John 2:1-11 (New Year's Day)

Well, let me again say Happy New Year, church.

It's good to be with you all this morning.

We are looking this morning at the Gospel of John,

John 2:1–11

chapter 2, verses 1 through 11.

This coming spring, we're going to do a series in the Gospel of Luke

in the early part of Jesus' ministry.

But for the next couple of weeks, we're just going to take just a couple of weeks

and look at some various texts together before we dive into that series.

So this morning, we're going to be in the Gospel of John,

John 2:1–11

chapter 2, verses 1 through 11.

That's page 887 in the Pew Bible, if you want to turn there with me.

Gospel of John, chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

All right, let me read this text for us.

John writes this.

He says,

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 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 Canaan and Galilee

and manifested his glory.

And the disciples believed in him.

Let's pray together.

Father, we ask that this morning,

as we attend now to your word,

Father, that your living word,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

would come and be present to us

and speak to us by your Holy Spirit.

Lord, as we put ourselves under your word,

we pray that you would raise us up by your spirit

to hear and see and know

and to taste that you are good.

Lord, would we come to understand you

and love you and know you more fully this morning

as a result of this time together

around your word.

God, we ask that our time spent here this morning

would bring much praise and much honor

and much glory to you,

our great and loving King.

We ask this in his name.

Amen.

Well, it's the start of another year, isn't it?

Hard to believe.

2017, how many months is it going to take you

to write the right date on your checks?

Oh, wait, we don't write checks anymore,

so forget about that.

Our cell phone just does it all for us, right?

But I think this is a good time of year, isn't it,

to recalibrate and to realign ourselves

with what's really important,

both as individuals and as a church.

And as I thought about a text

that would help us do that this morning,

this is the text that came to mind.

Because I think that this is a text

that helps us to see in a really vivid way,

as John says at the end of our text in verse 11,

it helps us to see in a vivid way

the glory of Jesus.

This, the first of his signs, John writes,

Jesus did at Cana in Galilee

and manifested his glory.

After all, what is really important?

What is worth building your life

and reorienting your life around?

What ought we as Christians, as a church,

constantly be recalibrating

and reorienting ourselves around?

If we are listening to God's revelation in scripture,

that thing above all else

is the glory of Jesus.

If you think about it,

most of us are hunting and searching for glory,

aren't we?

For something beautiful and awe-inspiring.

In other words, we're looking for something

that's worthy,

worthy of giving our lives to,

worthy of our time and our efforts

and our dreams and our energies,

aren't we?

I think in our worst moments as human beings,

we're hunting for our own glory.

We want ourselves to be great.

But thankfully, by God's common grace,

we're often not as bad as we could be.

And in those not as bad moments,

rather than wanting ourselves to be great,

we want to be a part of something great.

We want to live for something or someone

that is truly worthy.

But it's so easy to go after the wrong thing.

Even as Christians, even as a church,

we often get caught up in secondary things

and lose sight of the main thing.

But John's entire gospel

that we're just dipping into this morning

is written to show us

that this desire for glory within all of us

is really meant to find its object,

its goal, its satisfaction

in the one who is glorious in Jesus.

The word of God who became flesh

so that we might see the glory of God.

And by believing in him,

we might become the children of God.

That is, we might become partakers of that glory.

So here then, as we begin another year,

I think there are three things in this text

that can help reorient us back to the center,

back to the main thing.

Back not just to an idea or a program

or a set of resolutions,

but back to a person,

back to Jesus himself

and to his glory.

The one who is truly worth actually living for.

So let's look first at what we see here.

First, we see here

the glory of the power of Jesus.

Don't we?

I mean, at the most basic level,

this text is about Jesus

doing something extraordinary, isn't it?

He literally turns water into wine.

Now this event in the life of Jesus

is so familiar to so many of us

that we can lose sight

of how extraordinary it actually is.

How many children's Bibles

have this story in it?

We're so familiar with it

and yet, it's incredible.

Look again at verses 6, 7, and 8.

Look down there in the text again

at 6, 7, and 8

where this miracle happens

and notice what Jesus doesn't do there.

