asked you,

you've already had four portions,

but do you want a fifth, right?

Like, it's just the expectation.

You don't ever run out of food

in an Italian family.

And it's the same thing back in the Middle East, right?

You would never run out of food

or drink for your guests.

That would be extremely embarrassing.

In fact, there's even some evidence

that in a situation like this,

the bride's family could have pursued a lawsuit

against the groom and his family

for failing to adequately provide

for the guests at the wedding

and dishonoring the bride in the process.

Sounds a little crazy to us,

but it underlines how important it was.

That hosting hospitality role.

Third, wine was the main beverage

served at weddings.

So wedding celebrations would last seven days.

The groom was the designated host

and wine was the main beverage.

Now, back then,

wine was normally mixed with large amounts of water.

So it had a much lower alcohol content

than it does today.

Even less than beer today.

So guests at a wedding

could drink quite a lot of wine.

It would keep them hydrated

and they would not be immediately

getting very drunk.

But wine was seen as an essential beverage

for celebrations.

That was sort of what was expected.

So if the wine ran out,

it meant two things.

First, it meant the party would be over early.

And maybe some of those guests

who might have come later on

during those seven days

would have not even got to participate at all.

But it also meant that the new husband's reputation

in the village,

especially a small village like Cana in Galilee,

would be damaged for years to come.

He's the one who was a stingy, skimpy host

and didn't even have enough

to properly provide for his guests.

So that's the problem that we see

at the beginning of the story.

But when the problem is brought to Jesus' attention,

Jesus seems initially reluctant to do anything.

Mary comes to Jesus and says,

they have no wine.

Now, it's not clear exactly

what Mary was expecting Jesus to do.

John tells us in verse 11

that this was Jesus' first miracle.

So presumably, Mary wasn't used to seeing Jesus

perform miracles every time something happened

or there was a need.

But it is likely that by this time,

Mary was a widow.

Why, you might say,

well, Joseph and Mary appear together

in the Gospel accounts when Jesus is born

and when Jesus is a child,

when he's 12 years old.

For example, going to the Passover

and the temple together.

But when Jesus is an adult,

Mary continues to appear in the Gospel

several times,

but Joseph is never present.

And so many commentators think

that by this time,

Joseph had died

and Mary was raising her family alone.

And so perhaps in the absence of Joseph,

Mary had come to depend on Jesus,

her oldest son,

to help her out in a pinch,

to help her find a way

through hard situations.

And so she comes to him

and sort of says,

what do we do here, Jesus?

But in verse 4,

Jesus' response is a little unexpected.

Woman, what does this have to do with me?

My hour has not yet come.

Now that term woman

was not a rude term.

It was a respectful term,

sort of like ma'am,

but it was not a term

that anyone ever used

in the ancient world

to address their mother.

It was not an affectionate term.

It was not a term

that you would normally use

when speaking to your mom.

And every other time in the Bible

that somebody says,

what does this have to do with me?

The expression always indicates

some kind of challenge or rebuke.

So there are actually

at least four times

in the Gospel of John

when somebody comes to Jesus

with a request

or with some advice

and initially

he pushes back against it.

So there's a situation here

in chapter 4.

There's an official at Capernaum

who comes to Jesus and says,

come down to my house

before my son dies.

And Jesus says,

no, you go back home.

Or in chapter 7,

Jesus' brothers come to him

and they say to him,

you should go to Judea.

You should show yourself

to the world.

And Jesus says,

nope, time's not right yet.

And in chapter 11,

Mary and Martha

send word to Jesus,

come, Lazarus is sick.

Come and heal him.

And Jesus stays where he is

for two more days.

It's striking if you compare

all these incidents.

People come to Jesus

with what seem like

legitimate needs and requests

and initially Jesus seems

to push back against them.

And often we think,

if I'm in a pinch

and I'm turning to Jesus for help

and if my request is reasonable,

he should come right away

and fix my situation.

And we might think that

of all people that could ask him for help,

at least Jesus would do so for his mom.

But John wants us to see

that Jesus does not act

on our timetable.

Jesus will not be controlled

or manipulated by any human being,

not even by his mother.

Jesus came to earth

to carry out the will of God,

his heavenly father.

Not the will of any other human being.

So sometimes we may come to Jesus

with a problem

or a situation

or a request

and he may seem to push back

on that request

or not to respond immediately.

But even if Jesus

doesn't initially respond

in the way that we desire

or hope,

John wants us to know

that he does care

and he will act

on behalf of those

who wait for him.

So every one of those four times

that Jesus initially pushes back

on someone's request

in the Gospel of John,

he actually comes through for them,

but often in a way

they don't expect.

So with the official

who comes to him

and says,

please come down to my house

and heal my son,

Jesus says,

no, you go home.

