Download 01172016 John 2:1-11 “No More Wine? Invite Jesus!” Mt. Salem

01172016 John 2:1-11 “No More Wine? Invite Jesus!”
Mt. Salem UMC
The Gospel of John records seven miracles and Jesus’ resurrection. Today we read about the
first miracle. What do you think of today’s Scripture reading? Jesus turned water into wine! I
imagine some people saying, “Wow, Jesus made wine! Jesus promoted drinking! Let’s drink!”
Did Jesus really promote drinking wine through this miracle? This morning, we will consider
the meaning of this miracle of water being turned into wine.
In today’s Scripture, we see Jesus at a wedding banquet in Cana. Cana was a town about nine
miles north of Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. Jesus and His disciples were invited to the
wedding. We can assume that Jesus, and perhaps a few of the disciples knew the bride and
groom who were getting married. Also, we can assume that Mary could’ve been the hostess of
the banquet since she was the one who knew about the lack of wine.
A Jewish wedding celebration could last as long as a week. For this week-long celebration, wine
was essential, because wine, in that culture, represented life and abundance and symbolized the
life of the party and the expectation of a good life to come for the newlyweds. No wedding
would be complete without wine. The groom was responsible for providing adequate supplies.
If something ran out before the party was over, it simply meant that he hadn’t planned well and
hadn’t provided for all of his guests, so, to run out of wine would cause public embarrassment
for the groom and his family.
When they ran out of wine, Mary, the mother of Jesus told him about the embarrassing situation:
No more wine. We are not sure whether or not Mary had known by this time that her son Jesus
was special and therefore he could perform miracles as we read in John 2:1-11. We are not sure
what exactly was going on. Yet, we hear Jesus’ answer: “My hour has not yet come” (v.4); and
Mary’s advice to the servants: “Do whatever Jesus tells” (v.5). We know mothers are always
proud of their children, and no one can stop them from being proud. Nobody, even Jesus, could
deny a mom’s plea.
Then, Jesus noticed there were empty water jars: six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews
for ceremonial washing of hands as part of the Jewish purification rites before and after meals
(v.6-8). Jesus ordered the servants to fill the empty jars with water: fill them to the brim, and
draw some out, and take it to the master of the banquet. As we read this morning, the water was
turned into wine. Water was no longer water, but the best choice of wine.
In today’s Scripture, Jesus changed six jars filled with water into wine. That means Jesus
provided as much as 180 gallons of wine. No wedding party on earth could drink one hundred
and eighty gallons of wine, especially after when the guests had already begun to drink. We
need to realize the meaning of “so much wine” from today’s perspective. When the grace of
Jesus comes to us, when we ask God to mold and change us, there is enough and more to spare
for all. In Christ we are promised abundant life.
The abundant supply of wine is a picture of the salvation Jesus came to offer. “The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John
10:10). John is telling us that in Jesus, grace is unlimited, sufficient, and more than enough for
every need. In the Old Testament, an abundance of good wine is a symbol, a sign of the joyous
arrival of God's new age: “Jesus is the bringer of God’s overflowing grace and end-time
salvation which the prophets depicted as a wedding feast and time of abundant wine” (e.g., Isaiah
25:6; 62:4-5). In Jesus, God’s future salvation and abundant life (10:10) are present; indeed,
wine symbolizes the very presence of God (Joel 3:17-18; Isaiah 25:6).”i Jesus’ life giving grace
never runs out, it is more than enough. God’s grace is always abundant!
Only when we invite Jesus into our lives is the taste of abundant life ours.
The reason John recorded this miracle has nothing to do with a slogan “Let’s drink, Jesus
promotes.” Rather, John invites us to see the true identity of Jesus Christ through this miracle,
and to believe in Him so that we may have abundant lives. In verse 11, John clearly mentions
that this miracle is the foreshadowing of Jesus’ glory. John is trying to point out the truth that
Jesus is the Son of God, who has power over nature. In 20:30-31, John writes the reason of his
record of Jesus’ miracles: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that in believing you may have life in His name.” John describes the miracle as
a sign through which we can see who Jesus truly is.
Understanding the meaning of this sign or miracle is closely related to who Jesus is. We need to
consider why Jesus used the ceremonial water jars, which the Jewish people used obsessively for
their cleansing. In verses 6-10, the transformation of vessels for purification means that Jesus
brings true purity, not by the physical washing of hands before and after a meal, but by the true
washing of our sins from Jesus. In about three years, Jesus would tell His disciples that wine
would symbolize His blood. At the “Last Supper” Jesus would hold up a cup of wine and He’d
say, “Drink from [this cup of wine], all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant” (Mt.
26:28; Mk. 14:24). We drink the cup of (unfermented) wine at Holy Communion in
remembrance of His life shed for us by His blood. In John 4:10, Jesus says “If you knew the gift
of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he
would have given you living water.” And in John 7:37-38 we can read “On the last day of the
festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let any one who is thirsty
come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.” Likewise, throughout the Gospel of John,
the issue of drinking continues. Today’s reading is the foreshadowing of the gift of living water,
the Spirit (4:10-14; 7:37-40), Jesus Christ Himself.
