Behold, Believe, and Live

To make it real easy, the text for this morning is on the back of your bulletin.

So if you can read that fairly small print or turn in your Bibles, you can take a look at

that. We're going to be looking at what happened in John chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

All right, here's the text.

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 that 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 is 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.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this text.

Thank you for the opportunity to look at it together.

May we see the glory of Jesus in this text.

And then may we also see what your glory, being beheld by us, does to us.

We pray in your name.

Amen.

Well, of all of the miracles in the gospel accounts,

this may be the most difficult to understand.

Not because it's hard to understand what Jesus did,

but why he did it at all.

I mean, of all the things Jesus could have done,

why did he choose to do the first miracle at a small-town wedding?

And why did it have to involve wine?

And not just a little.

Further, the wedding was a human celebration

with little or no obvious spiritual connotation or application.

Many preachers of the Bible and Bible teachers

go to an effort to try to make this text

into some kind of allegorical story

about our joy in Christ, which gets better through time.

But I'm not convinced that was the purpose of the text.

It's important to know what John is doing

and why he includes this as he does.

He began with a thesis statement.

You've heard Pastor Mike say this a number of times

from John 1, verses 1 to 18,

John 1:1–18

declaring that Jesus is God in human flesh.

And then the last, toward the end of John's gospel,

really the theme of the gospel,

really the purpose for which he wrote the gospel,

in chapter 20, verse 30 and 31, say this.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his 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.

That's why he wrote the book.

And that's why he included a number of signs in the book

to bring us to that conclusion.

So this first miraculous sign must have been designated

to make us know who Jesus is

by seeing something of his glory

and to respond to his salvation by faith.

So does this account do that?

That's the question.

This account is about a real wedding

in a real place with real people.

John specifically picked this miraculous sign

over many others.

Jesus did many, many miracles.

If you read the other gospels,

you'll see many, many more.

Why did John pick this one and the ones he picked?

Well, this would build the framework

of John's conclusion concerning Jesus

as the Messiah and the Savior.

But a bit of background before we continue.

The seven signs that John recorded,

which were done in the presence of his disciples,

were actually all leading up to showing us

something about who Jesus is,

that he is the Christ,

and that by believing in him,

we might have life through his name.

So with some help from a commentator

by the name of Merrill Tenney,

in an old commentary back many, many years ago,

he was writing and he was saying

that this first sign

actually demonstrated Jesus

as the master of quality,

accomplishing instantaneously

what would have taken months

to be accomplished.

And it showed Jesus as the Lord of glory.

The second sign in John chapter 4,

John 4 · chapter mention

healing of the noble man's son,

that's an interesting one

because Jesus healed him,

but he was 20 miles away from him

when it happened.

Well, that demonstrated that Jesus

is the master of space and distance.

And Jesus healed him with his word.

And so the first miracle told us something

about the glory of God.

The second miracle told us something

about the true and living word of God.

The third sign in John chapter 5,

John 5 · chapter mention

the healing of the impotent man

who had been waiting for 38 years

to be put into the water,

into the fountain there,

into the pool,

demonstrated Jesus as the master of time.

And it showed us that he was Lord

over the Sabbath.

The fourth sign was the feeding of the 5,000.

Showed us mastery,

the master of quantity.

Remember, Jesus took one little boy's snack

and turned it into enough

to feed 5,000 men plus women and children.

What did it tell us about that?

Well, Jesus actually preached a message

in the context of that miracle.

He's the bread of life.

The fifth sign, walking on water,

said something about Jesus being

the master of natural forces.

Remember, Jesus was in the boat.

He was asleep.

Storm, don't you care that we perish?

Says his disciples.

He speaks.

The waters go flat.

Peace.

Jesus is the God of peace.

The sixth sign,

the healing of a man born blind,

answered the question

why this man was afflicted.

Did he sin or was it because of his parents?

Well, this demonstrated Jesus

as the master of misfortune.

But showed us that Jesus

is the light of the world.

The seventh sign,

the raising of Lazarus from the dead,

demonstrated that Jesus

is master of death or over death.

He is the resurrection and the life.

So these seven signs together

were chosen that we might believe

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God,

and that by believing

we may have life in his name.

So let's find out

what there is about this first sign

that will lead us to that conclusion.

Unlike some miracles,

such as the feeding of the 5,000,

this one has no supporting dialogue

or discourse

to help us zero in

on the meaning of the miracle.

