GRIPPED BY THE GLORY OF GOD
John
2:1-12
The
Bible is full of accounts that teach and edify us,
in
our day-to-day routine.
What’s
beautiful, is that though we benefit from the precious pages of the Scripture;
they ultimately are displaying,
and speaking, about the glory that belongs to God alone.
FOR EXAMPLE:
The
Creation Account in Genesis
The
Deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt
The
Glimpse of God's glory that Moses requested
The
Conquest of the Israelites over larger nations to receive the Promise Land by
Joshua
The
Contest on Mt Carmel between Elijah and the false prophets of Baal
The
Promise of a Savior by Isaiah
The
Visions of the Future by Ezekiel
The
Protection of Daniel in the Lion’s Den
The
Promise of Restoration of Israel by Zechariah
The
Birth of The Christ as we enter the New Testament
Luke penned, “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in
swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke
2:10-14
All
of Scripture points to
the
Glory of God
“Glory” by definition is all that God is, in all of His Character, Deity, in all of His Person, in all of His Attributes. As Paul wrote, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him,” Eph 1:17. The Bible describes "the Father of glory" as the source from whom all Divine splendor and perfection proceed in their manifestation, and to whom they belong. Martin Llyod Jones said this about Paul’s prayer, “Paul, in just one verse, notes in his prayer that he is praying to the God with whom he has a covenant relationship. The God of the incarnate Son. Not an unknown god, but the God revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ. This God is the source of all glory. He is the glorious One, who gives glory, not only to the Son, but to His people. When one remembers who they are praying to before they begin, they will, indeed, find little trouble engaging in the greatest activity any human being can do: speak to God.”
Basically "Glory”
means “All That God Is"
THE SCRIPTURES REVEALS HIS GLORY IS EXHIBITED IN:
His
Name (Deut 28:58)
Him
Majesty (Job 37:22)
His
Power (Ex 15:1)
His
Works (Ps 113:3)
His
Holiness (Ex 15:11)
THE SCRIPTURES REVEAL HIS GLORY IS DESCRIBED AS
Great (Ps 138:5)
Eternal (Ps 104:31)
Highly
Exalted (Ps 8:1)
This glory is manifested in creation. All of mankind gets to see the glory of God through His creation. ”The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” Psalm 19:1-2. This is why Paul wrote that all of mankind has no excuse to say they never saw the glory of God. “For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Rom 1:20
Now
we come to a section of Scripture that displays
the
wondrous power and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ
This is the first of 7 miracles that John records in His gospel letter. And we need to stop and understand that only God can create something from nothing! Create something ordinary as water and make it extraordinary into wine. SO I ASK THE QUESTION! Why did Jesus do these miracles? We find the answer to this question in (v11). “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. Jesus wanted to make evident His Glory to a fallen and broken world, but especially for His disciples to behold the glory of God in Christ. Jesus did this to reveal and authorize His Deity, that He was sent from the Father.
This
is important for us to understand as
New Testament believers.
Why? Because many people even today claim to be Jesus, or can perform many miracles as Jesus did. Jesus warned His followers to be very careful of this in the future. “As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matt 24:3-12
John identifies this miracle a sign or token which distinguishes a person or a thing from others. (v11) What John is telling us is that Jesus did miracles not for their own sake; but to point the observer, and the reader, beyond them to something that was significant. What? These miracles pointed to Himself as the One, the full revelation of God; the miracles represented God’s certification that Jesus was sent from Him. This miracle and the ones to follow, pointed not only to His person, but to His work of bringing in the kingdom of God. And the first recorded miracle took place at a wedding of things. It seems almost disrespectful that the first miracle involved the transformation of water into wine for thirsty wedding guests. But its not disrespectful as we will see; and understand as we continue through John’s gospel, we will see that each of the 7 miracles were very different!
No two were alike!
