A Miracle at a Catered Affair

We are looking at the miracle of Jesus turning the water into wine (John 2:1-11), and exploring the underlying message involved. 

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Hello, welcome to Scripture Simplified. This is Tim Wolfe. We continue our study in the Gospel of John. I want to read from John's Gospel, chapter two, verses one through eleven. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now and bear unto the governor of the feast, and they bear it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the servants which drew the water knew. The governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have full have well drunk, then that which is worse, but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him. I want to speak for just a few moments on a miracle at a catered affair. One of the proofs offered in confirmation of Jesus' identity as the promised Messiah was the miracles he performed. In Peter's first sermon after the day of Pentecost, he boldly spoke what almost everyone in the audience knew. He said this You men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. For John, the miracles or signs that Jesus performed was essential to his stated purpose at the end of the gospel. What did John want to accomplish through writing this wonderful book? He says this, and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. Now this is the first of a limited number of miracles that John uses to fulfill his stated purpose. Of course, the miracle I will talk about today is Jesus turning the water into wine. But other miracles we find in the book of John include the healing of the nobleman's son in chapter 4, the healing of the paralytic in John chapter 5, the feeding of the 5,000 with just a few loaves and fishes, our fish in John chapter 6, the walking on water, John chapter 6 as well, the healing of a man born blind, we find that in John chapter 9, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, we find that in John chapter 11, and of course the resurrection of Christ from the dead, John chapter 20. Now you can either accept what is said in this gospel as true or false. The author John wrote this. He said, This is the disciple which testifieth of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. We find that in John chapter 20, verse 24. Everything that John wrote, he saw. He's giving testimony of those things. So if you don't believe that Jesus did these things, you're calling John a liar. In fact, every gospel writer who gives testimony to the wonderful signs and miracles that Jesus did, you're saying they didn't happen. You're denying it. The word miracle, and then we use that word here, is sometimes used to explain a providential blessing. And it's good to recognize the blessings of providence. I believe in them. You hear sometimes people talk about having a financial need, and an unexpected check comes in the mail that comes at just the right time to meet that need, and we give God thanks for that. In all probability, it is his hand at work to meet our needs. However, using the word miracle would be a misleading term. The word miracle must be reserved for certain events. I like the definition given by Richard Pertle. He writes, I propose to define a miracle as an event in which God temporarily makes an exception to the natural order of things to show that God is acting. But now let me say this. What John recorded was more than a miracle. They were signs, all of these things that we've mentioned. There were signs. F.F. Bruce writes this. He says, the New Testament miracles are not mere miracles. They are all signs of some underlying reality. So with that in mind, I'd like to speak first of the marriage itself, the marriage event, or as I have in the title, the catered event. Secondly, I'd like to speak about the miracle of turning the water into wine. And thirdly, I'd like to explore the underlying message. So to help us remember this, I'm talking about the marriage, the miracle, and the message. First of all, in the marriage itself. Chapter 2, verses 1 through 2. Let's look at that once again. Says in the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. Now the marriage of a young couple in the Palestinian culture of that day was quite the celebration. It was more than a ceremony, but a feast that could last up to a week. The groom was responsible for provisions, and if he ran short, it would prove to be a great social embarrassment. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was already in attendance. Her showing concern in this passage for the lack of provisions may demonstrate that she was somewhat involved in preparations and that the participants might have been related to her. Evidently, three days had elapsed between Jesus' call of Philip and Nathaniel. Jesus and his five early disciples had been invited and arrived at the festivities. Now we know from our earlier studies that Jesus was not a mere man, but was God in human flesh. And it's a question that's kind of bears asking. How did Jesus engage as the incarnate Son of God? How did he engage this joyous occasion? Would he overly interject himself and lord over the festivities, or would he share in the joy of this couple? If I'm given my present preference in performing a marriage ceremony, I have a pastor's manual with a wedding service that I'm most comfortable with. In the scriptural introduction, it speaks of this event most eloquently. It says, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, honored and sanctioned the wedding in Cana of Galilee with his presence, and it was here that he wrought his first miracle, bringing cheer and joy to the host and his guests. I think Jesus entered these festivities with warm congratulations and with emotion and joy that was appropriate for the occasion. I don't think it would be proper to think Jesus as some kind of a wild jester or a comedian who was always seeking the center of attention, but I do think it proper to understand Jesus as the Son of Man, who entered both into the joys and the sorrows of humanity. I find it interesting how the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon instructed those studying for the ministry. He said, Give me the man around whom the children come, like flies around a honey pot. They are first-class judges of a good man. When Solomon was tried by the Queen of Sheba as to his wisdom, the rabbis tell us that she brought some artificial flowers with her, beautifully made and delicately scented, so as to be facsimiles of the real flowers. She asked Solomon to discover which were artificial and which were real. The wise man bade his servants open the window, and when the bees came in, they flew at once to the natural flowers and cared nothing for the artificial. So you will find children have their instincts, and discover very speedily who is their friend, and depend upon it, the children's friend is one who will be worth knowing. What I'm trying to say is that I think Jesus was a very attractive man in that sense. He was someone who people loved to be around. Forgive me if I'm over laboring this point, but the late Vance Havener wrote this. He said, When we enter the life of the early church, we find them eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God. We follow Paul from prison to prison, but his shout is, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Evidently, emotion had not been outlawed among the saints in those days. In the temple, Pharisees complained because the children cried Hosannas around the Savior. Hilarious, child-hearted Christians have always brought down the scorn of those who measure piety by the length of the face. Jesus was known to admonish his disciples, be of good cheer. And I believe at this wedding festival that Jesus practiced what he preached. The second thing we see is the miracle. We see Mary, the mother of Jesus, has evidently taken an active role in the festivities. She was aware of the provisions provided for the feast. It had come to her attention that the wine for the feast had been depleted. Now let's dispense with the common question about wine. Making comparisons between the wine served on that day and the wine consumed today can be misleading. The wine served in Jesus' day was subject to fermentation, but to prevent the inebriating effect of the wine, it was diluted with water. John MacArthur states the dilution was between one third and one-tenth of its strength. We need to also understand that wine mixed with water was safer than drinking water alone, particularly in that day. So they were out of their provision of wine, and Mary brought the problem to her son. She said, They have no wine. As mentioned earlier, that would have been a great embarrassment to the groom and his family. Now Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, is not mentioned here because in all probability has died. Certainly Mary knew of Jesus' special nature and calling, but she maintained all the traits of a mother. It can be assumed that upon Joseph's passing, Jesus took up responsibility for the support of his mother and his siblings and his siblings. Mary had grown to lean upon him and depend upon his resourcefulness. And Jesus gives an abrupt but not necessarily impolite reply to his mother. The authorized version states that he addressed her as woman. Greek scholars tell us that the Greek word is difficult to translate to English.