Does this miracle declare Jesus

to be the Lord of glory,

drawing us to believe

that he is the Christ?

Is that what this does?

I suggest that this miracle

establishes the base,

the groundwork,

on which we are going to build

the case of who Jesus is,

that of his glory.

This case is built

on a human connection,

it's built on the miracle itself,

and then the revelation

of the Lord following the miracle.

So that's where we're headed.

Alright, let's start

with the human connection.

So here we are at a wedding,

Jesus and a wedding.

This first sign

that Jesus performs

is not in a synagogue,

it's not in the temple,

it's not at a funeral

raising the dead,

it's not in an infirmary

healing the sick,

it's at a wedding

in a small town

not far from the town

where Jesus grew up.

It was in a place

where everyone knew

everyone else.

It involved refreshment

and the sparing

of family embarrassment.

We'll get to that in a bit.

Perhaps our first reaction

is to assign

some more spiritual application,

but maybe we ought to resist

that temptation

and read more

into this text,

not to read more

into this text than it's there,

but to read the text

and actually see

what is there,

what is in front of us.

So this was a real wedding

and Jesus,

his mother,

his disciples,

and himself

all were there

to attend

and then to do

such a miraculous sign

actually removes

a picture of Jesus

that some might

think

like some kind of

a cloistered rabbi

or something,

but it wasn't Jesus.

In fact,

it may have added

to the rumored

reputation

of Jesus

being a white bibber

and a glutton,

said some of his enemies.

Anyway,

Jesus' attendance

affirms his approval

of the institution

of marriage.

Well,

that's a needed issue

throughout times,

even today.

It reminds us

that Jesus was

fully human

in every way,

even attending

parties

and family celebrations.

I should make

some observations

about first century

Middle Eastern weddings.

It was a celebration.

Now,

we have weddings today.

We go to weddings

and after the ceremony,

after the exchange

of vows

and so forth,

then usually

there is some kind

of a party.

There is a reception.

There is a time

where there is laughter

and joy

and sometimes dancing

and there's

all kinds of things

happening.

Food,

refreshment,

all kinds of things.

And how long

does that last?

A few hours maybe

and then we go home.

Middle Eastern weddings

were not quite that way.

They could last

even up to

a week.

Can you imagine that?

And then

also at these weddings,

wine was considered

to be a necessity

on those occasions.

To run out of wine

was a serious issue.

It was a social

embarrassment.

And this is interesting.

It can also become

a legal matter

because if

the wine ran out,

relatives of the bride

might, in fact,

sue

their daughter's

their daughter's

husband's family

for running out

of wine.

See, the groom

bore the financial

responsibility

for the wedding.

Now, if you have

daughters,

you would probably

love to have that

one reinstated.

But anyway,

the groom was

responsible for the

payment of this

grand party.

whatever else we

can say about this,

Jesus was

absolutely

in normal

human life.

Now, let's talk

a little bit about

Jesus and Mary.

Recorded here

is a conversation

and then some action.

So, what do we

make of this?

Jesus asked,

or Mary asked

and Jesus kindly,

though nevertheless

pointedly,

rebukes her,

reminding her

that something

had changed.

In verse 4,

when he says

woman,

that's not

necessarily

an endearing term,

though neither

is it necessarily

a derogatory term.

Like, woman?

I doubt that he

said that,

that way.

But Jesus

uses the term

in another place

in the Bible.

You remember when

Jesus was hanging

on the cross?

And as he's

hanging there,

he

talks to

John,

his disciple,

and he also

speaks to Mary.

And he says,

woman,

behold your son.

He wasn't talking

about himself.

He was talking

about John.

He was leaving

the care of his

earthly mother

in the hands

of his disciple.

So, it wasn't

derogatory necessarily,

but at any rate,

it might seem

a bit odd

for Jesus

to say that,

say this

to his earthly

mother.

By the way,

the apostle John

does not name

Mary in his

gospel.

He also

does not name

himself in his

gospel.

Perhaps that was

done so as not

to, for Mary,

so as not to

confuse her,

the mother of

Jesus,

with several other

people named Mary.

If you ever

spend any time

reading the New

Testament,

you probably

come to the

conclusion that

every other woman

in the New

Testament's name

was Mary,

but there's a

lot of them,

but so he

doesn't mention

her name,

but anyway,

what we have

here,

and this is

important,

it's a reminder

by Jesus

that his

ministry shall

ever be free

of any kind

of human

advice,

agenda,

or manipulation.

