WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.120 Well, again, good morning. 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.240 My name is Sam Rapp, and I serve here as a student pastor. 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:06.639 I'm honored to be here this morning with you. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:10.880 Um, if you do have your Bibles, I would invite you to go ahead and grab them and turn to John 2. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.679 That's where we're going to be camped out this morning. 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:23.359 In the summer during the month of July, we've been doing a unique sermon series where we've been we've been journeying with this very special woman, Mary, the mother of Jesus. 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:41.439 And on our first week together, uh, Brad worked us through the Annunciation when the uh angel Gabriel approached this young woman and said, You will bear the coming Messiah, which would have been a high calling for a teenage girl, but she responds with her yes to the Lord. 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:49.200 And one of the things that Brad hit on in the sermon is that for many of us, we think of Mary as this very exalted figure, and rightfully so. 00:00:49.280 --> 00:01:00.159 She bore Christ, but at the same time, she is born under the same curse that you and I are, which is that she is also in need of a savior. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:05.760 She is not perfect, she needs forgiveness like we do. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:14.239 And then last week, uh Keel worked through the story from Luke 2, where Luke, the physician, outlines the story of Jesus' birth. 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:17.200 And it was Christmas in July here at Redeemer. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.760 And Keel hit on such an amazing point that Mary knew her Bible. 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:27.120 That it wasn't as if when she gave birth to this son, she didn't quite know what was happening. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:29.359 She knew that this was special. 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:35.599 She knew that Jesus, her son, would be different than any other boy born of a woman. 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:47.200 And one thing that he hit on that was so beautiful that I had never noticed before, that was amazing that he spoke to us, was that the main audience of the birth was not kings, political figures, Caesars. 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:54.000 The main audience were shepherds, the lowly men who would be out in the field protecting their sheep. 00:01:54.799 --> 00:02:03.439 These are the regular guys that got to witness the moment in history around which all else orbits, the birth of Christ. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:05.680 And because God works in the ordinary. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:07.519 And I love that Keel hit on that last week. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:16.080 And now this morning, we're gonna read a story that's gonna be familiar to many of you that Keel just read for us, The Wedding at Cana, where Jesus turns water into wine. 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:18.240 And it's so popular that it's become a meme. 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:19.919 I found this video, it's very clear. 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:30.719 We'll just have water drink. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:34.319 Okay. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:36.159 I'll be right back with this. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:43.120 Oh, I love that. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.800 I was cackling at my desk this week at that video. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:54.719 Um so, of course, this this question brings us this this morning. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:58.000 Is what does the wedding at Cana have to do with Mary? 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:04.000 And further, what does this special wedding from the first century in Jerusalem have to do with me? 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:07.599 So, with that, let's look at John 2, verses 1 and 2. 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:12.639 On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:16.080 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:17.680 And so John sets the stage. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:24.080 There's a wedding here at Cana, and our girl Mary, she's there, and she's there with Jesus. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:26.719 And the bride and groom were smart with this one, right? 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:32.000 When you're thinking through your guest list at a wedding, you're thinking, okay, we hear that Mary's pretty special. 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:34.159 Not only that, I hear her son is pretty special. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.240 So we should make sure that Jesus of Nazareth gets a save the date. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:43.919 But the most likely reason that Jesus and his mother and the disciples were invited is this was probably a family wedding. 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:46.240 Maybe it was a distant relative, a cousin. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:47.759 We're not 100% sure. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.080 But we know that Mary, Jesus, and his disciples were invited and present. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:57.039 And I want to make note of something very important that John, I think, is tuning us into. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:02.240 The only person explicitly named in this whole story is Jesus. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.000 Everybody else just gets a title, even Mary. 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:10.240 John doesn't say her by name, John just says Mother of Jesus. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.840 And so I think John's tuning us into something bigger here. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.879 If we think, hey, who is the person explicitly named? 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:20.240 The story is probably revolving around them, right? 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.399 And then we're gonna see something goes wrong at this wedding. 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:29.439 So with that, I want to tell y'all a story about uh the curse of the rap family, okay? 