Jesus the Perfect Savior

Good morning, Watermark. The scripture reading today comes from John chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.

John 2:1–12

You can follow along on your bulletin, on the screen, or in your own Bible.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

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,

and did not know where it came.

When the master of the feast tasted the water, now became 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 fast,

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.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thank you, Iris.

Well, good morning, everybody.

If you're new to Watermark, my name's Kevin.

I'm one of the leaders here,

and great to have you.

If you are new,

won't you come and introduce yourself afterwards?

I'd love to meet you and say hi,

and get to know you a little bit.

I want to,

before we dive into this passage,

one or two quick updates I want to give us.

I meant to say this earlier,

I forgot.

Last week, we called up Aiyong here,

if you remember,

and Aiyong shared about how she works for an organization called Sons and Daughters,

and they were about to start an alpha course this coming Thursday,

in a bar on Lockhart Road in Wan Chai,

for the ladies that are working in the Red Light District.

Well, ICG went with her on Thursday,

and we started this alpha course,

and it was so exciting.

We had a number of ladies that we went down to the bars,

and met them,

and called them,

and invited them,

and there was food,

and there was jewelry making,

and there was the alpha course.

It was a really amazing evening.

So I wanted to let you know,

thank you for praying.

You can continue to pray for Aiyong and Sons and Daughters over the next 10 weeks,

as they do this alpha course in a bar on Lockhart Road.

So I just wanted to give you feedback.

That was a really great evening.

Okay.

Let's think about this passage.

For the last three weeks,

we've been working through John's gospel,

John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

And John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

John introduces,

or gives the background to Jesus' ministry.

And today,

as Iris read to us,

we get to chapter 2.

And chapter 2 is kind of the launch,

the start of Jesus' ministry.

But I want to just take a step back,

and remind us,

a bit of a high-level view,

what is John's gospel all about?

But in John's gospel,

John,

the author wants us to see something of Jesus' glory,

His majesty,

His uniqueness,

and to trust in Him,

and believe in Him.

So in chapter 1,

there's a very important verse.

He says this in verse 14,

the word that Jesus became flesh,

and dwelt among us.

We have seen His glory,

full of grace and truth.

And from this fullness,

we have received grace upon grace.

Jesus came,

that we may see His glory,

and from seeing Him,

receive grace.

And then at the end of John's gospel,

chapter 20,

John writes and he says,

Jesus did many other signs

in the presence of His disciples,

but these are written down,

that you may believe Jesus is the Christ,

and by believing,

find a life in His name.

And this is the reason why

John's gospel is written.

This is the reason why it's in the Bible.

God, and John, the author,

want us to see something of Jesus' uniqueness,

His majesty, His glory,

and by seeing that,

trust in it,

hope in it,

believe in it,

and then find life.

Life in Jesus,

life in His name.

John tells us again and again,

that life,

apart from Jesus,

is mere existence.

It's not fullness of life.

Life with Jesus at the center

is fullness of life.

And this is why the gospel is written.

That we may see Jesus,

trust and believe in Him,

and experience fullness of life.

Okay?

So,

this morning,

as we look at this passage,

my hope is that

we will meet God,

the living Jesus,

in these pages,

trusting Him,

experience life in His name.

So,

this passage,

John chapter 2,

John 2 · chapter mention

let's look at Jesus

and His followers

are invited to a wedding celebration.

Obviously,

weddings are a big deal.

They're a big deal

in our day and age.

They're a big deal

back in the first century.

Weddings are not just

two people coming together.

They are two families

coming together.

Or maybe even two villages

coming together.

And in this day,

obviously,

it was a huge social engagement.

The entire village

would be welcomed

and invited

to the ceremony,

to the celebration.

And what would happen

in a typical Hebrew wedding

is that there'd be

a big feast

in the afternoon

or the evening.

All the family

would be around

and involved.

after the feast

would be a ceremony

of some sort.

They'd go through

a traditional

Hebrew wedding ceremony.

And at the end

of the ceremony,

as night is falling,

the bride and the groom

would be led

by the wedding party

or the family and friends

through the village

by torchlight

kind of campaign

or what is the word I had?