There's no big production, is there?

He doesn't wave his hands over the water

and say something really profound

and powerful, right?

He doesn't sort of gather everyone around

to watch him work.

He doesn't say, stop the feast.

Something big's gonna happen right here.

You know?

He doesn't tell the disciples

to cue the music

and fire up the smoke machine.

You know?

The final countdown, here we go.

Because the magic's about to happen.

None of that.

In fact, John narrates this story

so beautifully, so subtly, doesn't he?

Look again.

Where in this story

does the miracle actually happen?

In verse 9, John tells us

that the master of the feast

tasted the water,

now become wine.

But by that point in the story,

by the point in the story

where John actually says

that the water had become wine,

the miracle's already happened.

At some point between the servants

filling the jars to the brim

and Jesus saying,

now draw some out,

Jesus had already done the impossible.

Just like that.

Perhaps with that simple word,

now.

Now draw some out, Jesus says.

And with that simple word,

this everyday substance,

this water,

has been changed forever.

Imagine yourself at the gym.

Come on.

It's New Year's Day.

I'm sure I'm not the only one

who's been thinking about

my need to get to the gym, right?

So imagine yourself at the gym.

And there are two people there

lifting weights.

First one comes up,

grabs the bar,

stares into the mirror.

Why do people always lift weights

looking in a mirror?

I don't get it.

You can tell I don't go to the gym a lot.

Grabs the bar,

and with a good deal of grunting

and groaning and this noise,

sts, sts, sts,

why do they do that too?

With a solid yell,

they lift the bar above their head.

Not bad.

But then another steps up,

and without a sound,

without seemingly any effort,

lifts the bar aloft

and puts it down again.

And of course,

in that moment,

we know who has the greater strength,

don't we?

Not the one who is grunting and groaning,

but the one who can do it

without the slightest sign of exertion.

And is that not Jesus here?

And yet he's doing something more

than lifting a barbell,

isn't he?

He's altering something

in the created order

at its very root

and bringing it into newness.

Water becomes wine.

And as his ministry continues

in the Gospel of John,

this is just the beginning.

This is just the first,

this is just the beginning

of his signs,

John will say.

In chapter four,

an official son will be healed

with just a word.

In chapter six,

5,000 people will be fed

with just one small meal.

In chapter nine,

a man who's been blind since birth

will see again

with just a little wash

in the city pool.

And in chapter 11,

with a simple prayer

and a command,

a dead man will walk out

of his own tomb.

So who is this Jesus?

Who is this one

who has such power

to overcome sickness

and hunger

and blindness

and even death itself?

The earliest followers of Jesus

all came to one conclusion.

That in Jesus,

God himself,

the creator God himself

had come.

Here's how John explains it

in the opening chapter

of his gospel.

In the beginning was the word

and the word was with God

and the word was God.

He was in the beginning with God

and all things were made

through him

and without him

was not anything made

that was made.

And then he goes on to say,

and that word became flesh

and dwelt among us

and we have seen his glory.

Glory is of the only son

from the father

full of grace and truth.

This is who Jesus is.

The word of God,

the son of God,

the second person

of the Trinity

become flesh

and dwelling among us.

Almighty in power.

And that helps to explain

Jesus' interaction with Mary

in these opening verses,

I think.

Mary tells Jesus

that they've run out of wine.

And how does Jesus respond?

Well, surprisingly,

he responds with a gentle

but firm rebuke.

Woman,

what does this have to do

with me?

Not exactly how you think

Jesus would respond

to his own mother, right?

Now, the word woman there

sounds really harsh,

doesn't it?

If I were to walk up

to someone and say,

woman,

da-da-da-da-da-da-da,

you would think,

whoa,

where's that guy get off?

No, well, okay.

But in the historical context,

that particular word

in this particular context

would have actually been

a quite respectful way

for Jesus to reply to Mary.

In fact,

that same sort of expression

can even be used

with some warmth

and some affection

in certain contexts.

That's the same way

Jesus will address his mother

at the end of his life

at the cross

when he's sort of making sure

that Mary's taken care of

by John.

So Jesus is being respectful.