His purpose,

and he made

clear many times

his purpose

was to do

his Father's

will,

the Heavenly

Father.

That's an

important point.

Though Mary

had precious

responsibility

during Jesus'

earthly life,

she could no

longer view him

in the same way

that she may

have earlier.

There were no

prerogatives of

motherhood in

relation to

Jesus.

In fact,

everywhere she

appears,

Jesus puts

distance between

himself and

his earthly

family.

See,

Mary,

like every

other person,

would have to

come to him

as a sinner.

She would have

to recognize

him as the

Messiah,

the Lamb of

God who takes

away the sin

of the world.

Neither she

nor anyone

else could

claim any

kind of inside

track to

Jesus.

When Mary

approached Jesus

as his mother,

she was

reproached.

After a mild

rebuke,

she shook

it off and

told the

servants to

do whatever

he said.

In other

words,

when she

responded to

Jesus as a

believer,

her faith

was honored.

And then

Jesus said,

my hour has

not yet

come.

That referred

to Jesus'

death on the

cross and

his exaltation

bound up with

that.

In fact,

there are a

number of

places where

he mentions

that term.

If you move

forward in the

gospel,

in chapter 7,

the scripture

says,

they were

seeking to

arrest him,

but no one

laid a hand

on him

because his

hour had

not yet

come.

Chapter 8,

verse 20,

in John's

gospel.

These words

he spoke in

the treasury

as he taught

in the temple,

but no one

arrested him

because his

hour had

not yet

come.

Chapter 12,

verse 23,

the hour

has come

for the

Son of

Man to

be glorified.

Same

chapter.

Now is

my soul

troubled,

and what

shall I

say?

Father,

save me

from this

hour,

but for

this purpose

I have

come to

this hour.

Chapter 13,

verse 1,

this is the

time when

Jesus is with

his disciples

in the

upper room.

Now before

the feast

of Passover,

when Jesus

knew that

his hour

had come

to depart

out of the

world to

the Father,

having loved

his own

who were

in the

world,

he loved

them to

the end.

And then

in that

prayer that

Jesus prayed

to the

Father in

John 17,

John 17:1

verse 1,

it says,

Father,

the hour

has come.

Glorify

your Son

that the

Son may

glorify you.

So Jesus

was saying

that what

was to

come was

his focus.

This wasn't

that.

The fact

that he

ran out

of wine

wasn't

that,

that wasn't

his hour.

That's not

the point.

But there

was a

request and

there was a

miracle.

And so what

is all this

about?

So let's

look at the

supernatural

demonstration

here.

Let's start

with what

the miracle

was.

Whatever

else we do

with this

account,

Jesus does

do a

miracle.

Now there

was an

Old Testament

connection

between

weddings and

wine and

the coming

of Messiah,

believe it or

not,

in the

Messianic

age.

You could

find a

little bit

of that

in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 31 · chapter mention

chapter 31,

a little bit

in Hosea

Hosea 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14.

There's also

some interesting

connections with

this in Amos

Amos 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9.

I'm going to

read a few

verses from

there.

Behold,

the days are

coming,

declares the

Lord,

when the

plowman shall

overtake the

reaper,

and the

treader of

grapes,

he who

sows the

seed.

The

mountains

shall drip

sweet wine,

and all the

hills shall

flow with it.

I will

restore the

fortunes of

my people

Israel,

and they

shall rebuild

the ruined

cities and

inhabit them,

and they

shall plant

vineyards and

drink their

wine,

and they

shall make

gardens and

eat their

fruit.

I will

plant them

on their

land,

and they

shall never

again be

uprooted out

of the land

that I have

given them,

says the

Lord your

God.

In other

words,

Jesus makes

it clear that

his time had

not yet come,

but this is a

solid statement

regarding the

identity of

him coming

ultimately as

the Messiah to

establish his

kingdom.

His glory is

about to show

up.

So the

narrative is

fairly easy to

understand.

Again, it's a

wedding, the

wine is gone,

and the host is

about to be

greatly embarrassed.

Mary speaks to

Jesus.

Why did Mary go

to Jesus?

Was she

expecting him to

do a miracle?

Keep in mind,

what does the

scripture say in

this text about

this miracle?

It was the

first one.

Jesus hadn't

done any

miracles yet.

So it's

probably not

that.

