| MIRACLE
AT A MARRIAGE (A Study from John 2:1-11) |
Have you ever heard the expression, “The
best is yet to come?” Well, if you have,
you know that this is a promise that often turns
out to be a big disappointment.
But in the town of Cana of Galilee, Jesus shows
us that in the Christian life the “best
really is yet to come”. When Jesus performs
His first miracle, we see that things do get
better the longer we walk with Him. The story
and the miracle take place at a marriage. The
Book of John, chapter 2, verses 1 through 11
tells about it this way:
Jesus’ mother
was a guest at a wedding celebration in the
village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus and his disciples
were also invited to the celebration. The wine
supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’
mother spoke to Him about the problem. “They
have no more wind,” she told Him.
“How does that
concern you and me?” Jesus asked. “My
time has not yet come.”
But His mother told
the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
Six stone water pots
were standing there; they were used for Jewish
ceremonial purposes and held twenty to thirty
gallons each. Jesus told the servants, “Fill
the jars with water.” When the jars had
been filled to the very top, He said, “Dip
some out and take it to the master of the party.”
So they followed His instructions.
When the master of
the party tasted the water that was now wine,
not knowing where it had come from (though,
of course, the servants knew), he called the
bridegroom over. “Usually a host serves
the best wine first,” he said. “Then,
when everyone is full and does not care, he
brings out the less expensive wines. But you
have kept the best until now!”
This miraculous sign
at Cana in Galilee was Jesus’ first miracle.
And His disciples believed in Him. - John 2:1-11
There are many people living today that believe
there is a God, but that He is a small God limited
by the laws of the world He created. In other
words, they think God is not all-powerful (omnipotent)
and not in charge. They think the things that
happen to us happen because we live in a natural
world that is run by natural laws that God can
not change. They do not believe that people
can walk on water; diseases can be healed; the
dead can be raised back to life; and water can
be turned into wine. People think that the world
we see is the only world there is and that it
can never be interfered with - not even by God.
Oh, my goodness, are these people ever wrong!
In the Bible we see from the miracles of Jesus
that God can step in and overrule the natural
world; He can counteract what we think are the
“laws of nature”. God made the rules
of nature, so He can change them any time He
wants to. Now, you have noticed that there are
not miracles on every page of the Bible. Miracles
come only when God wants them to come. And they
come for God’s purposes.
The physical miracles God did on earth are
wonderful. But there is still an even greater
miracle that God does every day. That miracle
occurs when a human heart is transformed by
a work of God’s grace...God gives sinful
people the free gift of eternal life even when
they do not deserve it...and He does it whenever
a person sincerely asks Him to.
In John 14:12, Jesus tells the disciples that
when He returned to heaven they would do even
greater miracles than He did.
I used to wonder what this meant. Then one
day I realized that all of the miracles Jesus
did were temporary in nature. Resurrected people
eventually died again. Sick people probably
got sick again.
When we share the Gospel message and the person
accepts Christ, this is when we see a miracle
ever greater than the ones Jesus did. This is
because when the human heart is transformed
and a person is born again by God’s grace,
it is a permanent miracle; one which lasts for
ever and ever...for eternity.
There are people who try to explain away the
miracles of the Bible, saying they are not truly
miracles. The miracle of Jesus turning water
into wine is a hard for these people to explain
away. I believe this miracle shows that God
can and does break into the natural world at
times, according to His will, and He changes
things. This is not hard for me to believe because
this is the same God that created the world
to begin with.
In the Book of John, the word “sign”
is used 17 times to refer to Jesus’ miracles.
In John 20:30-31 we are told that the reason
Jesus did miracles was to show us that He is
truly is God and that we will have eternal life
by believing in Him. These miracles also show
that God is all-powerful and is active in the
world. This first miracle of Jesus - turning
water into wine - is powerful evidence for that
fact.
THE MIRACLE SETTING
John 2:1-2
THE
WEDDING
Cana is a small town in Galilee...in
present day Israel. We do not know whose wedding
it was, but my guess is that it was someone
close to the family of Jesus; since both Jesus
and Mary, His mother, are attending. Verse 3
shows that Mary took some responsibility at
the wedding.
The Jewish wedding at that
time followed what was called “a betrothal
period”. This period was like an engagement
period, only more serious and with legal significance.
In a way, it was like the parents of the bride
and bridegroom had married the couple already,
without the couple even being there. To break
a betrothal required a divorce proceeding. When
the betrothal period was complete, the bridegroom
and his friends made their way to the bride’s
home, often at night in the form of a torchlight
parade. The bride was not supposed to know when
the bridegroom was coming. Nevertheless, she
was to be ready at a moment’s notice.
At the bride’s home there would be speeches
and expressions of good will, and the conclusion
of the marriage ceremony. Then the bridegroom
would take the bride to his home where the wedding
feast would begin. The wedding celebration would
often last for a week or more - it was a time
of great celebration and joy for all who attended.
There is meaningful
significance for us in the fact that Jesus Christ
attended a wedding celebration - a party!
CHRIST
IS INTERESTED IN OUR HAPPINESS
There are times when Christianity
is a very sober and reflective experience. But
it is also a celebration. The first miracle
Jesus performed took place in a setting of rejoicing,
not a setting or mourning; a wedding, not a
funeral; a feast, not a fast. Paul said in Romans
14:17 that the kingdom of God is “...living
a life of goodness and peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit.”
Many Christians are living
the goodness part, and even the peace part.
