I’m sure our family is like yours in that we are always running out of one thing or another—and the thing we run out of most is this: MILK. This is especially true in the summer when the girls are home. I mean, from June to August Sue and I never worry about expiration dates on milk jugs because we know if we have milk, it will get drunk long before it spoils. And making sure we have milk is okay—we love having our daughters around. A jug of milk is a small price to pay for that joy. Besides—we want them to have strong bones. Our problem is—we usually run out of milk at the most inopportune times and again I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Here’s some scenarios that you may be familiar with.
- You pour yourself a bowl of Cherrios and put blueberries on it and sprinkle on a little sugar. Then you open the fridge to get the milk and realize there is none! What do you do? Where do you turn when the milk runs out?
- Or—you come home at the end of a hard day of work and when you open the door that wonderful aroma of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies fills your nostrils.
- You follow your nose to the kitchen and grab two or three warm cookies but of course to really enjoy fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies you need a tall glass of ice-cold milk—so you open the door to the fridge only to find that someone has drunk the last drop. Do you know that feeling of disappointment? I mean chocolate chip cookies just aren’t as good with water or juice. You need milk but you’ve run out. What do you do? Where do you go—WHEN YOUR MILK RUNS OUT?
Now—a few years ago I knew exactly where to go when this happened. Back then I didn’t have to drive all the way to GIANT or SAFEWAY…because there was a great little drive-in store right next to the EXXON station on the corner. As you can see, it’s closed now but when it was open, we could be there in five minutes and get a gallon of milk pretty much any time day or night. We could even go get it in our PJ’s if we wanted—not that I ever did that—but we could—because after all it was a drive through. We didn’t have to get out of the car! And—milk wasn’t the only thing they stocked in that drive-through convenient store. If you ran out of bread or toilet paper, you could go there knowing they’d have it. They even had donuts and soft-serve ice cream—which meant you could have something to enjoy on the way back from your milk run. I mean, this was a great place to go when you RAN OUT of one of the “necessaries” of life.
I bring all this up because as we continue our study of John’s Gospel we come to his account of a wedding in Israel—a wedding in which they ran out of something important back then, not of MILK—no, they ran out of WINE and wine was definitely a “necessary” in that day. In fact, here was an old rabbinic saying back then that went like this, “Without wine there is no joy.” And this was especially true when it came to first century Jewish weddings. Wine was part of the joy of that kind of celebration.
Well, as I said John tells us of a wedding when they ran out of wine and the people didn’t know what to do—but Jesus’ mother, Mary, did. Take your Bibles and turn to John 2 and follow along as I read verses 1-11.
1 – On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,
2 – and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
3 – When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”
4 – “Woman, why do you involve Me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.”
5 – His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
6 – Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 – Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water;” so they filled them to the brim.
8 – Then He told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,
9 – and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. 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.”
11 – This, the first of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him.
Now—before we go any further let’s do what we should always do when we study the Bible—let’s back up and get a good grasp of the SETTING—the CONTEXT of this story. Verse 1 says that this wedding and the events surrounding it happened in CANA of Galilee—a village that was very near to Nazareth. St. Jerome, who stayed in Palestine, wrote that he could see Cana from Nazareth—so it couldn’t have been more than a couple of miles away, which means the people of Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, and the people of Cana were neighbors. They knew each other. Think of Derwood and Rockville and you get the idea.
Well, Jesus’ mother had a very important role in it the wedding festivities. She was apparently in charge of the arrangements—as sort of a wedding director or hostess, kind of like the work our own SANDY WEHUNT does with weddings here at Redland. I say this because in his account John says she was personally concerned when the wine ran out and also had the authority to order the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do.
By the way, tradition says that Mary was the sister of the bride-groom’s mother. Some legends even go so far as to say that the bridegroom was John himself, and that his mother was Salome, the sister of Mary—but this is just legend—the text doesn’t give us these specifics. In any case, the fact that this story is told in such vivid detail show that clearly it was an eye-witness account, so even if he wasn’t the groom, John was definitely there.
