John's Gospel Talk 1 - Ch 2

Mine eyes have seen the glory the coming of the Lord!
(The glory of the Christ -- the first sign)
Introduction

Parents are a bit odd really!
They work hard and they do their best, but ultimately they seem to spend most of their time being amazed, looking at their kids and saying, "who knew they could do that?".

Parents always seem to be a couple of steps behind the play, when it comes to their kids. Whether it's their athletic proficiency or their ability to figure out how to download the latest Microsoft patch, and save the family communication hub from its impending oblivion, Parents always struggle to keep up with their offspring.

If only kids had money to invest, maybe they would have stopped the latest sky falling in known as the “world economic crisis”. (He says with his tongue firmly in his cheek).

Parents are not always good at keeping tabs on their kid's current development level. But the beauty of parents is, they don't let that stop them from offering advice, even if it's not ask for!

Like parents will often give their children helpful tips, for instance on how to construct an IKEA bookcase, in the middle of constructing the bookcase, irrespective of the fact that their child actually has an honours degree in structural engineering, and has helped to construct amongst other things a 21 storey building, which just possibly, and only possibly means, they just might be able to put the bookcase together themselves without parental oversight or input!

But let’s face it, it is hard work being a parent, because you barely change at all, (at least any change is slow) while your children change so rapidly in the same space of time!

It is easy as a parent to pick the situation, and the response of your offspring wrongly, don’t you think? So How much harder would be as a parent if your child -- didn't just think they were -- but actually were, God himself?

And that's what we see on the scene today from chapter 2 of John's gospel, despite his mother's best intentions, Mary picks the scene and Jesus response quite wrongly!

But before we look at the wedding in chapter 2, it would be good to set the scene by briefly summarising where we have got to in the Gospel story so far.

The story so far;
Now as you may remember John's gospel begins in chapter 1 with a big beginning. It is this cosmic opening that tells us about the creator, but this creator - who has now come into his creation, in order to reveal his glory, and to bring the light of life to all people.

And this light has been testified to by John the Baptist. Chapter 1 is full of John's faithful testimony about the Lamb of God, the Word incarnate, who will take away the sin of the world.

And along with John's testimony we have met the first of the disciples who are now following Jesus, and to whom Jesus has promised chapter 1:50, "you shall see greater things than that".

The story of chapter 2
And that leads us into the wedding scene today in chapter 2 of John's gospel.
NIV John 2:1
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.

So Jesus has returned from the region of Judea, and gone up with his new disciples to his home region of Galilee for a wedding. And in this scene we meet Jesus mother the first time in the Gospel.

Now when you stop to think about it, she has a very plain intro doesn’t she? Because when you think about how we meet Mary in Luke's Gospel, with angels and visions from God, this is a very plain introduction to Jesus mother, we don't even get told her name!

However as the scene continues, Jesus mother speaks in verse three.
3 When the wine was gone,
Jesus' mother said to him,
"They have no more wine."

Now although it doesn't say it, given that Jesus is God, I'm tipping Jesus already knew there was no more wine!

And while he doesn't respond with the teenage classic of, "I know that!", his response isn't exactly positive to his mother's observation, and it's because he knows her statement is a loaded comment for him.

One of the classic aspects of Jesus' portrayal, as we see him through John's eye's, is that Jesus seems to perceive and understand people and situations, at a much more deep level than any other person in the Gospel story.

His mother says, "They have no more wine."
and Jesus responds, "Dear woman, why do you involve me?"
More literally he says, "woman, what is that too you and to me?". The sense of his statement here is, "this isn't our problem, why do you want to get us involved?". Because he knows when he says "us", he knows she really means "him".

Jesus is clearly reluctant to get involved, in this issue, and in particular he has no interest in drawing unwanted attention to himself. It seems that whether intentionally or otherwise (we just don't really know) Mary's request of Jesus is something of a goad to him. In the gospel, is his mother's request a distraction, (like Peter’s rebuke of Mark 8:32) that will upset the mission his Father has given to him?

