Miracle Wedding

John 2:1-11

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Word be proclaimed in spirit. May your work be accomplished in us. We pray. Amen. Now, in today's gospel lesson, it's going to be really hard for me to whittle it down to a very specific period of time that you all would agree with, which is like 15, 20 minutes.
Yeah, yeah, that's right. And I can see I've been bribed with candy over here on the side. But all that to say is that this is a tremendous wonderful that we are given right at the onset of Jesus ministry. In John's Gospel, he calls this the first sign or the first miracle. And then John in his Gospel goes on a diatribe of very up to seven signs that manifest Jesus glory.
Now we're in the second Sunday of epiphany. Epiphany, meaning manifestation or revelation of who Jesus is. These are glimpses of Jesus's glory. And as exciting as I am about almost every phrase and line in these 11 verses, I would love to walk with you, but maybe on Wednesday, if you want to come, maybe I'll talk a little bit more about the things I'm not going to cover today. But there are three things that I want to cover today for you, so I whittle them down a lot for you just so we can get a little taste, a little glimpse of.
Of what Jesus and John are trying to reveal to us by way of the Holy Spirit. But before we do that, I have a question I want to ask you. A hypothetical is, if you were told how your life was going to end up, how would that influence you today? How would that influence you this week? How would that influence the way you raise your kids, the way you live your life?
Because in this narrative, in this first sign that Jesus performs, he does give you a glimpse of how your life is going to end up. Now, when on Fridays we meet, we have a Bible study called Young and the Restless. And so we meet. We've been meeting on Zoom because we're just spread all over the place. And we've been walking through the book of Genesis, and we came to this part where, in a vision, God comes to Abram and reveals to Abram what his descendants are going to experience and what their outcome is going to be.
So he tells them, your descendants are going to be in slavery for 400 years. But don't worry, I'm going to deliver them. And the question came up in our Bible study, like, what does Abram do with that information? He knows literally the outcome of all his great, great, great, great, great grandchildren, but he's not going to be around to tell them. So I'm wondering what this piece of revelation that God gives Abraham in this vision, how that influenced the way he lived his life and how it influenced what he does with Isaac and the conversations he had.
And so we talked about that as a small group. We talked about, you know, as God reveals things to us, how does it impact the way we live? Well, here we are, we're kind of given another vision, if you will, through John's gospel, about a wedding, a miracle wedding that each and every one of us who believe and trust in Jesus Christ is going to experience. That's the end. That's how things will end up.
That's the result. So how will today's narrative influence the way you start living right out as you walk out those doors? How is it going to encourage you to do things maybe differently or maybe to be more zealous for certain things? We'll see. But the three things that I want to point out to you today in this narrative, as, again, I can't go through all the goodness and the yummy treats that John leaves for us, but there's three things on this first sign, changing water into wine.
We're going to talk about the nature of the sign. This first sign is different than all the other signs that Jesus performs, and we're going to talk about that. The second thing we're going to talk about is the meaning of the signs. What's the significance? What's the big deal about what Jesus is doing, taking water and turning into wine?
And how does that impact my life? And lastly, we're going to talk about its effect. Like what type of result and effect does this sign have? How meaningful is it? How deep is it?
So going to. The first thing that we're going to talk about, the nature of the sign. The nature of the sign is going to produce transformation and luxury. Luxury, Right. That's what we are going to experience with this sign.
Because all the miracles that Jesus performs. Would you all agree with me that it has to do with somebody with either a withered hand, somebody who's blind, somebody who's dead, somebody who's sick. All of that is kind of like a negative situation, right? And then Jesus brings restoration and renewal by way of his miracles. But those are the ones that come after this one.
This is the first one. The nature of the sign of changing water to wine demonstrates not restoration, but transformation. And that's a big deal, because the problem that we encounter in this narrative is Jesus's mother saying they Ran out of wine. Well, we're going to see other people have bigger needs that Jesus is going to tend to. But the problem is at a wedding, it's a time of celebration, a time of living in luxury, so to speak, of celebrating, of being in joy.
