Sermon Tone Analysis

TITLE:   Wine -- Revealing Jesus' Glory! \\ \\ SERMON IN A SENTENCE:     Just as the miracle at Cana revealed Jesus' \\ glory and caused people to believe, so also our faithful lives reveal \\ Jesus glory and cause people to believe.

\\ \\ SCRIPTURE:    John 2:1-11 \\ \\ EXEGESIS: \\ \\ CHAPTERS 2 & 15:  THE GOOD WINE & THE TRUE VINE \\ \\ There appears to be an inclusio (a bracketing of stories) between the wine \\ imagery of the Cana story at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, where \\ he is revealed as the good wine -- and wine imagery of the "I am the true \\ vine" discourse at the very end of his ministry, where he identifies \\ himself as the true vine.

\\ \\ In the "true vine" context, Jesus says, "Abide in me as I abide in you.

\\ Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the \\ vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the \\ branches.

Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because \\ apart from me you can do nothing" (15:4-5).

\\ \\ Jesus then talks about keeping his commandments, saying, "This is my \\ commandment that you love one another as I have loved you" (15:13; see \\ also 13:31-35).

He said, "By this everyone will know that you are my \\ disciples, if you have love for one another" (13:35).

\\ \\ At Cana, Jesus is revealed both in the good wine and as the good wine -- \\ revealing his glory (v.

11).

In the "true vine" discourse, Jesus is \\ revealed as we "bear much fruit" (15:4) and love one another (15:5).

\\ \\ \\ CHAPTERS 2-12:  THE BOOK OF SIGNS \\ \\ Jesus told Nathanael, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened \\ and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" \\ (1:51).

The fulfillment of that promise begins immediately with "the \\ first of his signs" at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee that reveals \\ Jesus' glory and causes his disciples to believe in him (v.

11).

\\ \\ Chapters 2-12 are often called the Book of Signs, because in them Jesus \\ performs signs that reveal his glory (v.

11).

John refers to miracles as \\ signs (2:11, 23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14; 11:47; 12:18, 37; 20:30), and Jesus \\ refers to them as works (5:20, 36; 9:3-4; 10:25, 32, 37-38; 14:10-12; \\ 15:24).

\\ \\ A sign is more than a demonstration of power.

A sign reveals something -- \\ points to something beyond itself.

At Cana, the sign points to Jesus' \\ glory (v.

11).

Signs, however, unlike miracles that are done openly, are \\ hidden from some.

Not everyone understands their significance.

The \\ disciples believe (v.

11) and many believe (v.

23), but "the Jews" (v.

18) \\ are skeptical.

Even the chief steward has no clue about the real meaning \\ of this sign (v.

10).

\\ \\ This Gospel records these signs "so that you may come to believe that \\ Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may \\ have life in his name" (20:31).

\\ \\ Chapters 13 ff.

are often called the Book of Glory, and have to do with \\ Jesus' "glorification" -- a code word in this Gospel for Jesus' death, \\ resurrection, and exaltation.

\\ \\ \\ CHAPTERS 1-4:  THE OLD AND THE NEW \\ \\ Set in a society that treasures ancient truths and venerates old age, the \\ common theme of chapters 1-4 is the replacement of the inferior old with \\ the superior new: \\ \\ -- In the Prologue (1:1-18), we find wording that evokes the first \\ creation even as it tells about the new creation (read John 1:1-5 \\ alongside Gen. 1:1-5).

In Gen. 1 we read about creation taking place at \\ the word of God (Gen.

1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26).

In John we read \\ about the Word that was with God, and was God -- present at the creation \\ and active in it (1:1-4).

In Gen. 1 we read about God creating light.

In \\ John we read, "The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into \\ the world" (1:9).

We also read, "The law indeed was given through Moses; \\ grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (1:17).

\\ \\ -- In chapter 2, we find "the replacement of the old purifications by the \\ wine of the kingdom of God" (2:1-11) (Dodd, 297).

\\ \\ -- In chapter 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus of the necessity of new birth \\ (3:1-21).

\\ \\ -- In chapter 4, Jesus contrasts "the water of Jacob's well and the living \\ water from Christ" (4:1-15) and then contrasts "the worship of Jerusalem \\ and Gerizim with worship 'in spirit and in truth' " (Dodd, 297).

\\ \\ \\ VERSES 1-11:   A WEDDING IN CANA \\ \\ This is Jesus' first act of ministry in this Gospel.

In Mark, his first \\ act is an exorcism; in Matthew, it is the Sermon on the Mount; in Luke, it \\ is a sermon in the synagogue.

"Each of these events is typical and \\ paradigmatic of the portrayals of Jesus in its respective Gospel" (Smith, \\ 83).

The wedding at Cana is not just an interesting story included at \\ random, but provides clues to the meaning of the rest of this Gospel.

\\ \\ It is an odd beginning, however.

We would expect this Gospel's \\ "paradigmatic portrayal" to be more significant.

In this Gospel, Jesus \\ heals an official's son (4:46-54) and a sick man (5:1-9), feeds the five \\ thousand (6:1-14); walks on water (6:15-21), heals a man born blind \\ (9:1-34), and raises Lazarus from the dead (12:1-11, 18).

Why would his \\ first sign be wine for a party?