I also want you to note that in the story Mary is mentioned but not JOSEPH. This is probably because by this time he had already died. Most scholars say that Joseph died very soon in Jesus’ life…sometime shortly after His 12th birthday. They also say this is why Jesus spend all those years in Nazareth. He was using his carpentry skills to support His mother and His younger half-brothers and half-sisters…until they were old enough to take over that task.
Now, a wedding in Jesus’ day was a VERY big deal. The whole town was involved. In fact, in Palestine, the wedding festivities lasted for far more than one day. It went on for an entire week! The ceremony itself took place late one evening—after a feast. Then the young couple were conducted to their new home. By that time it would be dark and so they were conducted through the village streets with the light of flaming torches and with a canopy over their heads. They were taken to their home by as long a ROAD as possible so that as many PEOPLE as possible would have the opportunity to wish them well. And—there was no going AWAY for a honeymoon back then. Instead the newlyweds stayed at home that next week and hosted sort of a seven day party/open house. During this week both bride and groom were treated like a king and queen. They wore crowns and dressed in their bridal robes. They were even addressed as royalty and their word was considered law.
I think the reason we see this kind of “party extreme” is the fact that in those days there was so much poverty and hard work so little time for fun, that this week of festivity and joy was one of the high times in life. Everyone looked forward to it—so it was indeed a big deal.
I hope this gives you a better picture of what was going on in this text. Jesus was attending one of these week-long wedding celebrations. But in the midst of their joy something went wrong. Just three days into their celebration, they ran out of wine…and I think the Scripture gives us a hint as to WHY. You see, the phrase in verse 2, “had also been invited” is in the third person singular—which would mean Jesus—HE—was invited but not—THEY—not Jesus’ disciples: Andrew, Peter, John, Philip, and Nathaniel. James and others of the twelve may have come as well. So maybe the supply of wine ran out because of these six or more “unplanned for” guests.
We must also realize that for a Jewish feast, wine was indeed an essential. Don’t misunderstand. It was not that people were drunk—because in their culture drunkenness was a great disgrace.
Proverbs 23:20 says,“Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” Proverbs 20:1 says,“Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” So—over-indulging in alcohol was—AND STILL IS—a sin. Plus—commentators tell us that back then people actually drank their wine as a mixture composed of two parts wine to three parts water so to over-indulge you really had to work at it.
In any case, wine was an essential and for the hosts to run out was a very embarrassing thing. You see, hospitality in the east was a sacred duty and for things to literally run dry would have brought terrible shame to the bride and her groom. In fact, the host could have been sued for this breach of hospitality. So—this was a big deal. But, as I said, Mary knew what to do when the wine ran out. She came to Jesus and told Him what had happened. And you know, I think Mary did this because she detected a change in Jesus’ life since His departure from Nazareth. Remember, since He left home, He’d been through the wilderness temptation. He’d been baptized by John and God’s voice had spoken from Heaven. Mary would have known all this. Plus, she could not have failed to notice that He had returned with at least five disciples. Perhaps she was thinking, “Now is the time. Now He will declare Himself openly.” So with this in mind, she went to Him and said, “They have no more wine.”
Now, some translations make it seem that Jesus was very discourteous to His mother in His reply. Your version may have Jesus saying, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” Just curious. How many of you women would be insulted if your son called you“woman?” “Woman—when will supper be ready?” “Woman, did you iron my pants?” Don’t try this at home kids! Well in Jesus’ day, the word “woman” did not carry this kind of disrespectful, derogatory meaning. Back then “woman” was a term of endearment and respect. To show you what I mean, it is the same word Jesus used as He hung dying on the cross and looked down and said “WOMAN, behold your son,” leaving His mom in John’s care. In Homer this same word for “woman” is the title by which Odysseus addressed Penelope, his beloved wife. It is the word Caesar Augustus used to address Cleopatra. I’m saying that back then, far from being rough and discourteous, the term “woman” was a title of affection and respect. Think of it as a knight addressing a queen and saying, “my lady” and you get the idea.
