Sunset Road Baptist Church Sermon Notes: September 23, 2007 - Everyday Another Miracle: Changing Water Into Wine

Sunday, September 23, 2007

September 23, 2007 - Everyday Another Miracle: Changing Water Into Wine

Scripture Meditation: John 2:1-11

INTRODUCTION

Do you believe in miracles? I do.

I've seen too many of them to question their existence
To me once you accept that God exists- and that He created the Universe- you HAVE to believe in miracles

I mean if God can't perform a miracle
He isn't worthy of our praise or worship

Let's put it this way:

Why would someone think it was impossible for Jonah to have survived for three days in the belly of a fish?
Come on people!

We're talking about GOD!
He's the One who created Jonah AND the fish in the first place!

Of course miracles happen

God the Father caused them to happen in the Old Testament
And God's only begotten Son- Jesus the Christ- performed them in the New Testament

Which brings us to the sermon series we're beginning this morning

I'm calling it Everyday Another Miracle
During these messages we're going to examine many of the miracles Jesus performed while here on Earth

We're not only going to think about what happened
We're going to discover what it means- and how it fits into Jesus' mission and ministry

This morning we're going to begin with the first of Jesus' miracles-

Changing water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee
Please read John 2:1-2

THE MIRACLE: WHAT HAPPENED

For people in Bible times weddings were monumentally important things

According to ancient tradition the ceremony itself would always be held on a Wednesday
The reception would begin immediately after the ceremony- and it would go on for days

Two or three if the family was poor
And up to a week if the family was wealthy

I've got to admit that what I'm about to say is pure speculation-

But I think Jesus' mother Mary was related to the bride's family
I mean- it would explain why she was so concerned about the wine running out

Here's the thing: Having no wine for your wedding guests

Would've been more than a social faux pas
In those days a bride's family could be sued for running out of food and drink before the party ended

It was all part of a social contract that existed between the bride, her family and the wedding guests.

Essentially it went something like this:

Each guest was expected to bring an appropriate (meaning expensive) wedding gift
In turn- the bride and her family would provide all the food and drink their guests demanded

Now this is where it gets strange:

A couple had the right to sue a guest who failed to bring an appropriately expensive gift
Which meant a guest could sue the bride's family if they didn't get enough to eat and drink in return

That's why I think Mary was related to the bride's family

She knew that if the wine were gone
Her family could have been sued into bankruptcy

That sounds pretty disrespectful- don't you think? Dear woman, why do you involve me?

But that's not what's happening here

In the original Greek dear woman is a term of intimacy and endearment
It's kind of like calling someone 'sweetheart'

As for Jesus' question- why do you involve me?

It's not that harsh sounding in the Greek
Instead it's more like asking: Are you sure this is any of our business?

What's important here is the contrast between the concerns of Jesus and His mother

Mary was concerned about the lack of wine
While Jesus' focus was already on the reason He had come to Earth

Notice what He says: My time has not yet come

Throughout the Gospels whenever Jesus talks about my time or the hour
He's talking about the moment He would die on the Cross for the sin of the world

Please read Matthew 26:36-46
When Jesus told Mary my time has not yet come He was saying:

Mother- I've always been obedient to you. I've always tried to do what you've asked Me to do
But above all- I've got to obey my Father in heaven. I must submit to His plan for My life- no matter what it costs Me!

Now read verse 5
You know, sometimes it hard to know what to think about Mary

Some Christians exalt her to the point where she's virtually an object of worship
While others look at her as little more than a uterus God used to bring Jesus into the world

The Bible gives us another way to think about Mary: She was the witness

She was the only one who saw- and experienced- the whole thing
She was the one who:

Heard Gabriel announce that she would give birth to the Savior
Gave Jesus birth- who watched Him grow- and supported Him throughout His earthly ministry
Stood at the foot of the Cross and watched Jesus die- and then saw Him in His resurrected glory

More than anyone else Mary knew who Jesus was:

'Yes'- he was her Son
But more importantly-

She knew Jesus was the only begotten Son of God- the Christ- the Savior of the world
And she knew that God's Son could perform a miracle

That's why she confidently told the servants: "Do whatever he tells you."

These stone jars were at the reception for a purpose

Old Testament law required Jews to wash their hands before eating
Since modern plumbing wasn't around in those days- the stone jars were set out as wash basins

Now remember-

There were six of these jars holding between 20-30 gallons of water each
We're talking about nearly 150 gallons of water

You know- there's something missing here

In the 7th verse.../ In the 8th verse...

Jesus instructs the servants to put water into the jars
He says draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet

Do you see what's missing?