Parade.

There would be

under a canopy.

There would be a canopy

over the bride and groom

and they'd be led

through the streets

back to the house

that the groom

has spent many years

preparing for his bride.

And they'd be singing

and they'd be dancing

and they'd be celebrating

and people would be

leaning out their windows

into the streets

wishing them well

to the happy couple.

And they'd go back

to the house

and the celebration

wouldn't end there.

Rather than going

on honeymoon,

for the next week,

everybody would come

to their house.

They'd have an open house

and celebration

would continue

and there'd be feasting

and food

and celebration

and wine

as everybody celebrates

the happy couple.

Okay?

Now,

in our passage today,

Jesus and his disciples

are at such

a wedding celebration.

Maybe it's a family member

of Mary,

his mother,

and something goes wrong.

The wine runs out.

Now,

for us,

that may seem

like a nuisance,

bad form,

but not the end

of the world.

In that day and age,

this is disastrous

because it was

the responsibility

of the groom

and his family

to provide

enough food

and wine

for the celebration.

And if they didn't do so,

that communicated

that either

they weren't prepared

or they didn't care enough

about the bride

and her family.

So it's kind of like

the groom saying,

your family's not

that important to us,

right?

We're just gonna

go cheap.

We're not really

gonna take care of you.

This was incredibly

offensive and insulting.

And so Jesus

does this amazing miracle.

He turns about

700 liters of water

into some of the world's

greatest Bordeaux blend

wine

and he saves

the reputation

of the groom

and he helps

this young couple

avoid the first

marital conflict.

Okay?

So,

thank you Jesus.

Now,

immediately

this passage

raises a couple

of questions

for us.

The one question

is this.

Does anybody

believe that

this really happened?

I mean,

let's be honest.

This is a pretty

strange thing,

right?

I mean,

how do we know

this isn't just

some fable?

I mean,

has anybody here

turned water

into wine recently?

Okay,

I've never seen

that being done.

But if you know

how to do that,

come and talk to me.

I'd love to know.

this is a pretty

unusual miracle,

right?

And you may

be here thinking,

come on,

like,

this doesn't really

happen.

I can sympathize

with that sentiment.

But I want to put it

to you that the nature

of miracles

is that they are

unusual

and out of the

ordinary.

That's the definition

of what a miracle is.

A miracle is not

something that

normally and usually

happens.

And throughout

the Gospels,

there are many

miracles that take

place,

things that are

unusual and out

of the ordinary,

and they're there

to make us sit up

and to ask the

question,

what's so special

about Jesus?

If these things

happen ordinarily,

they wouldn't be

called miracles.

And the Bible's

claim is that

the divine being

who is beyond

our realm

of time

and space

and the limitations

of time and space

has stepped

into our

time-space-bound

world,

but as the

creator of

this material

world,

he's not

bound by the

limitations that

we creatures

are bound by.

And so in some

sense,

you're going to

ask the question,

well,

what would you

expect would

happen if the

divine being,

the creator,

came to our

world?

If the creator

of everything

that exists

stepped into

our world

and just acted

ordinarily like

nothing was

different,

that would be

unusual,

right?

You'd almost

expect that the

one who's beyond

time and space

and the limitations

of this world,

when he steps

into our world,

he's going to

act a bit

unusually,

differently,

but out of the

ordinary.

And so part of

the fact that he

is the uncreated

being beyond time

and space and

steps into our

world means from

time to time,

he does things

that are unusual,

out of the

ordinary,

even miraculous.

So yes,

this is unusual,

but not impossible

for one who

claims to be the

person that Jesus

claims to be.

Okay?

But he had two

other questions.

So the miracles

aside,

here's two other

questions that this

passage asks us.

The first is this,

why does Jesus

speak to his

mother this way?

I mean,

look what he says

to her,

right?

Mary asks him to

do something about

the wine problem,

and Jesus says,

woman,

what does this have

to do with me?

Now,

if one of my

children spoke to

their mothers,

i.e.

my wife this way,

I would be all

over them like a

rash.

