2016.05.08 John 2:
1-12
The
Wedding at Cana
Good morning… It is wonderful to see you this morning….
We want to wish all Mothers a very special and blessed day!.. What a perfect
day for us to see Mary the mother of Jesus in our text this morning…
We are studying the life of Jesus in the Gospel of john…
Last week we saw Jesus choosing the first disciples as we finished ch 1… As we continue in the Gospel… John is going to go back and forth between the
words of Christ… and the miracles of Christ… He’s going tell us the statements Jesus made
that declared His deity… and the works
He did that demonstrated and proved His deity… Jesus will do what no one but
God can do… And we see that in the very first miracle in chapter 2... John
gives us seven of the miracles that Jesus did…
I don’t want you to think that these are the only miracles Jesus did…
There were many others… They were a daily experience of those who followed
Jesus… So that you might believe in Him…
John 20: 30,31…
John is giving us examples of these miraculous events
so that we know that Jesus is in fact God… because He does
what only God can do… In chapter 1, verse 14, the Word, the divine Word, the
eternal Word became flesh and manifested His divine glory. That’s John’s point…
Jesus demonstrates His glory as God through these signs…
Now as we come to chapter 2… we have the beginning of
Jesus’ public ministry… His public ministry goes from chapter 2, verse
1 to the end of chapter 12…
When you come to the end of chapter 12… that’s basically the
end of His public ministry… In Chapters 13 through 17 Jesus is having a more
private ministry with His disciples… He is preparing them for the disastrous
events that will shake their world and their faith to the very foundations… His
spends most of this time with the apostles… As we will read…. Having loved His own… He loved them to the
end… That is how this section begins… John
13…v1…
Then His death, resurrection and post resurrection
appearances become the subject of chapters 18 to 21...
So now we are
going to start His public ministry… and we’re going to be following that till
we get to the end of chapter 12… And it all begins with a supernatural miracle…
Let me read it to you starting in verse 1, chapter 2…
John
2: 1-3
NKJV slt 2000
1 On
the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus
was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3
And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no
wine.”
John 2: 1-3 NKJV slt 2000
1 Und am dritten Tag war eine Hochzeit in Kana in
Galiläa, und die Mutter Jesu war dort. 2 Aber auch Jesus wurde samt seinen
Jüngern zur Hochzeit eingeladen. 3 Und als es an Wein mangelte, spricht die
Mutter Jesu zu ihm: Sie haben keinen Wein!
v1… “On the third day there was a wedding in
Cana of Galilee… Weddings were the most important event that happened in
ancient family life…
Jesus and He disciples went to Galilee to the village of
Cana… It is about nine miles north of Nazareth...
Jesus has been declared or revealed to be the Long
awaited Messiah… He has begun to call
disciples to Himself… He has already chosen five… Andrew
and Peter and Philip and Nathanael and John…
This wedding was a huge event… Marriage is sacred Holy…
In those days… Devout Jews would pray
and fast before they got married…. Still a very good idea if you ask me…
They would confess their sins… And seek God´s wisdom and blessings too…
Excellent oder?…
Cana
is Nathanael’s hometown… John 21:2…
This is a very small village… There are many small villages in and around
Nazareth and these first disciples all lived nearby… they fished and farmed in
the same area… Nazareth was a bit bigger… The people in the outlying areas
would come to Nazareth when they needed things that could only be gained in
Nazareth…
Nazareth had about five hundred people at this time… It
is safe to say that they all know each other… They and their families have been
there for generations… They are friends… And many are also family…
and that would be true in all of the even smaller villages in the area like
Cana… Jesus and His disciples are invited to this great event… So there’s a wedding
in Cana… Jesus and his family and His disciples are all invited… This is a very
significant event because of what Jesus does at this wedding…
The fact that Jesus did His first miracle at a wedding points
to the importance the covenant of Marriage… Weddings matter… Public covenants like
weddings and Baptisms matter… When we marry… We make a public covenant before
God and before people…
Marriage is a relationship designed and ordained by God… It
is the highest and best of all God ordained human relationships… No other human
relationship is as wonderful as marriage…
It is the most
wonderful and most blessed of all common graces... Common grace is a gift from God to all people… God is His Grace and
mercy….. Patiently gives all of mankind sunshine and rain… Matthew 5:45… He
gives us people to Love and hope for
tomorrow… Common graces include
things like the beauty of the world… sleep… health… a good meal… falling in
love… and of course marriage… It is the best gift that God gives to humanity… Any