And guess what?

When he gets home,

his son is healed.

Jesus can heal remotely.

Okay?

There's even a biblical example

of Jesus' ministry

is not hindered

by physical distance.

When Jesus' brothers

come to him and say,

show your glory to the world,

Jesus says,

no, not now,

but then he does go up

to that feast later on

and of course

he will show his glory

to the world

through his death

and resurrection

and through the sending

of the Holy Spirit

in ways that are

far more glorious

than they would have

ever imagined.

And of course,

he doesn't just heal

Lazarus from sickness,

he comes and raises

him from the dead.

And here,

he turns water

into wine.

We don't know exactly

what Mary was expecting,

but surely

this would have surpassed

anyone's normal expectations.

And Mary here

is an example of faith,

an example of the posture

that we should adopt

toward Jesus

even when he seems

to not respond

immediately to our requests.

She's not turned off

by Jesus' word of rebuke.

She doesn't go away

in a huff.

No, she says to the servants,

do whatever he tells you.

Now, Jesus didn't tell Mary

in advance

what he was going to do

or how he was going

to handle the situation,

but she says,

just do whatever he says.

I trust him.

I trust him.

And you should too.

You see,

that's what faith is.

We may not always

understand why

Jesus does the things

he does when he does them,

but faith is trusting

that he's worthy

of our trust

and obedience.

obedience.

Now, the story goes on.

Jesus says to the servants,

fill these six stone water jars.

And of course,

like Mary,

the servants probably are like,

what?

What's,

what exactly?

Why?

What are you going to do?

How does this relate?

You know,

you're not taking up

a collection

and going out

to the store.

You're telling us

to fill these huge water jars.

But no,

they just go ahead

and do it.

Right?

They don't seem to,

they don't stop

and say,

well,

I'm not going to do it

unless you tell me

why you're telling me

to do this.

No,

they just go ahead

and do it.

And then Jesus says,

draw some water

and take it to the

master of the feast.

Now,

the master of the feast

was the head waiter.

So,

the master of the feast

would have been

the person responsible

for seeing

for all the food

and drink

and for all the sort

of catering

associated with

the wedding.

And the master

of the feast

would have been

in charge of

supervising

the rest of the servants.

So,

the servants go

to their boss

and say,

here's this,

here's,

here's this water

that Jesus told us

to bring to you

and he tastes it

and he calls

the bridegroom.

Now,

again,

the bridegroom,

the groom was responsible

for providing

all of the refreshments,

all of the food

and drink.

So,

that's why he goes

to the bridegroom

because the bridegroom

is supposed to be

in charge

and he says,

wow,

nobody else

does this.

You've saved

the best wine

for now.

Usually,

the quality

just goes down

and down

and down

over time

as people

have been around

for longer

and longer.

you've saved

the best

for last.

And that's the

climax of the story.

You

have kept

the good wine

until now.

The end of verse 10.

So,

that's how the story

goes.

Now,

let's consider

what it means.

And John

tells us

what it means

in verse 11

because he says,

Jesus manifested

his glory

by doing this.

How did Jesus

manifest his glory?

Well,

at one level,

Jesus manifested

his glory

very quietly

and behind the scenes

in this story.

All right,

verse 9 says,

the master

of the feast,

the head waiter,

didn't know

where the wine

had come from

even though

he thought

that the groom

deserved the credit

for it.

And aside

from the servants

and Jesus' mother

and his own disciples,

it's not clear

who else

at the wedding

even knew

exactly what

had happened.

Many of the guests

probably

didn't even

know that the wine

had run out

or where

the new wine

came from.

You see,

sometimes in the Gospels,

Jesus acts

quietly

and behind the scenes,

discreetly,

without making

a public show

of what he's doing

and sometimes

even tells people

don't make a big deal

of this right now,

right yet.

Here,

Jesus makes up

and fills in

for the deficiencies

of this unknown bridegroom

and he enables

the party to go on

for a few more days.

He enables

the groom's honor

in the village

to be preserved

for a few

more years.

And you know,

the Bible says

that Jesus Christ

in union

with God the Father

and God the Holy Spirit

continues

to sustain

this fallen world

by his common grace.

Working behind

the scenes

discreetly

and quietly

in ways

that most of us

never even

notice

or know about

to hold together

this world

that otherwise

would have fallen apart

a long time ago.

long ago

Augustine,

the church father,

said,

we look at this miracle

and we think

it's amazing.

Jesus turned water

into wine.

But Augustine says,

look around

at the world.

God does the same

thing each year.

The clouds

pour forth water

which sinks

into the soil

which makes

the grapevines grow

which human beings

make into grape juice

and wine.