They would know

all about it,

right?

Nobody gets to

speak to my

wife like that.

Why does Jesus

speak to his

mother like this?

And here's the

second question.

Why the

arbitrary,

seemingly arbitrary

miracle of

turning water

into wine?

John tells us

this is one of

the first miracles

Jesus does.

If Jesus wants

to make a

statement,

why not arrive

with a bang,

like raise

someone from

the dead,

or pass

through walls,

or turn the

little olives

that are on the

table into gold

coins,

or something

useful,

right?

Why the

arbitrary sign

of water

into wine?

Surely Jesus

could do

something more

interesting than

this.

Well,

these two

questions reveal

two things about

Jesus.

The way that he

speaks to his

mother and the

nature of his

miracle help us

see two things

about Jesus that

help us to see

his glory,

his majesty,

his uniqueness,

and by seeing

that,

hopefully will

call us to

trust in him

and find life

in his name.

So let's look

at those questions

together.

Okay, let's

look at the

first one.

Why does

Jesus speak

to Mary

like this?

Why?

Because Jesus

is the

perfect son.

Jesus is the

perfect son.

Look at verse

three and four

with me in your

Bibles if you

have it,

or in the

bulletin.

Jesus'

mother Mary

comes to him

and says,

Jesus,

they've run

out of wine,

do something

about it.

And Jesus

responds,

woman,

what does this

have to do

with me?

My hour has

not yet come.

Now,

according to

the culture

and the

language of

that time,

to call

his mother

woman was

not as

offensive as

it comes

across in

our day

and age.

Okay,

for us,

that's highly

offensive.

In that

culture,

it wasn't

quite as

offensive,

but it

also wasn't

massively

polite.

So Jesus

is not being

rude,

he's not being

disrespectful,

but he is

being rather

abrupt.

He is being

rather surprising.

There's

nothing

linguistically

or culturally

necessary

for him

to call

her

woman.

He could

have

called

her

mother.

There's

other

verses

in the

Bible

that talk

like that,

but it

is rather

surprising.

It's rather

abrupt.

And then he

says,

what does

this have

to do

with me?

Again,

I don't

know about

you,

but if

your mother

or your

wife

asks you

to do

something,

it has

everything

to do

with you,

even if

you didn't

think it

did before.

It now

does,

right?

But Jesus

here says,

why does

he speak

like this?

Jesus

is showing

us,

and he's

showing Mary

something

incredibly

important.

He's

redefining

the

relationship.

Jesus

is showing

us that

long,

long before

he's the

son of

Mary on

earth,

he's the

son of

the father

in heaven.

That long

before he's

the son

of Mary

on earth,

he's the

son of

God,

the uncreated

one.

And that

as much

as he

wants to

please

and honor

his mother

Mary,

his primary

purpose in

life,

and his

primary

purpose in

coming,

is to

please and

honor his

father who

sent him.

And this

is a point

that Jesus

is going to

make throughout

the gospels

again and

again and

again,

that he

only ever

acts in

accordance to

the will of

his father

in heaven.

Listen to

what he says

in John 5

John 5:30

verse 30,

I seek not

my own will,

but the will

of him who

sent me.

John 6

John 6:38

verse 38,

I've come

down from

heaven,

not to

do my

will,

but the

will of

him who

sent me.

John 4

John 4:34

verse 34,

John 14

31,

I do as

the father

has commanded

me.

Again and

again and

again,

Jesus says

this,

my primary

identity is

not that I'm

the son of

Mary of

Nazareth

or Jesus

of Nazareth,

I'm the

son of my

father in

heaven.

And I

have come

and every

decision I

make,

every thought

that goes

through my

mind,

goes through

the filter,

the paradigm

of what

does my

father call

me to do.

Jesus is

the perfect

son,

the perfect

example of

filial piety.

I've come

to honor

my father.

Okay,

you ask,

well,

big deal.

So what

does that

mean for

us?

Well,

I think

this has

two implications

for us.

First one

is this,

Jesus shows

us uniquely

the priority

of faith

even over

family.

The priority

of faith

even over

family.

