1 00:00:00,260 --> 00:00:05,660 In today's study of John 2, Jesus will perform his first recorded miracle, 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,760 turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana. 3 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:11,760 But why did he start his ministry this way? 4 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:14,940 What was this particular miracle all about? 5 00:00:15,420 --> 00:00:18,460 Well, verse 11 will say that it wasn't just a miracle. 6 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:20,300 It was actually a sign. 7 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,720 Specifically, it was a sign of the new covenant and the coming hour of Christ's glory. 8 00:00:28,540 --> 00:00:34,600 As chapter 2 opens, Jesus and his disciples have been invited to a wedding. 9 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:38,900 Now, this wedding was in a small village, a hamlet, Cana of Galilee. 10 00:00:38,900 --> 00:00:42,080 So he's invited to this wedding in Cana. This is a rural area. 11 00:00:42,380 --> 00:00:44,460 This is far from the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem. 12 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,760 You would have thought that Jesus, the most important person on the planet, 13 00:00:47,860 --> 00:00:51,200 the one that God sent down for this season, for this age, 14 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,960 that Jesus would be in a place where there were a lot of people. 15 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:59,020 But instead, we see that at the start of ministry, Jesus is far from where all the people are. 16 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,780 He's in a very small, remote, little village town. 17 00:01:03,060 --> 00:01:06,680 And as this text opens, we see that he has been invited to a wedding. 18 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,700 Now, when you and I think of weddings, we picture weddings through our own lens. 19 00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:15,000 Over the years, weddings have become a bigger and bigger and bigger deal. 20 00:01:15,100 --> 00:01:17,400 I mean, in fairness, they were still a big deal 20, 30 years ago. 21 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,840 But the amount of money that goes into weddings each year, it's fascinating. 22 00:01:20,980 --> 00:01:22,740 It's kind of staggering when you look at the trajectory 23 00:01:22,740 --> 00:01:25,320 for how much weddings cost in this day and age. 24 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:26,740 They're a really big deal for us. 25 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:27,860 But you know what? 26 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,120 They're even a bigger deal in Israel in the first century. 27 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,080 You see, when they had a wedding in the first century, 28 00:01:35,300 --> 00:01:37,500 when they had a wedding even in a small village like Cana, 29 00:01:37,700 --> 00:01:39,580 when they had a wedding in this context, 30 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:42,140 it could be an all-week affair. 31 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,240 At the very least, it was for several days. 32 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,040 When there was a wedding and a wedding feast, 33 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:50,200 it took a number of days for all the celebrating to be done. 34 00:01:50,300 --> 00:01:54,080 It was a significant, significant cultural event, and everyone was invited. 35 00:01:54,220 --> 00:01:56,400 If you were in the region, then you were part of the community, 36 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,540 and therefore you were invited to this wedding. 37 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:04,860 With that said, in verse 3, we see the ultimate party foul. 38 00:02:05,380 --> 00:02:07,020 The ultimate party foul. Now, what is that? 39 00:02:07,580 --> 00:02:10,080 Well, what happens is they're having this big wedding, this big affair. 40 00:02:10,140 --> 00:02:15,080 The whole community has been invited, and they run out of wine. 41 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,300 Now, why was that so significant? Why was that so important? 42 00:02:18,340 --> 00:02:19,460 And how did it come to be? 43 00:02:19,820 --> 00:02:21,480 Was it because of under-provision? 44 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:23,320 You know, they just didn't get enough wine prepared? 45 00:02:23,620 --> 00:02:25,440 Or was it for over-consumption? 46 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:26,940 We really don't know in either case. 47 00:02:26,980 --> 00:02:29,420 We just know that they ran out, but running out was a big deal. 48 00:02:29,780 --> 00:02:31,160 For us, we'd go, all right, no big deal. 49 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,200 Run over to Dollar General or someplace and get some more wine. 50 00:02:33,380 --> 00:02:34,400 Here, not so much. 51 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:36,680 This was a scandal. 52 00:02:37,300 --> 00:02:41,180 This was a cause of massive embarrassment for all involved, 53 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:42,500 particularly the bridegroom. 54 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:44,520 Running out of wine at your own wedding, 55 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,140 this is something that this guy would have been hearing about 56 00:02:47,140 --> 00:02:52,280 For years and years and years, on his tombstone, it would have wrote that he ran out of wine at his own wedding. 