Perhaps

whenever there

was a problem

at home,

she may have

turned to him

for help or

counsel or

advice.

We don't

know.

But certainly

Jesus always

gave good

counsel and

he was always

compassionate

toward others.

Mary simply

said they have

no wine.

Jesus reminded

her of her

place and

his place and

then he gave

the servants

the assignment.

Fill six stone

water pots.

And they do

that.

Now think about

that.

These big pots,

20 to 30

gallons, and

six of those

are filled.

That's pretty

interesting.

And the

servants know

that they put

water in the

pots, right?

Okay.

So they do it.

So he gives

the second

assignment.

Draw some out

for the master

of the banquet.

I wonder what

they were thinking

right about then.

Oh, this is not

going to be good.

They do.

And the water

is now wine.

But not just

any wine.

The best wine.

So what's the

miracle point

to?

Well, again,

resisting the

temptation to go

beyond the

text.

I think we can

say with some

confidence that

there may be

some symbolism

here.

The water pots

were to hold

water for

ceremonial washings

or cleansings.

What Jesus did

was to replace

that situation,

those ceremonial

cleansings,

with something

new and

something better.

In chapter 1,

verses 16 and

17 of the

Gospel of John,

Mike mentioned

this a number

of times.

For from his

fullness we have

received grace

upon grace.

For the law

was given

through Moses,

grace and

truth came

through Jesus

Christ.

In other words,

something new,

something better.

So there's

coming a day

when Jesus

shall supply all

that's needed

at a great

banquet at a

Messianic,

as the best

Messianic bridegroom.

Though the time

has not yet

come,

come it will.

Certainly this

is true,

but does this

miracle have

anything to do

with that?

Well,

some would also

suggest that

just the sheer

quantity of wine

might speak of

the lavish

provision of

the age to

come,

perhaps.

But whatever

else we can

make of this

event,

this is the

beginning of

the unveiling

of God.

That is,

God who is

now veiled

in human

flesh.

And this

leads to the

final point,

the divine

revelation.

Jesus,

the Messiah.

Remember that

John had said

about these

signs and the

design for

them.

These signs

would give

ample proof

that Jesus

was the

Christ,

the

anointed

one,

the Messiah.

The miracle

was more

than just a

great

demonstration

of Jesus'

power.

This was a

revelation of

his deity.

Keep in

mind that

this is

the bridge

between

Jesus'

private life

and his

public

ministry.

See,

people knew

him,

but they

didn't really

know him.

Actually,

this was only

a semi-public

because only a

few people

knew what

happened.

Most had

no idea.

They just

thought the

wedding host

had saved

the best

wine for

last.

And then

there's Jesus

the glory.

John declares

this to be

the first

of Jesus'

miraculous

signs.

What does

first mean?

I got

first in

the race.

That never

happened,

really,

but I got

first in

the race.

That would

be chronological.

First one

across the

line.

But first

can also

mean primary.

That is,

most important.

Perhaps

John was

saying that

this miracle

was of

primary

importance

because it

pointed to

something

altogether

new.

You see,

something new

was happening

here of

great importance.

And so

what we're

doing is

we're building

the foundation

of showing

the glory

of God

as Jesus

presents

himself.

What John

said in

chapter 1

verse 14,

we have

seen his

glory full

of grace

and truth

is here

inaugurated.

By this

first sign,

Jesus revealed

something of

his glory.

Though his

glory would

be revealed

in greater

measure in

his cross

work and

the resurrection

and his

exaltation,

every step

along the

way

shows us

this course

of his

ministry

is marked

by glory.

Particularly

the disciples

and we

who read

the gospel

accounts

are given

an unfolding

picture

of the

revelation

of his

glory.

It

basically

begins

here.

So the

servants,

when they

saw the

sign

that happened,

they saw

that,

but they

didn't see

the glory.

The

disciples

perceived

Jesus'

glory

behind

the

sign

and

they

put

their

faith

in

him.

It

was

early

and

there

would

be

many

more

signs,

but this

is the

beginning

of the

revelation

of his

glory.

That's

why John

includes

this story

of the

miraculous

wedding

wine.

Do you

see

something

of his

glory?

Jesus

is starting

to show

who he

is.

Now

remember

these things

were written

that we

might believe

that Jesus

is the

Son of

God

and that by

believing we

might have

life in

his name.