But that’s not the only phrase we have to bring up to date because the words, “What have I to do with thee?” —well, they sound kind of disrespectful as well—but again, back then they weren’t. This was a common conversational phrase. When it was used angrily it could indicate disagreement and reproach but when spoken gently—as I am sure was the case here—it indicated only misunderstanding. It was sort of like Jesus was saying, “Don’t worry, mom. You don’t quite understand what is going on; leave things to Me, and I will settle them in My own way.” In short, when Jesus said this to Mary, He was simply telling her He knew what to do, and that He would deal with the situation.
And if you doubt my TRANSLATION, then look at Mary’s RESPONSE, because it showed that she didn’t appear to feel slighted or disrespected. She replied in a way that said she had confidence in Him because she left the matter in His hands and went back to her hostess duties.
After Mary left, Jesus instructed the servants to take six stone water jars and fill them with water—no small task because each jar held 20-30 gallons. Verse 6 says these jars of water were used for PURIFYING ceremonies. Specifically the water was used to cleanse the feet of people as soon as they entered the house. Remember? the roads were not paved and—depending on the weather—were just mud or dust. So, you needed a good supply of water on hand—especially when you were having a week full of wedding guests. A second purpose for this water was to wash hands. Strict Jews washed their hands before a meal and between each course. There was no running water of course so you needed jars like this on hand.
Now—I have heard people try to explain away this miracle by saying that these were wine jars that had been emptied and that there was some concentrated wine in the bottom. They say that when filled with water it made “wine” but verse 6 shows that this was not true. These were WATER jars used for holding WATER—period. I also want you to note that Jesus commanded the jars to be filled to the BRIM. John includes this detail to make it clear that nothing else but water was put in them. No wine was ADDED. Well, in verse 8 Jesus commanded, “Draw some and TAKE IT TO THE MASTER of the banquet.” This was the “head waiter”— the guy who was responsible for the seating of the guests and the correct running of the feast. When he tasted it he said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink—after their taste buds are dulled—and they won’t know the difference, but you have saved the best till now…” …meaning Jesus turned those 180 gallons of water into wine—the BESTS wine. What a wedding gift!
And, as an aside I have to stop here and point out that the Gospel record shows that Jesus was perfectly at home in a place of rejoicing like this. He would have ENJOYED a wedding.
Now—I know a lot about weddings because I’ve been to a million of them—and as an “expert” of this kind of event I have noted that there’s a special moment at the reception when all the tension of preparing and decorating and planning is finally over. The nervousness that the bride and groom had about the ceremony is past. They got through their vows without mumbling and no one tripped while walking down the aisle. There is no more china to pick out—no more invitations to lick—no more dilemmas of who to sit next to Aunt Myrtle. All the WORK and STRESS of the wedding is past. And there’s this moment when all this tension is finally gone and everyone relaxes and starts to actually enjoy the reception. They begin to have fun being together. They start to truly celebrate the love that drew two families together.
Now—as a frequent observer of all this—I would say that this moment I’m referring to usually happens when the DJ gets everyone out on the dance floor doing a line dance or something—one of those “timeless” dances that gets ALL AGES out there—children, parents, grandparents, everyone—everyone but me…because I’m not a dancer. I not even coordinated enough to handle most of the VBS song motions! Now, in a slow dance I can hold on to Sue and just fake it but that’s about it so I don’t participate in this part of the reception. I just sit back and watch. But you know what? I think JESUS would do more than watch! I think He would be out there on the floor rejoicing with the bride and groom. He’d be line-dancing with the best of them! He’d enjoy the food and the fellowship—the “golden joy” of special wedding moments like that. And—my belief isn’t just based on my opinion because the Bible tells us that Jesus was anything BUT a cosmic killjoy. No—He was on the other extreme of solemn John the Baptist! Jesus was—and still is—pro joy!