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:36.720 So when someone in my family, the rap family, has a wedding, something borderline catastrophic happens, okay? 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:38.639 So we all know, I mean, weddings are hard. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:40.720 The details are never ending, right? 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:49.519 From the color of the bridesmaid's dresses to other very important things like why that crazy uncle shouldn't sit by grandma, or why that groomsman need to make sure he doesn't drink too much. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:55.680 I mean, you we all know the wedding pains and the the pressure of the wedding ends up on the host family, right? 00:04:55.839 --> 00:05:03.360 They're throwing a party for a few hundred people, and if the if the party goes wrong, the host family will of course feel some sense of shame. 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:10.800 And God bless them, uh, my poor father just went 0 for 3 with weddings because of things way out of his control. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:20.079 So, oldest sister gets married in May of 2013, and you would think, okay, May of in Marietta, Georgia would probably be around 80 degrees and sunny. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:27.120 Um, on May 4th, 2013, the average temperature was around 50 degrees, and from 3 to 8 p.m. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.120 it rained five inches, okay? 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:33.759 That's a bad amount of rain if you're gonna have a wedding with an outdoor reception, right? 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:38.399 So parents are panicking, having to get a tent for last second, which tents have a monopoly. 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:39.199 I don't know if you knew that. 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:40.800 They are unbelievably expensive. 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:43.920 I would get into the tent business if you're looking for a few dollars. 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.480 Uh so you know, the wedding was fine. 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:48.800 They got married, yes and amen. 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:53.920 But, and it was definitely memorable, but it was not what was expected. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:54.319 Okay? 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:56.959 So O for one with weather, okay. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:00.959 Then my middle sister gets married on December 9th, 2017. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:01.439 Okay. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:07.439 It's here in Atlanta, so you know, if you're getting married in December, you're like, in Marietta, it should be okay. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.319 It's probably gonna be 50 degrees, like it always is in December, right? 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:15.680 No, so if you live in Minneapolis, you're probably like, there's probably a blizzard warning, but not Atlanta, right? 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:20.560 Well, as it turns out, uh the curse of the Rap family shows no partiality. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:25.680 So the snow starts falling and falling and falling. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:32.800 Uh, and it was a full-blown snow apocalypse in December of 2017, where some places in Atlanta got like 18 inches of snow. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:33.920 I don't know if you remember this. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.560 I've blocked it out from my memory, I think, at this point. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:40.319 And we know Atlanta drivers are the best, especially in winter weather. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.879 So, what could possibly go wrong? 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:48.879 And of course, she she gets married, the wedding turns out okay, but it was not part of the plan. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:52.879 So at this point, we're 0 for 2 with weddings. 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:57.680 So everybody's like, hey, when Sam gets married, what's gonna happen? 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:01.279 And I always used to joke that maybe Jesus would return at my wedding. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:05.600 Um, because what's more catastrophic in a beautiful way than our Lord returning? 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:08.319 And sadly that didn't happen, but I want to tell you what did. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:17.600 So I proposed to Grace on her birthday in August of 2019, and we set the wedding date to be August 29th, 2020. 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:19.360 Which seems great, right? 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:24.399 It's a it's a really alliterative year, like my OCD, like 2020, I'll graduate college and get married. 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:26.480 It's a beautiful year, 2020. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.680 But that pesky little virus. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.040 Remember that thing? 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:33.680 The one we all thought would end by April, right? 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:34.959 Yeah, that one. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:45.759 So the Rat family went from 50 degrees and five inches of rain in May to 18 inches of snow in December to a pandemic that shut down the entire world. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:48.560 That, my friends, is a curse. 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:55.839 And we we jokingly kind of made a pact together that like we the rat family probably shouldn't host another wedding because who knows what's gonna happen. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:00.879 Maybe World War III, I don't know what's gonna happen, but maybe Jesus actually would come back, so maybe we should have another wedding. 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:01.519 I don't know. 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:06.879 But here's the reality: there has been a curse on all weddings since Genesis 3. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:08.480 God creates Adam. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:16.959 He sees that he is alone, he pulls a rib from his side, forms Eve, and then we see the first wedding ceremony in Genesis 2. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:20.319 A sinless, curse-free wedding. 