I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to John 2:1-11
John 2:1-11 New International Version
(NIV)
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 hour 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 What Jesus did here in Cana of
Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his
disciples believed in him.
-- on Saturday, June 23rd, a soccer
coach led his 12 team members, aged 11 to 16, into a cave complex in Thailand
to celebrate one of the boy’s birthday -- it was to be a joyous event -- a time
when the team would band together to explore the cave system that underlies
their region of Thailand
-- but disaster occurred when heavy
monsoon flooding unexpectedly flooded the passages of the cave, trapping them
deep underground with little food and little hope
-- the world watched with growing
despair as rescue teams tried unsuccessfully day after day to locate the boys
and their coach -- everyone began to lose hope as we realized it had been too
long -- the boys and their coach were surely dead
-- however, on July 2nd, we woke to
the breaking news that a British rescue diver had located the team deep within
the cave structure -- all 12 team members and their coach were alive -- they
were hungry -- they were tired -- they were scared -- but, they were alive
-- the question now was how to
rescue them with the flood waters filling the cave and more waters entering
every day, producing a strong current that tested even the strength of the most
seasoned divers -- and, to make matters worse, oxygen levels in the cave had
dropped to just 15% -- a few more days and they all would not have enough air
to breathe -- no one knew how to get the team through the flooded, narrow
channels and out to safety
-- for the next week, we watched as
effort after effort -- plan after plan -- was tried and failed -- finally, in
desperation, the idea was conceived to have the divers escort the boys out
one-by-one with their own SCUBA equipment, being led by a rescue diver through
the passageway and out to safety
-- on July 8th, the world cheered as
the first four boys were successfully rescued from the cave and reunited with
their waiting families -- the next day, four more boys were brought out -- and,
then finally, on July 10th, the remaining team members and their coach were
successfully rescued1, 2
-- the only word the news
broadcasters could use as they relayed to us the story of this daring and improbable
rescue was “miracle” -- “it was a miracle,” they said, over and over again
-- this morning we are going to be
starting a new sermon series on miracles -- specifically, the miracles of Jesus
as recorded in the Book of John -- in his gospel, John relates to us seven
specific miracles that Jesus performed:
1. The turning of water into wine -- John
Chapter 2
2. The healing of the nobleman son -- John
Chapter 4
3. The healing at the pool of Bethesda -- John
Chapter 5
4. The feeding of the multitude -- John Chapter
6
5. The stilling of the storm and walking on the
water -- Also in John Chapter 6
6. Opening of the eyes of a blind man -- John
Chapter 9
7. The raising of Lazarus -- John Chapter 11
-- in the course of this series,
we’re going to look at each of these miracles -- at what they were -- what they
meant -- why Jesus did them -- and what it means for us
II. What is a Miracle?
-- so, let’s start this series off
today by answering the question, “what is a miracle?”
-- we use that word in our day for
just about anything unexpected that happens -- just like the discovery and
rescue of the soccer team from the cave in Thailand -- or, we might find a
parking place close to the entrance of the store on a crowded Saturday afternoon
and exclaim, “it was a miracle!” -- but, was it? -- was it really a miracle
from God that we found a close parking spot? -- what is the biblical definition
of a miracle?