57 00:02:52,580 --> 00:02:59,820 This was that big a deal, that significant a deal, for the wine to have run out at this time. 58 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,900 With that said, something that's kind of interesting, as we consider this text, 59 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:09,880 is that in this setting where the wine has run out, Jesus is going to be asked to do a miracle. 60 00:03:09,980 --> 00:03:12,500 He's going to be asked by his own mother to fix the situation. 61 00:03:12,620 --> 00:03:15,760 His mother's going to get eyes on the situation and say, we've got to do something. 62 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:21,500 who can help and she knows who can help and it's her own son it's her own son jesus with that said 63 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:26,020 let me stop for a moment and mention something before we really get into how the water got 64 00:03:26,020 --> 00:03:30,460 turned into wine and the like it's interesting when you run into chapter two that the first of 65 00:03:30,460 --> 00:03:36,520 all of jesus's miracles recorded is this you know at face value what jesus does here is he turns one 66 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:42,140 liquid into another liquid right now for a guy who was known to raise the dead for a guy who was 67 00:03:42,140 --> 00:03:47,440 known for casting out demons. It's fascinating that John says, you know where to begin the story 68 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,800 of Jesus and his miracles and the things he did? We'll start with that party. That party, you know, 69 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,580 where he did something that you could think was a parlor trick. You turn one liquid into another 70 00:03:55,580 --> 00:03:59,700 liquid. How do you do it? I don't know. This could have been a smaller thing, a very small thing on 71 00:03:59,700 --> 00:04:04,660 John's radar. And John omitted a whole lot from his gospel. Later on at the end of the book of John, 72 00:04:04,700 --> 00:04:09,100 you'll see he's going to say, there's a lot of stuff I didn't put in here. Specifically, he'll 73 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:13,300 say this. He'll say, there are so many things that Jesus did, if they were all written down, 74 00:04:13,500 --> 00:04:18,620 I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. So John, later in his 75 00:04:18,620 --> 00:04:24,280 own gospel, is going to say, Jesus did so many things, so many amazing things, so many mind-blowing 76 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,700 things, that if you tried to write them all down, the world isn't big enough to hold the books 77 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:35,280 to record it. Now, if that's true, and what we see in John's gospel, what he did record is a small, 78 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:42,540 small minority of that which Jesus did, why would you include this, turning one liquid into another 79 00:04:42,540 --> 00:04:49,040 liquid? Why does this rise to the stature that not only does he include it, but he leads with it here. 80 00:04:49,540 --> 00:04:54,680 He leads with it at the very start of chapter two. Well, this morning we're going to discover as we 81 00:04:54,680 --> 00:05:00,900 work through the text that this is no mere miracle. In fact, it's something beyond a miracle. It's a 82 00:05:00,900 --> 00:05:05,800 sign. If you want to understand today's text properly, and if it's preached in a way that it 83 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:10,900 should be, God willing, we will extract from this text, not simply that God did something cooler, 84 00:05:11,020 --> 00:05:14,320 Jesus did something cooler, he turned one liquid into another liquid. What we'll extract from this 85 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:19,280 text is a deep theological lesson that points to the cross at Calvary. That's where we're going 86 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:23,060 the next 25 minutes. I hope we get there. All right, let's look at verses one through four. 87 00:05:23,340 --> 00:05:28,240 Verse one. On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus 88 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:33,660 was there. Now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding, and when they ran out of 89 00:05:33,660 --> 00:05:39,220 wine, the mother of Jesus said to them, they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman, what does 90 00:05:39,220 --> 00:05:48,220 your concern have to do with me? For my hour, my hour has not yet come. All right, as we said before, 91 00:05:48,340 --> 00:05:54,200 running out of wine is the ultimate party foul in this context. This culture is what you would call 92 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:59,000 it an honor and shame culture, an honor and shame culture. Now, we live in a culture that has no 93 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,900 shame. You know, running out of wine at a wedding, you know, people go, eh, you wouldn't even think 94 00:06:02,900 --> 00:06:08,060 about it a day later. But this was an honor and shame culture, and this was shameful. You invite 95 00:06:08,060 --> 00:06:12,080 guests from around the countryside. You're going to host. You're going to make provision for them. 96 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,000 That's your singular job is to make sure that the people who have been invited have everything they 97 