Wedding Wine And The Hour To Come

Scarcity at a small-town wedding becomes the doorway to a larger story of joy, holiness, and hope. We walk through John 2, where Jesus turns water into wine and then turns over tables, and we explore why both moments flow from the same heart: the Bridegroom who loves his people and clears the way to the Father. The line “My hour has not yet come” threads Cana to the cross, showing how signs point beyond themselves to a purpose that makes us clean, whole, and alive.

We start with Mary’s simple invitation—“They have no wine”—and the servants’ quiet obedience. Stone waterpots used for purification become vessels of abundance, a living picture of the washing of water by the word and the promise that the new covenant is better than what came before. From there, we connect Paul’s vision of marriage in Ephesians 5 to the scene at Cana: Christ gives himself to make his bride spotless, and the best wine appears at the end because the Messiah has arrived to fulfill the feast. This isn’t party magic; it’s covenant mercy.

Then the mood sharpens in the temple. What had been set up to help worshippers had turned into a barrier, crowding out prayer and exploiting seekers. Jesus’ zeal is a jealous love that protects communion with God. He doesn’t rage for show; he restores a house meant for all nations. Along the way, we reflect on Jesus as fully God and fully man—feeling the weight of the hour, choosing obedience, and revealing glory in signs that call forth faith.

If themes like spiritual renewal, the meaning of marriage, and authentic worship speak to you, press play and join the conversation. Share this with a friend who needs fresh hope, subscribe for more journeys through John, and leave a review with your biggest insight so others can find the show.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Jesus laid down his life for his church, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. For we are members of his body. As believers of Christ, we are placed in Jesus. We are part of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Grooms, do you remember how you felt to see your bride walking down the aisle on your wedding day? Do you remember how beautiful she looked? Spotless, dressed in white. In today's message, Pastor Carl teaches that this beauty is only a trailer to the beauty to come when Jesus Christ clothes his bride, the church, with his righteousness. You may feel ugly on the inside and like you need a spiritual cleansing, but Jesus is working on your heart day after day, making it as pure as a wedding gown. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

