A Sign to Followers
Message – Those who see the glorious signs of Jesus, follow Him
Miracles are a
curious thing – the occasions when physical circumstances or certain
situations are changed in unexplainable ways.
Many times people pray to God asking for miracles, people
to be healed, or delivered or money or goods to be provided, or circumstances
to change in some way that will make our lives easier, nicer, more along the
lines of our plans, and of course we say “we will give God the glory” but
ultimately we want our lives easier and we need God to step in and provide a
miracle to make it happen.
I am sure John looks at miracles from a different
perspective and I wonder if God doesn’t
look at miracles in a completely different way himself.
The story of Cana, is far more than a story about a
wedding and some miraculous wine. To
grasp it we have to know something about our author John. John’s writings are rich with symbolism,
things are often much more than they appear on the surface. When Mary declares to Jesus “they have no
more wine” whether she knows it at the
time or not, John is now retelling it
and Mary’s comment becomes a commentary on the state of the Jewish cultures
relationship with God, it is empty and needs a Messiah.
Lets walk our way through this short story…
Jesus, his family and his disciples were invited to a
wedding feast in Cana. Cana is a village
in the northwestern region of Galilee, not far from Nazareth where Jesus and
his family were from so it would not have been unusual to have been
invited. In the village culture of
Palestine, weddings were important events; announced well in advance &
recognized by the entire village.
Elaborate preparations were made for a ceremony that could last for as
long as a week. Weddings were not rushed
affairs. They celebrated the family, the
community, it was more than the couple, but the hope of the community and the
role the couple would play. Gifts were
carefully considered, not as a single gesture of good will, but as a means of
bringing honor on the couple and their families. In fact,, legal ramifications followed when
appropriate custom was not followed because it implied public shame on the
couple.
Mary, Jesus’ mother notices the wine has run out and
comments to her son “they have no more wine”
It is easy to spiritualize the work of Christ today and
conclude he is only in the business of saving souls and renewing lives. But he is also interested in the common place
events of our lives. We can invite
Christ into the dilemmas that seem embarrassingly inconsequential or practical
and ask him to help us.
Jesus replies in a curious way…
4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?"
To refer to his mother as “woman” seems harsh and
insensitive to our western ears. He uses
the same address for his mother here as we will see him use for the woman in
Samaria (4:21) or the woman caught in adultery (8:10) or when his mother is at
the cross (19:26) or Mary Magdalene at the tomb (20:15). It is unusual for him to address her in this
way, there are other ways for him to address his mother. In some ways Mary is presuming on her
relationship with him as her son and Jesus is redefining this: He cannot act under her authority but must
follow the course that has been set by God.
His response is inflexible, but not rude towards
her. Literally he is saying here “what
do we have in common” or “How can this matter that concerns you be of mutual
interest to us”
Jesus does respond
however when he sees faith and obedience working together.
5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he
tells you."
Mary demonstrated her faith in Jesus. She knew him to be a man who cared for and
about people and their circumstances.
She didn’t tell him what to do or how to do it, she only demonstrated
her faith in him to act. At the same
time she is saying we have got to be ready and willing to do whatever He calls
upon us to do.
Jesus knew what he was going to do – what he was sent by
God to do. This must have been at the
forefront of his mind and thinking – “ Jesus replied. "My time has not yet
come." The NIV does not relay as
clearly the intent of Jesus’ response here.
Jesus uses the word ‘hora’ or ‘hour’.
He is looking to a specific event.
Throughout the gospel, Jesus uses this language to look to his important
work on the cross when he literally changes the way people will forever come
before God through him and his sacrifice.
Jesus may be having a bit of Dejavu here, where one event
is somehow tied to another future event.
He has come to a wedding banquet – perhaps he is thinking of the time when
the Messiah arrives at the messianic banquet
Rev 19:7
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Jesus looks and sees the stone water jars used for
ceremonially cleansing. The water in
these jars was not for drinking.
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the
Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
As guests come to the wedding feast they would have
dipped their hands in these large jars of water to remind themselves that this
event is a sacred event. That in their
joy they are coming before God who is leading their community and bringing this
couple together. They must be pure to
come before God and the way they demonstrated that was by washing their hands
in these big jars.
The fact there were 6 jars indicates they were anticipating
a crowd at the wedding – everyone was invited.
Jesus points to these jars and says fill them up. They would not have been empty, but if a lot
of people had been there to wash their hands, the water level would have gone
down some.
Now, a lot of people would have stuck their hands in this
water, some dirtier than others, this is not water you would want to drink.
7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Jesus directs the servants
8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the
master of the banquet."
The master of the banquet was likely a friend or family
member who acted as the host of the banquet.
Weddings are stressful events. And as the master of the banquet who has just
realized they have run out of wine they are going to be pretty stressed
out.
When he tastes the nasty water from the stone jars it is
instantly the sweetest, best tasting wine he has every encountered. Unbelievable.
“He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had
drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said,
"Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after
the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till
now."
At this point he, and everyone, would become aware that
this wine is coming from the stone purification jars, and it would be in
abundance, 6 jars with 20-30 gal each would produce 150 gallons of the divinely
produced wine. Like a purification from
God himself, not to be washed in but consumed and plenty for everyone,
regardless of how dirty or clean your hands – or life – might be.
This wine recalls the many prophetic words about the Day
of the Lord, when God’s arrival and blessings are seen particularly in
abundance
Jer 31:11-14
11 For the Lord will ransom Jacob
and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.
12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord —
the grain, the new wine and the oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.
13 Then maidens will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance,
and my people will be filled with my bounty,"
declares the Lord.
Everyone wants to come to God, to be able to stand before
him, to enjoy being in his presence, to be accepted by him.
From time to time, everyone needs God to move beyond the
explainable and help us in the crisis and challenges of life, be they big or
small, we need God’s help
Jesus shows himself in this. John does not call this a miracle here, but a miraculous sign. Two
very different words and John knows exactly what he is saying. A miracle underscores a demonstration of
power and is generally received with awe.
A sign is revelatory, disclosing something from God, something hidden before. Signs are not merely one time acts of power
and might, but they unveil God at work in Jesus and who is present in him and
so John says that through the sign Jesus reveals his glory. This is essential to John and it affirms what
he knows about Jesus. Jesus is not
merely a man but he is the presence of God in the world.
11 This, the first
of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed
his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
John 1:14 The Word
became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory
of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is God and at the same time a man who is
observable, we are able to be with, who is followable and so Those who see the glorious signs of Jesus, place their faith in him
He himself becomes the
purification for us to be clean and before God himself
Jesus is the sign of God
present and at work in our world
The question is will you trust
him? The disciples put their faith in
him, not because he performed a miracle but because of the sign of who he was.
Their faith was more than
‘believing in him’ but they “put their faith in him”. They recognized him as God and were willing
to live their lives trusting in that reality of Him.
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