The End of Religion
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Just so everyone’s clear, I am going to put my glasses on.
I lost Jennifer’s favorite audio book.... and now I’ll never hear the end of it
If one miracle story is actually true, then atheism falls apart.
We split up our lives into two parts… the religious and then our everyday life.
The story of water into wine reminds us that we cannot do that. It offers the same thing to us that it did to the jews… the bringing of the religious and the normal life together… the inability to separate the two from each other… lets look....
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.
9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom
10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
John hones us in and says this is the first one he did… lets talk about the context of signs...
M. Night Shamalan Signs… you get to the end and realize its not really about aliens.. its a movie about the concept of the supernatural its about do you believe there is something behind the veil… of course its about a previous priest who had too much suffering to believe.... and the answer to the question is yes there is something more supernatural in life…and theres all these questions like why does his daughter want so many glasses of water around and why is there a baseball bat… and the point is they are pointing to the supernatural....
And so John says this is the first of his signs.... and people say that John 1-11 is the book of signs… he’s telling you this stuff like a narrator overlooking the story and he is wanting to tell you all of this is pointing to something… and this echos the exodus story where God turned water into blood..... signs 7.... stops in chapter 11 and its interesting there was only 6 water jugs which shows there is no completeness which we will get to in a minute… and John is painting this beautiful picture. He is showing us signs for all of these things.
If you were with us a few weeks ago when we talked about miracles you will Recognize that Christians dont look at miracles as something that will happen randomly in nature if you give it enough time, this is something that God has to take a part in. IF you want to disprove the idea of miracles you have to disprove God.
Miracles can’t happen because it breaks the law of nature. But that isnt what a miracle is… it just pauses them. and miracles become a part of the story it is a part...
CS Lewis says that Miracles start to obey the rules of the world.... one writer says about this miracle that the water saw its creator and blushed.
Here is how CS Lewis talked about this miracle.
“Miraculous wine will intoxicate, miraculous conception will lead to pregnancy, miraculous bread will be digested. The divine art of miracle is not an art of suspending the pattern to which events conform but of feeding new events into that pattern. God creates the vine and teaches it to draw up water by its roots and with the aid of the sun, to turn that water into a juice which will ferment and take on certain qualities. Thus, every year from Noah’s time to ours God turns water into wine.” - CS Lewis
And here Jesus does it in just a moment.
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
It was for the Jewish rites of purification… and thats important.. What did Jesus come to do… be a wine maker… no.... you’d go to a wedding and you’d be there for six or seven days and the stone water jars in Canna… and you’d use them to purify you from a ritual standpoint washing your hands.... so you’d have the Jewish rites of purification represented in these six stone water jars…and John is telling us a sign.... and there are six… one less than the amount of completion.
“The water pots stand for all the imperfections of the Jewish Law. They came up just short. Jesus came to do away with the imperfections of the law and to put in their place the new wine of the gospel of his grace. Jesus turns the imperfection of religion into the perfection of grace.” - William Barklay
This is the meaning behind what he is doing… the point of the whole passage… he is saying there is a new era dawning in the world… everything represented by religion has reached its climax and religion and ritual has reached its climax… and he is changing the way that you will relate to him… and he is superceding it and saying it needs to be retired… and this is exactly what he says in John 1:17
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
All that law has been fulfilled in him… and Jesus says that idea you have of religion is over… the sacrifices you were doing its over… those rituals are over… Jesus shows up and says we can’t climb a mountain to God, so I have come down to give you this vibrant true relationship and life… the law has given birth to this new way of walking and dealing with the God of the universe… so are you willing to leave these old stone waterpots behind.
And we sometimes don’t give Jesus the credit for everything he has ever done..and the next story is kind of the same thing that he will do with the temple and its on a huge stage.... and people will say doesn’t the Holy Land matter anymore?