And this is important for us to understand because there are certain “religious people” who claim to be Christians and shed gloom wherever they go. They are suspicious of joy and happiness. Well, this incident shows that holier-than-thou grumblers and complainers like this are not true Christ-followers because Jesus was not like that. No—He was a lover of JOY and if we truly follow Him—imitate Him—we will be the same. In fact, maybe I’ll take some dance lessons!
Then at weddings, I’d be able to join in more—rejoice more—which is what Jesus would have done—and rejoicing is what we do if we want to be like our Lord!
Philippians 2:14-16 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God…” In other words we are most like our Heavenly Father when we refuse to grumble and complain. We are to do EVERYTHING without this kind of negativism. Some people like the British novelist J. B. Priestly (by his own admission) spread negative germs by their bad attitudes and acrid tongues. Here’s his picture. Look at it as I read something he once wrote: “I have always been a grumbler. I am designed for the part—sagging face, weighty underlip, rumbling, resonant voice. Money couldn’t buy a better grumbling outfit.” Have you ever been around someone like that? Have you ever been around a Christian like that? Do you ever find yourself ACTING like that—you know—competing to find fault in anything and everything—as if that made you wiser or more holy than anyone else in the room?
I bring this up because I’m a pastor who loves his church and doesn’t want to see it hurt and the fact is people who practice negativism don’t just hurt themselves. Their attitudes rub off on others. They hurt churches! Complainers and grumblers are what makes committee meetings and business meetings such a chore. Their presence DRAINS you like cold does a battery. Listen! As Christians we have soooo much to be JOYFUL about. We have no business grumbling! It is ridiculous to let negativism take control. It’s UN-Christian to make it your goal to complain.
This story from John 2 shows that Jesus was a person Who loved JOY—and if we really are His disciples—if we really do pattern our lives after His, then we will also! In John 15:11 Jesus said,“I have told you this so that My JOY may be in you and that your JOY may be complete.” And—when Jesus was born the angels said, “We come with tidings of GREAT JOY which shall be to all people.” Jesus brings joy and we see this by the fact that He did His first miracle in a joyful setting.
I think one reason the Holy Spirit prompted John to include this story is so that everyone can know that the spirituality Jesus taught was not drab and lifeless. This story is included it to make sure we know that Jesus believed in marriage. He believed in festivity. He enjoyed a good party.
And, by the way, this would later be a criticism made against Him by the Pharisees…that He had too much fun. In Matthew 11:19 He said, “And I, the Son of Man, feast and drink, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and drunkard, and a friend of the worst sort of sinners!’” So—we mustn’t be like the Pharisees—we must REJOICE because we have so much to rejoice about! Okay—that’s enough CONTEXT. With all this in mind I want us to consider a very important question: Where do WE go when the “wine” runs out? And of course I’m speaking symbolically. What I’m asking is, where do we go when we have a need we can’t meet on our own—a problem we can’t face by ourselves? You see, I believe this story underscores the fact that in these times we must go to Jesus…and this morning I want to emphasize that truth by answering this question: WHY? Why do we go to Jesus when “the wine runs out?”
(1) First, we go to Jesus because we know He CAN—do BIG things.
When you and I face the impossible challenges of life we go to Jesus because we know He is able to help. We know Jesus can do the impossible. As His disciples learned, Jesus is the Miracle-worker.
By the way, this is a good time to remind you that according to John, the main reason Jesus did miracles like this was to get people’s attention…and cause them to focus not on the miracle but on the miracle WORKER. Miracles were done as SIGNS that Jesus was the Messiah—signs that would lead people to believe in and put their faith in Him. Do you remember John’s purpose statement—the reason he gave for writing his gospel? In John 20:30-31 he said, “Jesus did many other MIRACULOUS SIGNS in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” John tells us that this first sign accomplished this purpose. Look at verse 11 where it says, “This, the first of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him.”