We're here to simply teach the word of God and to learn from the Lord from his word. And we're in the Gospel of John, and we'll be in chapter two, chapter one, we saw John describing Jesus as the Word of God, the creator of all things. He also was described as the light that shone into the darkness, and the darkness did not receive it. John the Baptist described Jesus as the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world. And Jesus declares to Nathaniel under the fig tree as he was meditating and praying about, you know, God and coming, the coming Messiah. Jesus declared to him that he was Jacob's ladder, the stairway to heaven, the way for man to come to God. And that's what sets us up in chapter two as we look at Jesus' first miracle. In chapter two, verse one, on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding, and when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour is not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Whatever he says to you, you do it. What an interesting dialogue between Jesus and his mother here on earth, Mary, and this wedding of Cana. And there's a lot here. First, this is the third day. Lots have happened in three days. He was revealed by John the Baptist. People started following him. He started calling people to himself. And now they're going to a big social event that somehow Jesus' mom was part of. We don't know if if she was just a friend trying to get something done or if she was part of the planning, but she was there and she was influential. And Jesus and the disciples were invited to be a part, and Jesus is asked to help out as well. Now, what is going on here in this dialogue between Jesus and his mom? They have no wine, Jesus was told by Mary. And Jesus says this interesting thing. Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? And depending on how you read it, this sounds kind of offensive, but it's it's really more like ma'am or dear woman, I'm appealing to you. What does this concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. There's something more going on in Jesus. This wedding feast and this wine is a picture of something that affects him a lot deeper than she even realizes. But she has watched him through the years. In other gospels, it talks about Mary pondered these things in her heart, these things that happened in the birth of Jesus, in the before the birth of Jesus. And as he began to grow and learn in life, and she sees that this is the one that God told her would come, and that she would be the mother of the Messiah that was to come. And she knew that he had something special to do, but she just didn't know how it was going to happen. And she knew in this instance that she could do something. Now, I want to look at a few verses to try to get an idea of what might have been going through Jesus' mind. First, let's address this. What does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. Now there's another instance in the Gospels where these phrases are used, not by Jesus, but by some demons. Watch this. In Matthew chapter 8, when he had come to the other side of the country of the Gergosenes, where he met two demon-possessed men coming out of the tomb, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? What do you have to do with us? They realized that their time was running out, but they knew it was not the moment. What are they talking about? What is Jesus talking about? He's talking about the time that he defeats sin and death on the cross, which was to come. But it wasn't the time yet, but it was starting. And these demons realize that as well. That would be a time where things change. But that's not the time yet. Why are they messing with him at this moment? And so it's interesting that Jesus knew that the end was coming. The reason for his coming to earth was getting closer and closer. And yet his mother didn't see the big picture, but he did. Well, let's look at some other things here. He knew that his hour was coming. And at one point he was telling his disciples in John chapter 12, now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I came. For this purpose I came to this hour. He's trying to tell his disciples they're about to go to Jerusalem for that final week. And he's going to be uh he's going to be falsely accused, he's going to be tried, he's going to be crucified on the cross. And he's asking, shall I be asking my Father to get me out of this situation? No, this is why I have come. And you need to understand this. This is why I've come. This is what I'm preparing you for. This is what you're going to be declaring to the world once I've risen from the dead and gone to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit. This is what it's all about. And that night that he was betrayed in John 17, he he prayed to the Father in the garden. He spoke these words. He lifted up his eyes to heaven and he said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you. And you have given him authority over all flesh. He should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Jesus knows that is his purpose. And as a man, God, the God man, Jesus emptied himself of his divinity and became a man, a flesh and blood man, and lived the perfect life, and knew that he would be indeed this Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world. As a man, isn't that overwhelming? Even in this prayer later on, he would pray that, Lord, if it's if it's possible, Father, would you let this cup pass? But not my will, your will be done. Now, as far as I'm concerned, in what would be good for me, this I would rather not go through this, but I know that this is why I've been called. I know that this is important. Paul says, for the joy that laid before him, Jesus endured the cross. He came for a purpose, and it was to redeem mankind back to himself. Again, the light came into the darkness, and the darkness did not understand him, did not receive him, because they didn't know him. And the cross would change that. And so he's already looking ahead to the cross, and he's like, Wow, this is not my time yet. But it's also a wedding, right? And weddings are a picture of Christ and his church. And we see that in Ephesians chapter 5, as Paul says, Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. Jesus laid down his life for his church, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. For we are members of his body. As believers of Christ, we are placed in Jesus. We are part of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. So a wedding is a picture of what Jesus would do for his bride on the cross as well. Weddings, uh the the the marriage bed, husband and wife are a picture of Christ and his church, and he's seeing it very clearly, and he's saying, Mom, it's not time yet. But it means so much more to him because he's seeing the big picture. His blood is the wine, and now they're having problems with the wine, and and his mom is asking him to do something about it, and he's ultimately going to do something about it. He'll do something about it in this instance, and it's going to be a glorious miracle, his first miracle. But he's looking to the big miracle, the miracle where his blood would be shed for the sin of mankind, so that we could be made clean, we could be cleansed. And there's so much more there, but the I believe these are the things that were going through his mind when he came to this wedding and he was asked about it. So back in our study, verse 6, now there sat six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece. They had these water jugs, these water pots made of stone, and we are we are described as clay pots, as vessels that the Lord can work through, that the Lord, by the power of his spirit, cleanses us and uses us to cleanse uh others around us with the gospel. And and so they had these pots here that were normally used in purification to be kosher, and so they were empty at this time. So when Jesus says in verse 7, fill the water pots with water, maybe some of the servants were thinking, oh, okay, we we we need to be more kosher in this. This is at the time of cleansing. Okay, that's good. And he said to them, Draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. Did you catch it? That was the miracle. They filled the pots with water, just as Jesus washes his bride, the church, with the water of the word. He is the word and he proclaims the word, and and husbands and wives here on earth, uh, they are benefited by what God has done for us. And we are a picture of Christ and the church. Husbands are to love their wives, wash them with the water of the word, lay down their lives for them. These water pots signify a lot of that, and now he says, draw some water out. He didn't even say some, he said, draw some out and give it to the master of the feast. And before they knew it, something happened right there. And they were the only ones that saw it. A great miracle that nobody knew really how and what happened. And verse 9 says, When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, he did not know where it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. And the master of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said to him, Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now. They would put out the freshest, uh, best wine at the beginning. And so at the end