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,380 possibly need, and then you ran out. And an honor and shame culture, as we said before, this is 98 00:06:21,380 --> 00:06:27,040 significant. It would be etched on the tombstone of this bridegroom some years down the road. 99 00:06:27,580 --> 00:06:32,540 With that said, as we said a few moments ago, Mary, the mother, was there. And we believe she 100 00:06:32,540 --> 00:06:36,900 was assisting in some capacity in this wedding. And the reason we believe she was assisting in 101 00:06:36,900 --> 00:06:40,900 some capacity in this wedding is because she's going to order the servants around in a few verses 102 00:06:40,900 --> 00:06:46,580 from now. But Mary, the mother of Jesus, is at this wedding. She surveys what's gone down. They've 103 00:06:46,580 --> 00:06:51,400 run out of wine. Oh my goodness, they ran out of wine. What to do? What to do? And there had to be 104 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:56,500 several people who were like, you know, shrugging, going, oh no, this is calamity. Absolute calamity. 105 00:06:56,980 --> 00:07:02,360 And Mary goes, I know. I know just the guy. I know who I'll go talk to. So we see there in verse 3, 106 00:07:02,660 --> 00:07:07,940 she approaches Jesus, and she simply says, they have no wine. She doesn't beseech him. She doesn't 107 00:07:07,940 --> 00:07:13,900 say, hey son, could you do this for me? She just tells him, they have no wine. He knew the import 108 00:07:13,900 --> 00:07:18,820 of that. He knows the significance of that statement. Well, that's to notice his response 109 00:07:18,820 --> 00:07:25,060 to his mother in verse 4. His response initially is, what does this have to do with me? His initial 110 00:07:25,060 --> 00:07:29,360 response is, what does this have to do with me? Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? 111 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:37,080 And then he adds this, and he says, my hour has not yet come. There's a couple observations we 112 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:41,360 can draw from Christ's response to Mary. First of all, the word woman, when you hear that, 113 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,140 You know, woman, what does this have to do with me? 114 00:07:43,180 --> 00:07:45,840 You hear that and you go, wow, that's a fascinating way to talk to your own mother. 115 00:07:46,460 --> 00:07:48,140 Culturally, this was reverential. 116 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:50,840 Again, you have to understand all the text in its own culture. 117 00:07:50,900 --> 00:07:51,680 This was reverential. 118 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,500 In fact, it was one of the most reverential words he could use to refer to his own mother. 119 00:07:55,820 --> 00:07:59,660 And we know that because later on when he was on the cross, guess what he says? 120 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:01,120 He's literally on the cross. 121 00:08:01,220 --> 00:08:02,580 He sees Mary, his mother, there. 122 00:08:02,860 --> 00:08:04,740 And John, his own disciple, is right next to her. 123 00:08:04,780 --> 00:08:05,340 And what does he say? 124 00:08:05,860 --> 00:08:07,900 He says, woman, behold your son. 125 00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:12,520 At this moment, he was basically conveying his own mother, his dearly beloved mother, 126 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,920 into the care of one of his most trusted disciples. 127 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:17,800 Woman, behold your son. 128 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,880 This is not a throwaway term, reverential. 129 00:08:20,140 --> 00:08:21,380 So that's what he's doing here. 130 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,540 He says, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? 131 00:08:23,700 --> 00:08:25,500 My hour has not come. 132 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:27,900 Now notice, he doesn't say he won't assist. 133 00:08:28,460 --> 00:08:31,140 One of the chief commandments is this, honor your father and mother. 134 00:08:31,140 --> 00:08:33,960 So he never for a moment says, no, thanks, I'm good. 135 00:08:34,060 --> 00:08:35,760 He never says anything like that. 136 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:37,680 But he does imply this. 137 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,080 He does imply that what she has asked him to do, what she has asked him to do, 138 00:08:42,340 --> 00:08:47,200 does not necessarily comport with his salvific saving mandate. 139 00:08:47,820 --> 00:08:48,980 Thirdly, notice this. 140 00:08:49,100 --> 00:08:51,300 Jesus referred to his hour. 141 00:08:51,940 --> 00:08:53,800 And that's the most significant part of his statement. 142 00:08:54,380 --> 00:08:57,180 He says, my hour has not yet come. 143 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,360 If you were listening to that conversation, what would your takeaway of that be? 144 00:09:00,900 --> 00:09:01,600 What hour? 145 00:09:02,380 --> 00:09:03,540 What is he talking about? 146 00:09:03,540 --> 00:09:04,980 My hour has not yet come. 147 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,040 Well, in order to understand what he's talking about, you have to ask yourself, 148 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,900 did he ever talk about an hour anywhere else in the text? 149 00:09:11,220 --> 00:09:14,700 Is there anywhere else in John where he talks about his hour somewhere later? 