So Jesus responds in V4, "My time has not yet come."
Literally Jesus "hour" has not come, it has not come "yet!". But it will come and we will need to keep an eye out for Jesus hour, what it is, and what it will mean, later in the Gospel story.

But with commendable persistence, reminiscent of many in the gospel books, Mary continues to bring her request to Jesus, and with great confidence in her son, she instructs the servants as we read in V5.
"Do** whatever he tells you."

Now if we hit the pause button on the story from minute, what do you imagine Mary is expecting Jesus to do?

Is Mary like one of those overbearing parents of gifted children, expecting him to show off his talents to the extended family at this wedding?
Or is she just expecting him to do something much more plain?

Is she just asking him to help out by ducking up the street in the Ute and pick-up some take aways from liquor-land?

And while I have asked the question in a pretty frivolous way, I hope you can see it is actually a pretty important question, as we look through the eyes of people in the story and we try to work out who really is this Jesus?
Do the disciples, do the servants at the wedding, do the guests, and does the head waiter understand? Do they know who Jesus really is?

And if they don't why not?
And if they don't, what does it matter?

My personal suspicion is that Mary was expecting Jesus to do something a little special, and that is exactly what happens!

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.


Jesus quite spectacularly turns the water into wine, and the story begs of us the question, (what is going on here?). Has Jesus just done his best David Copperfield impersonation, I mean is it an illusion, is it some sought of magic trick, or is it something far deeper and far more disturbing than that?

Jesus action is no illusion, or even a temporary change, like what happened when God sent the plagues upon Egypt's back in the book of Exodus, and all the water turned for a time to blood? Jesus action goes far deeper than that, and in fact it validates John’s statement from chapter 1 v10
NIB John 1:10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him.

Jesus the creator has done a profound act of re-creation, or new creation, a theme that will develop throughout chapter 2 and into chapter 3, where we will learn about the new creation, the re-creation of the new birth, of being born again.

The glory of the creator is being revealed in Jesus Christ, as he recreates water into new wine. You can almost see the echoes of Genesis 1 in the background, where God the creator made the world through separating the waters. Only this time it was a little less "let there be light”. And A little More, "let there be wine….. and there was!".

Now it’s worth saying Christians at times can get a little sheepish about Jesus and this alcohol thing! And I can understand why, because there is no more abused substance in our society and culture today than alcohol -- plain and simple, if you don’t believe me, have a chat to Kath about what a Friday night looks like in your local emergency ward!.

But that doesn't change the fact that in this scene Jesus is hardly prudish about his provision. Now I have read this story lots of times and always thought of six vases of wine, you know fair enough! it didn't seem like a big deal! But When I finally decided to read the footnote at the bottom of the page this week, I was staggered to finally realise that each jar was between 75 and 115 L (you getting this!) Six jars is that let's say 100 L is a 600 L of wine.
If the average bottle of wine is 750 mL, we are talking about an absolutely massive amount of wine, like 65 cases of a dozen bottles. It's a ridiculous amount of wine.

Now true, the wine is not as high alcohol content as we produce today, but the picture is one of excess it isn't it? And this abundant supply begs of us the question, why?

Well the abundance of wine, was a picture from the old Testament associated with the coming of Israel's Messiah.

NIB Amos 9:11 "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, 12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name," declares the LORD, who will do these things. 13 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the ploughman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. 14 I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God.

So Jesus tells us about himself by his actions, and as much as has already been packed into this sign of Jesus, there are more important aspects of its meaning for us yet!

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."

The results of Jesus profound act of recreation have not been missed (even if the agent of the change has!) and this new wine is the best of the lot.
Now clearly this defies Common logic! People with varying degrees of inebriation are less discerning than stone cold sober people, a plain statement of fact. Otherwise there would be Gordon Ramsay restaurants outside nightclubs at 3 AM and not kebab vans. And The wedding party have been drinking from the four dollar clean skin bin, and are now in a total defiance of common logic are in the possession of a vast quantity of Grange Hermitage.