There's no explanation of what Jesus did to change the water into wine!
Which is very unusual

Typically when the Bible describes one of Jesus' miracles it tells us He did something first:

In some situations He prayed
Other times He took some kind of concrete action

Please read Mark 7:31-35
Here's the bottom line-

We don't know what Jesus did in John 2 to change the water into wine
All the Bible tells us is that the water became wine

LOld TestamentS of wine

About 150 gallons worth
That would fill about 4800 4 oz. glasses

Talk about taking a party to the next level
You can get a lot of people smashed with 150 gallons of wine

The master of the banquet was responsible for keeping the party going

He was like a master of ceremonies
Or a toastmaster

Anyway- let me paraphrase what he told the groom: "Most people bring out the best-tasting wine first- then when everyone's liquored-up- and nobody cares- they bring out the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best for last."
A wine-snob might have expressed it more eloquently

But there's no getting around what happened
Jesus had taken well water- and turned it into the finest vintage of wine you could imagine

THE MIRACLE: WHAT IT MEANS

It was a miracle- but what does it mean?

See- in the New Testament miracles don't just happen
Miracles always happen for a reason- they always reveal a deeper spiritual truth

Well read what John says in verse 11
By witnessing this miracle

Jesus' disciples concluded that He WAS the Messiah- the Christ- the Son of the Living God
The question is:

What was it about this miracle that caused them to reach this conclusion?
Well...to answer that question you have to go back to the Old Testament

In the Old Testament wine- and the consumption of wine- symbolizes the blessings and spiritual joys that comes from the Lord

In Genesis 27:27-28, Isaac blesses Jacob
Now- let's jump forward about a thousand years to the time the Jewish people were living in exile in the nation of Babylon.

These were people who are lost everything.
About the only thing that kept them going was the dream of returning to their homes in the Holy Land

During that time God sustained the hopes of His people. Through the prophets He told them

You'll only be in captivity for a short time.
Then I'll restore you and bring you back home. Once again I will be your God- and you will be my people

In these prophecies the harvest of new wine became a symbol of hope- a symbol of God's promise

At this point you might be thinking:

OK- I understand that wine was a symbol of hope and spiritual joy for the Jews.
But I still don't see why changing water into wine made the disciples believe that Jesus was the Messiah

Here's where we come to the most important prophecy of all- Isaiah 25:1; 6-9
What we just read is a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah- the Christ- the Son of the living God

And notice what it says: One of the things the Messiah will do is host a glorious feast that flows with wine
Not cheap wine- but the finest wine that can be imagined!

Now do you get it? Do you see what this miracle means?

By changing water into wine Jesus had fulfilled one of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah
No wonder the disciples concluded that He was the Christ- the Son of the Living God- the Savior of the world!

But there's one other thing I want you to notice about this miracle: It proves that Jesus is in the transformation business

In Cana He proved He could take ordinary water and transform it into a dark, rich, full-flavored wine
But more importantly- the Bible says Jesus can take a filthy sinner and transform them into a pure and righteous child of God!

Isaiah 1:18: says: 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'

CONCLUDING ILLUSTRATION

You probably don't know who Vincent Damon Furnier is-

But you may know his stage name- Alice Cooper
In the 1970's and 80's The Alice Cooper Group was one of the biggest names in rock

Essentially Vince Furnier invented what came to be known as 'shock rock'

The songs- and especially the stage shows- were designed to be loud, raunchy and over-the-top
In those days a typical Alice Cooper concert-

Featured lots of blood, gore, electric chairs, guillotines and Satanic imagery
Each show ended with a scene of Cooper being executed for witchcraft

As Alice Cooper's act took off- his life began to spiral out of the control

By the early 80's he and his bandmates were spending $32,000 a year- just on beer
As alcoholism took control of his life- his wife threatened to end their marriage

As it turns out- both Cooper and his wife had a strong Christian heritage

Cooper's father and grandfather had been ministers
His wife's father was a Southern Baptist preacher

Anyway- with no place else to turn Alice Cooper and his wife Sheryl started attending church

Eventually- Alice Cooper made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
In his own words:

At first I accepted Jesus because the preacher made me afraid I was going to hell
Only later did I begin to understand God's love and acceptance

The idea of someone like Alice Cooper becoming a Christian has been difficult for some people to grasp

His old fans wonder what it means
And some 'fundamentalist' Christians have questioned the sincerity of his faith

Today Alice Cooper and his wife are active members of the Camelback Bible Church in Scottsdale, Arizona

They're deeply involved in Sunday School and Bible study
And- as a fellow member of Camelback writes:

I got to meet him for the first time this past Sunday. I went to work in the church's nursery Sunday night while they were having a prayer service. Anyway, much to my surprise, he and his wife, Sheryl, were also working in the nursery. So, I had the privilege of walking in on him having a tea party with a little 3 year old (named) Anna.
Source- The Furnier Freakshow website

From the alcoholic godfather of shock rock to a man humbly serving the Lord by ministering in the church nursery...on a Sunday night!

Now THAT'S a testimony to the transforming power of Jesus Christ
...And they call changing water into wine a miracle

Let us pray

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