LET’S GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THIS EVENT AT THE
WEDDING SUPPER
Jesus was invited to a wedding in Cana, which most historians say was about 5km from Nazareth. This celebration was considered to be the grandest event, especially among the poor. Typically, Hebrew wedding ceremonies took place late in the evening following a feast fit for a King and Queen. It was customary for a wedding feast to last as long as a week. So, this celebration probably was a large and lengthy event. But something was about to go south for this family and the newly married couple. Mary sought out Jesus and said “they have no more wine” (v3) In Jewish wedding feasts wine was essential, not so guests could drink to get drunk, but because it was a symbol of exhalation and celebration [a symbol of joy]. To not have enough wine was a massive embarrassment for the groom, and his guests. What’s even worse, there is evidence that in the ancient Jewish world, if provisions such as this failed, the groom could face a lawsuit. This is how serious the Jews took hospitality; so to say “They have no more wine” was truly a scandalous moment. Mary, approaches Jesus, whether she expected Jesus to perform a miracle is not clear, since He has not performed one yet.
But Mary knew something the rest didn’t….. His birth and the amazing things said to her by the angel Gabriel, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna. Her witness to Jesus’ sinless life and His perfection as He “kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” Luke 2:52 This event, or soon to be disaster, provided the perfect setting for the Lord’s first miracle. John's gospel teaches us a couple of important truth about our Lord Jesus Christ as He does something Divine at this wedding.
Jesus’s
power over the elements
Jesus’s
confirmation of His Deity
JESUS PERFORMED THIS MIRACLE IN ORDER TO MANIFEST "REVEAL" HIS DIVINE GLORY TO A FALLEN AND BROKEN WORLD.
What do I mean by fallen and broken?
We
are universally lost
We
are spiritually ignorant
We
are naturally rebellious
We
are morally corrupted
We
are dead in our sins and trespasses
We
are totally depraved
We
are wicked at heart
There is not one single person who has ever lived that is righteous, apart from the sinless Lord Jesus! NO ONE! “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Rom 3:10-18 And in V23 of the same chapter Paul says, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
What Paul is saying when he uses the word “distinction” is that there is no distinction in regard to the way in which they must be justified/saved. All must be saved, if saved at all, in the same mode, whether Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, rich or poor, learned or ignorant. None can be saved by any human works; therefore, our salvation completely depends on the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. This puts us all in a terrible place because our unrighteousness is preparing us for eternal punishment. This is why Christ came so that we could escape the great judgement and live through Him and the gospel. “For He made Him (meaning Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor 5:21
The world is totally wicked and depraved and very much lost and in desperate need of Him! Mary immediately went to the right person who could do something about this problem (v3). Only Jesus can bring something from nothing! (v6) Jesus instructs the men to fill up the purification pots, these pots were used in celebrations like this. Why? Every person had to go through a purification rite before they could enter. This meant washing your hands and feet when arriving for the wedding feast. Again, this miracle displays His Power over the elements, proving His Deity, this miracle displayed and spoke of His Glory. (v7-v10)
The amazing thing is that only a few realized what he just done (v9) I can only imagine the look on the faces of these men who did what Jesus instructed them to do. It is estimated that He produced over 180 gallons of wine; yes wine.
“Wine” in the Greek means oinos, which means "fermented wine." This word “oinos” is used more than 230 times in the scriptures. Unfortunately, some Christians struggle with this miracle, or the word used “Oinos.” Some get confused or try to say, “it wasn’t wine but grape juice” they do this because they get hung up on the idea that Jesus is promoting alcoholic beverages. But, on the contrary, Jesus is displaying the best for last! (v10) Not only did Jesus condone the proper use of wine, but He knew what the qualities of a good wine were. This is confirmed in Luke 5:39, "And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"
Here is the disclaimer for the Christian church! The bible nowhere claims that drinking alcoholic beverages is a sin. I know this may shock some of you, but you will not find anywhere in Scripture that speak of abstinence…. except in the life of a Levite, or a Nazirite vow. But! You will read passages after passages that warn us about to much consumption…….
Prov 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise”
Eph 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery [in excess or rioting], but be filled with the Spirit,”
1 Cor 6:9-10 “….do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves,
nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God.”
Titus 2:3 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in
behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is
good,”
1 Tim 3:1-3 “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to
the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be
above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled,
respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle,
not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
Drinking excessively leads to major health issues that can lead to death, but spiritually it only produces heart ache, sin of drunkenness, and sorrow for the soul. This miracle is not one of those occasions, it was to be used for right reasons. Remember what Paul said to Timothy. “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” 1 Tim 5:23 The Jews saw wine as a gift from God. “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart.”
