The First Sign

If you have your Bible with you, please open it up to the Gospel of John.

The Gospel of John.

If you're using the Pew Bible, it's about page 860.

Well, we've been journeying through the Gospel of John.

We've started the journey.

We're still very much at the beginning.

We've seen and read some wonderful things.

John has begun by telling us just who Jesus is, that he's more than just a man.

He is the Word who was God and was with God at the very beginning.

Through him all things were made.

He became flesh and he has come to live among us.

We heard from John about how Jesus first began to be known by the public.

We heard about John the Baptizer declaring out at the Jordan River,

This is the one.

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

We saw last Sunday how some of Jesus' first disciples began to follow him.

And what they very quickly began to say about who he was.

And John has set some pretty high expectations for us as he has begun to tell us the story of Jesus.

You'll remember that John said back in verse 14 of chapter 1,

We saw his glory.

Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

And so it's right about now that we're starting to wonder,

Well, when did the miracles start?

When did the signs and wonders start happening?

That's exactly what John is about to tell us this morning.

We're going to look at the first of Jesus' signs, as John refers to them.

And John makes it very clear right from the get-go.

Not actually right from the get-go, but later on in his gospel.

He makes it very clear as to why he's telling us this.

He's not just here to tell us the next thing that happened in Jesus' story.

In John 20, verses 30 and 31, John writes this,

John 20:30

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples,

which are not recorded in this book.

But these, the ones that I've written down here in my account,

are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah,

the Son of God.

And that by believing, you may have life in his name.

So what is the first sign that Jesus did?

And how did it all happen?

We're reading from John chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

John chapter 2, verse 1.

John 2 · chapter mention

On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.

Jesus' mother was there.

And Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

So this takes place very quickly after Nathaniel's introduction to Jesus,

which we heard about last Sunday.

It's about two days from that day.

And it takes place in Cana.

A small town, a small village.

This was the place where Nathaniel was from.

And the occasion is a wedding.

The celebration of a marriage.

And probably the ceremony too.

And who was there?

John tells us Jesus' mother was there.

But not only her, Jesus himself and his disciples had also been invited to this wedding.

So there's a little bit of traveling that's going on here to come to Cana for this celebration.

Now weddings in that culture and time were not quite the same as they are in our culture and time.

Typically, they wouldn't just do a one-day thing, but they would do a whole week.

It was a ceremony and then the rest of the week spent in celebration.

In banquets and eating and drinking together.

It was a very joyous occasion.

And the thing that sets this wedding apart, or begins to set it apart, there was a problem.

We read in verse 3,

When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him,

They have no more wine.

So in the middle of their festivities, their celebration,

We don't know exactly what day of the celebration it happened on.

But at some point, they run out of the staple drink for the celebration.

They run out of wine.

And if we read this story closely again and again,

We probably see, the sense we get is that probably Mary was one of the first to know about it.

The rest of the guests haven't yet heard that this has happened.

And this is a big deal.

And so, what does Mary do?

She comes to Jesus and she lets him know.

They have no more wine.

And we gather from Jesus' response right after this that Mary's not just making a statement.

She's kind of hoping or expecting that Jesus might do something here.

We don't know for sure what she expected.

Did she expect Jesus to do a miracle?

This was the first of his signs.

So we don't even know if Jesus did a whole bunch of miracles before this.

But probably Jesus had seen her and the family through a few interesting situations

and had always been very reliable.

Just knew what to do.

He had wisdom in those kinds of situations.

And so, perhaps she was looking for Jesus to do something or to say something.

They have no more wine.

What is Jesus' response?

He says,

Woman, why do you involve me?

My hour has not yet come.

Now, we have to be careful here that we don't read kind of the way that we would read this in our culture back into them.

There's a lot of discussion over, you know, what Jesus meant by these things.

Especially the word woman.

But one thing that we do know for sure is that Jesus meant no disrespect by addressing her that way.

In fact, he will address her again that way from the cross.

In a moment where he is showing the utmost of care and concern for her well-being.

So he doesn't mean this rudely or disrespectfully.

This is likely just a thing that's lost on us because of language and culture.

But the question which follows, a lot of people are scratching their heads over this.

