Sermon on John 2:1-25 WATER INTO WINE
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Now in the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there (Jhn 2:1):
Cana of Galilee is about five or six miles from Nazareth. You're starting from Nazareth, you come over the top of the hill from Nazareth, and you sort of start down this valley that ultimately brings you out to the Sea of Galilee, and it's the path or the road that went from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. And Cana is just a little village there. "There was a marriage there in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there."
And Jesus was invited, and his disciples with him, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him, They've run out of wine. And Jesus said, What business is that of mine? My hour is not yet come (Jhn 2:2-4).
"Woman, what are you trying to do to me, you know? My hour is not yet come."
Now Mary knew more than she was saying. She had pondered all these things in her heart and now she began to realize the full impact of what was happening with this child that was born of the Holy Spirit.
And his mother said to the servants (Jhn 2:5),
Now, it's interesting, Jesus sort of ignored her in a sense. "Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour has not yet come." But Mary said to the servants,
Whatever he says for you to do, do it. And there were there about six waterpots of stone, that were the type that is used for the purifying, so each of them held two or three firkins apiece (Jhn 2:5-6).
And a firkin is about nine gallons, so eighteen to twenty-seven gallons apiece. So, they're good size water pots, the kind that you use for your cleansing ceremonies.
And Jesus said unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he said unto them, Now draw it out, and bear it to the governor of the feast. So, they took it to the governor of the feast. And when the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and he knew not its origin, from whence it was, (but the servants which drew the water, they knew,) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when everyone is pretty well drunk, then he brings out the worse: but you have kept the best wine until now. Now this is the beginning of miracles which Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. And after this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and the brothers, and his disciples; and they continued there not many days (Jhn 2:7-12).
So, the turning of water into wine, the beginning of the miracles of Jesus. And it is interesting to me that it was at a festive occasion, a marriage feast, and the first miracle, of course, of Christ is very interesting and, perhaps, significant to many.
And the Jews' passover was at hand , and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and he poured out the changers money, and overthrew the tables (Jhn 2:13-15);
I love it! There are those who try to picture Jesus as a rather effeminate person, you know, just the kind who wouldn't swat a fly. Just sort of weak and... Oh, but He was a man's man. He came in and when He saw what was going on in his Father's house and He was upset. And He took and made a whip and started cleaning things up, picking up the tables and dumping them over. And it's interesting, one fellow could do so much upsetting of that whole thing, and yet, they couldn't handle Him. I mean, they had to let Him go. Why? Because He was a man's man and they didn't dare to challenge Him.
He said unto them that sold the doves, Take these things out of here; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house has eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign do you show us, seeing that you're doing these things? And Jesus answered the Jews and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (Jhn 2:16-19).
Now, this is an accusation that was brought against Jesus at His trial. "He said that if we'd destroy the temple, He'd rebuild it in three days." Now, they didn't understand what He was talking about. He was talking about His body. But they thought that He was talking about this monstrous building that Herod had begun to construct for the Jews. Herod died before it was ever finished, but he had drawn the plans and had begun the construction of this tremendous temple with its huge stones. And at this point, when Jesus was about thirty years old, they had been working, building on it for some forty-six years. And it would take them another nineteen years to complete it. And there were huge stones, some of them weighing, according to Josephas, as much as one hundred and forty tons.
And so, Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I'll build it again in three days."
And they said to him, Forty-six years was this temple in building, and will you rebuild it in three days? But [John tells us] he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and he needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man (Jhn 2:20-25).
There were many that believed in Him, but Jesus did not commit Himself to them. He knew all men. He knew what was in man. He knew the fickleness of men. You didn't have to tell Jesus about people, He already knew. How many times do we tell Jesus all about ourselves? He already knows. He needs not that any should testify of man.
So, we move now into chapter 3, and you're going to have a couple of weeks, three weeks or so to study this one over, so you ought to really get it down tight. Chapters 3 and 4 when we come back to the gospel of John.
Shall we stand.
I know some of you want to know if it was real wine that Jesus made. Was it fermented wine or unfermented wine? I don't know. You want me to know things that I don't know. However, the governor spoke of the type of wine that they had to make a person drunk, and the general procedure was to serve your good stuff when everybody's taste buds are fresh and your minds are clear and when it starts getting foggy bring out your junk. They won't know what they are drinking by then. I don't know. I do know that the scriptures teaches that the wine is water and that strong drink is raging and that he who is deceived by it isn't wise. I do know that for an overseer in the church; they are not to be given to wine. A person who has been chosen for the office of the bishop or overseer in the church is not to be given to wine. So all I can do is answer for myself, and I do not and will not drink wine because of my position. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
I really love the freedom that I have in Christ, the freedom to do or even more important to me, the freedom not to do. I'm glad that I am not bound by something that you know is pulling me down and tearing me down and I can't get away from it. I'm glad that I'm not under the power of something like that. So it may be lawful to do if it can bring me under its power or bring me under its influence, which is a common term. He's under the influence, what does it mean? He's under the power of it.
Now all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of them. I don't want to be. I love my freedom. I like having a clear mind. I like having this freedom that I have. It is absolutely glorious to be so free in Christ Jesus.
So, as you well know I don't set rules for others. I only encourage you to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek it pre-eminently. Seek it diligently. Seek it with all your heart. Follow after the Lord. Don't be deterred by anything. May the God of peace, may the God of love keep your heart and mind steadfast in Jesus Christ that you might grow into that perfect, complete, mature child of God. That person that He wants you to be, conformed into the image of Jesus Christ, coming into the fullness of the stature of the measure of Jesus Christ.
God bless you, God keep you, and watch over you till we, by His grace, gather together again to learn to worship.
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