Psalm 104:14-15
Don’t miss this! This miracle demonstrates
that the true Bridegroom has come,
and the use of the wine was symbolic of that celebration. The master of the celebration gives evidence of this without knowing, “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.” (v10) John Calvin noted, “Wine was an important element of the Israelites’ Passover feast, but at the Last Supper, Jesus gave the wine a new significance. He made it a symbol of His own life-giving blood. Thus, the redemption of Christ was a foreshadowed in the very first miracle performed.” This miracle points to Christ, and wine in its proper place is to be received with thanksgiving as Paul wrote, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,” 1 Tim 4:4
Noah planted a vineyard. Gen 9:20 Again, Jesus isn’t promoting or endorsing the LCBO and Coors light commercials. This saddens me personally, because we lose focus and miss the blessing of this miracle, over our humanism, legalism, and bad hermeneutic to the text that is before us. Instead, what we should be doing as good stewards of the Word of God, is to allow the text of Scripture to speak for itself. He did all of this to show His supernatural, one-of-a-kind power; something that can only be done by God Himself.
The
second reason for this miracle was in order that
His
disciples might believe.
JESUS PERFORMED
THIS MIRACLE TO OPEN THE EYES OF HIS DISCIPLES. (v11)
John writes, “Jesus manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” The disciples believed in their hearts by putting their faith to action as to what Jesus did. This is a divine schedule decree by God, before the foundations of the world. Jesus did this glorious and supernatural act of water into wine, so that the faith of these men might grow and believe and never doubt the claims of whom Jesus, was, and is.
Do
you know that God does this to us today,
by
the work of the Holy Spirit!
How? Through His revealed Word, the Scriptures. God supernaturally reaches sinners though His perfect revelation of His Son throughout the whole Bible. God desires that we never doubt, but believe, by reading and mediating on His precious Word. Remember Thomas when he doubted his friends about Jesus’ resurrection…a man who witnessed these miracles and also more than what the bible records. “And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:26-31
See John wrote “this was the first of His signs” (v11) When John uses the word “sign” he always uses it with the idea of a miracle that conveys deeper teaching. The miracle served to authenticate Christ, as to who He claimed to be, and to display to His disciples a foretaste of what's in store in the future for them. Why? This miracle points us to Christ and joy He produces in a world that is lost and wicked, and in a desperate need of His redeeming grace.
How
do we believe?
By believing who He claimed to be as He did with the
disciples. As Paul wrote, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in
your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER
BELIEVES ON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME." For there is no distinction
between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon
Him. For "WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED." Rom
10:9-13
(v11) indicates "....
And His disciples believed in Him"
This first miracle reveals……
The Problem: We are out of wine; the world is dead in trespasses
and sins.
The Solution: The Miracle of the wine is power over the elements,
to display His glory to a fallen and broken world.
The Result: The conformation of His Deity and strengthening of
His disciple’s faith in Him.
This miracle speaks volumes of truth into the heart
of the believer today.
At
the last supper, the wine represents the blood of Jesus that cleanses us
inside.
The
simplicity of this miracle mirrors the simplicity of grace found in Jesus.
It’s
written “on the third day a wedding” and Jesus rose from the dead on the third
day.
Jesus
was told “you have saved the best till now” the new covenant is a better
covenant based on better promises.
What John is trying to tell us this morning is that, “a life without Christ is like a wedding without wine. Its disastrous, it produces loneliness, and devastating, because true joy only comes from God and His redeeming and sanctifying work found in the Son of God. Why did Jesus perform this miracle? To manifest "reveal" His Glory to a fallen and broken world, so that men might believe in His Name though the gospel. He has revealed Himself through this miracle, so that His disciples would “believe” When Jesus turns water into wine, He provides a wondrous sign that foreshadows His later public miracles and reveals His glory as the world’s Savior. And for us today, Jesus has given His written word, to shine a light into our dark and depraved hearts….by revealing the miracle of salvation. “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor 4:6
See this was just the beginning of what the disciples were in for, this goes the same for us if you are His son or daughter today. Turning water into wine is a foreshadow of things to come in Christ and joy we have in His redeeming grace that leads to eternity. It's easy to imagine how delicious wine made by Jesus himself would taste, because we know what the gospel tastes like for the forgiveness of our sins. “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8
Those
who take refuge in the Lamb of God who came to
die for the sin of this world.
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