But they are completely missing the joy part
of the kingdom of God. Instead of enjoying the
spiritual life, they seem to just endure it
in a gloomy, sad sort of way.
The Bible tells us
that anyone who knows God should have joy in
their life. (Psalm 16:11; 32:11; John 15:11;
Galatians 5:22). It seems significant that Jesus
chose to perform His first miracle at a party,
a joyful wedding celebration. Jesus loved to
be with people at dinners and other celebrations.
He expressed joy at these occasions...and we
should follow His example to do the same.
JESUS
IS INTERESTED IN OUR HOMES.
Let us note where Jesus’
first miracle took place. It was not in a fancy
temple, but in a humble home. A new home, a
new family, was being started by this wedding,
and Jesus acknowledged its importance by attending.
That Jesus was invited to a humble home in Cana
should remind us that we should invite Him into
our home. The Christian home is to be a place
where Christ is welcomed and honored by both
husband and wife, as well as by the children
and other family members. That is what the Scripture
means when it says Christians should not be
unequally yoked together with unbelievers. (2
Corinthians 6:14).
Young people should be reminded
that Christ wants to join them in their home
as they begin their married lives. Before young
couples are married, they should be counseled
about establishing a Christian union and home.
They need to know that marriage is hard enough
when both are Christians and that having a home
with Christ at the center is impossible when
one of the partners is not a believer.
Christ’s presence in
Cana also shows us the importance of the marriage
ceremony. There are millions of couples living
together who have never committed themselves
to each other in a marriage ceremony. God expects
there to be a public covenant-making ceremony
when it comes to marriage. Living together without
a marriage ceremony is to live in fornication
and your Church takes a strong stand against
this. You should not continue in this way.
THE MIRACLE SIGN
John 2:3-10
THE
PROBLEM AND THE MIRACLE
John 2:3b.
The miracle centers around
Mary’s words to Jesus: “They have
no wine.” All the miracles of Jesus were
based on some problem. Jesus did not work miracles
just to “show off”, or just to impress
people. Jesus was not a traveling magic show.
Jesus performed miracles:
1. To encourage us; and
2. To show us that God is sufficient to meet
our needs and problems; even if they require
a miracle.
The problem at the wedding
appears to be that the amount of wine needed
was underestimated. This would have been a very
big embarrassment for the bridegroom’s
family. It would have cut the celebration short
if the problem was not solved quickly. Under
Jewish law, a bridegroom’s family could
be sued in a court of law for such an oversight!
Jesus performs this miracle so that:
1. The celebration could
continue with joy;
2. A humble Jewish family would not be embarrassed
or hurt in a legal dispute;
3. And, of course, so that you and I would learn
from it.
THE
PERSONALITIES AND THE MIRACLE
John 2:4-5
It may seem that Jesus’
response to His mother was disrespectful when
He said:
Woman, how does that concern
you and me?
My time has not yet come.
But within the Jewish culture
of that time, it was common to address women
as “woman”.
Jesus was just saying to
His mother that He would handle the matter in
His own way. Mary’s response proves that
she did not consider His answer a rebuke at
all. She simply tells the servants to let Him
handle it His own way. She says to the servants,
“Do whatever He tells
you to do”.
Today these words of Mary
are still good advice for anyone willing to
be the servant of Christ. Right now Jesus is
looking for people who will do whatever He says.
Could that person be you?
THE
PERFORMANCE OF THE MIRACLE
John 2:6-9
There were 6 water pots,
used for holding water during purification rites
in the Jewish religion. These were not tall,
large pots, but rather shorter pots that held
20 or 30 gallons of water each, which is still
quite a lot of water. 6 times 30 are 180 gallons!
Family members would pour water from these pots
over their hands before the meal and again between
the various courses of the meal. This required
large amounts of water. Based on the amount
of water each pot held, Jesus would have made
enough wine for 2,400 glasses of wine. Jesus
made a lot of wine at the wedding in Cana!
Wine was a common beverage
that was served with meals in the time of Jesus.
All the social evils of using alcohol in our
present day society are different than the way
it was used in this story.
Now notice here how the miracle
occurred - as the water was drawn out of the
purification vessels, it became wine (verses
8-9). Jesus would not have contaminated the
purification vessels by filling them with wine.
The miracle occurred as the water was drawn
out and poured into a smaller pitcher and then
taken to the master of the feast.
THE
PRAISE OF THE MIRACLE
John 2:10
The strongest indication
of the fact that Jesus really did create wine
is the master of the feast’s response.
He thought the family had saved back the very
best wine until the end of the feast. This was
out of the ordinary. Normally the best wine
was served at first, and then when the senses
of the guests were dulled, the lesser quality
wine would be served. The wine Jesus made was
better than the wine they had at the beginning
of the celebration.
THE
MEANINGFUL SIGNIFICANCE
John 2:11
There are two things to learn
from this first miracle of Jesus.
THE
FIRST THING IS THIS…
Whenever Jesus comes into
a life or a situation, He makes it better -
just like making water into fine wine. Jesus
always left people better than how He found
them. And that is exactly what He will do in
the life of anyone who trusts Him.
THE
SECOND THING IS THIS…
This miracle highlights the
difference between the ways of God and the ways
of the world. The world always gives the best
they have to offer and it goes downhill from
there. With the world you get the kicks first,
and the kickbacks later.
Sin always starts out as fun.
But with God, things
always get better the longer you know Him. I
hope you can testify to these two things from
your own life. Just like the new wine at Cana
was better than what they had before, “Every
day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before”.
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