So how can we see Jesus’ glory beyond the wine-making miracle, and experience the true
identity of Jesus as Christ, the Son of God?
Years ago when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show he interviewed an eight yearold boy. The young boy was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coalmine
outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned the boy, it became apparent to
him and the audience that the boy was a Christian. So Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday
school. When the boy said he did Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday school?"
"Last week," came his reply, "our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned
water into wine." The audience roared, but Johnny tried to keep a straight face. Then he said,
"And what did you learn from that story?" The boy squirmed in his chair. It was apparent he
hadn't thought about this. But then he lifted up his face and said, "If you're going to have a
wedding, make sure you invite Jesus!" Good advice, no matter what the occasion!ii
As the 8 year-old boy learned from his Sunday school, we need to invite Jesus to our wedding
banquet, our ordinary life celebration, our daily lives.
Jesus is involved in our ordinary lives. His presence can be experienced in our ordinary daily
lives. Yet, in order to experience Jesus’ action in our lives, we need to recognize our need.
What is your “no more wine” situation? As wine symbolizes the joy and happiness of a banquet,
realize what is lacking in your life. What causes you to be sad, broken, angry, or hopeless?
What is the cause of a joy-less, thank-less life? Our Lord’s filling and healing begins when we
recognize our problem and tell Jesus about it. Just as Mary told Jesus about the embarrassing
situation, let us confess our situation to the Lord.
Perhaps in our lives we look only for the “God-sized problems” for which we request divine
assistance. In today’s story, without hesitation, Mary requests help for a “human-sized
problem.” Jesus’ willingness to engage and help seems to indicate that He will meet us at our
point of need, even if it is a need that does not necessarily require a Savior to assist us. When we
confess Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, He doesn’t remain a far-away heavenly concept;
rather He becomes our friend, counselor, and guide in every moment of our daily lives. Invite
Jesus into your life as you wake up: maybe you can say, “Good morning, Jesus! Come into my
life today and reign over my heart.” Then, you may experience, in Jesus, water transforming into
wine.
Today’s sermon title is “No more wine? Invite Jesus!” I would like us to ask ourselves where we
see the lack of joy, lack of life, lack of God’s abundance. And bring it to Jesus, ask for the Holy
Spirit’s transforming power. We sometimes intentionally or accidentally limit Jesus’ ability.
Even as we confess that we trust in Jesus, we do not allow Him in our everyday lives. We think
“Oh, that’s too small to bring to Jesus” or “Oh, that’s too big even for God.” Where does Jesus
stay in your life? In too many cases, Jesus is left standing outside of our daily lives; he is
looking forward to us asking Him, and waits patiently for our invitation. He wants to be invited
into our daily lives, not only at home but also in our church life. How often do you talk to Him?
If we still haven’t invited Jesus into our entire lives, let us invite Him now. We need to open up
our all to God. We need to stop holding back and give God access to everything! Let us share
with Jesus the smallest details; we don’t have to exclude Jesus from any area of our lives.
Let us invite Jesus into our lives, into our church. We might hear Jesus telling us to fill the
empty places in our lives with His water. I’m sure each of us has a different jar to be filled with
Jesus’ command. Whatever that empty place may be, it can be used to experience Jesus’
miraculous presence and action in our lives, but only if we fill the jars; only if we do as Jesus
tells us. The servants’ faithful obedience in filling the jars with water was necessary for the
transformation of water into wine. He will transform your old life into new life like water to
wine, and you will enjoy abundant life. He will change our church life from water into wine,
when we obey His command to fill our jars with water.
Before tasting the new wine, we are to fill the empty jars according to Jesus’ command. In order
to experience in our church the taste of wine that Jesus turned from water, I would like to invite
all of us to have a table talk about our needy condition during our fellowship hour. What could
be Mt. Salem’s lack of wine condition? Until we taste the wine turned from water, I would like
us to continue this exploration and discussion after the service. It should not be a talk to talk, but
a talk to pray. Then, I am certain that we will experience Jesus’ intervention.
Just as the wine Jesus made was the best and more than enough, so life in Him is better than life
on our own. Wherever Jesus went and whenever He came into someone’s life, it was like water
turning into wine: despair turning into hope, sadness turning into joy, sickness turning into health,
and above all, death turning into life and salvation. In today’s Scripture, John tells us: If we
want new exhilaration, invite Jesus into our lives, become His follower, and there will come a
change in our lives like water into wine. Don’t you want to taste this abundant grace of God—
life-giving transformation— each day? Don’t you want to witness such a transformation in our
church, Mt. Salem? I hope and pray that we will want more and more of God’s transforming
power in our lives and in this church, so that we may live joyfully and wonderfully according to
God’s will.
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The Wesley Study Bible, John 2:1-11.
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