of the night you have some wine that's not as good, but it isn't as big a deal at that point. But the first set of wine ran out, and now we brought out even better wine, fresher wine. In fact, this was so fresh, it was just made. Miraculously. I mean, there's so much more in this in this miracle that happens here. I I encourage you to dig deeper and and to find some of the cultural and and just the practical inflections here uh of what has happened. This was a big, big miracle that did not uh was not shown to the whole crowds. It was very subtle. And it was the beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. Now, it's either the first sign that he did as he began his ministry, or he never really had done any miraculous thing up until that point. I know there are a lot of writings, a lot of extra gospels that talk about this time between his birth and and his ministry, these 30 years, where there's a lot of stories of what he did with doves and and how he got mad at other kids about stuff. And may I say to you, that's probably uh not true. A lot of those events are just extra-biblical thoughts. If this is true, that this is the beginning of the signs, this is the first miracle that he did ever, that might explain why his brothers and sisters maybe did not understand who he was. His mom understood, but they didn't understand. And even as he goes through and starts doing more and more miracles and and and develops a following, uh, you will find that his that his siblings don't understand him yet. But after he resurrects from the dead, then people like James and Jude become part of the church and become very influential as well. So this was the beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and it manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him, they believed in him as much as they could. They knew this is this is someone special. I believe he's the Messiah, but what does that mean? I don't know. What is he calling us to do? I don't know. What's the future gonna hold? I don't know, but I know I want to follow him, I know I want to learn more of him. And after this, he went down to Capernaum, he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, and he didn't stay there many days. He wasn't there very long because the Passover was coming up, and so they needed to go down to Jerusalem for the Passover meal. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business. Before this time, these folks had set up shop across the way on the Mount of Olives. That's where they were doing this, but they were doing it as a service because people would come from far and wide and they needed to get us a sacrifice that was acceptable and appropriate for their family. And so uh they had people there with money changers that would change their money, uh their currency into the temple currency that could be used. They would uh offer them, you know, you know, goats or even doves. Uh Jesus' parents used doves because they were poor as a sacrifice to dedicate their son to the Lord. And so this was set up as a service. But now it was brought into the temple complex, into the area of the of the Gentiles there, and they're kind of changing some of the things that they're doing. Um when they exchanged the money, they they would kind of cheat them out of the uh the value of the currency that they had. Uh they would be charging more for these sacrifices that they had before. They would offer these other things for sale. They weren't there as a service to the people anymore. They were there to make money now, to take advantage of people. And this is what made Jesus upset. Because his house, the father's house, was made as a house of prayer, a place for people to come and to meet with the Lord. And now the people that were representing God, the people who were helping people come to God, were now taking advantage of their fellow brethren and causing it to become even more difficult for them to meet with the Lord. And so in verse 15, when he had made a whip of cords, and John is the only one who reflects that fact, that he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen, and and poured out the changer's money and overturned the tables. And he said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of merchandise, a den of thieves. This is a place where man is to meet with God, and you were to help them in that effort, but you are making it more and more difficult. You you've come in and shit set up shop where you've had it outside before, so this could be a set aside place for people. And then his disciples remembered that it was written. Zeal for your house has eaten me up. The disciples go back and they they remember a quote from the book of Psalms, Psalm 69 specifically, and this is a psalm of David, and David um lamenting the fact that when he's seeking after the Lord and he's doing the things for the Lord, people are coming against him. People don't want to hear what he has to say because he's gone to meddling. And maybe you can relate to that too, as you live your life more and more sold out for the Lord. And you're not not saying things and doing things to Lord it over people, not saying things and doing things to to make yourself look better than others. You just have realized that I'm a life that's been changed, and and you need to know Jesus too. You need to be changed because he loves you and he wants the best for you. And then people start coming against you because, well, you've gone to meddling. Because the Lord is is challenging our lifestyle, the Lord is is challenging our philosophies, the Lord is challenging our kingdoms that we're building ourselves. And saying, you need to lay all that down and follow after me, because my kingdom is so much better than anything you can create for yourselves. And this is some of the things that that that the David said that relate a lot to what Jesus is saying here. Because for your sake I have bore reproach, shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother's children, because zeal for your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. When you follow after the Lord, when you lay down your life more and more, when you allow him to work in and through you more and more, you're gonna look more like Jesus and you're gonna get more flack because the world doesn't want to hear the gospel of Jesus. And yet the world needs to hear the gospel of Jesus because that is our only hope. And so are you willing to be wronged so that the gospel of Jesus would go forth? So that somebody somewhere might just accept what what that word is, that message, and come to faith in the Lord. And we do this because this is what happened to our Lord. Our Lord, the God man, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, who has the blessing and direction of the Father, who shines forth the glory of the Father to the world. He is reproached, he is rejected by his own brothers, but because of zeal, and that name for zeal, uh that that word comes from a similar word that we get jealousy from, and we sang about that. How the Lord is jealous for me, how he loves me. The Lord is jealous for me, not because he's afraid that I'm gonna go and follow some other God and he's gonna feel neglected, but he's jealous for me as a father is to his children. And what's the best for his children? Wants the children to be safe, wants the children to grow in righteousness and truth. And here he's seeing his children, people that really do seek after him and want to be known by him and be changed by him. They're being restricted from coming and meeting with God because of these folks that just want to build their own coffers, build their own kingdoms, that have missed their call in life. And the disciples recognized this.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

You've been listening to the teaching of Pastor Carl from the Mountain Cross on Come On Up. We're in the Gospel of John, and there's much to explore in this exciting book of the Bible. Jesus does all kinds of miracles in the book of John, such as turning water into wine and raising Lazarus from the dead. These were signs that he was far more than human. He's God. However, Jesus didn't shy away from expressing his humanity on earth either. When his friend had died, he was sad and he cried. He experienced righteous anger, seeing people abusing and defiling the temple while taking advantage of the poor. He cleared out the temple area with a cord of whips and showed his authority. But he was also tender with children and compassionate to those who were considered outcasts. This is the juxtaposition of the book of John. Jesus was both God and man, and you get to fully appreciate it more and more by reading this rich book of the Bible. If you're enjoying the teaching on Come On Up, would you consider helping us get the word out to others? Simply visit themountaincross.com/slash donate. It's a safe and secure way for you to give online. The Mountain Cross meets Sunday mornings at 10 at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville, North Carolina. If you are nearby and don't have a church home, we'd be delighted to have you join us this weekend. And be sure to come on up to the mountain with us next time as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come On Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.