Literally, it's, what to you and what to me and to you?

And the verb isn't even in there.

I mean, it's kind of left to us to just understand it.

But my Bible translates it as, why do you involve me?

Some say, what is that to me and to you that they've run out of wine?

You know, like that's not really our issue.

What exactly the sense is, I'm not sure.

Some think that perhaps Jesus is rebuking Mary.

You know, and the idea here is, you know, it's not really appropriate.

Or it's not really your place to, you know, try to direct me in this manner.

Others think that maybe Jesus, this has to do with his role.

Both Mary and Jesus know who he is.

But there's a sense, perhaps, in which, you know,

I'm not here to just use supernatural power to fix every little problem.

We're not sure exactly what Jesus meant.

But it seems in one sense as though he's, you know, he's kind of distancing himself in this moment.

You know, like, whose problem is this?

Is this something that I have, that I need to fix?

Is it that Mary was expecting him to do something great?

And Jesus is saying, you know, this isn't the right moment for this.

A lot of question over what Jesus means by my hour has not yet come.

Again, we're not 100% sure.

It seems that Jesus has some sort of sense of timing and how his days are about to unfold.

Perhaps he means something to the effect of, you know,

to do something that would draw people's attention to myself here and now.

It would be out of order.

It's not the right time.

Like, he will do later great miracles and feed thousands.

And everybody will see it.

His mother's response is very interesting.

Because, at least when I read what Jesus said,

Why do you involve me?

My hour has not yet come.

I don't, I wouldn't take that as a yes.

But it seems as though Mary's thinking,

Well, he didn't say no.

He didn't say no.

Servants, come here.

Do whatever he tells you to do.

You know, you get the sense that Mary almost just volunteers him in that moment.

That he's been voluntold by his mother.

And I love the confidence that Mary expresses about Jesus.

It kind of comes out in the original.

Whatever he tells you, do it.

You know, it doesn't matter what it is.

Just listen to him.

He's going to look after this.

He's going to help us.

It's going to be good.

Jesus graciously decides to help.

But before we get to that, let's just consider for a moment

the gravity of this problem.

I mean, this kind of the question here is,

Whose problem is this?

It's not Jesus' problem.

It's not Mary's problem.

It's the family's problem.

In this culture, it was the responsibility of the bridegroom

and his family or his party to provide the food and drink

for the guests, for the celebration.

And whatever happened, we don't know,

but they've run short on the wine.

So, just to help us think for a moment

of what this might have felt like.

I mean, put yourself in their shoes a little bit.

Think about you're having a big gathering,

not a family gathering, a big gathering at your house.

A whole bunch of people coming over for supper.

It's kind of an open invitation.

You don't know who all is going to come

or how many is going to be there.

You're serving chicken.

That's going to be kind of the main part on the plate

and some other sides things, some salads and stuff like that.

And at the last minute,

a whole bunch more people than you expected

or thought would come show up for supper.

And you're there kind of, you know, at the table

watching as the people file through buffet style.

They're, you know, they're each taking a piece of chicken

onto their plate and you're watching

as it gets lower and lower and lower.

And then all of a sudden, the last piece of chicken is gone

and there's still five people standing in line.

How are you feeling in that moment?

I mean, here's five guests

who are not even going to get a little bit

or some of the main thing of the meal.

And they're kind of like eyeing the salads

and like, I guess I'll just pile up a lot of that.

And, you know, you would feel terrible.

You'd be embarrassed.

Oh, if I'd only picked up a little bit more,

cooked a little bit more.

And that's just a gathering in the home.

Think about how much more significant this is.

This is a wedding.

You have guests that have traveled

from other towns and villages to be there.

This is a big deal.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment,

a special occasion celebrating the marriage

of this man and woman.

How embarrassing to have run out of wine

before the celebrations are even over.

Can you imagine having to get up

in front of all this crowd of people

and say, I'm sorry,

but there is no more wine to drink.

We do have water.

This would not have been a fun moment.

It would have been a huge detractor

from the joyful celebration,

from the focus on honoring the bride and the groom.

And so Jesus' mother comes to him

and says,

they have no more wine.