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:28.959 And the words, the first words we see out of the mouth of our father Adam are a song that as he sees his beloved just flow from his lips. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:30.480 Look at Genesis 2 with me. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:34.960 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:40.879 Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.679 She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:49.600 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:51.759 Adam, you may kiss your bride. 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:58.720 Now, why would Jesus choose a wedding ceremony to perform his first miracle? 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:02.159 Well, of course, because Jesus knew his Bible, right? 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:10.480 The writer of Genesis, the prophet Moses, would then go on to describe this first married couple using two very important words on their wedding day. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:12.720 This is Genesis 2, 25. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.720 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:24.080 You think about it, Moses could have chosen any two words to describe what it was like to be a human before the fall. 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:29.840 He could have chosen words like perfect or sinless or handsome or skinny. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.720 But he uses the words naked and unashamed. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:34.639 And I think that's important. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:43.759 These are the two words describing, again, what it was like to be a human before the curse, which would just come one verse later. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:48.000 And imagine how beautiful this wedding ceremony must have been. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:56.399 With no shame, with no fear of being found out, nothing to hide, nothing to be embarrassed about within your soul. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:04.799 Adam and Eve got to experience the deepest, most core need of a human being to be fully known and to be fully loved. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:10.559 And since the fall, you and I are seeking that very thing. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.039 To be fully known and fully loved. 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:19.600 And yet, what that means is that what we're most afraid of is to be fully known and unlovable. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:26.480 That's what we're most afraid of, for someone to get to know the deepest parts of you and find out that you are unlovable. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:39.679 Maybe it's happened to you before, maybe in a deep friendship, a romantic relationship, a family member, where you opened yourself up to somebody only for them to ultimately reject you, and then shame has been your story ever since. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:46.559 And for all of us, shame and sin has been the marking of all weddings since the fall. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:52.960 Thus, Jesus shows up to perform a first miracle at a wedding. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:54.960 And so I want to put my cards on the table. 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:59.919 Jesus performs his first miracle at a wedding to bring us right back to Genesis 2 and 3. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:10.159 And what I think is happening primarily is that Jesus is beginning to do the work of undoing the work of evil, of sin and shame, assaulting humanity since the fall. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:17.200 Because probably you're sitting here this morning knowing this to be true, that Jesus loves you. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:23.600 But I bet in your core, you're thinking, but there's probably some part of me that God can't actually love. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:26.639 If you're anything like me, you find that to be true. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:31.679 So with all of that, I want to read a quote from Kurt Thompson's book, The Soul of Shame. 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:39.120 It says that shame is the emotional weapon that evil uses to corrupt our relationships with God and each other. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:46.879 Shame, therefore, is not simply an unfortunate random emotional event that came with us out of the primordial evolutionary soup. 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:58.960 It is both a source and result of evil's active assault on God's creation and a way for evil to try to hold out until the new heaven and new earth appear at the consummation of history. 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:06.720 So the curse of Genesis 3 wants you to believe, and I to believe, that in the eyes of God we are unlovable. 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:16.879 And even more importantly, man, if God really got to know the parts of me that I try the most to press down, I know that he couldn't love me. 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.759 And that's what shame wants you to believe. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:29.919 So, in light of our big problem here of sin and shame since the first wedding, here's kind of what the flow of our text in John 2 is gonna bring us this morning with the wedding at Cana. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:36.159 So sin and shame are gonna be healed by adoption, purification, and our perfect bridegroom. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.759 So that's kind of where we're going this morning in John 2. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:41.279 That's gonna be our flow. 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:50.639 And what I've been praying for this week for you and for me is not that you'd leave this place with a little bit more head knowledge, but I pray that you would meet your Lord this morning. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:57.679 That you would bring all of yourself here at church, right to your Lord, and all of the parts of you that you really try to hide. 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.080 I pray that you would bring them to the Lord this morning. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:02.159 So let's begin with our first point. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:06.960 Adoption, which might seem like an unlikely point from this text. 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:12.799 But as I read these verses, what I want you to look out for is what the titles used for Mary are. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.519 So this is John 2, 1 through 5. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:20.320 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:27.919 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples, and when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.200 And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does this have to do with me? 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:32.879 My hour has not yet come. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.919 And his mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:39.440 So what were the titles used of Mary, and by whom were they given? 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:43.120 Well, we see in verse 1, John refers to her as the mother of Jesus. 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:47.200 Then again in verse 3, John says the same, and then we see a flip. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:54.159 Jesus refers to her as woman, and then John refers back to her as his mother. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:58.159 So why does Jesus call his mother woman instead of mother? 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.720 Well, I think it comes down to this question. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:05.679 What is Mary's primary identity in relation to Jesus? 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:07.440 I mean, she was his mother. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:11.519 She did give birth to him, she did wipe his bottom. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.480 So, is it mother? 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:20.000 Or is it like you and I, a woman, a person in desperate need of a savior? 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:24.399 I want to bring us back to a very intimate moment in Luke 2. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:28.480 So, Mary and Joseph, they give birth to this little sweet boy in the manger. 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:30.320 They bring him to Jerusalem. 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:36.960 It was a Jewish custom of the day to present a baby boy to the temple and offer a sacrifice. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:43.120 So they meet this man named Simeon, who uh Luke describes as a very devout and religious man, a man filled with the Spirit. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:49.919 And Simeon speaks a prophecy over Jesus that he will uh reign and rule and be a savior to the nations. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:52.480 And then this is what happens next. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.159 And his father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:05.360 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:12.080 And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:14.720 So Mary is there with her husband. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:21.039 They're rejoicing and marveling over what was said in the power of the Spirit over their sweet little baby boy. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:26.159 And then Simeon gives them this cryptic and harsh message to Mary. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.600 He says, And a sword will pierce through your own soul also. 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:32.639 Maybe Mary knew what he was saying. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:33.919 Maybe not. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:52.159 But what Jesus would go on to do about 33 years later was to be nailed to a Roman cross, all while his mama is right there at the foot of it weeping, as her little boy gets nails through his hands, nails through his feet, wears a crown of thorns. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:56.720 Is there any more painful experience a mama can have? 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.919 The sword will be pierced through her soul at the cross. 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:07.600 My favorite portrayal painting of the crucifixion is this painting by Matthias Gronwald. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.519 It's one of the few portrayals that actually show Christ in anguish. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:13.200 I mean, you see his hands. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:18.080 And you see to Jesus' left, the woman in white is his mama. 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:21.279 She falls in anguish as her son. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:27.039 This little boy she gave birth to in a manger, taught how to walk and talk. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:30.960 She is now at the foot of his cross, just like the rest of us. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:34.879 And so here's the first point of adoption, how it comes in. 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:41.120 Regardless of what family we are born into, our shame is healed through adoption into Christ's family. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:48.399 So Mary must ultimately come to Jesus in the same way that you and I do, in need of a savior. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:54.320 Even though she gave birth to the Son of God, she did not get special treatment. 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:57.840 She had a problem that needed to be wiped clean. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:02.720 And so at this wedding, she says, they ran out of wine. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.519 And Jesus says, Woman, my hour has not yet come. 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:10.240 And when every time he says this, especially in the Gospel of John, he's referring to his crucifixion. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:14.319 And as he says it, he refers to his mom like he would any other woman. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:17.039 Any other person. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:21.759 The English could also be something like ma'am, the Southern translation, right? 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:23.200 It's respectful. 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:27.359 But Jesus is intentionally creating some distance between him and his mama. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:36.559 Because he knows that her deepest need is not just to be his mama, he knows her deepest need is to be his Lord. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.119 And do you notice Mary's reply? 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.799 I think she's catching on a little bit. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:42.319 Look at verse five. 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:46.480 His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:53.200 At a glimpse of Jesus as Messiah, Mary responds in faith and obedience. 