There's a marriage taking place. And that's not as dire as some of the other miracles that Jesus is going to perform. So what do we learn about that? We learn at the onset that the nature of this sign has everything to do with extravagance and luxury, that Jesus, by his transforming power, affords each and every person who trusts in him. That Jesus is concerned not that you're restored, but also you're transformed, and that you have a life.
And that life is not just some random life or some minimal life. It is a life, an abundant life. And Jesus displays by his power of transformation how he's going to catapult you from the life you're currently living to a luxurious life that's going to result to a marriage to him. By the way, that's. We could just go home now.
I just let the cat out of the bag, right, of how your life ends. So the nature of the sign is transformation and luxury. This is what we live in, right? That Jesus power is just not restorative, but it's also transformation. And the fact that this is the first sign is something unique, something special that we should pay attention to.
The nature of this first sign is that John wants you to first and foremost know and begin this journey of reading about Jesus with hope and joy, because that's what is the nature of the sign. There's nothing horrific going on here. Everything is a ceremony of a wedding that's special and wonderful. And this is the first thing that John wants to present to you to reveal the glory of Jesus. So now that we've kind of looked at the nature of the sign, I want to point to you the meaning of the sign.
And there's a few things here that I have to walk you through in order to really get out that meaning from what we're told, right? And the meaning of the sign is this. We see a glimpse of the glory of Jesus, and we also see that transforming power that Jesus possesses, right? And the first one comes when Jesus says, woman, my hour has not yet come. Now, the reason why that John tells us about that is because if you read later on in the Gospels, Jesus actually says the opposite.
My hour has now come. And what is that hour? What is the hour that Jesus references here at the wedding? Well, it's the hour that will come when he's on the cross, when he suffers for the sins of the world. And that is the cross of Christ is actually the fullness of his glory.
When he's raised up, he's enthroned as king on a cross. And that's his glory because of what he's accomplishing. And so when he's presented with the fact that there's no wine left at the wedding, Jesus says, my hour has not yet come. What should we do about this? Is essentially the translation which Jesus is pointing to, like, hey, this isn't what I'm here to do.
I'm moving towards something bigger. But then he engages and does a sign. And the sign is to point to us that this isn't Jesus in his full glory on the cross, but this is Jesus in a glimpse. And partly we get to see that glory that will come in its fullness later. And that's what the meaning of my hour has not yet come reveals to us.
But we're also told about these water pots. What is the deal with these stone water pots? There's six of them, right? They've been used for the purification ritual that is custom for Jews. Well, in order to better understand this, I'm going to have to read to you from another Gospel mark, who actually clues us in on what these pots represented.
It comes From Mark, chapter 7, verses 3 and 4. For the Pharisees. And all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves. And there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.
So the fact that John reveals these water pots, that they're meant for the purification, this is a Jewish ritual that they would engage themselves with that they're going to wash their hands because they had this belief that anything that was on the outside, if their hands were dirty and they consumed food, then that would defile them. So the outside, they need to cleanse their outside in order to make sure they're not defiled on the inside. This was their belief in why they practice such things. And so we're told in this narrative that there's six of these pots, and these pots hold about 20 to 30 gallons of water. And Jesus could have used anything.
He could have just made wine appearance by the command of his voice, boom, and they just would have appeared. But he uses those pots, he says, grab Those pots, those water pots for purification. And I want you to fill them to the brim with water so the servants do this thing. And he says, now, I want you to go take this water and give it to the headmaster. And it had turned to wine.
And what's the significance of that? If you play out the meaning of the ritual that these jars were used to purify themselves from anything that might have defiled right on the outside. And then Jesus says, I am going to turn that into wine. And we all know what wine represents. But the blood of Christ, that cleanses us from all sins, right?
That's the meaning of this sign. At a wedding where there's union happened between two lives, there's a need for purification, a cleansing of sins. And in a simple sign, Jesus transforms the water to wine. Wine is something that we all partake in in the Lord's Supper to remember all that Christ has done for us. So that wine represents.