And the vessel it is held in, are the ceremonial cleaning jars, which are used by the Jews in trying to fulfil their old Testament obligations of being clean, and now Jesus act is causing them to be renewed from the inside out, for a new purpose. Jesus new wine is of the highest quality, the best has been saved for last. And what this sign means is, to quote Paul from two Corinthians, "the old has gone, the new has come!".

Jesus Christ makes new, fulfils and exceeds the old Testament ceremonial cleansing, by doing a profound work of new creation through cleansing. Like we learnt from the book of Hebrew last year the blood of bulls and goats could not deal with sin, but Christ's atoning death could. Christ makes things new.

John tells us the story not only to point to Jesus creative power, but also to allude to the true and superior cleansing that he will provide, as we will learn in later weeks as the Gospel story continues.

So not only is the wine a sign of the new creation from God the creator, it is also a sign of the Messiah’s coming, and not only a sign of his coming but also a witness to the better cleansing he would bring as the true Passover lamb.

But what do you make of this sign being carried out at a wedding?
And what do you make of the head waiter thinking that the bridegroom provided the wine?
What you make of all that?

Well as we said earlier, people in John's gospel often speak more deeply than they realize, they often say something of a surface level and seem to miss the deeper meaning, and that is what the head waiter has done here. Because he is right that the bridegroom does provide wine, the true bridegroom Jesus has provided the wine, but he has done that for the true wedding, the wedding in heaven. The celebration of God and his people.

NIB Matthew 22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

NIB Revelation 19:6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, "Write:`Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."

The wedding feast celebration is where God's Messiah, God the son, will finally put everything right! And this will be the profound and final act of new creation (of which this new wine is a down payment and a testimony to the promise that will be fulfilled.

Now as we read about Jesus in John's gospel, he is both a perceptive and elusive person. He reveals himself in measured amounts, to select people. How else do we explain the fact that the servants know, and the disciples know, but the head waiter does not see where the wine has come from?

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 at Cana in Galilee.
He thus revealed his glory,
and his disciples put their faith in him.

But John’s clear witness is that Jesus Christ is the glory of God the creator revealed to mankind, and in the incarnation of God, (God made man in time, space and history) as the son of God Jesus Christ, God has begun in earnest his act of recreation. Jesus incarnation and life and (certainly his death and resurrection) are an act of recreation and a sure footing for us all, that God the creator will right the ship of his creation, that was so badly capsized By the Impact of Mankind's Sin.

Over the next weeks, The Nature of Christ's Glory And How It Will Be Displayed, Will Take All Sorts of Twists and Turns throughout This Gospel Story, but from the pages of his gospel John has testified faithfully today to us of the recreating power of God's Messiah.

Will you receive the testimony as true, and believe like the disciples?
Or will you wander off like the head waiter to anoint a false Christ?

Christ offer of grace, forgiveness and re-creation that is fulfilled in the gift of eternal life, is a real and genuine offer to be believed, to be trusted, to be accepted. The question is have you wholeheartedly accepted Jesus offer?

Jesus shows himself in the Gospel as an elusive and perceptive character, who sees the hearts the people he meets, have you genuinely accepted the offer he brings or do you treat Jesus like a trinket in a $2 store, easily found, easily paid for, and just as easily then ignored or discarded altogether? Christ is your creator and he knows the hearts of the people has created.
Uni students often say P’s get degrees!
Well in God's educational system that attitude get’s you a kick in the pants!

Christ is the Lord who has washed us and made us new, given us eternal life for all of us who have believed in his name. He is worthy of our heartfelt praise and honour and worship that we may bring him glory and reveal that glory as a light in a dark and lost world.

Have your eye’s seen the glory the coming of the Lord, and has he begun his work of re-creation, of new creation in you, that ends in eternal life?

Have your eyes seen the glory of the coming of the Lord?

Christ come to make all things new, new wine, new temple, new people.

NIB John 2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." 20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

Christ come to make all things new, new wine, new temple, new people.
Have your eyes seen the glory of the coming of the Lord?