society that honors marriage will be blessed… There will be less crime and less
misery… It does not matter whether the people believe in Him or not…
The Lord Jesus honored marriage… Her attended and
performed His first miracle at a wedding…
So Jesus went to the wedding… And the mother of Jesus was
there… Not surprising… I imagine that
many generations of her family had lived in the little town of Nazareth? There
were just a few hundred people in this area… Many of these people were related
to each other…. By Blood or marriage… Or both… Sisters brothers and cousins…
family and close friends…
This reminds me of the small farming village where my
father grew up in Tampico Illinois… Everyone is related to each other… By blood
or by marriage… I have family that are related to each other on multiple
levels… Cousins who are married to each other… Whose parents are also distant
cousins… And everyone from the same villages and churches…
Back to the Wedding…
This is a major celebration… it lasted for days... Sometimes they would start early in the week
and go all week long… Often lasting as long as seven days…
This is a really beautiful start to Jesus ministry… Jesus
has lived for thirty years in Nazareth in this little village… For Thirty years He has lived a simple private
life… Now He’s going to begin His public ministry… and the bridge from His
private life to His public ministry is a miracle for His family and friends… Do
you see that? This didn’t happen in Judea… This Miracle happened for His family
friends… They were the first ones who were to recognize what He had never
demonstrated before… that He is the Creator God…
The wedding celebration is in full swing… verse 3…
John
2:3 NKJV
slt 2000
3
And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no
wine.”
3 Und als es an Wein mangelte, spricht die Mutter Jesu zu
ihm: Sie haben keinen Wein!
v3a… And when they
ran out of wine… No wine at a wedding celebration? that’s a problem… In
fact this is a major catastrophe… This is a huge social embarrassment… Because
if there was anything that the bridegroom had spent a year trying to prove is
that he could take care of his bride… He had to build her a house… he had to
acquire everything that was necessary... He had to demonstrate his ability to
take care of her for the rest of her life… Her father was handing her over to
him… This is a problem… Maybe he can’t afford to be married…
This is what all of you fathers who marry off your
daughters fear... Is this guy going to be able to make a living? Is this guy
going to be able to take care of you?
They ran out of wine at the greatest celebration that this
couple would ever have… Remember… life was hard in those days... This was the
event of their lives…
No wine?… No way… This cannot be happening…
Wine was a staple drink in the ancient world… It was made
from all kinds of fruit… But mostly grapes… And let me just remind you that the
juice of any fruit would begin to ferment… because there was no refrigeration…
That means that everything fermented and developed alcohol… Even bread would
begin to ferment… My mom used to make homemade bread…. It would rise in the
warm kitchen and if it was there too long…. The kitchen started to smell like
beer… It was starting to ferment… No wine at the Wedding… This is a big problem…
v3b…
v3b…
the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Why
her? We don’t know…. But she may be related to the bride and groom… Maybe she
was serving in some way… She certainly
knew what was going on… When the wine ran out, everybody knew it… Remember this
is a several day event… It would not be easy to calculate how much wine would
be needed for a week long party… She sees the very big need… And she goes to
Jesus… He was of course an awesome son…. He had been providing for and
protecting her for years already… It is clear that Joseph has died some time
before… We don´t know when… But Jesus as the oldest… would have taken the
responsibility for his entire family… He would have served as head of the household… That´s why He gives
the care of Mary over to John as He is dying on the cross… But so far… Jesus has
not done any miracles...
Why would she all of a sudden want Him to do a miracle?
She knew He was about to embark on His public ministry… He
had been baptized by John in the Jordan… John had identified Him as the Lamb of
God… He was gathering disciples… This was all new… He had left home…
The exciting news of these things had been circulating in
the entire area… Maybe she was thinking…
the miracles begin here…
Maybe she just hoped he would figure out something… He
would know the way to solve the problem... And not only that… He cared about
people… He was compassionate… He was kind and loving…
Who
else would she go to? I don’t think she
was necessarily asking for a miracle… She just goes to the One she would always
go to… She simply says to Him, “They
have no wine… She’s learned as a widow to trust in His leadership and His
wisdom…Let´s look at v 4…
John
1: 4,5 NKJV
slt 2000
4
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour
has not yet come.”5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you,
do it.”