150 00:09:14,900 --> 00:09:17,320 Because if he did talk about his hour somewhere later, 151 00:09:17,380 --> 00:09:20,760 then maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with what he's talking about here. 152 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,600 Well, good news, he does talk about his hour later on. 153 00:09:23,620 --> 00:09:25,160 In fact, he does it at least six times. 154 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,580 And each time he refers to my hour, the hour that's coming, 155 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:31,160 he's talking about his crucifixion. 156 00:09:31,180 --> 00:09:34,520 Talking about his crucifixion and, in a sense, the resurrection that would follow. 157 00:09:34,620 --> 00:09:41,580 but he's talking about that. My hour has not yet come. He's looking down at what is yet to be. 158 00:09:42,180 --> 00:09:47,960 Now, why offer that here? Well, we'll get there as we work through the rest of these verses. Let's 159 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:54,100 see Mary's response, though, to his statement in verses 5 through 8. Let's see what she does when 160 00:09:54,100 --> 00:09:59,900 he says that my hour has not yet come. Verse 5, then his mother said to the servants, whatever 161 00:09:59,900 --> 00:10:05,620 whatever he says to you, you do it. Now, there are six water pots of stone, according to the 162 00:10:05,620 --> 00:10:11,080 manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece. And Jesus said to them, 163 00:10:11,300 --> 00:10:16,240 fill the water pots with water. So they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, 164 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:23,260 now draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast. And so they took it. All right, 165 00:10:23,260 --> 00:10:27,120 I need to stop there, verse 5. You can preach the whole sermon just on verse 5. Now, let me explain 166 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:32,960 what I mean. Mary, Mary's talking to the servants. Jesus has just talked about his hour. Mary, you 167 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:38,700 know, nods and talks to the servants, and she says this. She says, whatever he says to you, do it. 168 00:10:39,660 --> 00:10:45,540 Now, as sermons go, that's pure gold. She points to Jesus and tells the servants, whatever he says 169 00:10:45,540 --> 00:10:52,100 to you, you do it. If you take nothing else out of today's sermon, which you might not, but if you 170 00:10:52,100 --> 00:10:57,860 take nothing else. Take that out. The mother of Jesus tells the servants, tells us through the 171 00:10:57,860 --> 00:11:02,680 channels of time all these years later, something that remains true now as it did then. Whatever 172 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:10,480 Jesus tells you to do, do it. So that's what she says in verse 5. With that said, notice that in 173 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:15,980 verse 6 that Jesus gives the servants some marching orders. Verse 6 said, there were now six water 174 00:11:15,980 --> 00:11:20,800 pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 175 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:25,600 gallons apiece. Jesus said, fill them with water, and so they filled them up to the brim. And he 176 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:30,900 says, draw some out, taste it, and give it to the master of the feast. All right, now there is some 177 00:11:30,900 --> 00:11:36,400 symbols in this that we need to focus on. It's not simply throwaway line, talked about some water 178 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,560 pots that happen to be sitting over here somewhere. There's two details that he gives us. Number one, 179 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:45,860 we read that these were water pots of stone, not of clay. Almost everything was clay. You go to the 180 00:11:45,860 --> 00:11:50,440 Middle East to this day, you go to Jerusalem, you go on tours and the like, you'll see old clay pot 181 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:55,840 cherds everywhere. Almost everything was clay, but not these. Not these things that held the water. 182 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:01,980 They were stone. Now, why was that significant? Well, significant because these particular pots 183 00:12:01,980 --> 00:12:07,080 that Jesus refers to, these are what was used for purification. If you were going to attend a wedding, 184 00:12:07,180 --> 00:12:10,980 you needed to be clean prior. If you're going to attend a wedding, if you were a guest there, 185 00:12:10,980 --> 00:12:16,000 you had to kind of wash up before you could enter in. It would be party foul number two to show up 186 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,820 all dingy and gross. You're shepherding in the fields, and then you just walk into the wedding. 187 00:12:20,140 --> 00:12:23,360 No, there had to be purification that would take place. 188 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,260 And so the water that was typically in these stone pots was used for purification. 189 00:12:27,620 --> 00:12:34,280 And it was stone, not clay, because they don't want any mud or anything from the inside of the pot to somehow foul up the water. 190 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,200 So it's stone pots filled with purified water that were utilized. 191 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,940 With that said, Jesus doesn't talk about just grab any pot you got around. 192 00:12:42,020 --> 00:12:46,360 He says, take those, the ones used for purification, which is significant. 193 00:12:46,780 --> 00:12:49,660 That's what we're going to use to make this wine. 194 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:51,280 Now, how many pots were there? 