The Signs of Jesus Part 2

Let’s not forget that the purpose of the signs, the great things that we will be reading all point us to a specific revelation. It is imparting to us the truth of who Jesus is. As the apostles had the glory of God revealed to them, we also observe this glory as we read of Him in His Word. We see that Jesus is the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father (John 1:14). That Jesus is the Son of God!

Scripture Reading

John 2:1–12 HCSB

On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding as well. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother told Him, “They don’t have any wine.” “What has this concern of yours to do with Me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.” “Do whatever He tells you,” His mother told the servants. Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained 20 or 30 gallons. “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. Then He said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the chief servant.” And they did. When the chief servant tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people have drunk freely, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.” Jesus performed this first sign in Cana of Galilee. He displayed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. After this, He went down to Capernaum, together with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.

Body

This miracle is fairly unique in that no one really knows who is to credit for this great wine except for a select few. It for sure would have been a surprise to the wedding couple, it was a surprise to the chief servant, and a great surprise as the wine that is brought out at the end is much greater than what was first introduced.

The only ones who really knew about this was Jesus, Mary, the servants, and finally the disciples. This is all that we know of who may have known what had actually occurred on that day. It is possible that others may have known but we are not sure.

This miracle happens fairly quickly as well near the beginning of his ministry. Just two days after recruiting Phillip and Nathanael as his disciples, they are now in attendance of a wedding. And just two days after following Jesus, they are about to see the most wondrous thing they have ever seen in their lives up until that point. Jesus of course would go on and continue to reveal to them and the world who he truly is.

A wedding ceremony was a very special occasion. And Jesus’ attendance to a wedding shows the sacred covenant of marriage.

But it was not only special for the families involved, but also for the entire community. It was a celebration in which, if poor hospitality was shown, it was considered to be a great offense. It was expected that the wife to be was given 12 months to prepare for the wedding.

Imagine that guys, some of us cannot wait 20 minutes for our spouse to get ready. But 12 months of preparation was given. During that time, the husband to be was not wasting his time. He was preparing the home for the arrival of his bride. He also had the obligation of planning that wedding. Maybe we have been doing a bad job since in today’s culture the women do most, if not all, of the planning.

The wedding procession would occur in the evening. This is why in the parable of the virgins, they were to have oil in their lamps awaiting the groom. There was a huge torchlight procession. It was an offense to not be ready. The weddings typically lasted for about a week’s time and the wine was expected to be flowing.

Running out of wine at the wedding could have had a devastating social and financial impact for the hosts. The wedding celebration had an element of reciprocity that was supported by the law. One could take legal action against a guest who failed to provide an appropriate gift.[1]

[1] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Jn 2:3). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

And early on in the story, given an understanding of the context, we encounter what we may think is the climax of the story. There is no wine! And so what are they to do? We read of Mary making her request to Jesus and we read of his very interesting response.

His hour had not yet come

What does this mean? Why state something so cryptic? Well his response goes back to the question like every answer does. If I you heard me tell of how a man was taken out of his home and put into the back of a van, while the family of this man was chasing behind in their car in fear and worry, and he was brought into a building, cut open with a knife, and had his heart removed. All the while, people were outside of the room knowing what was going on inside and not storming in there to stop it. You would think one thing.

But if you knew that someone was asking about the details for when a person’s father was taken to the hospital by the paramedics to get open heart surgery, you would understand it properly.

Context of course is important always when handling the Scriptures, and remember Jesus is responding to a question from Mary, his mother.

This brings us to Mary’s statement and expectation in her saying it. “They don’t have any wine.” Not that they are running out of wine, or that the wine they have left is terrible. But that they are out of wine. She brings it to the attention of her son, they have no wine. Now this is not a statement of judgment. Nor is it one of contempt. She was not upset or offended, but she was bringing it to the attention of her son so that he would do something about it.

Why? Well, we do not know for sure, but given that Mary is the one that is making the request, it seems very likely that she was responsible for that portion of the wedding. And so this was dishonorable and she knew who her son was. She knew that he was God.

Luke 1:30-33, the angel tells her who her son was going to be. There is no way you forget something like that. So, putting the request to her son, this wedding has no wine. You are God, you can do something about it.

But Jesus was not going to be persuaded to go against God’s timeline. His response reveals that He owes no one anything. Maybe you are sitting here this morning, thinking God owes you somehow. When in reality, we are the ones with the debt.

He says, my hour has not yet come.

Why did he say that? What is this hour to come? This is a common phrase in John’s Gospel.

John 12:27- Jesus reveals to us that it is His death. But not the death, but the saving act he does. He takes away our sins! The hour where he would take our sins and be the saviour to all who would believe. A grand display of the glory of God!

But It was not the hour for him to reveal who he is. That He is the Son of God. And therefore, not the hour yet for him to be glorified. And we read that in the Gospel of John in various occasions.

John 2:4 (Water to Wine)

“And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”

John 7:30 (Jesus teaching in the temple, claiming to be from God, the Messiah)

“So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”

John 8:20 (Speaking to the Pharisees and stating that they did not know the Father)

“These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.”

The words ‘my time (hōra) has not yet come’ include the first of nine references to Jesus’ ‘hour/time’ (2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27 [2×]; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1), a significant theme in this Gospel. The first three references indicate that Jesus’ hour had not yet come; the last six indicate that it had come. But as he approached the time of his death on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, the time has come” (John 17:1).

His hour had not yet come though. But still, with mercy and grace Jesus does save the wedding.