He's being caring here.

But in the rest of his reply,

Jesus is telling Mary what?

He's telling Mary

in no uncertain terms

that she or anyone else

can dictate the terms

or the times of his ministry.

He is telling her

that his ministry

will be utterly free

from any kind of human advice

or agenda or manipulation.

Not even Jesus' own earthly mother

has an inside track

to get Jesus to do something

on her timetable.

You see?

This almighty Lord Jesus

isn't something

that we can control.

Isn't someone

that we can control

or even someone

we can advise.

Mary wants Jesus to act

but Jesus is clear

that he will work

in his own time

and in his own way.

Rather,

the lesson here

is that we should respond

the way Mary responds

and how she advises

the servants to respond

in verse 5.

Do whatever he tells you.

That is the right response

to this almighty Jesus.

He's not someone

that we could ever

possibly control

but he is someone

that we must trust.

He doesn't obey us

but we must obey him.

Do whatever

he tells you.

So this text

is helping us

to see the glory

of Jesus' power

and a little bit

of how we should be

responding to that power.

But this miracle

is a lot deeper than that.

There's more going on here

than just a brute display

of power

and there are hints

sort of all over

this narrative

that tell us

that something more

is going on.

First,

Jesus talks about

his hour

in verse 4

and then second

there's this detail

that John points out

about these jars

being used

for Jewish purification

in verse 6

and then third

we're told

that this miracle

is the first

of Jesus' signs

in verse 11.

All these little hints

in the narrative

are pointers

that what Jesus

is doing here

is more than just

showing his power.

It's more than just

a trick

to display

how great he is.

There's something

deeper that we're

meant to see

and this is our

second point.

The deeper thing

that we're meant

to see is the glory

not just of Jesus' power

but the glory

of his mission.

Now isn't it strange

that Jesus replies

to Mary

what does this

have to do with me?

My hour

has not yet come.

That's all the more

strange when you realize

that in John's gospel

whenever Jesus

talks about his hour

he's talking about

something very specific.

It's not just

a general way

of him referencing

his ministry

as if

it's not my time

yet to sort of

start doing all

these things.

In fact

throughout the first

half of John's gospel

as we're being told

about Jesus' ministry

we're constantly

being told

that his hour

hadn't come yet.

It's not until

chapter 12

after Jesus

rides into Jerusalem

for the last time

that finally

he says

now my hour

has come.

This is my hour

because at that

moment

he's on his way

to the cross

and to his resurrection

and to his exaltation.

You see

in John's gospel

Jesus' hour

is the hour

of his death

and resurrection.

So the question is

why

when this young

couple

runs out of wine

at their wedding feast

and Mary says

Jesus

you should probably

do something here

why does Jesus say

but my hour

hasn't come?

And by the way

Mary probably

isn't asking Jesus

or intending for Jesus

to do something

miraculous here

she's probably just

asking him for help.

John tells us

in verse 11

that this is the first

miracle Jesus did

so Mary probably

isn't expecting him

to do something miraculous.

We know from Luke 1 and 2

that Mary knew

that Jesus was destined

to be Israel's

long awaited king

but she probably

hadn't seen him

do anything like this

before.

So she's saying

Jesus help

and yet Jesus

in response

comes back

with this almost

nuclear reply

but my hour

hasn't come yet.

What did Jesus see

in this moment

that Mary

didn't see?

What is it

about this setting

and this context?

A bridegroom

a bride

a wedding

a feast

what about all

that made Jesus

think explicitly

of his hour?

Well friends

I think Jesus

was thinking

of his hour

because of what

he understood

his mission

to be.

You see

when the great

Old Testament

prophets

look forward

to the messianic

age

to the age

when God

would come

they often

characterize it

as a time

when the wine

would flow freely

when fasting

would give way

to feasting.

That's what

Jeremiah 31

was all about

that we read

earlier.

Just one of

many texts

in the prophets

when they

looked ahead

and saw

that one day

God would

finally be

united to

his people

like a groom

united to

his bride

and that

that would

be a celebration

to end

all celebrations

and they would

feast

and they would

drink

and they would

do so forever.

