Sermon Tone Analysis

[read passage, prayer] As know, not one for having lots of props for my sermons.

But think this one appropriate, given our passage.

Wine bottle, pretty sure this one is got as wedding gift.

Think it’s pretty good kind too!

 

Receiving this as gift flows out of long stream of ancient traditions.

Wine long been associated with blessing and celebration, across various cultures, across various time periods.

Jewish texts assumed and expected that wine would especially be present at important occasions, such as Sabbath meals or coronations or weddings.

Of course we also know that wine can be abused and lead to great trouble.

Many ancient texts warned against getting drunk on wine or on becoming a drunkard, the Bible certainly among them.

/Illus – /Unfortunately been at several wedding celebrations where several guests got smashed.

Even seen bride and bridgegroom get way drunk!

Bible rightly warns against lingering too long over wine.

That being said, is striking that wine, and particularly having abundance of wine, is one of more powerful symbols we have of God’s blessing and goodness.

Listen to these great passages.

Isaiah 25:6, “*On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”

*Doesn’t that sound awesome?

You can appreciate then the fervency of messianic expectations back then.

As an ancient Jew you had much to anticipate?

 

Listen to Jer 31:12.

*They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.*

Or Amos 9:13 - *"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.*

Our passage then naturally invites lot of questions.

Why here?

Why Jesus do what he did?

Only about making good party really good party?

Or is something more at play here?

Perhaps something is happening along the lines of what is spoken of in the Old Testament?

Text points us in direction we should go.

Quick lesson on reading Bible, too often we rush right through passages, totally miss point.

Instead, pay attention to the details.

Note different reactions.

And especially pay attention to what the author himself says about what this event accomplished.

Will help us in the end.

Story begins third day after Nathanael has joined up with Jesus.

Jesus and his disciples are at a wedding, along with his mother Mary.

Now, Jewish wedding celebrations were some serious parties.

Kind of parties that everybody turned out for.

Still see this in some cultures.

Ask the Laings for example how many people were at their wedding in Indonesia.

Joel told me that he met someone just once and yet was expected that they would invite them to their wedding.

You might invite an aunt, and that aunt is fully expected to invite several of her friends also to come!

 

Jewish wedding celebration also not one day affairs.

Party often would run for at least week.

And financial responsibility for the entire party.

To run out of supplies during a wedding was huge embarrassment, very shameful.

Would not live it down for many years.

Even some evidence that could lay the groom open to a lawsuit from the relatives of the bride if unable to accommodate all the guests!

So running out of wine huge deal for this groom.

Most definitely sweating bullets.

Jesus’ mother Mary becomes aware of situation and goes to Jesus to tell him what has happened.

Now why would Mary want tell Jesus?

Left specifically unsaid in text, but most obvious reason is most likely the correct one – she wanted Jesus to do something about it.

Some traditions that point to Mary being a widow by this point.

Some hints in Scripture of this.

We don’t hear at all about Joseph after the episode in the temple when Jesus was twelve (read about in Luke 2).

And by this point he was known as the carpenter (Mk 6:3).

This indicates that Jesus had formally taken up Joseph’s carpentry, and the family had most likely, at least up until Jesus began his public ministry, been dependent on Jesus.

And really, with a firstborn son like Jesus, well, how could you not?

Now certainly, Mary also knew that her son was unique and special.

He’s the Messiah!

So surely Mary can get him help out somehow, since she is his mother after all, and surely he will help out, because he is the Messiah, and this might be a good way to reveal that to everyone.

Jesus’ answer is striking.

v.4,* “And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me?

My hour has not yet come."

*Now, Greek word for “woman” not as harsh as seems.

Really don’t have great English equivalent.

“Ma’am” is our closest equivalent.

Jesus refers to his mother in courteous way, but not particularly familiar way, certainly not in way would expect a son would towards his mom.

Really distant way to address one’s mother.

This amplified by what he follows with, essentially mild rebuke, *“what does this have to do with me?” *

* *

What Jesus showing is that he now most definitely a man with a mission.

It is mission guided by God and one that can not be subject to desires or wishes of any person, no matter who they are.

Everything, even family ties, must be subordinated to fulfillment of his divine mission.

Even Mary, his mother, shouldn’t presume upon their relationship to push him to act in any way.

Jesus can no longer act under her authority or do whatever she wants him to do.

Now of course, this saying that Jesus not deeply care for his mother.

v.12 remarks on how after wedding he and disciples go to Capernaum to spend time with his mother and rest of his family.

While he was hanging on the cross Jesus makes provision for her.

However, what must come first is his mission.

And his mission is to go to a cross.

*“My hour has not yet come.”*

This reference to an “hour” is constantly used in book of John to refer to the cross.

Even at this early stage, his first year of ministry, Jesus has his eyes set on what his ministry must ultimately culminate in – death, resurrection, and exaltation, all by means of the cross.

This is the goal.

Jesus in this moment seeks to reorient his mother towards that same goal.

What Jesus must accomplish on the cross is what his mother and indeed all people most need from Jesus.

And the road Jesus will travel to get that point, and the public signs and miracles he will do along the way, must happen on God’s schedule, and God’s terms.

Not mean Jesus will then do absolutely nothing.

This is why Mary tells servants to be ready to do whatever Jesus tells them to.

By no means did Mary fully understand everything that was in store for Jesus.

But she knew that in the end what she needed was leave this in Jesus’ hands, and trust that he would act, but in his timing and in his way.

As one author puts it, Mary comes to Jesus as his mother in v.3, in v.5 she responds as a believer, putting her faith in him.

She doesn’t know what Jesus will do, but she has complete confidence that he will do what’s best.

Jesus does act, but he decides to act behind the scenes.

He will act, but so that he might reveal more of himself specifically to his disciples.

So we told in v.6-7 that Jesus has the servants fill up six stone water jars with water.

Jars were there for the Jewish rites of purification.

Most likely used for ritual washing of certain utensils and of guests’ hands.

Each jar could hold 20-30 gallons of water.

Means then that collectively jars could hold 120 to 180 gallons.