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:56.240 Do whatever he tells you. 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:07.519 So again, my the first point for this morning is that we are healed in our shame as we are adopted into a heavenly family, Christ's family, and this is amazingly good news. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.440 Maybe you had a father figure who was distant or abusive. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.599 Maybe you come from a very broken family. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:19.279 Maybe you come from a wonderful family where you were known and loved. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:25.519 From wherever you come, Christ is offering to adopt you into his family, to give you a new name. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:35.279 Even though Mary was his own mama, she needed to be adopted into a spiritual family far exceeding that of her biological family tree. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.039 Let's keep reading in our story. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:38.240 Verse 6. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:46.079 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:50.799 Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water, and they filled them up to the brim. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:54.640 And he said to them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:56.319 So they took it. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:00.079 So again, Mary tells the servants, Do what do whatever he tells you. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:04.799 So Jesus comes to the servants and he says, Hey, you see those huge stone jars? 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:10.640 I want you to take those, I want you to fill them with water, and don't fill them halfway, guys, up to the brim. 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:12.240 And then they do it. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.519 They take a cup full, they bring it to the materdy. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:18.240 These weren't just any jars. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:20.319 These were jars for purification. 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:26.480 They would be jars that would be used for Jewish people to cleanse themselves before entering into the temple. 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:33.200 Before entering into the presence of the holy God who loved them, they would purify themselves in these jars. 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:41.519 And beloved, when we are stuck in cycles of sin and shame, how often do we feel the need to do the same thing? 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:47.039 Like we need to clean ourselves up, and then God will approve of us. 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:53.839 A few weeks ago, I was really just struggling with some doubt, some anger, and it was really hard for me to read my Bible. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:54.960 I don't know if you've been there. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:57.440 I really found it hard to pray. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:05.440 It was, it felt like I had to fix my anger and figure out my doubts, and then I could access the Holy of Holies. 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:13.279 And then I was listening to this song called The Breast of Mercy by John Lucas and Andy Squires, and this lyric just crushed me. 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:16.960 It says, The breast of mercy is bared to the lips of the poor. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:18.720 Come and drink your fill. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:20.559 There is no lock on the door. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:22.640 And it wrecked me. 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:24.000 It brought me to tears. 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.839 It felt like God was nudging me in, saying, Sam, the work is complete. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:33.200 There's no checklist for you to figure out before you bring yourself to me. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:38.720 Bring yourself in your anger when you stumble in sin, when you're doubting. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:49.359 And yet, the very sin and shame that I was wrestling with as I was sitting on the side of my bed listening to that song was saying the same thing that it was saying to Adam and Eve in the garden. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:52.319 Go hide, cover yourself. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:56.720 And yet that's exactly where God found them and found me. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.960 Was in my place of hiding. 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:02.559 And so here's where our second point, purification, comes in. 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:06.960 Our shame is healed as we are purified by the blood of Jesus. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:10.720 So remember that deep fear that all of us have? 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:11.359 Right? 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:14.960 To be fully known and then be rejected. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:24.480 What purification by the blood of Jesus offers you is to be fully known, fully wiped clean, and fully loved. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:30.799 And so the offer this morning is to plunge yourself under the mercy of God, of Christ's blood. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:32.960 Don't just dip your toe in it, beloved. 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:35.359 Plunge yourself under it. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.480 Feel it washing you clean. 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:44.640 There is no other place for you to be clean before your Father in heaven or to be fully known and fully loved. 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:46.960 So come and drink your fill. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:52.000 I think there are three primary ways that all of us try to clean ourselves up. 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:54.400 Number one is comparison. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:59.119 And what this says is I am clean because I am better than fill in your blank. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:04.240 And this makes us feel better because, man, at least we're not them. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:08.880 I parent better, I go to church more, I don't drink as much as them. 