195 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:52,600 Six. 196 00:12:53,100 --> 00:12:54,660 Now, why is that significant? 197 00:12:55,020 --> 00:12:56,040 Numbers are always significant. 198 00:12:56,220 --> 00:12:58,660 Whenever you see numbers in Scripture, they're always significant. 199 00:12:58,780 --> 00:13:01,180 Maybe not for the reason that some modern authors tell you, 200 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:02,620 but the numbers are significant. 201 00:13:03,260 --> 00:13:07,980 Now, number six, scripturally speaking, was a number of incompletion. 202 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,620 Number six was an incomplete number. 203 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,300 And we know that God made the world in six days. 204 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,280 On the seventh day, he rested. 205 00:13:16,420 --> 00:13:17,680 There's a special seven. 206 00:13:17,780 --> 00:13:21,880 With that said here, there's six water pots that are going to be filled to the brim 207 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,060 with water that will be turned to wine, six of them. 208 00:13:25,660 --> 00:13:26,340 Where's the seventh? 209 00:13:26,980 --> 00:13:28,380 In a few moments, we're going to see this, 210 00:13:28,460 --> 00:13:31,960 that Jesus himself is the seventh water pot. 211 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,460 I'll explain what we mean in a few moments. 212 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:36,520 Whatever the case, if you notice the quantity, 213 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:38,980 you'll notice that there's about 150 gallons. 214 00:13:39,420 --> 00:13:43,020 He said there take six water pots of 20 or 30 gallons apiece. 215 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,880 You take all this water, 100 plus gallons, 216 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:48,580 and that that's what you're going to provide for the guests. 217 00:13:48,900 --> 00:13:51,900 Now, I don't know how many guests they had, but I know this much. 218 00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:55,080 A hundred plus gallons of wine, that's got to be plenty. 219 00:13:55,420 --> 00:13:56,780 What we see here is abundance. 220 00:13:57,060 --> 00:13:59,120 This is Christ's overflowing provision. 221 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:00,560 He's asked to do something. 222 00:14:00,940 --> 00:14:03,780 He's going to provide new wine, so to speak, 223 00:14:03,860 --> 00:14:06,360 which is going to be really significant for reasons we're going to figure out in just a moment. 224 00:14:06,660 --> 00:14:11,100 New wine he's going to provide for the people, and he's going to provide it in abundance. 225 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:15,520 I want you to anticipate some of the theological themes that we're going to hit at in just a few moments. 226 00:14:15,900 --> 00:14:18,760 All right, let's look at the balance of this text, and then we'll explain what's going on. 227 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:20,260 Verses 9 through 12. 228 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,440 Now, when the master of the feast had tasted the water, 229 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,000 and by the way, the master of the feast, that's got to be a good job. 230 00:14:27,260 --> 00:14:30,080 The master of the feast, when he had tasted the water that was made into wine, 231 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:34,380 he did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water, they knew. 232 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,340 Then the master of the feast called the bridegroom, 233 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,120 and he said to him, every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, 234 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:45,620 and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. 235 00:14:45,900 --> 00:14:47,500 because they wouldn't know the difference at that point. 236 00:14:48,340 --> 00:14:51,800 But you, you have kept the good wine until now. 237 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:53,440 Now, verse 11. 238 00:14:54,060 --> 00:14:57,000 This beginning of signs, which is important, 239 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,280 this beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee 240 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,660 and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. 241 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:03,920 And after they went down to Capernaum, 242 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:05,520 he, his mother, his brothers, his disciples, 243 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,800 and they did not stay there many days. 244 00:15:08,140 --> 00:15:09,360 All right, verse 9. 245 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:11,660 The master of the feast. 246 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:13,780 I don't know how he got that job, but it's wonderful. 