-- in the New Testament, we see
three words that are used in relation to miracles -- the first is dunamis -- you probably have heard this
word before -- it’s the power inherent in the action of a supernatural being --
we read of the dunamis -- the power
-- of the Holy Spirit working in our lives -- whenever you read that word in the
New Testament, it always refers to a supernatural power being involved
-- secondly, we see the word terasa -- this speaks of the effect or
the result of the action -- a miracle is an unusual event, and it causes a
miraculous effect through the dunamis
power employed by God
-- there are basically three results
or effects from God’s miraculous work in our world:
1. miracles showing power over nature
2. healing miracles, which include the healing
of those possessed by evil spirits
3. miracles over death, where Jesus raises
people from the dead
-- the third word is semeion -- semeion means “sign” -- miracles happen for a reason -- there is a
purpose for the supernatural dunamis
power of God being made manifest in an event -- God doesn’t just do miracles on
a daily basis for no reason at all -- when God moves in such a miraculous way,
it is a semeion -- a sign -- it has a
reason
-- miracles reveal the attributes of
Christ -- His omnipotence -- His mercy -- His grace -- His comfort -- His power
to forgive sins
-- when Jesus does a miracle in the
Book of John, it is a sign of who He is -- it is a visual proclamation to the
world that He is the Son of God -- He is the Messiah -- He is the promised
Savior who has come to save the world
-- Jesus didn’t just do miracles for
the sake of doing miracles -- His miracles were done in public -- or at least
in the presence of His disciples -- so that others would see them and come to
know Him as their Lord and Savior
-- so, putting all this together, we come up with our definition of a miracle as “an unusual or significant event which requires the working of a supernatural agent’s [power] and is performed for [a purpose or reason]”3
-- in other words, a miracle is when
God -- either in the person of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit --
exercises His power in this world to produce an unusual or significant event --
such as turning water into wine or healing a person -- for a specific purpose
or reason
-- finding a close parking spot is
not a miracle -- the rescue of the Thai soccer team and their coach was not a
miracle according to that definition, although God certainly had His hand in
that event
-- so, what is an example of a
miracle in our day? -- it could be the miraculous healing of someone -- when it
is done in such as way that God’s power is made manifest clearly to all
watching and when God receives the glory and praise from the event
III. Scripture Lesson -- Turning Water into Wine
(John 2:1-11)
-- so, let’s look now at the first
miracle of Jesus recorded in the Book of John -- the familiar story of Jesus
turning water into wine
--
look back at verse 1
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 hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants,
“Do whatever he tells you.”
--
John begins by telling us that the events of this passage happened on the third
day -- the third day of what? -- the third day of Jesus’ public ministry that
began after His baptism by John the Baptist
--
on this day, Jesus and His disciples are at a wedding at Cana in Galilee -- His
mother is there and becomes concerned because the bride and groom have run out
of wine -- her concern shows that either the bride or groom may have been
related to her and to Jesus in some fashion, and so she was concerned that
their running out of wine would cause them to be embarrassed or shamed in
public because of this social faux paus
--
so John tells us that Mary turns to Jesus -- which brings up a good point --
what should we do when we have a problem -- even something so seemingly
insignificant as running out of food or drink at a public event? -- we should
go to Jesus -- too often, we look at prayer or calling out to God for help as a
last resort rather than the first thing we do -- we kind of keep prayer in our
lives as a spare tire -- when we’ve exhausted our human strength and ingenuity
at solving problems and nothing works, it is only then that we decide to pray
-- we need to start turning to God first and ask for His help, just like Mary does
with Jesus in this passage
--
Mary turns to Jesus and says, “They’re out of wine” -- and Jesus responds by
saying, “Why are you telling Me? -- Why do you involve Me? -- My time has not
yet come”
--
Jesus response to Mary here can seem a little rude or discourteous to our ears
-- but, as Barclay pointed out in his commentary, it really wasn’t -- Jesus’
response was a common Jewish saying that meant, “Don’t worry -- you don’t quite
understand what is going on, so leave things to me, and I will settle them in
my own way.”
--
and, we can see that in Mary’s response -- she doesn’t get upset -- she doesn’t
react in a negative way -- she understands what He is saying -- what He meant
by His response -- so she turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever He tells
you to do” -- which is another good principle for us to remember -- when God
tells us to do something, we need to do it
-- verse 6
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.”