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F. Bruce suggests the Ulster expression woman dear, or the expression much used in the Southern U.S. ma'am, might be the best understanding. Jesus used the same expression from the cross as he makes provision for the future of his dear mother when he says to her concerning John, Woman, behold your son. Certainly in that context it should not be seen as a derogatory address. But what about the balance of his statement to his mother? In the authorized version it is this it says, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Maybe a better translation would be, What does your concern have to do with me? It is a bit difficult to soften this, isn't it? What is Jesus saying to his mother here? Maybe we saw a foretaste of this earlier in the life of Jesus. You remember when Jesus was twelve, he had gone with a caravan of friends and family from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Passover observation and feast? When the caravan returned, they could not find Jesus. Joseph and Mary had to backtrack to Jerusalem, and they find Jesus in the confines of the temple courts, sitting amidst the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. When Joseph and Mary chastise him for causing so much concern and trouble, he gives what might seem an insolent reply. He said, Did you not know that I must be about my father's business? Well, I think that is the point with this light rebuke that he gives his mother here. Jesus is saying, My greater calling is from my Father in heaven, and I cannot let my relationships, regardless of how dear and close, hinder me from fulfilling his will. I must operate on his timetable and not yours, and not even my own. And we see that emphasized as we go on through the Gospel of John. Now you must appreciate Mary's explicit trust in her son. She doesn't stay and harangue him or nag him, but simply says to the servants, whatever he saith unto you, do it. Then I think she just walks away. It's out of her hands. She in faith puts the problem in his capable hands. Oh, if we can only genuinely do that in our own lives. There are times in life where we all face things where there seems to be no answer. The expression is hitting the wall, and we've all hit the wall. We find it repeatedly as we traverse through the gospel, things thought impossible to man are possible with Christ. We see it in this gospel that there's a man who is born blind, and there's never been a record up to that point of any man born blind that has ever seen until this man is given his sight. There's five thousand men, not counting women and children, who've followed Jesus out to hear his teaching, and they are far away from the provision of food, and Jesus commands to feed them. But there's only five loaves and two small fish, and yet Jesus feeds them. What's the answer? There was no answer humanly possible. There was no human way to feed that multitude, but Jesus was the answer. And then there's a man who's been dead for four days, been laid in the grave for four days. And Jesus says, roll away the stone. And calls this man who was dead, calls him forth, and he lives again. Now at this wedding there were six water pots that held all together around a hundred gallons. They were for the purification customs practiced by the Jews, such as the washing of feet and the washing of hands, before each course of meal of a meal, they had this custom that they would follow. Now Jesus told the servants to fill each of these pots with water. And the servants fill them to the brim. They have done all they can. It's still water. The problem is not the need for water. The problem is they've run out of wine. And so it's water. It's filled to the brim. They've done all they can do. Now it must be left up to Jesus. The miracle is performed, and Jesus commands them to take some of the wine and give it to the master of the feast. Carson writes that this master of the feast is probably a chief steward or head waiter in charge of catering and perhaps of the place where the banquet was held. He commends the wine as being the best wine of the feast. There's the miracle. But what's the message? If this is indeed more than a miracle, if it's a sign, if there's an underlying reality, I think we have to look for it. We need to look for it. The verse says, The beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed on him. John MacArthur writes, John used the word sign here to refer to the significant displays of power that pointed beyond themselves to the deeper divine realities that could be perceived by the eyes of faith. By this word, John emphasized that miracles were not merely displays of power, but had a significance beyond the mere act themselves. What then is the underlying spiritual reality or realities that this miracle points to? Well, I think one thing, and I found some corroboration, I guess the word would be. I found some corroboration from scholars on this. It points to a superior covenant. Think about the sacrifice of the new covenant. Now, the water in the water pots was designed for Jewish ceremonial cleansing. They were all concerned with the external. What the turning of the water into wine represents is the new wine of the gospel, the good news of Christ. The writer of the Hebrews labors to show, by the way, I commend that reading the book of Hebrews because it shows the superiority of Christ in so many different ways to what was old. So he shows the superiority of the new covenant of grace in Christ or the old covenant of the law. And the writer writes it this way: He says, For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Now, can wine be utilized? Can it be a symbol of sacrifice? Certainly. Jesus certainly utilized it that way. He said at the Last Supper, as