247 00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:20,540 the master of the feast discovers that there's more wine we thought we were out oh happy day 248 00:15:20,540 --> 00:15:27,360 there's more wine where did this wine come from then he sips it says this is amazing i've never 249 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:32,620 had wine like this i've been the master of the feast for some time you can picture him saying 250 00:15:32,620 --> 00:15:36,080 i've been the master of the feast i have never encountered this in fact i usually encounter the 251 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:40,060 opposite when i'm the master of the feast you know when i was the master of the feast down to the you 252 00:15:40,060 --> 00:15:42,960 know the jones wedding you remember the jones wedding when i was the master of feast there 253 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:47,680 they gave out the terrible wine later you know after everyone can't tell the difference you ever 254 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:52,220 shop for like boxes of wine you know your budget for wine isn't that great when you're buying a 255 00:15:52,220 --> 00:15:57,980 box of wine this is the equivalent of the box of wine this is like wine spritzers or something like 256 00:15:57,980 --> 00:16:04,620 that and the master of the feast knows it he says you you have given the very best the very best 257 00:16:04,620 --> 00:16:12,000 last and that is unusual it never happens i've never seen it in all my days with that said 258 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,580 And whenever Jesus brought something, whenever Jesus offered something, it was always the best. 259 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:22,440 Whenever Jesus made provision, the provision always exceeded the expectations of the people 260 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,560 approaching him. When he did miracles, the miracles were in abundance over what they expected. 261 00:16:27,020 --> 00:16:30,720 When he did healings and the like, people thought to him, maybe, maybe you could do this, 262 00:16:30,780 --> 00:16:34,840 maybe you could do that. And when he would heal them, they'd be dancing around, they were shocked 263 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:39,600 and all. What happened when he casted out demons, when he turns a few loaves of bread and fish into 264 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:45,340 with feeding thousands, he regularly did that which was in abundance of even the need. Remember 265 00:16:45,340 --> 00:16:50,420 the bread and the fish? There was baskets of this stuff left over. This is one of the things that 266 00:16:50,420 --> 00:16:56,520 Jesus does. He provides in abundance beyond the needs of those who have approached him. They were 267 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:01,760 used to or desirous of some sort of wine that they were familiar with, and he comes and he shows up 268 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,900 and he offers them better wine that they ever had tasted, ever had touched. This is a picture 269 00:17:06,900 --> 00:17:10,720 of the new covenant supplanting the old. 270 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,640 And the new covenant is oftentimes typified in wine. 271 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:17,020 With that said, before we expand on that, 272 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,440 I want to focus on one key word there in verse 11. 273 00:17:21,140 --> 00:17:23,700 In verse 11, notice that turning water into wine, 274 00:17:24,540 --> 00:17:26,940 it's not simply referred to as the miracle, 275 00:17:27,220 --> 00:17:29,060 but as a sign. 276 00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:31,080 Now, what does signs do? 277 00:17:31,620 --> 00:17:32,420 What does a sign do? 278 00:17:32,500 --> 00:17:34,920 Well, a sign points to something other than itself. 279 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:39,140 A simple miracle would be a one-off event, 280 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,800 something that was wonderful, amazing, confounded the laws of nature, 281 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,400 but didn't necessarily point to something greater beyond. 282 00:17:48,060 --> 00:17:51,220 Well, what Jesus frequently did when he did these amazing things 283 00:17:51,220 --> 00:17:54,080 is he didn't do it just for that moment in time, 284 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:55,720 just because there was thirsty guests. 285 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,780 That's not really the reason that he did it. 286 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:04,200 What he did was a sign that pointed to something more significant down the road. 287 00:18:04,300 --> 00:18:05,320 And verse 11 makes it clear. 288 00:18:05,540 --> 00:18:09,060 This beginning of signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. 289 00:18:09,340 --> 00:18:11,520 Remember beginning, because this is going to be a bookend. 290 00:18:11,580 --> 00:18:14,620 And we're going to talk about the other bookend in just a moment. 291 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:15,700 But this is a sign. 292 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,100 So what is it a sign of? 293 00:18:18,260 --> 00:18:19,140 What is it a sign of? 294 00:18:19,300 --> 00:18:21,680 If this water and wine is a sign, what is it a sign of? 295 00:18:22,020 --> 00:18:24,260 Well, in order to answer that, in order to answer that, 296 00:18:24,260 --> 00:18:30,180 I want to look at a text briefly that's at the far, far end of the book of John. 297 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,080 Towards the end of the book of John, Jesus is on the cross. 298 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:34,800 Now, what's going to go down there? 299 00:18:34,900 --> 00:18:35,300 Well, listen. 300 00:18:35,380 --> 00:18:36,160 I'm going to read this text. 301 00:18:36,220 --> 00:18:36,920 I want you to listen. 