“It is a way of saying that in the cross and resurrection God did not actually fulfill his whole saving purpose; that Jesus did not in fact achieve the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy; that his resurrection was not the start of God’s new age; that Acts is wrong, Romans is wrong, Galatians is wrong. Say the letter to the Hebrews is wrong, the Book of Revelation is wrong. Say that if you like, but don’t claim to be a Christian in doing so.” - NT Wright
Sometimes we think Jesus came and did this cute little thing… and he did a crazy cosmic offensive thing… Jesus fulfills Israel’s story…dont go back to watch the 3D ultrasound when you have the real thing… this Paul’s point in Galatians 3 and 4 the law as a teacher… but you don’t bring it along with you when you have the better thing.... this wasn’t a cute little time in our history… this was epic… we have to think about this as it flows down to our life… and one writer says
In religion I obey therefore I am accepted. In the Gospel I am accepted therefore I obey. Religions says my motivation in life is based on fear and insecurity. the Gospel says my motivation is based on grateful joy. IN religion I obey GOd to get things from God… properity and life.. and if yo udont..... In the gospel I obey god to GET God… to delight in him.
Jesus Christ has come to give this new way to be human… it is so beautiful… this story means something intense for the world… but what does it mean for you.... look at verse 10
God’s got enough grace for everythign in your entire life and more. twenty to thirty gallons.... thats a lot.... once he turns the water into wine… there is no water left… you can’t go back and do religion at that party you cant purify yourself anymore.... and this is 900 bottles of wine.... this is definitely lower than the wine we drink today in terms of alcohol scale… there is no way this party is EVER going to get through that much… and its like this picture of the abundance of grace… and you get more than you need… this has to end somewhere… Jesus cant forgive me for this habit. I fumbled it again… and this party shows that he gives too much… so his grace can take you to the end of your life and more
9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom
10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
I think this is a commentary on the theology… the law was good… it gave us something to connect us… but you kept the new wine until now… grace is better… so we see a transformation.... this is a sign about how it works in our lives...
Remember this is a sign… yes I am doing this, but this is about you… this is about what you are doing.... this is not just about being saved… this is about how he has purified our lives… this is about how he has made us better… he is purifying our lives not just saving us from hell… Christianity isnt just new doctrine… but it offers new life… the other side of knowing him it can be better… your heart can be better...
Spurgeon… if you think you are a bad person, you have to know you are so much worse than you think
HE says he wants us to be better.. he wants us to have a better more fulfilled life… this isnt prosperity… its better in so many different ways… we look at purification as a bad thing.. but he tells us it is a good thing...
Water is almost always about purification… and he uses it over and over again...
He wants your life better… and he will purify you so it doesnt wear you down as badly anymore…people arent just asking is Christianity true.... but does it work… does it change the way I look at how I feel about myself.... yes… all because the sanctifying acts of Jesus.
You ahve kept the better way until now… and here we are changing our life and it is more beautiful and spirit filled...
Charles Spurgeon was a well known pastor, and he would teach preachers.... and he would point out that Jesus is at the wedding and he isn’t killing the joy… and he said this teaching while he was preachers....
“Monotones and seriousness, may fit a person to be an undertaker, but Lazarus was not called out of his grave by hollow means. I commend cheerfulness to all who would win souls not levity and frothyness, but a happy spirit. More souls will be led to Heaven by a person who wears heaven in their face, then by one who bears hell in his looks.” Charles Spurgeon
And thats why he was so good at teaching preachers… your joy of knowing Jesus is your best evangelistic tool...
Let me end this way… how does all of this happen? IT happens because of what we talked about last week… my hour.... the action on the cross… it is also what the cross creates that we are IN Christ… Corinthians talks about us getting the righteousness of God.... we are wearing the righteousness of Christ so when God looks at us he sees the righteousness of the Father.
God looks at us in Christ… and the son of man become human so that humans could become a son of God....
Jesus has changed it, we don’t have to wait for the end for it to be great… with him we can have that in our lives now, on Earth as it is in Heaven… does this mean you will be rich, of course not, but what it does mean is you will be able to have Joy no matter the circumstances or situation.