Jesus shows

us that his

family going

forward is

not necessarily

made up of

biological

relatives or

blood relatives,

it's made up

of those who

come to him

on the basis

of faith.

Unlike

every king,

every president,

every emperor

or dynasty

leader in the

ancient world

and the modern

world,

Jesus shows

us that blood

relatives have

no priority

in his kingdom.

So just think

of,

I'll try not

mention any

names,

but think of

even in the

modern era,

right?

If there is a

king who's on

the throne or

president who's

on the throne,

think of the

privileges that

their blood

family get,

right?

Or the

sheikhs in

the Middle

East.

Think of

the presidential

pardons that

family members

get because

their relatives

is on the

throne,

right?

In every

culture,

every dynasty,

every presidential,

every political

administration,

the relatives of

the person on

the throne get

special privileges.

privileges.

Jesus shows us

here that not

even his blood

relatives get

special privileges.

It's those who

come to him on

the basis of

faith,

not family,

that are included

in his kingdom.

At one point in

his ministry,

Jesus is speaking

in someone's house

and someone comes

to him and

says,

Jesus,

your mother and

your brothers are

here.

They're seeking

you.

They want you to

come speak to

them.

And Jesus says,

who are my

mother?

Who are my

brothers?

Then looking at

those around him,

he says,

here,

here are my

mother and my

brothers.

What's his

point?

Jesus shows us

that it's not

those that have

social or

religious or

filial standing

who have any

claim on him

at all.

Friends,

you can be the

son of Tim

Keller,

C.S.

Lewis,

John Piper,

Billy Graham.

It doesn't

matter who you

are.

You have no

claim on Jesus

unless you come

to him on the

basis of faith.

It's those that

have faith that

are included in

his family.

But here's the

second implication.

Jesus is entirely

committed to

pleasing his

father even to

the point of

death.

Look at what he

says here to

his mother Mary.

He says,

Mary,

what does this

have to do with

me?

And then he

says,

my hour has

not yet come.

Now,

in John's

gospel,

whenever Jesus

talks about his

hour,

what's he talking

about?

He's not talking

about the hour

that he goes to

bed or the

hour of his

appointment or

something.

He's talking

about the hour

of his

crucifixion,

the hour of

his death,

the hour when

Jesus will be

nailed to the

cross on Mount

Calvary for the

sins of the

world.

Jesus will take

upon himself the

wrath and the

judgment of God

the Father for the

sins of all those

who trust in him

and hope in him.

Listen to what he

says in John 12.

He says,

now my soul is

troubled.

This is a few

hours before he's

going to go to the

cross.

In 24 hours time,

Jesus is going to be

nailed to the

cross.

He says,

my soul is

troubled.

What shall I

say?

Shall I say,

Father, save me

from this hour?

No, for this

purpose I have

come to this

hour.

Father, glorify

your name.

In the face of

the crucifixion and

the cross, Jesus'

face is steadfast,

is focused.

This is why I've

come.

Father, glorify

your name.

Friends, Jesus'

death on the

cross was not

random.

It wasn't

arbitrary.

It wasn't the

unfortunate consequence

of a political

situation that

unfolded in

Jerusalem.

It was

purposed, it

was deliberate,

it was chosen

before the

foundations of

the world that

redemption and

restoration and

hope and healing

and salvation will

come to the world,

not automatically with

his coming and his

birth, but through

his death, through

his hour.

And here at the

very beginning of

his ministry, Jesus

turns to his

mother and says,

my hour has not

yet come.

I haven't come to

make a spectacle.

I haven't come to

show everybody that

I'm the Messiah.

My time is still

coming.

Wait.

But soon his hour

would come.

And at that time,

Mary's heart would

be broken.

Her heart would be

pierced as Jesus

hangs on the cross

to make atonement

for sinners and

rebels.

For this purpose, I

have come to this

hour.

Father, glorify your

name.

So Jesus is the

perfect son, not to

Mary, but to God

the Father.

And because he's

the perfect son, that

means he goes to the

cross for people like

you and me.

Jesus is the

perfect son.

But he's not only

the perfect son, he's

also the perfect

savior.