Before the meal, there would be water jars set aside in order to wash themselves. These are the jars that were for jewish rites of purification.

So that is the first thing that we notice about the jars. They were meant for cleansing before a meal. A Jewish law and a means for purification, not permanent, but temporary purification. But the second thing we notice about them is that they were made of stone. Now you may be asking yourself, what matter is that. So what that they were stone jars as opposed to pottery.

Well it brings us back to Levitical law. The jars were carved of stone and not made of earthenware (pottery), which meant they were valued because according to the levitical rules they were not subject to ritual contamination or impurity as were earthenware pots (Lev 11:33).

The third thing I want us to notice is that they were filled to the brim. Makes it difficult to make a swap or switcheroo if that is the case. It also makes it very difficult for someone to try and add something to it. There will be no deception here. Either Jesus will perform a miracle here or he will fail and bring complete shame to his family and to the married couple and the village. Legal recourse would then ensue.

Now the symbolism is not apparent at that time. But for us readers after the fact, we can see the symbolism clearly present. These vessels of purification of water can be replaced with wine, which symbolizes blood under the new covenant.

The blood of Christ does indeed purify us. But it also replaces the OT Sacrificial system. With regards to our state before God due to the predicament of sin, the Levitical laws had their place under the Old covenant. But they were always shadows of a new and true reality. The New covenant, a new law with a new priest which required no longer the blood of bulls and goats and sheep, because we have the blood of Jesus.

Whenever we take communion, we are reminded of this fact. “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” The cup was to represent his blood. And so, for the church we can even see how in this first miracle there is still a foreshadowing of the glory to come. A glory that some saw and it caused them to believe.

But also, running out of wine would also have brought dishonor to the village and so Jesus prevents this from occurring. And so we see a foreshadowing of a need for a Savior, and that one being Jesus. There was an obedience by the servants to the command given by Jesus. We also see a great faith by the part of the servants. They knew that they filled the jars with water. They had in fact filled it up to the brim. Now they were told to serve it to the chief servant.

And so we see on display how we ought to respond to Jesus with obedience and faith, trusting and knowing that He is God.

Instead of having to endure shame, the groom was publicly honored for his over-the-top hospitality—and for saving the good wine for last[1]

[1] Runge, S. E. (2012, 2016). Water into Wine: The Social Impact of Jesus’ Miracle at Cana. In Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

This is the first of many situations in John’s Gospel where Jesus restores something to better-than-original condition. It also reveals Jesus’ deep concern for meeting people at their point of need, no matter how inconsequential that need may seem.[2]

[2] Runge, S. E. (2012, 2016). Water into Wine: The Social Impact of Jesus’ Miracle at Cana. In Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Brothers and Sisters. Have you taken into account your situation? How you were once without hope and in the worst of all situations. Can you rejoice as those in the wedding feast knowing that your Savior, Jesus Christ, did not just save you with an average saving. But that, your current position in Christ is better than the original state.

Even better than Adam and Eve, for we have the Holy Spirit within us. We know what it means to experience the full grace of God, whereas Adam and Eve had no need for it being in a state of perfection in the garden prior to the fall.

Can you rejoice in that? It is a wonder isn’t it that we are a people with the greatest news in the world and we cannot sing as though we are. We do not live as though we are. We do not love as though we are.

And then we read in Verse 11...

Displayed His glory

He displayed His glory in showing that he was no mere man. We have already seen in in John 1:14 what glory is. He displayed that he is the Son of God.

How extraordinary that is isn’t it! And we see that glory on display when we see Christ on the cross and Him resurrected!

1 Peter 1:10–12 HCSB

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things.

But it serves a purpose!

Disciples believed in Him

Notice this reaction is different than what we read when we first introduced this series.

John 12:37 “37 Even though He had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in Him”

John 12:42-43 “42 Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”

And was that not the purpose? For the people to believe in Him. It was not for him to start his new enterprise of turning water into wine and making a bunch of money at weddings. It was not so that he would gain in popularity. It was so that you would believe!

Everyone fits in one of those camps.

John MacArthur Sermon Archive The Beginning of Miracles

All of you are in one of these groups. You believe, you don’t believe, or you believe and you’re not willing to pay the price to come to Christ. That’s tragic. To love the approval of men who can give you nothing eternal over the approval of God who gives you eternal life in His Son, that is a fool’s bargain.

Conclusion

If you recall, it was not his time yet. His hour had not yet come. But you discover as you continue in John’s Gospel, his hour does come.

Brothers and sisters, this ought to bring us joy. We are reminded that we are no longer in the garden, but dwell east of eden. Our sins have cast us from His presence and the celebration ceased. But just as what we saw being foreshadowed here, Jesus came to fulfill the law. To put it aside and to replace it with something new- a higher law. That of grace. And he would complete his ceremonial cleansing on the cross with his own blood. And we will have a beautiful banquet and feast with him in eternity.

But for those who are still on the outside, looking in. May I just plead with you today. No one is promised tomorrow. Maybe you are like one of the party goers or the bride and groom. You are enjoying your time, not knowing what your situation is. Not knowing that you need a Savior. I want you to look and to examine yourself. You have a problem of eternal significance. Christ came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. To transform sinners into saints, enemies of God into children of God, people dead in sin to be made alive in Him. Won’t you place your faith in Him? Christ offers His blood for you.

This first sign of Jesus puts on display who He is! He is able and willing to meet the needs of weary sinners. Are you looking for signs? I bid you to look to Christ. He is much better than any sign that may be given.

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