302 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:38,560 And I want you to listen for these words. 303 00:18:39,340 --> 00:18:43,420 Water, wine, vessel, and woman. 304 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:45,800 All right, listen to these verses towards the end of John. 305 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:46,880 John says this. 306 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,820 When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother, this is on the cross, 307 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,480 and he saw John, the disciple he loved, standing by, he said to his mother, 308 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,200 Woman, behold your son. 309 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:58,920 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, 310 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,760 that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. 311 00:19:02,540 --> 00:19:05,680 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, 312 00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:08,400 and they filled the sponge with sour wine and put it to his mouth. 313 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,420 Now when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 314 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:13,180 It is finished. 315 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,000 And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. 316 00:19:16,580 --> 00:19:18,580 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, 317 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:20,200 and then the other who was crucified with him. 318 00:19:20,220 --> 00:19:22,780 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, 319 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:24,500 they did not break his legs, 320 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:27,960 but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, 321 00:19:28,540 --> 00:19:32,700 and immediately blood and water came out. 322 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:38,000 You see, in a sense, this passage is an absolute bookend 323 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,640 to what happened in John 2, and it's meant to be seen that way. 324 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,480 What happens at the end, woman, behold your son, 325 00:19:43,540 --> 00:19:46,660 even the phraseology that's used, the nature of water and wine 326 00:19:46,660 --> 00:19:48,900 and wine and water and the like, which occurs there 327 00:19:48,900 --> 00:19:51,600 towards the end of the book of John, is meant to be seen as a bookend. 328 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,080 What happened in the wedding supper in Cana is meant to be understood 329 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,020 with what went down on Calvary. 330 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,180 When Jesus saw his mother and his disciples standing by, 331 00:19:58,260 --> 00:20:02,820 says, mother, woman, behold your son. And he said, I'm thirsty. I thirst. Have you ever wondered why 332 00:20:02,820 --> 00:20:07,240 he says that? What's up with that? I thirst. And what do they give him? Well, they give him wine, 333 00:20:07,580 --> 00:20:11,920 even not just good wine. They just give him the sour wine. He drinks it. He dies. He says, it's 334 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:16,720 finished. I am finished. It's all done. And then he passes at this time. And then moments later, 335 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:24,480 moments later, they stab aside with a spear. What comes out? Water mixed with blood. In John 19, 336 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:29,900 Jesus addressed his mother one last time with the same reverential word, woman, as he did in Cana. 337 00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:36,360 And once again, a vastly inferior wine is offered at first. Sour wine, which was lifted up to 338 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:42,320 Christ's mouth. However, at that moment, at that moment, the hour had come. At that moment, the hour 339 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:47,740 was here. At that moment, the hour that Jesus had been anticipating way, way, way back. We said, 340 00:20:47,860 --> 00:20:53,820 woman, my hour has not yet come. It came, and she was there to see it. I guarantee you that she had 341 00:20:53,820 --> 00:20:58,460 thought back at some point with what happened at Cana. At that moment, the hour that Christ had 342 00:20:58,460 --> 00:21:03,500 spoken of had finally arrived. At that moment, the new wine of Christ's blood was poured out 343 00:21:03,500 --> 00:21:12,020 at the foot of Calvary. Today's passage in Cana, in this hamlet, it's a sign. And here it is. 344 00:21:12,820 --> 00:21:18,480 Jesus came to offer a wine that no man has ever drank. And it's a wine that's typified whenever 345 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:23,020 we offer communion. Remember when we offer communion, we have bread, the body was broken, 346 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,940 And we also have the wine, the cup of the New Covenant, 347 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,500 the cup of Jesus' blood which is shed for thee. 348 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,220 That's the finest wine imaginable. 349 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,300 That's the greatest wine that you could ever hope to drink, spiritually speaking. 