-- John makes a point of telling us
that there were six water jars nearby -- the jars that were used for ceremonial
washing by the Jews -- the reason they used these jars for washing their hands
was based on Scripture -- Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who may ascend the hill of the
Lord? -- Who may stand in His holy place? -- He who has clean hands and a pure
heart…”
-- so, the Jews would wash their
hands to symbolically cleanse their hands and their hearts before God -- in
their minds, this made them holy -- remember, later on in the gospels we read
of an account where the Pharisees go before Jesus and complain about the
disciples eating without first washing their hands -- this is what their
complaint was about -- the Scriptures said that you had to wash your hands to
be clean before God -- that’s why those ceremonial washing jars were there at
the wedding
-- now one thing you need to notice
is that there are only six water jars, not seven -- that’s one short of God’s
perfect number -- this is indicative of man’s efforts to reach holiness -- of
man’s efforts to become pure and clean before God -- and this is where the sign
part of this miracle comes in
-- remember why Jesus came to earth
-- remember His purpose in coming and dying on the cross for our sins -- He
came to fulfill the law and to pay the penalty for our sins by being our
perfect and complete sacrifice -- He came to fulfill the requirements of Psalm
24:3-4 for us
-- we could not become clean and
pure of heart by washing our hands in water from these ceremonial jars -- we
could only become clean and pure of heart through Jesus -- so He takes these
jars and changes their purpose -- no longer were they to be used for ceremonial
washing, because now He has come to make us clean
-- He takes the jars, has the
servants fill them up with water, and miraculously changes the water into wine
-- a miracle showing His power over nature -- but, more importantly, pointing
to His power and purpose in being the One who would cleanse us from our sins
and wash us white as snow through His blood shed on the cross of Calvary
-- the other thing to note is that
the wine Jesus created was better than all the rest that had been shared that
day -- it was better than the best the bride and groom had at the start of the
wedding -- it was better than anyone could imagine
-- that’s the way it is with Jesus
-- when Jesus comes into your life -- when Jesus works in your life -- He
always brings the best -- as Romans 8:28 says, “In all things, God works for
the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”
-- in all things, God is working for the best in your life
-- He is not going to settle for
second-best -- He is not just going to get you by when you’re in a jam -- but
His plan and His purpose is for you to receive the best He has for you, because
of His great love for you and for me
-- of course, His greatest blessing
was sending Jesus as our atoning sacrifice to restore our relationship with the
Father and to offer us eternal life through the forgiveness of our sins
-- verse 11
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of
Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his
disciples believed in him.
-- John makes it clear that Jesus’
act of dunamis power that resulted in
a terasa -- the turning of water into
wine -- was a semeion -- it was a
sign -- it was done for a reason -- to show the disciples and those gathered at
the wedding that Jesus was the Son of God
-- and John tells us, that because
of this miracle, His disciples put their faith in Jesus
-- when Jesus does a miracle, there
will always be a response from those around -- some will be brought to new
faith in Jesus or see their faith restored -- while others will turn away in
disbelief because their hearts are hard and they refuse to believe the sign
that is given
-- miracles are done for a reason --
and that reason is always to bring glory to God and to lead people into faith
in His Son Jesus Christ -- keep that in mind as we go through the rest of this
series and as you go about your life this week
IV. Closing
-- in 1980, when we watched the
underdog United States Hockey Team defeat the Russians to win the gold medal in
the Winter Olympics, we all remember the jubilant scream of sportscaster Al
Michaels as he exclaimed, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes, Yes, Yes!”
-- that’s the question I want to
leave you with this morning -- Do you believe in miracles? -- Do you believe
that our God still works His dunamis
power in this world today? -- Do you believe that God still works outside the
laws of time and nature to accomplish His purposes in our world today? -- Do
you believe God still does miraculous healings and other miracles as a sign of
His presence and as a sign to point people to the saving grace of His Son Jesus
Christ?
-- our answer must be a resounding,
“Yes, Yes, Yes!” -- as God’s people -- touched by His grace -- saved through
the blood of Jesus Christ -- living in the hopeful expectation of eternal life
with Him -- we must answer this question by saying, “Yes”
-- miracles still happen -- as the
Bible says in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever”
-- Jesus still does miracles -- and we need to be looking for them and
expecting them in our lives and in this church
-- so, as we close today, I want you
to join me in praying for God to do a wonder in our lives and in this church --
to join me in asking God to do something miraculous in our lives and in this
church so that others may see Him and come to know Him through this event
-- let’s close now by believing as
we pray that miracles are going to happen
-- let’s pray
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
Thailand: Boys’ Soccer Team Lost in Cave Found Alive
[https://www.dw.com/en/thailand-boys-soccer-team-lost-in-cave-found-alive/a-44494040]
2
Thai Cave Rescue: All 12 Boys and Soccer Coach Freed, by Euan McKirdy, Kocha
Olarn, and Steve George, CNN
[https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/09/asia/thai-cave-rescue-mission-intl/index.html]
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