4 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Frau, was habe ich mit dir zu
tun? Meine Stunde ist noch nicht gekommen! 5 Seine Mutter spricht zu den
Dienern: Was er euch sagt, das tut!
after Mary says … “they
have no wine,” Jesus said to her…
v4a…Woman… He
says Woman… Now it’s not harsh to say “Woman… It is respectful... Something
like ma’am… It’s courteous... By the
way, it’s the same word that He used on the cross in John 19 when He said to
her, “Woman, behold your son,” and handed her over to John… He called her
“woman” there as well… Respectful and kind but It´s also not like saying mom…
next phrase… Jesus says…
v4b… What does that have to do with us?” This is
important... The years serving primarily His
Mother as the replacement for His Father… Is being replaced by The start of His
earthly Ministry… He is now focused on
doing His Father’s business first… Later on we will read in John… “I only do what the Father tells Me to do… I
only do what I see the Father do… John
5: 19,20…
He is distancing Himself from that mother/son relation
which had existed for thirty years… The fact that Jesus used the word… “Woman” shows that she is now talking
not just with her son… but with the Son of God... You could translate the
phrase… What does that have to do with us? It´s like he is saying what do you
mean us….
This is an interesting statement… This statement is used
a few times in the Old Testament… It’s made in Matthew 8 and Mark 1 and Mark 5… it’s a very familiar expression…
it’s a Semitic expression… literally it is as “What to Me and to you?” It is a kind of separating statement... He is
pointing to His Mission… It is now is
taking priority in His life… His family is going to play a smaller role as he
moves forward… next phrase v4c…
v4c… My hour has not yet come… This is the
first time we see this statement… but we’re going to see it again… We’re going
to see it in chapters 7 and 8… And then finally in John 12….v23… Jesus will say… The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified… Notice
that Jesus is saying that the cross and resurrection will bring Him Glory… And
so this is a phrase that points to His total mission… It points to the cross… It
points to His final permanent sacrifice…
He will purchase our redemption… It points to the resurrection and His
Glorification forever… Jesus is saying… I am on The Fathers Mission…
So Jesus is saying to His mother… That final hour of My death and resurrection
is set by The Father… and all events that lead up to that are determined by the
Father as well… next verse… v5…
v5…
Whatever He says to you, do it…
She is not pressing the point…. She does not tell him
what to do… Remember she has not asked that He do something miraculous… Only
that He does something…
She believed that He would find a solution... But it was on the Fathers timetable that Jesus
do this miracle for His friends and family… v6…
John
2: 6-10 NKJV
slt 2000
6
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of
purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus
said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the
brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of
the feast.” And they took it.
9
When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did
not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew),
the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every
man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well
drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
John
2: 6-10 NKJV slt 2000
6 Es waren aber dort sechs steinerne Wasserkrüge, nach
der Reinigungssitte der Juden, von denen jeder zwei oder drei Eimer faßte. 7
Jesus spricht zu ihnen: Füllt die Krüge mit Wasser! Und sie füllten sie bis
obenhin. 8 Und er spricht zu ihnen: Schöpft nun und bringt es dem
Speisemeister! Und sie brachten es hin.
9 Als aber der Speisemeister das Wasser, das zu Wein
geworden war, gekostet hatte (und er wußte nicht, woher es war; die Diener
aber, die das Wasser geschöpft hatten, wußten es), da rief der Speisemeister
den Bräutigam 10 und sprach zu ihm: Jedermann setzt zuerst den guten Wein vor,
und dann, wenn sie trunken geworden sind, den geringeren; du aber hast den
guten Wein bis jetzt behalten!
v6…
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of
purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece… That’s
something like 500 or 600 liters of
water…
All of this water is for ritual purification… The Jews always purify everything… They wash
their hands often… They washed themselves and everything in the kitchen… This
is not about only cleanliness… this is about ritual purifications and
ceremonies… purification rites and rituals and ceremonies for meals and many
celebrations… They would go through ceremonial washings before
every meal… And there were lots of meals
in a multi-day Wedding experience… So there was plenty of water needed… v7…
v7… Fill
the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim…
So Jesus said, “Fill the water pots with water…. I am
sure that the servants were expecting another round of ceremonial washings…
So they filled
them to the brim… That is important…
If they were not filled to the brim… People might say just say that He added really
strong wine to the water… This way there was no room for anything… They were
filled to the brim… let´s reread the last section… v8-10…
v8…
Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast…
9… When
the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not
know where it came from (but the
servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the
bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the
good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have
kept the good wine until now!”