And that's the

answer to the

second question.

Why does Jesus do

this strange miracle,

turning water into

wine?

Well, the reason is

because he's the

perfect savior.

you see, for the

people in Jesus'

day, this miracle,

water and wine

help deep, deep

symbolism.

They weren't just

arbitrary liquids.

They held deep

symbolism.

And when Jesus does

this miracle, every

first century Jew

familiar with the

Jewish scriptures

would have noticed

the deep symbolism

straight away.

So let's think about

this for a few

minutes.

Water.

What does water

mean?

For the Jewish

people, what did

water symbolize?

Well, this passage

actually tells us in

verse 6 what this

water symbolized.

Look what it says in

verse 6.

Now there were six

stone water jars

there.

What were they used

for?

Used for the Jewish

rites of purification.

In the Old

Testament, water held

two main symbolisms.

The one was life and

flourishing and health

and abundance and

blessing.

Okay?

But it also helped

the symbolism of

cleansing, of

purification, of

sanctification, of

holiness, right?

I think one of the

most famous verses

is Ezekiel 36.

Look at what it says

here.

God says to his not

so holy people, he

says, I will sprinkle

clean water in you

and you shall be

clean from all your

uncleanness and from

all your idols I will

clean you.

Okay?

It's a very, very

important verse in

the Old Testament.

I think it's also why

the Israelites had to

walk through the

Red Sea on the way

out of Egypt.

It's symbolic of

saying you've left

Egypt, you're walking

through the waters

symbolically on your

way to the promised

land.

I will cleanse you

from all the

uncleanness of 400

years of Egypt.

I'm going to wash

you and make you my

new people.

You were once slaves

in Egypt, you walk

through the waters,

you're washed, you're

cleansed, now you're my

people on the way to

the promised land.

In a sense, they go

through a baptism,

right?

That's kind of what

baptism is.

Baptism says, my old

life is dead, it's

washed away, it's

gone, I'm a new

person as I follow

Jesus.

The Israelites go

through the waters of

baptism as they leave

Egypt.

Water in the Old

Testament was symbolic

of cleansing, of

washing, of

purification.

Now remember, for the

people of God,

quintessential to what

it means to be the

people of God is to be

set apart for God, to

be consecrated, to be

not holier than thou,

but devoted to Him,

consecrated to God.

And this is what it

means to be God's

people.

You belong to Him, you

set apart, you

consecrated.

And so throughout the

Old Testament, God's

people are constantly

needing to wash

themselves, go through

all sorts of symbolism

and ceremony as a way

of showing that they are

set apart from the ways

of the world and they're

washed and devoted to

God.

So every Jewish person,

almost every day, would

have to go through

ceremonies of washing

themselves to show

their devotion and

their consecration to

God.

They wash themselves

physically, they go into

somebody's house and they

wash their hands, they

wash the utensils that

they're going to eat

worse, they wash the

seat that they're going

to sit down on, they

wash everything because

one of the worst things

that can happen to you

as a Jew is you come

into contact with

something that is

unclean or defiled.

If you come into

contact with something

unclean, it makes you

unclean.

So the Jews are

constantly washing

themselves, washing

their hands, washing

their seats.

Washing their

utensils to make

sure that they're

never considered

unclean.

Because to be

unclean means you're

not welcomed by God

in His presence.

God, the Holy

One, won't associate

with those of us that

are unclean or dirty.

Okay?

So that's what the

water is all about.

Jesus goes to His

wedding and they've

got these six massive

jars of water for

purification.

The water for

cleaning.

What about the wine?

What is the wine

about?

Okay?

Well, again, first

century Jews steeped in

the Old Testament.

And there's huge

messianic expectations

and excitement.

Every Jew would have

known that the

abundance of wine is a

symbol of the blessing

and the joy and the

celebration that will

come on God's people

when the Messiah comes.

When the Messiah comes,

it's going to be a time

of extravagant joy.

And this is symbolized

by wine.

Listen to Isaiah 23,

one of the most famous

verses about this.