She volunteers him in a sense

and he graciously decides to act,

to do something to help

in this moment of need.

Verse six.

Nearby stood six stone water jars,

the kind used by the Jews

for ceremonial washing,

each holding from 20 to 30 gallons.

Jesus said to the servants,

fill the jars with water.

So they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them,

now draw some out

and take it to the master of the banquet.

So they,

you get the sense that

as this conversation's happening

between Jesus and his mother,

maybe they're kind of back

towards the kitchen area.

We don't know exactly.

But there,

standing there,

are six stone jars of water.

And I was going to bring up

one of those garbage cans

from downstairs,

about that size in volume.

20 to 30 gallons,

you know,

could fit a couple big bags

of garbage in them.

But they were,

they were,

they were made of stone.

So likely really heavy,

not the kind of thing

that you just pick up

and carry around.

Probably something

that would have involved

multiple trips

with smaller containers

to the well

and back,

to the well and back

to fill these things up.

They were used for

ceremonial washing.

And there's six of them there.

Jesus says,

fill them with water.

Now imagine what the servants

are thinking

in this moment

as they're doing this.

So we've run out of wine

and he wants us to fill up

these six jars

with water.

Like,

how is this going to work?

They're thinking

as they're going back

and forth to the well,

you know,

they're filling it,

they're kind of looking at him

and like,

is he going to mix

some kind of cocktail

or something here?

He's not throwing

anything in here.

Like,

what is this?

And they just keep filling

and filling and filling

until all six jars

are full to the brim,

it says.

Now it's in between

verse seven and eight here.

Right after they finish

filling him,

sometime between there

and what happens next,

that Jesus does

something amazing.

He does a miracle.

And if we look ahead,

just cheat a little bit

and go into verse nine,

they're about to take

a sample of

this liquid

from the jars

to the master of the banquet

for a taste test.

And what does it say

in verse nine?

It says,

the master of the banquet

tasted the water

that had been turned

into wine.

So if we kind of,

you know,

I think

we assume that

this kind of happens

somewhere in between

verses seven and eight.

The jars had been

filled to the brim

and before they had

drawn some out

to take it

to the master

of the banquet

for this taste test,

Jesus did something.

The water

was turned

into wine.

I wish I could have

been there

to just see

what did he do?

How did it happen?

What did the servants

and the disciples

notice?

Did they see

the color change?

of the water

in the jar?

Did they,

did all of a sudden

what they were smelling

change?

Did they,

could they smell

that it was wine?

We don't know.

He did something though.

And then it comes

to this moment.

Jesus says,

now,

now draw some out

and take it

to the master

of the banquet

for a taste test.

So,

you know,

we imagine

here they are.

They're,

you know,

they're,

they're kind of

looking at Jesus funny.

They're,

they're,

they've got the ladle

in there.

They're filling up

the cup

and then their eyes

are going wide

as they're watching

it pour into the cup.

Perhaps the color

was different already.

You know,

they're kind of,

you can just imagine

them like,

what is going on here?

Like,

it doesn't smell

like water.

What was going

through their minds

as they're,

as they take this

to the master

of the banquet?

Like,

this is

weird.

Can you imagine

their faces

in that moment

as they offer it

to him?

And he takes

the cup

out of their hands

and they're kind

of wondering like,

well,

what's going

to happen here?

What?

He lifts it up

to his lips

for a drink

and they're just

watching,

you know,

what does it

taste like?

What a moment.

The master

of the banquet

tastes

the water

that had been

turned into wine

and the first thing

it says

in verse nine

after he does,

it says,

he did not realize

where it had come from.

You know,

the question is,

where did that

come from?

I thought we were

almost out.

Where'd you guys

get that from?

I don't know

what the servants

said.

I don't know

what Jesus told

the servants

to say.

is there more?

Yeah,

there's about,

you know,

five to seven

hundred liters

more where that

came from.

You know,

they knew where

it came from.

It says

in verse nine,

so after he

tastes this

water,

which had become

wine,

it says in verse nine,

then he called

the bridegroom

aside

and he said,

everyone brings

out the choice

wine first

and then the

cheaper wine

after the guests

have had too

much to drink.