Well, Mary already knew Who Jesus was. She knew He was the Son of Almighty God and this is why she trusted Him to deal with this wedding-stopping problem. She knew, that as God in the flesh, He had the POWER to take care of literally anything so she went to Him when a miracle was needed. She went to Jesus when the wine ran out. And—we need Mary’s caliber of faith in our Lord—faith that leads us to bring our problems, our challenges—even the BIG ones to Him.
Leland Wong, an evangelist to Chinese people in America put three Biblical texts at the top of his letterhead: Joshua 10:13, “The sun stood still.” 2nd Kings 6:6, “The iron did float.” and Psalm 48:14, “This God is our God.” “The sun stood still…the iron did float…this God is our God.” I like that! Perhaps we should all have our own personal letterhead printed up with these verses on it, because this is true. No problem is too BIG for our God to handle. As Tozer puts it,
“God possesses what no creature can: an incomprehensible plentitude of power—a potency that is absolute.” And as God Himself puts it in Jeremiah 32:27, “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?!”Of course the answer is no. Our almighty God can do anything! To say that there is something God cannot do, to say God can’t do a miracle which, by definition, is something that occurs outside natural law is to in essence deify that law and make it God.
By the way, we tend to forget that the natural law itself is a miracle of God. As J. N. Hawthorne puts it, “Miracles are unusual events caused by God—the laws of nature are generalizations about ordinary events caused by Him.” In other words, miracles are going on around us every minute. The fact that you can hear what I am saying is a miracle of God. The fact that you can breathe air and your heart can pump blood is a miracle and so on.
Another thing—as Christians, if we are to do anything great for God, anything lasting, well, it requires us to believe in His limitless power—power than can handle the BIG things of life.
The more we believe He can do the more we’ll attempt to do FOR Him.
Years ago Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse preached at Princeton’s Chapel. When he finished his old Hebrew professor came up to him and complimented his message saying, “I’m glad you’re a big-Godder, Donald.” Barnhouse asked him to explain and he said, “Some men have a little God, and they are always in trouble with Him. He can’t do any miracles. He can’t take care of the inspiration of the Scriptures. They have a little god and I call them ‘little-godders.’ Then there are those who have a great God. He speaks and it is done. He commands and it stands fast. He knows how to show Himself strong on behalf of those who fear Him. You have a great God Donald and He will bless your ministry.” And of course He did!
Well, let me ask you, are you a ‘big-godder’ or a ‘little-godder?’ Do you believe our God is truly omnipotent, all-powerful?
Is He powerful enough to heal your marriage?
Is He strong enough to provide your physical needs and wise enough to know what they are?
Is your God able to make you an effective parent? Raising children can be an impossible challenge. Is your Heavenly Father up to it?
Can He help you do your job—can He help you with the challenges of your career? Can He help you FIND a job?
Is His hearing sensitive enough to hear your prayers?
Use your miracle-empowered hears to hear me—because my God is! My God can do anything!!! I believe that as the old Children’s chorus goes, my, “God can do anything, anything, anything. My God can do anything—BUT FAIL!” In fact, God can even miraculously transform your LIFE…just as He transformed that water. I mean, if we focus only on those stone water pots we miss the whole point because Jesus is all about TOTAL transformation. As someone once put it,“He turned water into wine and He turns frowns into smiles; He turns whimpers of fear into songs of hope; He turns deserts into gardens; sorrow into joy; sin into grace; death into life.” Whenever Jesus comes into life there comes a new quality which is like turning water into wine.
Without Jesus life is dull and stale and flat but when Jesus comes into life—life becomes vivid and sparkling and exciting. Remember, John was writing his gospel 70 years AFTER Jesus’ crucifixion. He had thought and meditated on his years with Jesus all these decades and so he’s saying, “Wherever Jesus went, whenever He came into life it was like turning water into wine.”