Later in his

ministry

Jesus himself

would adapt

the image

of a wedding

as a symbol

for the completion

of the messianic

age.

And you see

friends

that was

Jesus'

mission.

He had

come

to begin

to inaugurate

this great

work of God

this in

breaking

of God's

kingdom

to start

this banquet

of lasting

joy

because

God was

breaking

in.

You see

all around

him

in this

moment

in John

2

Jesus

was seeing

an image

a parable

of why

he came

and at

the center

of that

great feast

that great

feast of

God

that the

prophets

spoke of

at the

center

of that

great

coming

feast

that Jesus

had come

to inaugurate

just like a

marriage

in the center

of that

feast

there was

a covenant

it's no

accident

that Jesus

told them

to fill

the jars

that were

ordinarily

used for

purification

rites

there were

probably other

jars they

could have

used

by the way

you see

there were

rituals in

the first

century

for Jews

rituals

for washing

their utensils

and rituals

for washing

their hands

and all

of these

sort of

were ways

of kind

of embodying

and expressing

the mosaic

law

and these

big jars

were the

ones

that you

would

use

so what

better

way

for Jesus

to show

that now

the old

covenant

was being

fulfilled

in the

new

that the

new

had come

than to

take those

old jars

and fill

them with

something

radically

new

to do

a work

of

transformation

in them

the water

of those

old

purification

rites

that water

that could

only wash

you on

the outside

and it

had to be

repeated

again

and again

and again

was now

giving way

to the

new wine

of the

great

feast

that God

had all

along

promised

you would

bring

this wine

that you

would drink

down

deep

into the

inside

of yourself

and that

would

satisfy

you

once

and for

all

again

John's

gospel

is in

many ways

all about

this

theme

in his

opening

chapter

we read

there again

and the

word

became

flesh

and

dwelt

among

us

and we

have

seen

his

glory

from

his

fullness

we've

all received

grace

upon

grace

for the

law

was given

through

Moses

grace

and truth

came

through

Jesus

Christ

the law

of Moses

the old

covenant

was just a

pointer

was just a

shadow

and Jesus

came to bring

the substance

the fullness

he came to

bring the new

and lasting

covenant

and at the

heart of

this new

covenant

that would

bind God

and his

people together

in lasting

joy

joy like a

feast

like a

banquet

at the

heart

of that

binding

covenant

at the

heart

of that

covenant

was what

those jars

stood for

but could

never

actually

deliver

at the

heart

of the

new

covenant

was

something

that the

law

could never

give

lasting

real

purification

cleansing

the

forgiveness

of sins

and that's

why Jesus

was at a

wedding

thinking of

his hour

that's why

his mother's

request for

more wine

made Jesus

think of

the cross

because Jesus

knew that

one day

he would

be feast

with his

bride

one day

there would

be

festival

joy

with his

church

and there

would be

no

unstoppable

limit

there would

be nothing

that would

stop the

feast of

that day

but to

get there

to win

his bride

to cleanse

her so that

she might

drink deeply

of the wine

of his love

and be

satisfied

Jesus

would need

to say

I thirst

God

John will

show us

in chapter

19

that as

Jesus is

hanging on

the cross

they'll

fill a

sponge

with sour

wine

bitter to

the taste

and in

his thirst

he will

drink it

isn't it

amazing how

this gospel

is constructed

that the

very first

miracle that

Jesus does

is bringing

the best

wine

that they

had ever

tasted

but in

order to

bring it

home

Jesus will

drink the

bitterness

of our

sin

and our

guilt

and our

death

he'll

drink it

down

so that

we can

drink the

wine of

his

righteousness

and because

he's taken

our cup

down to

the very

dregs

we can

have no

fear

that the

cup of

his

righteousness

will ever

run dry

you see

friends this

new covenant

that Jesus

has come to

bring cannot

and will not

be broken

because he's

fulfilled all

the terms

and this is the

glory of his

mission

to fulfill the

law and to

complete what the

prophets spoke

of to win

his bride

and to save

the feast

isn't that a

sobering

description of

our human

condition

verse 3

the wine

ran out

how often

do our

human

attempts to

find joy

and happiness

come crashing

down

no matter

what it

is

the wine

runs out

but here

to rescue

us

Christ

intervenes

in verse

10 the

master of the

feast pulls

the bridegroom

aside

now in that

culture the

groom actually

would have been

responsible for