In other words,

when they can't

really tell the

difference

because they're

inebriated.

but you

have saved

the best

till now.

He commends

the bridegroom.

In other words,

he doesn't know

where the wine

came from.

He still doesn't

know.

The servants

didn't tell him.

Maybe Jesus

told them not

to say

or told them

what to say.

They didn't

know.

He didn't know

where it came

from.

He thought

the bridegroom

had made

some kind

of arrangement

or something

to,

you know,

to pull

the good

stuff out

at the end.

But I love

what he says.

There's so much

wrapped up

in this little

comment that

he makes

to the

bridegroom.

You know,

it's like

the normal

way of things

would be to

bring out

the really

good stuff

at the beginning.

I thought

that we were

drinking that.

But now,

this stuff,

this is way

better.

This is the

good stuff.

Like,

that stuff

was good,

but wow.

Can you

imagine what

the bridegroom

is thinking

in that moment?

Like,

well,

thank you.

We don't

know.

Not only

does Jesus

turn water

into wine,

but he

turns water

into better

wine.

than the

good stuff

that they

had already

been drinking.

And 500

to about

700

liters of

it in

six different

jars in

an instant

in front of

the eyes of

the servants

and his

disciples.

An amazing

thing.

There's no

other explanation

for it.

It was a

miracle of

God.

Only God

could do

this.

how does

John

summarize

this whole

story?

In

verse 11,

this is

what he

says.

What Jesus

did here

in Cana

of Galilee

was the

first of

the signs

through which

he revealed

his glory

and his

disciples

believed in

him.

So as

we saw

at the

beginning

back in

John

John 20 · chapter mention

chapter

20,

Jesus

did lots

of signs

more than

are recorded

in this

book.

These are

written so

that you

may believe.

And that's

what happened

in this

moment.

Jesus'

disciples,

they saw.

they saw

the sign,

they saw

the miracle

and they

took it

as

confirmation.

Yes,

he is

the one.

He is

the Messiah.

He is

the King

of Israel.

He is

the Son

of God.

How else

could this

happen?

John also

says

that it

was through

this sign,

this is

the first

of them,

but it

was through

this one

and others

that Jesus

revealed

his glory.

We saw

his glory

that day

at the

wedding

in Cana.

So what

did they

see

of his

glory?

What was

so glorious

about Jesus

that day

at the

wedding?

Well,

I think

the obvious

answer

is

his

divine

power.

They saw

something

of the

power

of God

at work

in that

moment.

Amazing.

But what

else?

What else

did they

see of

his glory?

If we

think back

to chapter

1,

verse 14,

where John

says we

saw his

glory,

glory,

he

describes

or he

kind of

fills in

what that

looks like.

He says

we saw

that he

was full

of grace

and truth.

grace or

graciousness

of Jesus

here at

the wedding?

God

I think

there's a

number of

ways.

For

starters,

Jesus

has

the power

of God

to do

this great

miracle,

but he

does not

act for

his own

sake,

but for

the sake

of others.

He made

the wine

for the

guests,

for the

bride,

for the

bridegroom.

He didn't

use that

power for

himself,

for his

own sake,

but it

was for

others.

This is

a gift.

We see

his grace

in that.

We also

see his

grace or

his

graciousness

in how

he goes

above and

beyond.

I mean,

let's put

this into

perspective.

Do we

really need

wine to

celebrate at

the wedding?

Is it

essential?

No,

it's not.

Paul will

go on to

say in

his letter

to the

church at

Rome,

the kingdom

of God

is not a

matter of

eating and

drinking,

but of

righteousness

and peace

and joy

in the

Holy Spirit.

They didn't

need the

wine,

but Jesus

does it

anyway.

He gives

them not

just what

they need,

but something

that would

be nice

to have

that would

be really

special to

mark the

occasion so

that they

can continue

drinking and

celebrating the

marriage of

this couple.

We see his

graciousness and

how he goes

above and

beyond what

they need.

And I think

this is an

important moment

because sometimes

I wonder if we

don't have the

tendency to see

Jesus in a

skewed way,

as kind of a

killjoy,

as the guy

who's only

asking us to

deny ourselves

and take up

our cross and

follow him.