It says, God writes

this, on this mountain,

He's talking about

Mount Zion or Jerusalem,

on this mountain, the

Lord of hosts will make

for all peoples a

rich, a feast of rich

food, a feast of well-aged

wine, of rich food full

of marrow, of aged wine

well-refined.

He will swallow up death

forever.

The Lord God will wipe

away every tear from our

face.

And the shame of His

people will be taken

away from all the earth.

Verse 9 goes on, I

don't think I have it up

there.

It says, it will be said

on this day, behold,

this is our God, we've

waited for Him, that He

might save us.

This is the Lord, we've

waited for Him.

Let us be glad and

rejoice in His great

salvation.

Or again, Amos 9, I'll

read this quickly.

Behold, the days are

coming, says the Lord,

when the mountains will

drip with sweet wine,

and all the hills will

flow with it.

I will restore the

fortunes of my people.

They will build, rebuild,

ruin cities and inhabit

them.

They will plant vineyards

and drink deeply of their

wine.

They will make gardens and

eat their fruit.

And again and again,

throughout the Old

Testament, this idea of

wine is a picture of

feasting and celebration

and extravagance and

everyone coming together.

And God restoring for His

people all that was wrong

with the world.

And when the Messiah

comes, it's going to be a

time of celebration and

feasting.

The Messiah is going to

make right all that is

wrong and broken with the

world.

So here's this question.

Jesus takes, what do you

think it means when Jesus

takes these jars of water,

not drinking water, of

which there was plenty,

every table would have had

drinking water.

water.

Jesus takes purification

water, water for ritual

cleansing, ceremonial

cleansing.

And He turns it into an

abundance of extravagant

wine.

What do you think Jesus is

saying?

He's saying two things.

He's saying one, the

Messiah is here.

The Messiah has come, the

long-awaited Redeemer that

for thousands of years

Israel has been waiting

for.

The Messiah has come.

Christ the Redeemer has

come.

Jesus is not just a

miracle worker.

He's not just a religious

teacher.

He's not just a good

rabbi.

Jesus, the long-awaited

Messiah, the one who's

going to restore the

fortunes of Israel, has

come.

But here's the second

thing Jesus wants to say

to us.

Very importantly, Jesus

says that His coming

means that the old

system of purification

and cleansing and

putting yourself right

with God through washing

your hands and washing

your utensils, that

whole system of making

yourself clean and

acceptable to God has

changed.

And that system is done

away with and there's a

whole new system that's

come.

And it's a system that's

abundant with extravagant

joy and celebration.

Friends, Jesus coming

means that unholy people

like me and like you,

dare I say, no longer

need to clean ourselves

up, no longer need to go

through the purification

ceremony, no longer need

to have jars of water

outside to wash our

hands and wash us before

we come into church to

make sure we are

acceptable to God.

Jesus, the Holy One, has

come to make unholy

people like me and you

holy and acceptable

before the Holy God

because the Messiah has

come and because He's

come to cleanse us.

What all the ceremonies

and all the traditions

we're trying to

symbolize, Jesus says, I

have come to do it.

Does that make sense?

Listen to our Ezekiel 36.

This is the passage we

read earlier.

Look at what goes on.

It says this.

God says, I will sprinkle

clean water on you and

you will be clean from

all your uncleanness and

from all your idols I will

cleanse you.

And then He says, but I

won't just do the

ceremony on the outside.

I won't just clean your

hands.

Actually, I'm going to

clean your heart.

I will give you a new

heart and a new spirit I'll

put within you.

I'll put my spirit within

you and cause you to

walk in my statutes and

I'll cause you to walk

and obey my rules.

You will be my people and

I will be your God.

Jesus come to cleanse us,

not just outside, but on

the inside and to make

unholy people like us

acceptable before the

Holy God.

Now, what are the

implications of this?

Again, I think there's

two implications.

Okay.

The first one is this.

rest in the confidence of

God's gracious acceptance.

Rest in the confidence of

God's gracious acceptance.

Friends, let me ask you

this.

How many of us ever feel like

we need to clean up our

lives?

How many of us ever come to

church feeling like I don't

quite have it all together?