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:21.680 I speak kinder to my spouse than them, and yet what this leads to is a cycle of pride when it feels like things are going great, but then slips us into despair when we know we're not living up. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:30.799 And so then the cycle looks like once we've exhausted ourselves of comparing ourselves with others, we move on to moralism, which says I'm clean because I do blank or I don't do blank. 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:41.680 The all-familiar checklist of religious approval, as if we're bringing a receipt to the Lord of Glory, like we're at Costco, saying, check it off, Lord. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:44.240 God, I'm tired of comparing myself to others. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.559 So here's just how I'm doing before you. 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:49.039 And yet, you know the feeling. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:52.000 You get exhausted trying to prove yourself. 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:56.319 And so then maybe there's a third easier option, number three, avoidance. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.640 I'm clean because, well, what's in? 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:06.400 So the pain of being vulnerable, the pain of accepting our weaknesses, just turns out to be too much. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:11.680 And so we busy ourselves, we cope, likely, with maybe other sinful vices. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:15.839 We fill our schedules so we don't have to reflect. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:20.000 So we go as long as we can pretending it's not there. 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:25.920 So much so that the shame actually increases as we're being less and less honest with ourselves. 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:31.200 So then how can we honestly bring ourselves to Christ in that cycle? 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:39.680 But the fourth option, maybe we could say the first option as it ought to be, is to come to the new wine of Christ's death and resurrection. 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:49.039 Come with a big old goblet, drink deeply of it, fill it up to the brim with the blood of Jesus, the new wine of his covenant. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:53.119 And the blood of Christ is so wonderful because it has no limits for you. 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:59.839 It doesn't find fear in what you've done, what you will do, what you're presently struggling with. 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:01.759 It's not scared of your doubts. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:03.519 It's not scared of your grief. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:06.079 It's not scared of what's happened to you. 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.960 And you remember from the text how many jars there were. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:12.240 There were six. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:16.160 The number six in the Bible consistently meant something along the lines of incomplete. 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:21.359 So it's as if Jesus is saying, hey, the water turned to wine is only a shadow. 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:32.640 What would happen on the cross would be the seventh jar, you could say, where the full, complete, and final sacrifice, the final purification will be ready for you. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:39.359 Beloved, your shame will lose its grip on you not as you muster up the strength to try to purify yourself. 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:44.960 It will come as you come to the fact that you are broken. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:48.960 To be vulnerable with yourself and with the Lord who loves you. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.480 Here's all of me, Lord. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:52.079 Do with it what you will. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.319 Feel his tender embrace of you. 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.160 So let's close our story out here. 00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:57.279 Verse 9. 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:04.400 When the master of the feast tasted the water and now become wine, and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:08.799 The master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, Everyone serves the good wine first. 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:13.680 And when the people have drunk freely, then the poor wine, but you have kept the good wine until now. 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:19.519 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory. 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:21.839 And his disciples believed in him. 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:28.720 After this he went down to Copernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:34.559 So here we find a groom like all other grooms, not enough. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:36.799 The groom didn't buy enough wine. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:40.240 And at his special wedding work, Jesus Christ was invited. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:41.839 He had the nerve to run out of wine. 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:42.720 Can you imagine? 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:46.400 If you knew Jesus would be present at your wedding, you'd order enough wine, right? 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:51.440 So the master of the feast tastes this water turned to wine. 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:54.720 And this was no Trader Joe's two-buck chuck, beloved. 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:58.480 Christ performs no half-hearted miracles. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:01.039 This was Opus One, the good stuff. 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:03.680 The back of the cellar stuff, right? 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:09.440 So here stands this groom, maybe just with his hands in his pockets, like all other grooms, right, on wedding days. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:12.640 Probably unaware of what's even happening, like most grooms. 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:19.119 And so his wedding planner, the master of the feast, comes to him, not panicking about the wine being God, but rejoicing. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:23.680 Hey, you saved the good wine until the end when everybody's drank a little bit. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:28.160 What I love about the story is that we don't see what the groom said back. 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:32.480 Maybe he did the strong, tough guy thing that most guys would do. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:33.359 Oh, yeah, I know. 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:36.240 Yeah, I bought the good wine for the end, right? 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:40.559 Because guys are typically bad at accepting their weaknesses, right? 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:42.240 And then John summarizes. 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:45.680 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did manifesting his glory. 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:48.160 And you notice it wasn't flashy. 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:51.359 Jesus didn't even get the credit at the wedding. 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:52.720 But it was enough. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:55.920 His disciples believed him and they went on. 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:03.200 So our third point our sin and shame are healed by Christ, our perfect bridegroom who knows our every need. 00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:05.920 That's good news. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:14.079 The groom at the wedding of Cana is like every other groom since Adam, a sinner in need of grace. 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:19.039 One of my favorite things I get to do as a pastor is officiate wedding ceremonies. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:23.839 And on these days, the company of everyone's closest friends and families, right? 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:30.079 The bride and groom are standing at the altar making vows and promises to one another, and these are good promises. 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:32.160 They say, I will never leave you. 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.000 In sickness and in health. 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:36.160 When it gets hard, I'll be there. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:42.559 But everyone in the congregation, if they're honest, knows this couple is not gonna live up to these vows perfectly. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:43.839 They cannot. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:47.599 They can try their hardest and they should, and by God's grace, they will. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:52.480 But this groom standing at the altar is gonna let his wife down. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:56.559 He's gonna forget for the millionth time to put the toilet seat back down. 00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:57.759 Grooms? 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:00.000 Wives, don't say amen. 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:00.960 Right? 00:28:01.119 --> 00:28:11.359 She's gonna want to have a deep, connecting conversation, and for the millionth time, he's gonna pretend to listen, all while replaying Rory's putt at the Masters again. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:14.799 Beloved, you have a groom who will never let you down. 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:19.759 You have a groom who is never too busy or distracted to listen. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:23.440 You have a groom who will never run out of wine at the wedding feast. 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:26.880 You have a groom who will never be ashamed to call you his beloved. 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:33.440 You have a groom who will never point a finger of accusation at you, like Adam in the garden. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:42.480 And yet the problem is that you and I from birth have a felt sense that due to things that have happened to us, the things that we have done, that we are unlovable. 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:50.720 And yet what God has shown us time and time again in the scriptures is that He is a God that moves toward broken people and broken places. 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:54.799 So the question this morning for you is not, do you feel shame? 00:28:54.960 --> 00:28:59.440 The question is, what do you think you're gonna do with your sin and shame? 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:00.880 What will you do with it? 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:05.839 Will you try to muster up strength and keep moving, pretending that everything's good? 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:15.519 Or by God's grace, will you bring these parts of yourself, the most hidden, the most shameful, right into the presence of your Lord? 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:24.960 So that's the offer this morning is to be loved and welcomed by your groom, who will never leave you or forsake you, no matter what you do. 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:28.559 If you have a question about this sermon or need prayer, I'll be down front. 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:30.000 Would love to talk with you. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:31.599 Let's pray together. 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:42.640 Father, thank you this morning that you have continually shown us that you do not shy away from broken things and broken places. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:50.240 Father, all of us in this room this morning are sitting in these seats, feeling some sense of shame. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:30:02.880 Maybe it's about our past, a deep regret of something we did or didn't do, a huge mistake we made, maybe shame because our father didn't love us like he should have. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:06.960 Maybe shame because we are finding out that we're not enough. 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:14.480 Maybe shame that makes us think that in your presence we're dirty. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:20.480 And so, Lord, I pray this morning that we would have a real encounter with you by your Spirit. 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:29.680 That we would leave this place convinced that you look at us and feel no condemnation, but that in Christ you look at us and see your Son. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:36.640 Lord, we pray that as we come to receive this bread and this cup, that you would minister to us. 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:38.160 Pray this in Jesus' name. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.039 Amen.