350 00:21:35,820 --> 00:21:37,400 With that said, this is what happened. 351 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,520 In chapter 2, he's anticipating what's going to happen at the end of the book. 352 00:21:40,740 --> 00:21:42,580 He anticipates what's going to go on in Calvary. 353 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,800 On Calvary, his body's going to be broken, his blood is going to be shed, 354 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:51,000 his blood is going to be poured out in offering and substitution for the blood of the saints, 355 00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:52,600 for the blood of the whole rest of us. 356 00:21:53,020 --> 00:21:57,540 In chapter 19, we see the culmination of the entirety of the gospel. 357 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,880 This morning, before I wrap up, let me just remind us what that gospel is. 358 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:01,840 The two components of this. 359 00:22:01,900 --> 00:22:03,060 Number one is that we have a problem. 360 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:04,100 The problem is that we're sinners. 361 00:22:04,260 --> 00:22:05,480 The wages of sin is death. 362 00:22:05,540 --> 00:22:07,360 You've sinned more times than you can possibly count. 363 00:22:07,460 --> 00:22:09,080 There's no way you can atone for that on your own. 364 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:10,900 If a man has sinned, a man must die. 365 00:22:10,980 --> 00:22:11,520 Are you a sinner? 366 00:22:11,860 --> 00:22:12,480 Yes, you are. 367 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:13,680 What are you going to do about it? 368 00:22:14,220 --> 00:22:15,000 That's the problem. 369 00:22:15,700 --> 00:22:17,480 However, the second part of the gospel is this. 370 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,180 That while we're yet sinners, Christ died for us. 371 00:22:20,420 --> 00:22:24,140 That although we'd broken the laws of His Father time and time and time and time again, 372 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:25,540 more times than we could possibly count, 373 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,620 although the wages of sin is death, and although we're sinners, 374 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,000 God looked down upon us, He saw us in our fallen state, 375 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:36,000 He saw the problem that awaited us, which was the curse coming down upon us, 376 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,520 He saw our problem, and He determined to send His Son. 377 00:22:38,580 --> 00:22:39,460 This is the solution. 378 00:22:40,020 --> 00:22:44,460 The solution to our problem is that in due time, God sent one to die in our place. 379 00:22:44,540 --> 00:22:46,080 On Calvary, that's exactly what happened. 380 00:22:46,180 --> 00:22:49,900 When Jesus was on the cross, your sin, my sin, our sin, if we're believers, 381 00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:53,680 was placed upon him, credited to him as if he's the one who did it. 382 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,560 And at that moment, another cup was poured out. 383 00:22:57,020 --> 00:22:59,300 Do you know what was in that cup that was poured out upon Christ? 384 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:01,020 The wrath of God. 385 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:05,720 The cup that Jesus drank was the wrath of God due to you and I. 386 00:23:05,820 --> 00:23:07,760 He drank down every drop to the fullness. 387 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:10,760 Every drop of the wrath of God came down upon Christ. 388 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,900 Everything that you've ever done wrong was paid for in that moment. 389 00:23:15,300 --> 00:23:18,520 And when he said, it is finished, he said, the payment is complete. 390 00:23:18,700 --> 00:23:19,800 The payment is complete. 391 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:24,040 At that moment, he's saying, atonement, the satisfaction, the substitution has occurred. 392 00:23:24,260 --> 00:23:26,160 I have died in the place of my beloved. 393 00:23:26,980 --> 00:23:31,980 And then, at the moment after his death, his side is pierced, and his blood spills out. 394 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,900 A picture of the finest spiritual wine anyone could ever hope to drink. 395 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:38,940 This morning, my question is, do you believe? 396 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:40,600 Do you trust in this one? 397 00:23:41,140 --> 00:23:47,120 And if you don't trust in him to have atoned for your sins, then who's going to do it? 398 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:52,560 On the day yet to come, you don't want to presume that you can walk into God's presence 399 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:56,140 clad in the stains of your own scarlet sins 400 00:23:56,140 --> 00:24:00,560 and assume that he's going to judge you by the curve of all the rest of humanity 401 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,100 and against the backdrop of all the rest of humanity, 402 00:24:03,100 --> 00:24:05,460 he's going to find you pretty good and let you in. 403 00:24:06,180 --> 00:24:07,020 That's not the gospel. 404 00:24:07,140 --> 00:24:10,680 The gospel is this, that the wages of sin, singular, is death, 405 00:24:11,260 --> 00:24:13,400 and on Calvary, Jesus paid it all. 406 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:14,380 Let's pray.