And what Jesus is trying to communicate is that he is the one. His hour hasn't come, but when his hour does come, he's going to shed his blood. And this blood is going to cover a multitude of sins. It's going to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And not just on the outside.
See, in these water pots, you would dip your hands, clean your hands, and that way the outside is clean. But Jesus turns it into wine. What do we do with wine? But we take it in. And so if the wine is the symbol of purification, Jesus says, I'm better than the purification of water.
What I'm going to accomplish for you is I'm going to clean you from the inside out. That as you take in my blood, as you drink in my blood, I will cleanse you from the inside out. And it would be. It's a battle. Better purification.
And isn't this what Jesus refers to and talks about when he talks about to the Pharisees, how they're Hypocritical, right? Matthew 23:25 28 says this. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you clean the outside of the cup, of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self indulgence. You blind Pharisee. First clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanliness so you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. See, that's what their rituals afforded them, was an outward appearance of cleansing when their hearts were far from God, when their hearts were still defiled. But Jesus, by the demonstration of a sign, is pointing to the fact that when his hour comes, he will cleanse you from the inside out. He will make you not a hypocrite, but he will wash you thoroughly in your heart and give you a heart of flesh and not a heart of stone. So all these points to the meaning of this sign, that it is a glorious sign, that it reveals a little bit of the glory and the power and the majesty of Christ right here on the outside of his ministry.
And it reveals what he's going to end up accomplishing. He's foreshadowing by turning water into wine that is better for purifying because it's going to be made of his blood. He's pointing to all of that, of what he's going to accomplish. And yet what he's going to accomplish is going to still lead to something that we all can celebrate. But not only have we learned about the nature of the sign and the meaning of the sign, but there's a quality to the sign.
There seems to be an overabundance to this sign. The way John writes it when he tells us he didn't have to tell us how much each of these pots hold, but he does. He says, These pots hold 20 to 30 gallons, and there's six of them, right? Wedding feasts usually last a whole entire week. That's a lot of wine people have to go through at a wedding ceremony.
Then they've already went through it. But yet, with Jesus present there, Jesus possessing the power to turn water into wine, you have a perpetual fountain of celebration when Jesus is around. And Jesus even telling them to fill it to the brim signifies that what he's intending to do, it's more than enough for all you need, that you can exhaust it, that the supply is ever abundant. And this is why John will go on later in chapter 10 and says what Jesus says, that he has come to bring life, but not just life, an abundant life, a life flowing from himself into you. And that is good news.
And lastly, we're told at the very end of this narrative, when the head waiter goes to the bridegroom, the head waiter knows, doesn't know where this wine came from. It came from Jesus. We know that the head waiter doesn't Know that. So he naturally goes to the one who's in charge and overseas and pays for the wine. He goes to the bridegroom.
He goes to the bridegroom and says, you have saved the best for last. And here's where John kind of reveals another quality of the sign. Not only is the sign that Jesus performs give us a clue about how abundant our redemption is going to be in and through him, and how abundant our life will become when we trust in him, but also that we are about to experience the best life in Christ Jesus and that God has saved the best of our lives for last. All up to this point, the Jews have had good things, but they could be better. And finally they culminate in Jesus Christ, which is the best.
And so when the head waiter says to the bridegroom, you saved the best for last. He doesn't know it, but he's talking about Jesus. God the Father has saved the best for last in Jesus Christ. That's what it means. When I moved from Alaska to the lower 48 in Indiana, I went to a basketball school and I knew nothing about basketball.
I was a football guy. And there was a quote that stuck with me to this day. And in order to fit in, I had to, like, watch certain basketball movies like Hoosiers and all this other stuff in order to engage in conversation during lunchtime. So I wanted to fit in. I did all that.
But there was this phrase that I had to learn according to the popular kids, and that was good, better, best, never let it rest to the good is better and the better is the best. I was like, oh, that's pretty catchy. I like that. Who said that? And I thought they said Bobby Knight said that.