He says,

we've just gotten

so used to that process

that we don't marvel

at it anymore.

But Augustine wrote,

who is there

that considers

the works of God

whereby this whole world

is governed

and regulated

who is not amazed

and overwhelmed?

When we look at

how our human bodies

function,

even if you study

how

when you get a cut

how your blood

clots

and yet doesn't

completely

clot all of the blood

in your whole system

and then how your skin

repairs itself.

It's an amazing process.

It's quite complicated

and

none of us,

almost none of us

except maybe the med students here

really think about that

and really give attention

to that.

But it's something

we depend on every day.

Otherwise,

every time you get

a little cut

you'd bleed your

entire blood out

and you'd be dead.

But there's all kinds

of things that are amazing

that God does

to sustain

this broken

and fallen world

on a day-to-day basis.

There's all kinds

of things that God

does behind the scenes

in our own lives

to preserve us

from troubles

that we don't even realize

that we might otherwise

be brought down by.

Now, while that's important,

that's not all

that John wants us to see.

The main point

of this story

is not how Jesus

works behind the scenes

to sustain the world

by his common grace.

No, John says

this is the first

of Jesus' signs.

Think about

what is a sign.

Well, a sign

points

to the reality

of something greater.

And this is the word

that John uses

most frequently

to describe

Jesus' miracles.

He doesn't use

the word wonder,

sort of something

that emphasizes

how astonished

we are at it.

He says

they're signs.

They're pointing

to the reality

of who Jesus is.

He wants us

to see something

about who Jesus is

in every one

of the miracles

Jesus does.

He does seven of them

throughout the gospel.

So every time

Jesus does a miracle

that is recorded

in John's gospel,

we need to ask

what is this sign

pointing to

about Jesus himself?

And the answer

to that question here

is that John

wants us to see

that Jesus

is the true

bridegroom

who has come

to establish

a new and better

covenant

with his people.

Now you might say,

how do I get that

from this story?

Well,

John gives us

three hints

that point us

in that direction.

verse 1,

John gives

a subtle hint

indicating that

Jesus has come

to begin

something new.

And most of us

might miss this hint,

but when we look

closer,

it is there.

When it talks

about the timing

of the wedding

being on the third

day.

Now,

two weeks ago,

Pastor Nick

pointed out

that the first words

of John's gospel

are also the first words

of the book of Genesis

in the Old Testament,

in the beginning.

And if we look

more closely,

we might notice

another potential

parallel between

the first two chapters

of Genesis

and the first two

chapters of John.

They both begin

with a week

of events

culminating

in a wedding.

So the book

of Genesis

describes a week

of God's creation

culminating in

the wedding

of Adam and Eve

when God brings

Eve to Adam.

And there's this

sort of wedding

ceremony

in the Garden

of Eden.

And John

also begins

with a week

of God's action,

a week of Jesus

coming on the scene

in chapter 1.

So four times

in chapter 1,

verse 29,

it says,

the next day.

Verse 35,

the next day again.

Verse 39,

they stayed with him

that day.

Verse 43,

the next day.

And then chapter 2,

verse 1,

on the third day.

A week has passed

and guess where

we find ourselves?

At a wedding.

And so if you

had been familiar

with that pattern

in Genesis

and you see this

pattern in John,

you think,

huh,

that's an interesting

echo.

John must be saying

that Jesus has come

to make a new

beginning,

to start something

new.

And you might

even think,

maybe he's

the new Adam

over a new creation.

Well,

verse 6,

John gives us

another hint

indicating that

Jesus has come

to establish

not just something

new,

but something

better.

Something better

than the old

covenant provided.

John mentions

that these six

large stone

water jars

were used

for Jewish

rites of

purification.

purification.

That is,

they represented

the rituals

of the old

covenant.

But Jesus

has come to

bring something

new.

Right?

Jesus says,

fill them to

the brim.

In other words,

they've come

to their

fulfillment.

And Jesus

has come to

bring something

even better.

A kind of

purification that

wasn't previously

possible,

a kind of joy

that won't run

out.

But the

clearest hint

is in verse

10 at the

climax of the

story,

when the

master of the

feast says to

the bridegroom,

you have

kept the good

wine until

now.

Now,

think about

that statement.

We know

that the

master of the

feast is giving

the credit to

the bridegroom

that he should

be giving to

Jesus.

Right?

Because the

unknown bridegroom

has actually

failed to be a

proper host to

his guests.

he doesn't

deserve any

credit at all.

But where the

unknown bridegroom

failed,

Jesus has

provided all

that was

needed.

And more,

even something

even better.

So Jesus

hasn't only

fulfilled what

was already

expected of a

host, he has

surpassed all

expectations.

His provisions

are unquestionably

superior.