Maybe you don't feel like

that.

I feel like that regularly.

In fact, can I be honest

with you?

I felt like that today.

I came to church today

pretty weighed down.

I feel like God, I'm not

good enough.

I don't have what it takes.

I've got a bunch of fears

and things that I'm worried

about.

I don't know if I should tell

you the story.

Last week, we were in

worship and there was a

little family dynamic going

on, right?

One of my kids wasn't at

worship and I really wanted

her to be worshiped.

So while I've got my hands

up, you know, sing the songs,

my mind's elsewhere.

I'm thinking, where's my

kid?

And then Claire says to me,

hey, this isn't the right

time to deal with it.

Just leave it very wisely.

And I, the great husband

that I am, ignore her

advice and then go outside

to go and find my kid.

And I'm a mess.

And on one hand, I'm looking

like I'm worshiping God

amazingly with a holy man.

Actually, inside, there's

all sorts of turmoil.

Friends, this week, there are

things in my life that I'm

not very proud of, that I

don't like about myself.

And there are things that

need to change and that I

want to change.

And if I'm honest, sometimes

I don't really know how to

change.

My point is, I come to church

sometimes a big mess.

And there's a temptation for

me to look for the water

jars.

Where are the jars?

Where can I clean myself

up?

What can I do to make myself

acceptable?

Jesus has come to wash away

the crap and the stuff in our

lives that doesn't make us

acceptable for God, to make

us clean.

Friends, anyone be able to

resonate with that?

Friends, anyone here feel

trapped by sin, by habits that

you can't break?

Friends, anyone here find

yourself going back again and

again, doing the same dumb

things and wishing you could

change?

Friends, anyone here bothered

by the damaged relationships

around us that we just keep on

seeming to perpetuate?

Friends, anyone here feel

uncomfortable about how we've

lived or acted or behaved this

week?

Friends, any of us here feel

dirty or unclean?

Maybe not by what we've done,

but by what others have done

against us.

Feel defiled by the sins that

others have sinned against us.

Jesus Christ says to us, you've

got two choices.

You can either try and clean up

your own act through self

justification or some self

atonement or moral improvement

project.

But the problem is that will

never ever work and you'll never

feel like you've done enough.

You'll tell yourself, I've got to

go on some pilgrimage to Mecca.

You'll go, you'll never feel

satisfied.

I've got to beat myself up.

I've got to fast.

I've got to punish myself.

You'll never do enough.

You can try and clean yourself up

through some self-justification,

self-atonement project.

It'll never work.

Or you can come to Jesus, the

perfect one who died on the cross,

to take your sin and your shame

for you so that you can stand

before God wholly.

You can see Jesus in his glory.

You can believe in him and let him

clean you and heal you and restore

you.

1 Corinthians 6 says this,

Do you not know that the

unrighteous, like me, will not

inherit the kingdom of God?

Do you not be deceived?

Then he lists a whole lot of

things.

Sexually immoral, adulterers,

idolaters, thieves, the greedy,

drunkards, revilers, swindlers,

et cetera, et cetera, won't inherit

the kingdom of God.

And he says, but such were some of

you.

Friends, that's our church.

That's us, right?

This isn't that church down the road.

This is us.

Such were some of you.

But you were washed.

You were sanctified.

You were justified in the name of

the Lord Jesus Christ and by the

spirit of our God.

Friends, at the heart of Christianity

is the belief that I am made clean

because Jesus' righteousness,

Jesus' purity, Jesus' holiness is

credited to me when I come to him

and trust in him and believe in him.

So rest in the confidence,

abundant, gracious approval

that Christ gives you

when you trust in him.

But here's the second implication.

We're almost done.

Take joy in God's abundant approval.

Take joy in God's abundant approval.

I think it's important not to miss

that in Isaiah 25,

when it talks about what's going to

happen when the Messiah comes,

the tone of this passage is not

dreariness or weariness,

but joy and celebration.

Let me read again to us what

Isaiah 25 says.