we call it, it says, And when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I want to drink of the fruit of this vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. So, yes, I think it can point to the new covenant of God's grace, the new covenant that brings real forgiveness and real cleansing to the hearts of men and women, boys and girls. I think it also can speak to the satisfaction of his covenant. The wine that Jesus made was the best wine. And I kind of agree. I I read something from John Phillips that said Jesus, if you drunk gallons of that wine, you would not have gotten inebriated. You would not have. Have been harmed by it at all. I agree with that. But it was called the best wine. And wine's a symbol of joy. In Psalm 104, 15, verse 15, wine is explicitly described as a gift from God that gladdens the heart of man. It represents prosperity and joy, while the lack of wine is associated with sorrow and judgment. So when we think about it, we not only think about the sacrifice, but we think about what the sacrifice procured for us, the joy that we have in Christ and through his blood. First of all, we rejoice in real pardon. John writes in his epistles, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. As we've said earlier in earlier episodes, that sin, just like the waters of the Jordan flowed when people were baptized, confessing their sins, and that symbol, that image of the sins flowing down and going around the bend out of sight, that's made real by the blood of Jesus Christ. Our sins are gone as far as the East is from the West, so far hath He removed our sins from us. And then because our sins are gone through Christ, through what He's done, through the one who can turn the water into wine, we rejoice in peace. We have peace with God. That's how Paul put it. Therefore, being justified or made right with God through faith, we have peace with God. And I'm so thankful that I have been reconciled. That I was an enemy of God. I was a stranger. But now I'm his son. I can call God my Father. Why? Because of Jesus, because of the new covenant, because of the grace of God. And thirdly, we rejoice in our prospect. Oh, I'm so thankful that I now, my prospect is I can come to the Father. Anytime that there's a throne of grace that is open to me because of the blood of Christ. And any time of night or day, I can come to Him and bring my needs to Him and receive grace and mercy to help me in my times of need, and you can as well. Isn't it wonderful to have this new wine, this best wine, through Jesus Christ. I was reading the story of a famous Christian in China. Her name is Christiana Sai. She was born into a wealthy home in China and raised in a devout Buddhist home. Her parents sent her to Christian high school with one warning: quote, just be sure you don't eat Christianity. But that's exactly what happened. How did her family react? Well, they reacted with great anger to her conversion. They snatched her Bible, tore it up into pieces, and threw it in her face. Yet sometime later, her eighth brother approached her and said, Tell me more about Christianity and why you became a Christian. He said, I've noticed that in spite of the way we treat you, you seem so much happier than you used to. I think I would like to believe too. In time, Christiana's happiness paved the way for her sharing the good news of Christ with her entire family. I want to ask you the question: have you drunk deeply of this new wine? Have you opened your heart fully to what Christ has done for you and for me and for all humanity? Have you opened yourself? Have you tasted of this new wine? Because I'm here to tell you, blessing will come and joy will come when you receive fully the work that He's done in your behalf. Again, it says in closing that Jesus manifested his glory in this miracle, and his disciples believed on him. This is the first miracle, but not the only miracle. Now I wonder, what will it take for you to believe on him? John's given all of this. We encourage a lot of people, and I think I mentioned this before we started our study, that one of the first things we do, and one of the ways of witnessing is really just give people a copy of the Gospel of John and say, read this. And you either got to end up saying, These things did not happen. This man is a liar, or you've got to bow down and fall on your face before Jesus Christ and say, My Lord and my God. That's what John's hope is, and that's what my hope is for each of you if you don't know him. In a very simple way, you can just simply open up your heart. I'm not going to tell you how to pray. Praying is not hard. It just comes from your heart. If you just say, Jesus, come in. Something as simple as that. He will come in. And he'll change your life. He'll transform you, just like he transformed the water into wine. He'll do a miracle in your heart. I'd like to pray with you now. Our Father, we're so thankful for the good wine, the best wine. And it's that, Jesus, which you have provided. And I pray, Father, that those in the sound of my voice will open their heart and receive, God, the goodness that you've provided for them. We thank you for your sacrifice on the cross, for you coming to that hour and fulfilling the purpose that God sent you into this world. The Father sent you into this world to perform. You died for our sins according to the Scripture. You were buried, and on the third day you arose again from the dead. And especially this week, we give you praise for the work that you've done for us. Your hour came and you fulfilled the Father's will. And we give you praise on this very special week for all that you've done. Now bless those who are listening to this podcast and keep your hand upon each of them and bless them. We ask in Jesus' name Amen.