v8-10… We
are talking about an instant Supernatural Miracle… This is impossible to explain… unbelieveable…
Where did it come from? What happened…The servants knew
what happened… They might have been servants of the bridegrooms family… They
might have been family friends like we see often see today… But they were
certzainly believeable eyewitnesses to this miracle… They would not lie to
these people that they knew very well… Plus we are talking about mass
quantities of wine… Excellent wine… I probably represents a very large harvest…
Hundreds of liters of fine wine…. This is also a fortune in money… The chief of the feast
is amazed…. Not about the miracle… He
didn´t know it was a miracle yet… He
says…. Why did you wait until now to serve the best?... They had certainly seen
these water pots… If they had been filled with wine all during this
celebration…. People would have known… No… It was water they put in those
Waterpots… Now it is fine wine… These eyewitnesses gave testimony that He had
literally created wine to replace water…
So you have the testimony of an incredible miracle from
people who have no reason to lie…
They did not want or need to prove anything about Jesus...
It’s amazing and wonderful… This first miracle has a tremendous effect on the
people and on the disciples… There
is no human way to explain Jesus… He demonstrates complete control over
creation… He has to be God… He creates
wine out water….. Instantly…
Do
you remember ch 1… v3… look up here…
John
1:3 NKJV slt 2000
3 All
things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
3 Alles ist durch dasselbe entstanden; und ohne dasselbe
ist auch nicht eines entstanden, was entstanden ist.
Back to John ch 2… verse 11…
John
2: 11,12 NKJV slt 2000
11
This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory;
and His disciples believed in Him. 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He,
His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many
days.
11 Diesen Anfang der Zeichen machte Jesus in Kana in
Galiläa und ließ seine Herrlichkeit offenbar werden, und seine Jünger glaubten
an ihn. 12 Danach zog er hinab nach Kapernaum, er und seine Mutter und seine
Brüder und seine Jünger, und sie blieben wenige Tage dort.
v11a…
This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory...
He manifested His glory… No wonder that John wrote this
in ch 1… look with me at John 1:14…
John
1: 14 NKJV slt 2000
14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
14 Und das Wort wurde Fleisch und wohnte unter uns; und
wir sahen seine Herrlichkeit, eine Herrlichkeit als des Eingeborenen vom Vater,
voller Gnade und Wahrheit.
14… We
beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth… John first began to behold that glory right there at
the wedding of Cana because he was there… next verse…
v11b…
and His disciples believed in Him...
That’s the whole purpose of the Ministry of Jesus… That
is the reason for the Gospel of John…. He said so in John 20: 30,31…
These first disciples saw the miracle and His disciples believed in Him… Sounds
great Right? One might conclude that what
we need today are more miracles… Then the people will believe… Many later rain
prophets preach this… They say what we need are signs and wonders… Is it true… Do miracles cause believing faith
to spring up?...
Is that the conclusion we should draw from this
miracle?...
No!...
Miracles alone do not cause Saving
Faith… Not even for these witnesses of this first miracle… In just a few months many of these same people will try to kill
Jesus… They will be in Nazareth in the
Synagogue the day that Jesus stands up and reads from the prophet Isaiah…
And they will try to kill the miracle working Jesus… because He said that he
was the Messiah… Luke 4: 16-30…
Turn to John 12…
John 12:37…
John
12: 37 NKJV slt 2000
37
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in
Him,
37 Obwohl er aber so viele Zeichen vor ihnen getan hatte,
glaubten sie nicht an ihn;
His disciples believed in Him… But in this text…. We see that there were some
who did not believe in Him... And both groups saw the same signs… What about
you…. Do you believe that Jesus is the
Christ…. The Son of the Living God… You
and I have so much more than this
miracle of the Water being turned into
wine… We have the Word of God…. Jesus´ Words of Life… recorded for us… We have the entire unfolding
History of Redemption… in this book… It
is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to show us the truth… Jesus is The Lamb of God who takes away the
sins of the World…
Today
is the Day… Dedicate or rededicate your life to Him… We need to deny ourselves and take up
our cross and follow Jesus… Just like these first disciples did… It is the
secret to the Joyful Christian life that we all want… Let´s pray…
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