It says,

On this mountain,

the Lord of hosts will make for all

peoples,

not just those that have got it

together,

not just the Jews,

all people,

black, white, Chinese,

African, Hongkonger,

Filipino, Indonesian,

wealthy, poor, educated,

for all people,

a feast of rich food,

a feast of well-aged wine,

of rich food full of marrow,

of aged wine well refined.

He will swallow up death and sin

and condemnation and guilt and shame

forever.

The Lord will wipe away

the tears from our face

and the shame of his people

he will take away from all the earth.

It will be said on that day,

Behold, this is our God.

We have waited for him

that he might save us.

This is the Lord.

We've waited for him.

Let us be glad

and rejoice

in his salvation.

Friends, I think it's no coincidence

that in the New Testament,

Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

when God's Spirit

is poured out on his people

on the day of Pentecost,

those standing around the disciples,

what do they accuse them of?

Of having drunk too much wine.

Right?

Now, I don't think the point is

that when you're full of the Spirit,

you become inebriated

and you're like on the side of the road,

you know, passed out.

That's not what happens necessarily

when the Spirit comes.

The point is when we're full of the Spirit,

there's an abundance of exuberance,

of joy overflowing us

that somebody should say,

what's happened to you?

Right?

Friends, Isaiah 25 does not say,

on that day,

the Lord will pour out his Spirit

like rich wine

and everyone will just have to grin

and bear it

and keep on plodding through life

until one day they get to heaven

and finally they will be happy.

Friends, the Old Testament does not say

that when the Messiah comes

to deal with our sin

and our cleanness,

he will come,

but it will be pretty miserable fear

until finally we get to heaven

and then maybe it will be joyful.

Friends, Jesus didn't turn

700 liters of water

into cough medicine

or hand sanitizer.

No, he turned it

into the very finest wine.

It will be said on that day,

behold, this is our God.

We've waited for him.

We've waited for him.

Let us be glad.

Let us rejoice in his salvation.

And so as we come to a close,

let me ask you a couple of questions.

Friends, if you are a Christian,

are you glad that Christ has come?

Does your life exude the joy

and celebration that the gospel

is meant to bring?

Friends, has Jesus Christ

made any difference to your life?

This isn't in my notes,

but could it possibly be okay

that somebody accuses you

of having drunk a little bit

too much alcohol

because of the joy that you find

because Jesus comes to you?

Maybe that's heretical.

I'm sorry.

Elders, you can correct me

if I'm out of line.

Friends, is some worship a chore?

Or is it a drag?

Or is coming to worship God

something we delight in?

Friends, do you see Sunday morning

as a slog or as a time

to drink deeply of the wine

of God's presence,

the joyful welcome,

the grace of God Almighty

who says to us,

welcome, my sons, my daughters.

I have come for you.

Friends, Jesus the Messiah has come.

For 700 years,

God's people waited,

waited, waited

for the Messiah to come.

One who would deal with their sin

and their suffering

and their shame.

One who would turn their mourning

into rejoicing,

their guilt into freedom.

And John is telling us

in John chapter 2

John 2 · chapter mention

that he's come.

He's the perfect son.

Not of Mary,

not of Joseph,

the son of God.

And because he's the perfect son,

he went to the cross

to die and rise again

that you and I

might be acceptable

and welcomed.

Jesus is the perfect son

and because of that,

he's also the perfect savior.

He came to open the way

that we who are slaves to sin

and our old lifestyle

can be set free

and can enjoy

the welcome of the father

and his gracious

and lavish acceptance.

So,

let's pray.

Let's come to him now

in prayer and response.

Chris and the team

are going to lead us

in a song of response.

But before we do that,

I want to just ask us

to take a minute

just in quiet reflection.

And what does it look like

for you to respond

to God's word?

Maybe I can ask us

two questions this morning.

One,

what has God wanted

to say to you this morning?

God's word should never

just be intellectual.

It should speak to our hearts.

What is God wanting

to say to you?

And secondly,

how are you going to respond?

For some of us,

maybe you need to respond

through adoration,

joyful celebration.

God has come.

Thank you, Jesus.

For some of us,

maybe we need to respond

with confession.

Some of us,

maybe we need to respond

with thanksgiving.