But then I googled it, and I think Tim Duncan might have said that. An NBA player, I don't know. Doesn't matter. All that's helpful in a lot of situations, though, that quote that I learned all the way back then, good, better, best, never let it rest till the good is better and the better is the best. And that's a glimpse of what we get here, is that all along, if you're reading through the scriptures, you're like, okay, this is good.
Ooh, this gets better. And then Jesus shows up, ah, this is the best. And being the best, there's nothing greater to come. And that gives us the quality of this sign that Jesus performs it. And Jesus makes it effectual.
He makes it overly abundant, what he is going to perform and what he's going to do and what he's going to accomplish for all those who will trust in Him. And it's going to be the best of their lives, that there's nothing better that they can look forward to. There's nothing that comes after Him. He is it. He's there.
Good, better, best. And we in Jesus Christ have what is best. But now we come to the putting all this together. We're given a sign that turns water into wine at a wedding that Jesus and his disciples were invited to. And all these little clues that John tells us about in this narrative points to a miracle wedding that takes place between Jesus and his bride.
That's ultimately what is being revealed to us. That Christ Himself isn't one day going to be invited to a wedding, but he is going to hold a wedding, and he will be the bridegroom. And the people that trust and believe in him will be his bride. And his bride will be fashioned by even his own works. What he accomplishes on the cross.
This is what Paul reveals to us in Ephesians chapter five, when he talks about Christ in the church and how Christ as the groom, presents the bride to himself without blemish because he washes her with the water of his word, because he gives his life for her, and she is clothed in radiance and glory because of what he's accomplished. See, in Ephesians, chapter five, we're given the ceremony where we get to unite our lives to Christ. And this is a very miraculous thing, because Jesus marries people who are once sinners, people, people who were once defiled. And he presents to himself a bride that's been transformed by his power into glorious, majestic and beauty, a people for his own possession, a bride he will love and cherish. That's a miracle.
Only Jesus has that transforming power. That's why at the end of each and every one of our lives, we are going to experience not only that ceremony that Ephesians 5 talks about, but also the feast that Revelation talks about between the groom and the bride of Christ, where they will engage in a similar scene of celebration and jubilee in luxury and extravagance. That we will be in awe of the groom's transforming power. That he transforms each and every one of our lives. That he not only restores, but he transforms the renewing of our mind.
He transforms our hearts. He transforms the way we do things in our lives. It's because he loves us. This is the miracle wedding that we get to experience. So I close with the same question I posed to you at the very beginning with this.
That's how your life if you trust Jesus will end, it will end with a miracle wedding where you will be united to Christ for all eternity and you will be celebrating with him. He will be your God, you will be his people. And knowing that that's how it ends, knowing that that is the reality and knowing the quality that Jesus will accomplish and does accomplish for us, knowing that, how is it that you ought to be living with that reality today? How does that help you get through the challenges and the struggles of your life presently? If you know that the outcome is jubilant, that the outcome is a feast with Jesus, how can that encourage you to be more bold in the way you live?
How can you be living into that reality, though it's still yet to come? How can you be experiencing that reality today? Those are questions, I think, that naturally come with this glimpse because John isn't done with the story. But it begins with that story here. He starts with this first sign and he encourages you to hope and joy and peace and love.
Because this guy that performs this little transforming sign here is going to do a transforming power work in you. And guess what? You're going to end up marrying him and you're going to be spending the rest of your eternity with this guy. So let me continue to introduce you is what John is saying.
So as we think about this Gospel lesson, as you think about those questions, I really hope that you can dive back into that story, the story of seeing Jesus with his disciples at this wedding and the things that he does and realize that those things are realities in your life. If you trust and believe in him and that you will begin to have a deeper appreciation of the life that you currently live with that reality that you're walking towards. Let's pray.
Jesus, we thank you that by your word you are washing us. You are purifying us from the inside out. We thank you that you perform a miracle in our lives by your transforming power, that you take us from being sinners to being saints. We thank you that we get to spend the rest of our life.