Jesus is the

true and better

host, the

true and better

bridegroom.

And if we

had missed all

of those hints,

in chapter 3,

John says even

more explicitly,

if you look in

chapter 3,

verse 28,

John the

Baptist says,

I'm not the

Christ, I'm not

the Messiah, I've

been sent before

him, and in the

next verse he

compares himself

to the friend of

the bridegroom,

who rejoices

greatly at the

bridegroom's

voice.

And John says,

he must increase,

but I must

decrease.

So John the

Baptist points to

Jesus and says,

the long-awaited

bridegroom has

finally arrived.

So that's what

John wants us

to see in this

story about

Jesus.

That's what this

sign is pointing

to about Jesus,

that he's the

true and better

host, the true

and better

bridegroom who

has come for

his people.

You see,

throughout the

Old Testament,

the prophets

had spoken of a

future day when

the Messiah would

come and when

feasting would

abound.

We heard one of

those prophecies

read earlier to

us from Amos.

Amos said,

the kingdom of

David will be

rebuilt and the

mountains shall

drip sweet wine

and all the

hills shall flow

with it.

There will be

wine and milk

and honey in

abundance.

It's imagery of

an unending

feast where

Jeremiah says,

they will rejoice

in the bounty of

the Lord,

the grain,

the new wine,

and the olive oil.

They will be like

a well-watered

garden and they

will sorrow no

more.

Jeremiah 31,

12.

And just a few

verses later,

Jeremiah wrote,

behold,

the days are

coming when I

will make a new

covenant with the

house of Israel

and the house of

Judah.

Not like the

covenant that I

made with their

fathers when I

brought them out

of Egypt,

they broke that

covenant though I

was their

husband.

But this time he

says,

I will write my

laws on their

hearts and I

will forgive their

sins and remember

their wickedness

no more.

You see,

Jesus is that

long-awaited

Messiah,

that long-awaited

bridegroom who

came to establish

a new and

better covenant,

who came to

bring new and

everlasting joy to

the hearts of his

people.

That's what John

wants us to see.

But you know,

when we read this

story and if we

see that,

we might ask a

question.

we might say,

but how does

Jesus seal the

deal?

Jesus doesn't,

you know,

this is somebody

else's wedding.

Jesus doesn't

establish a new

and better covenant

with his people by

turning water into

wine at somebody

else's wedding in

Cana.

Nope.

But remember what

Jesus said in verse

four.

He said,

my hour has not

yet come.

And nine times

Jesus refers to

his hour in the

gospel of John.

And every time

he's referring to

the hour of his

death on the cross

at Calvary.

That's where

Jesus would seal

the deal.

That's where the

glory of his

saving love would

be revealed.

That's where he

paid the price so

that we could be

ours or he

could be ours and

we could be his

forever.

You see, at every

wedding, two people

make a promise to

one another.

And they basically

say, what's mine is

yours and what's

yours is mine.

For better, for

worse, for richer,

for poorer, in

sickness or in

health.

And that's the

promise Jesus made

to us, to all who

would turn and

believe in him.

John 19

describes the

hour of Jesus

crucifixion.

And it says

this, as Jesus

was hanging on

the cross, it

says, Jesus,

knowing that all

was now finished,

said to fulfill

the scripture,

I thirst.

A jar full of

sour wine stood

there.

So they put a

sponge full of the

sour wine on a

hyssop branch and

held it to his

mouth.

When Jesus had

received the sour

wine, he said,

it is finished.

And he bowed his

head and gave up

his spirit.

And he

you see, what

does John want

us to see there?

He wants us to

see that Jesus

drank the cup of

our bitterness so

that we could

drink of his

everlasting joy.

He received

condemnation in

full so that we

could receive

forgiveness in

full.

He took on all

that was ours so

that we might

enjoy all that is

his now and

forever.

forever.

Friends, that's

the good news of

the gospel.

And it brings

joy like nothing

else in this world

does.

To know that

Jesus is yours

and we are

his.

That will carry

us through all

of our days.

So come to

Jesus, receive

his promise today,

taste and see

that he is good.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father, thank

you for the

grace that you

show us day

by day in

sustaining this

world, in

sustaining our

bodies, in

giving us moments

and days and

weeks of joy and

laughter.

Thank you for

all the ways that

you keep this

world from

immediately falling

apart as it

would do without

you.

Lord, thank

you not only

for that.

Thank you for

sending Jesus to

unite us to

yourself, to

bring us new

and everlasting

joy, to renew

us and heal us

from the inside

out.

Lord, we pray

that you would

grant us today

the joy of

knowing that we

are yours and

you are ours

forever.

Lord, give us

a taste of

that joy that

we will have

for all

eternity.

We pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.