Why not one of these more significant \\ miracles?

\\ \\ Keep in mind that, in this Gospel, Jesus speaks and acts on more than one \\ level.

It is only on a surface level that this story is about wine for a \\ party.

\\ \\ This story establishes a pattern that we will see repeated in Jesus' \\ encounter with Nicodemus (3:1-21), the Samaritan woman (4:1-30) and other \\ occasions.

A person speaks (Mary, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman), and \\ Jesus responds with unusual words~/deeds that can be understood either on \\ an obvious, superficial level or on a less obvious, spiritual level.

\\ \\ Therefore, in the Cana story, we can understand the wine that Jesus \\ provides as a face-saving gift to the groom and his family or we can look \\ for a deeper meaning.

On some occasions, Jesus gives a discourse that \\ explains his signs~/works, but not at Cana.

The lack of a discourse means \\ that interpretations of the sign at Cana are more diverse than they might \\ otherwise be.

We might understand the steward's comment to refer to the \\ "inferior wine" of Jewish law and the "good wine" of Christ's grace (see \\ v. 10) -- or we might understand the abundance of the wine that Jesus \\ provides to reflect the abundance of his grace -- or both.

\\ \\ \\ VERSES  1-5:   MY HOUR HAS NOT YET COME \\ \\ 1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother \\ of Jesus was there.

2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the \\ wedding.

3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They \\ have no wine."

4And Jesus said to her, "Woman (Greek: gunai), what concern \\ is that to you and to me? (Greek:  ti emoi kai soi gunai -- literally, \\ "What to me and to you?) My hour has not yet come."

5His mother said to \\ the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

\\ \\ \\ "On the third day" (v.

1).

This would be the third day after Jesus' \\ encounter with Nathanael (1:45-51).

The first two stories of this Gospel, \\ the wedding (vv.

1-11) and the cleansing of the Temple (vv.

13-22) are \\ both "third day" stories.

The author specifically links the latter to \\ Jesus' death and resurrection (vv.

19-21).

Linkage between the "third \\ day" of the Cana story and the resurrection is less certain.

\\ \\ "and the mother of Jesus was there" (v.

1).

Jesus and his disciples were \\ also invited  (v.

2), thus giving the lie to the theory that the shortage \\ of wine resulted from Jesus and his disciples unexpectedly swelling the \\ guest list.

\\ \\ We don't know which disciples are present.

Four were previously named -- \\ Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathanael (1:40-48) and there seems to be \\ a fifth unnamed disciple, probably the author of this Gospel (1:35-40).

\\ The twelve are mentioned in 6:67, but we have no idea when the other \\ disciples arrive on the scene.

\\ \\ Only in this Gospel is Mary with Jesus both at the beginning of his \\ ministry and at the crucifixion (19:26).

She is never named in this \\ Gospel, but is referred to only as "the mother of Jesus" or "woman."

\\ \\ The location of Cana is uncertain.

We believe it to be near Nazareth -- \\ perhaps at the site known presently as Kefr Kenna, about three miles from \\ Nazareth -- perhaps at Khirbet Qana, about eight or nine miles north of \\ Nazareth (Pfeiffer, 203).

Cana is mentioned in the Bible only in the \\ Gospel of John.

It is the home of Nathanael (21:2), and Jesus will also \\ heal a royal official's son there -- his second sign (4:46-54).

Thus \\ Jesus gives his first and second signs in this small, obscure town far \\ from the Jerusalem temple -- an example of ministry at the margins.

\\ \\ Mary and Jesus surely know people in Cana, or they would not be invited to \\ this wedding.

This is friendly country.

The people of Galilee are \\ receptive to Jesus, in contrast to Judea, where he will face determined \\ opposition.

\\ \\ "When the wine gave out" (v.

3).

These people live plain lives, and most \\ can afford wine only occasionally.

They are, however, expected to provide \\ plentiful food and wine for weddings.

The wine in question would be \\ fermented wine, diluted with water.

\\ \\ Weddings are celebrated for seven days, and are a community celebration.

\\ To run short of wine would be a serious embarrassment for the host parents \\ and newlyweds.

Morris cites Derrett's research that "it was possible to \\ take legal action in certain circumstances against a man who had failed to \\ provide the appropriate wedding gift" and wonders whether a bridegroom and \\ his family might be subject to liability for running out of wine (Morris, \\ 156).

While that possibility seems remote, it is not difficult to imagine \\ neighbors excluding the shamed family from future weddings and other \\ community events -- thereby perpetuating the family's shame.

\\ \\ "the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine' " (v.

3).

It is not \\ clear what Jesus' mother has in mind.

Her comments in v. 5 indicate that \\ she expects him to do something.

There is a strong possibility that she \\ has been widowed for a number of years, and has leaned on Jesus for \\ support.

She has seen him handle problems, and is confident that he can \\ handle this one.

Perhaps she expects him to take a collection from his \\ disciples to purchase additional wine.

Perhaps she senses that he is \\ capable of a miracle.

\\ \\ "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?

My hour has not yet come" \\ (v.

4).

Jesus' response sounds uncaring and even disrespectful to our \\ ears.

However, "woman" (Greek: gunai) suggests distance rather than \\ disrespect.