paying for and

putting on the

wedding feast

so that's why the

master of

ceremonies this

master of the

feast pulls

the groom

aside

and he tells

this young

man he says

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

and is in

that moment

an incredible

picture of the

gospel

this young

groom is

about to

experience the

embarrassment of

his lifetime

in an honor and

shame culture this

wedding feast that

he has planned and

he has paid for and

his family is

responsible for is

about to come up

short and all of

his family and

all of his friends and

all of his in-laws

are there and

there's a whole

mountain of

social shame that's

about to come

crashing down on

his head

a mountain that

he might never

come out from

under

but instead of

getting all that

this young

groom

he gets the

credit for what

Jesus has done

and he's

saved

and that's the

heart of the

gospel friends

that through

believing and

trusting in

Christ you

get the

credit for

what he

has done

his death

pays for

your sin

and his

righteousness

covers your

life and

you are

saved

have you come

to rest in

that

or are you

still trying to

prop up your

identity in some

other way are

you still trying to

get out from

under that

mountain of

shame in some

other way are

you still trying to

be whole in some

other way and

your wine is

running out

instead receive

him get the

credit for what

he's done that's

the gospel and

that's the glory of

his mission

let's finish with

the last point that

we see here

third I think we

see here the glory

of Jesus's

lasting joy

don't these words

just ring out

the master of the

feast says you

have kept the

good wine

until now

that's the note

that the story

ends on

and of course the

irony is is that

the bridegroom had

served his best

he had done all he

could do and it

fell short and it

wasn't enough and

it was about to end

in disappointment and

shame but the

wine that Jesus

brings is better

better than the

best thing that

they could ever

come up with on

their own

you've kept the

good wine until

now

J.C.

Ryle put it this

way commenting on

this paragraph of

scripture he says

the world gives its

best things like the

best wine first and

its worst things

last the longer we

serve the world the

more disappointing

unsatisfactory and

unsavory will its

gifts prove Christ

on the other hand

gives his servants

their best things

last they have

first the cross the

race and the battle

but then the rest

the glory and the

crown for the

believer in Christ

friends there is

always better to

come no matter how

good things are now

no matter how terrible

things are now

better things are

still to come and

what we know from

the New Testament is

that the work of

Christ will ultimately

end in the renewal of

all creation that

these joys that we

experience now that if

we are in Christ

they're just a

foretaste of something

better to come when

Christ returns and

heals this created

order when the banquet

of heaven becomes the

feast of earth and

again all of creation

rejoices in the

presence of its creator

and redeemer and we

the bride of Christ

those who have

trusted in him will

be in the midst of

that celebration

living out the

glorious freedom as

Paul says of the

daughters and the

sons of God no matter

what our journey has

been in this life one

day we will turn to

the great master of the

banquet and say you've

kept the good wine

until now and it will

only get better so

for instance this is

glory so orient your

life around this make

this what you live for

this glory yeah and you

will not be disappointed

let's pray our Lord Jesus

how often we have sought

for joy and happiness and

created things when Lord you

are the giver of all good

gifts Lord thank you that

the promise of this

passage is that you

have come to give an

undestructible everlasting

joy Lord help us to

fight for that joy help us

to live in the midst of

that joy even as we weep

with those who weep even

as we work for justice even

as we go about our daily

routines Lord even as we

suffer Lord help us to

know that there is joy in

knowing you and that one

day you will come and make

all things new so Lord Jesus

as we now come around your

table as we celebrate

communion as we remember

your body broken and your

blood shed would you take

these signs of what you've

done for us and would you

seal on our hearts the glory

of who you are and what

you've done and would we

know the assurance of being

loved and known by you

Lord Jesus be present with us

now encourage our hearts

fan the flame of our faith

we pray so that we might see

your glory and believe in you

amen