And following

him, that's

going to mean

that I have to

give up

everything fun

in life,

all the good

stuff that I

really enjoy,

that I really

like.

That's not the

picture of

Jesus that we

get here.

we see that

he is for

joy, he is

for celebration

and the very

thing that he

does enables

them to go

on celebrating.

He is for

our joy.

How else do

we see that

he is full of

grace, the

gloriousness of

his grace?

We see it and

grace means

gift.

It means to

give.

We see it

in how he

gives honor

rather than

taking honor

for himself.

I mean,

Jesus is

worthy of

all the

attention in

that room.

Look who

he is.

He is the

word who

was God

and made

everything at

the beginning.

He is

deity here

in human

flesh.

He deserves

the spotlight.

He deserves

the honor.

And yet, in

that moment

at the

wedding, he

doesn't do

anything to

take honor,

glory,

attention for

himself.

Instead, he

shows his

graciousness, his

giving nature

by giving

honor to the

bridegroom.

not only does

he preserve

his honor and

save him from

massive embarrassment,

but he even

gives him greater

honor than he

probably is due

and deserves.

I mean, that

wine is amazing.

like, it's

better than the

good stuff that

we were having.

He doesn't

use this

wedding as a

chance to

point people

to himself.

Rather, he's

there and he

wants people to

be focused on

the marriage,

on the

bridegroom,

the bride.

He gives

honor.

These two

things are

beautiful.

We see his

divine power at

work in how he

turns the water

into wine, an

amazing miracle.

We see this

gracious

servanthood,

this humble

love at work in

how he

orchestrates this

to kind of

keep the focus

on what's

happening at

the wedding,

the honor

focused on the

bridegroom.

But I think

where we

really see

the glory of

Jesus shine

through is

when we just

consider how

both of these

kind of converge

in this moment.

We see the

divine power

and we see

this humble,

serving,

loving heart

come together

in this moment.

I mean,

as I just

said,

remember who

this is.

this is God.

In him,

the fullness

of deity

lives in

bodily form.

And yet,

where do we

see him

at this

wedding as

he exercises

the power

that's been,

well,

it's from

the Holy

Spirit.

I believe

that he

did this,

not just

using his

own divine

power,

but he uses

the power

of the Spirit

that's been

made available

to him

in this

moment.

Where do

we see,

where do

we see

the focus?

I mean,

here Jesus

is,

he's,

he's using

the power

of God,

but he's

doing it

off in the

back room

by the

kitchen

where only

the servants

can see

what he can

really do.

from the

shadows

of that

back room

by the

kitchen,

he is

blessing

and honoring

the guests

and the

bridegroom

in the

main room.

This is

amazing.

Jesus

is

God,

John has

told us,

but he

has come

into this

world

to live

as a

man,

as a

man among

men.

which means

that he,

he lives

as men

ought to

live.

He doesn't

exalt himself

over others.

He doesn't

say,

hey,

look at me

everyone.

He's not

like the

proud or

the arrogant

person.

He does

what we

ought to

do.

He loves,

he honors,

he,

he serves

his neighbors.

He puts

himself among

the servants

and he,

he works

this amazing

miracle there.

The sense

we get is

that the

guests,

they never

even knew

that the

wine ran

out.

The bridegroom

never knew.

It was just

Jesus,

his mother,

the servants

and the

disciples.

And this

is the same

kind of thing

that I think

we're going

to see all

through the

gospel.

this mixture,

divine power,

God,

and yet

humble

servant

here as a

man in

human flesh.

Not to

lord it over

people,

not to get

attention for

himself,

but to live

as a man

ought to,

to point

people to

the Father,

to glorify

him.

it's a

beautiful

thing.

And John

tells us

that this

is just

the first

of the

signs that

he did,

which

revealed

his glory.

Let's

pray.

Father in

heaven,

thank you

that you

have given

us a

little window

into what

happened

that day.

we

believe.

We see

it as

they saw

it and

we

believe.

You are

the Messiah.

You are

the Son

of God.

And it's

with joy

that we

give ourselves

and our

hearts to

you again.

Have

your way

in us,

we pray.

We ask

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.