That was the

effect of this

miracle and

the others that

John recorded

on the lives

of his

disciples.

It's not the

miracles per se

that caused

people to

believe.

Miracles do

not in

themselves

produce

faith.

But the

miracles revealed

the person

of Christ

Christ.

And when

the disciples

saw who

he was

they saw

him for

who he

was.

They saw

his glory

and they

continued to

place their

trust in

him.

Throughout

Jesus'

ministry he

manifested

his glory.

Some saw

it and

believed.

Others

were present

but did

they see

it?

They

know some

of them even

called for

his death.

Today

through the

pages of

scripture and

in the

proclamation of

the word we

can see his

glory.

Some believe

some turn

away.

But whatever

our response

to the glory

of God is

it is glory

and he is

God.

Reject him

and you've

rejected the

God of glory.

Receive him

and you have

received the

God of glory.

glory.

So who

could

wondrously

save you

and bring

you all

the way

home to

his glorious

presence?

This

glorious

God.

And all

along the

way if we

are paying

attention we

can see his

glory and

there's more.

This I find

interesting.

Paul picks up

this theme

and he says

this.

Just listen to

what he said

to the

Corinthians in

the second

letter in

chapter 3.

And we

all with

unveiled face

beholding the

glory of

the Lord

are being

transformed

into the

same image

from one

degree of

glory to

another.

It's not

just seeing

the glory of

God.

When we see

it God is

changing us

to make us

more like

him.

And so

as Paul said

we are being

transformed

into that

same image

from one

degree of

glory to

another.

The commentator

that I mentioned

at the beginning

of this message

had this to

say about

these miracles.

These seven

miracles then

are preeminently

signs because

they point to

those aspects

of Jesus'

ministry in

which he

demonstrated

his transcendent

control over

the factors of

life with

which man is

unable to

cope.

Quality,

space,

time,

quantity,

natural law,

misfortune,

and death

circumscribe

humanity's

world.

Daily

existence is

a struggle

against these

limitations.

Christ's

superiority over

them as

revealed in

these events

called signs

was proof

of his deity

and a clue

to understanding

what the

writer desired

to say about

him.

So back

to where

we started,

these things

are written

that you

might believe

that Jesus

is the

Christ,

the Son of

God,

and that

believing you

might have

life in

his name.

These things

were recorded

so you would

see Jesus

for who he

is.

And that we

would believe

and that our

faith would be

strengthened as

we are

transformed by

the glory

of God.

God.

So when the

Bible speaks

of life

through his

name, it's

not just mere

existence, it

is life defined

by Jesus

himself.

In John

John 17:3

chapter 17

verse 3 in

his high

priestly prayer

if you will,

to the Father

right before his

arrest and

crucifixion, he

said,

and this is

eternal life

that they may

know you, the

only true God,

and Jesus

Christ whom

you have

sent.

Do you

know him?

And the

word became

flesh and

dwelt among

us and we

have seen

what?

His glory.

Glory as of

the only son

from the

Father, full

of grace and

truth.

Is he the

object of

your trust?

Are you

seeing his

glory?

And as

Pastor Mike

works our way

through the

gospel of

John, you'll

begin to see

glory after

glory after

glory stacked

on top of

glory of who

Jesus is.

And when you

start to see

him for who

he is and

you embrace

him for who

he is and

you trust him

for who he

is and you

worship him,

he begins to

do something in

you that changes

you into,

this is amazing,

into an image

like unto

himself.

We're just

getting started,

but that's the

picture.

Do you know

him?

Have you

trusted him?

Have you

seen his

glory?

Are you

worshiping him?

That's the

question.

Let's pray.

Father, thank

you for this

text.

Thank you for

everyone here

today that has

opportunity to

read from

your word

these accounts

of the life

of the Lord

Jesus and

to see one

event on top

of another

showing,

demonstrating,

declaring your

glory.

May we not

only see it,

but may we

embrace it

and bask in

it, be

overwhelmed by

it.

May you

cause us to

bow before

you, worship

you with our

whole heart

because we

see who you

are.

Thank you,

Lord Jesus,

for your

grace and

your mercy.

Thank you for

the salvation

that you bring.

And if there

are some here

who do not

know you,

Father, I

pray that you

would quicken

their hearts

to believe

the gospel.

That you

would give

them new

life in

you.

Thank you

for our

time together.

May you be

glorified in

all that we

say and do

for the glory

of your name

we pray.

Amen.