Maturing believers know this—they know Jesus has unlimited power—enough power to handle any problem we face no matter how big, so they go to Him when the “wine” runs out. They go to Jesus when they face an impossible situation. But Christ-followers don’t just go to Him with our BIG needs. We go to Him no matter what “size” problem we face. We cast ALL our cares on Him and we do this…
(2) …because we know Jesus CARES about the LITTLE things of our lives.
Remember, Jesus did this—His first miracle in a tiny Galilean village. He wasn’t surrounded by vast multitudes. No—Jesus first miracle happened in a home. He first manifest His glory in a home with humble people. His first miracle wasn’t done to raise the dead of feed a multitude. It was done to save a family from hurt and humiliation. This shows us that God cares about every problem we face—BIG and small. We can come boldly before His throne no matter what size our burden, knowing that God sympathizes with our weaknesses and in His mercy will give us the grace to help us in our time of need.
This knowledge is why our prayer list here at Redland is filled with BIG problems, like cancer diagnoses, and little problems, like people’s requests for guidance in parenting or at work. We go to Jesus with our BIG things because we know He has the power to handle them…but we go to Him with our little things as well because we know He loves us. We know He cares. We have learned that God welcomes ALL our prayers and that time in His loving presence helps us deal with even the “little” things of life.
There is an old legend of the days when Jesus was a little baby in Nazareth. The legend says that in those days, when people felt tired, or worried, or upset, they would say, “Let’s go look at Mary’s child,” and they would go and look at Jesus, and somehow all their troubles rolled away.
And of course this is only a legend….but I know from personal experience that when I turn to Jesus when things go wrong I’m not disappointed because He makes my burden His own.
This week in VBS our children learned one of my favorite verses, 1st Peter 5:7 where it says, “Cast ALL your anxieties on Him…not just the big ones…the little ones too…cast ALL your anxieties on Him because He cares for you” or as one paraphrase puts it, “you are His personal concern.” We sang a song based on this verse and I love the lyrics: “I will trust in God no matter what….cause I know He will never stop caring for me.”
Well songs like this are inspired by Scriptural accounts like this one. This first miracle shows us that our Lord—the Creator and Sustainer of the universe—was CONCERNED about a wedding snafu. It tells us that THE JOY of the hard-working peasants from Cana and Nazareth was important to Him.
In my walk with Jesus I’ve experienced His intervention in both the BIG things—the MIRACLE things—like when He sent an angel to help me when I was impaled on that farm equipment. But Jesus has helped me with countless “little,” less-noticeable things as well. He’s calmed my fears over things that weren’t worth being afraid of. He’s helped me find sermon illustrations. He’s helped me find lost keys. I could go on and on because God has helped me with BIG things…and LITTLE things. And of the two—I would say the fact that Jesus helps with the little, seemingly insignificant things—I would say that this has deepened my relationship with Him more. I mean, Jesus isn’t like some miracle worker who comes to town does His miracle deal and then leaves. No—Jesus comes alongside of me in ALL parts of life. He never leaves me or forsakes me. He cares about anything that concerns me—because He cares about me. Isn’t that a precious fact?!
LET US PRAY
Father God,
I pray that You would renew our minds this morning—such that our first reaction to BIG problems is to turn to You. But don’t stop there—fix our mental programing so that we know to invite Your help in the LITTLE things as well. Let these moments of decision be a time when we all recommit our selves to inviting You into ALL of life. And God, humble us for those times we have grumbled and complained. Remind us that we ALWAYS have reasons to REJOICE and BE GLAD. Make us like Your Son—make our JOY FULL. I ask all this in JESUS’ name. AMEN
As we sing this closing hymn we invite anyone present who feels the need to make a public decision to walk forward. Come, ask to join this church. Come and publicly profess your faith in Jesus. But come as God leads.