Just Getting Started

Message Transcription

We're in a series, I'm calling signs we we kicked it off a couple of weeks ago. Last week, we were blessed by a message, a challenge from Scott McDowell. We're going to pick up our series again today as we're looking at John Chapter two, if you have your Bible, invites you to go there. The series is called Signs where we're looking at the different signs that John puts in his gospel to point us in the direction of faith, of life, of hope, of trusting in Christ. The signs are really important if you think about the last time you went on a road trip and you went somewhere, knew that you weren't really sure about and they didn't have any signs, how troubling that could be. Caitlin, I traveled this weekend to Crowley, Texas. Some of you may know where that is just south of Fort Worth for a baseball tournament, and we were traveling around in a place that we didn't know very well. Caylee grew up in the Metroplex, but neither of us had ever been to this part of the city, and so we had to follow the signs. We had to follow our GPS, giving us directions in the midst of the process of teaching my daughter how to drive. And we're learning about different signs. Maybe you've seen some of these road signs that help direct us and guide us. First couple of signs are maybe more familiar to us.

The stop sign, the yield sign. Do not enter. Don't go that way. Watch out somebody crossing the street, right? All these signs that help to direct us and move us along. Maybe you've seen some of these other signs going into the state of Texas. You're always greeted with welcome. The Texas drive friendly the Texas Way. I'm not so sure about that one. Welcome to Lubbock, all, that's good in entertainment, right? And those iconic Buddy Holly. You know, you are somewhere when you see the sign right? You, you have arrived. Now, sometimes like our experience this weekend as we drove in and new and uncertain areas, you come across some signs that that you don't really know. If you don't know the context, you don't really understand what's going on behind them. Maybe you've seen a sign like this before. By the way, these are all real signs. Meth Bible row, this is a real sign. It's a dead end. Absolutely. That is absolutely true. You do not want to go to this. This is not the camp we're taking our students to this summer. Or maybe you've seen this one. Thank you for that, that sign not in use sign or this last one, if you've ever traveled to Hawaii, maybe you've seen the beware of invisible cows sign. Has anyone ever seen this sign? It's in moniker. I've never been there. I've just heard about it, right? But the cows are so darkly colored that at night in the fog, they're almost invisible.

So this is a real sign. Beware of invisible cows. So keep that one in mind, right? Signs are there to help direct us to take us in the direction that we want to go. And certainly we're going to see that we come across that here in John's gospel. So let's jump into our text this morning. We find here at the start of Chapter two that Jesus, his mother and disciples are at a wedding. And this this little story actually ends with this interesting verse, what Jesus did here in Kenya of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. Have you ever come across driving like I did this past weekend where I'm driving, looking for my exit sign only to realize it's already come upon me? I thought I had a little more time and I've missed it. Right. This story can sometimes be like that, right? John is 11 verses into Chapter two with the first revelation of Jesus glory. And if we're not paying attention, we just we miss it, we just move right on by. Well, let's not miss it today. Let's break it down for a moment and just see what John is doing. On the third day, we're told a wedding took place at Qana and Galilee, and Jesus mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

And when the wine was gone, Jesus mother said to him, They have no more wine. All right, John gives us a little clue here. Only we don't know. It's a clue yet, but if you have a Bible that you can mark and I just invite you to underline on the third day. Just circle that market. We'll come back to that here throughout this series, but but that's an important little phrase that often again, it's a sign we tend to drive right on by. But third day is important. We're third day people. We're talk some more about the work that God does on the third day here, John tells us it's on the third day. And Jesus and his mom, his disciples, are at a wedding. And as you know, in the ancient world and certainly still in our day to day weddings are important events, their huge feast. In fact, in the ancient world, it wouldn't have been just your family in that tight little guest list because you only have so many seats at the the event center and said this would be the whole city would be gathered up. All of those around in the countryside would come from far away to be a part of the celebration. And it wasn't just for a couple of hours, one afternoon or evening. This was an all day, maybe a couple of days celebration time.

This was an important moment in the life of a family. And the party's going, and we don't know exactly why Mary's there, we're told Mary's there, and then Jesus is there. It's as if Mary was invited and it's like, Oh yeah, are you going to bring the kids? Yeah. Plus plus 11 plus 12 plus whatever the number was. And Jesus shows up with the disciples. But Mary's there. We don't really know exactly why is she friend of the mom? Is this a family that she knows really well, and so she's there to help kind of plan the party? We're not sure. All we know is she's there and she notices the is getting ready to be sidetracked. You see, it's more than just running out of wine. This this would be an embarrassment, a shame upon this family that they would have to live with the rest of their lives. Why? Because this whole community was there. It's not like a little mistake that only one or two people would know about it. Everyone would know we've run out of wine. And so again, as it would be today if we ran out of food and drink at the reception, it'd be embarrassing, it'd be humiliating. And so Mary comes to Jesus and says they have no more wine and Jesus responds this way. Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.

Now, again, in the language and culture of our day children, I would not advise you to answer your mother this particular way. But in Jesus Day, this actually was not a sign of disrespect. In fact, he often would engage with women with this term woman. In Matthew 15, Luke, 22, John Chapter four in just a couple of chapters, he meets this woman at the well and says, Woman, can I have a drink? It's not. It's a greeting. It's a little more informal than we might think. Perhaps John is kind of setting us up for this distance that Jesus is going to talk about his life, his mission versus what's going to stop him from from fulfilling that. But but it was just a way of saying, Well, my hours not yet come. Maybe that's the most strange thing about his response, he says. My hour is not yet come again. If you have a Bible, invite you to underline or circle or put a star next to that phrase is going to come up over and over again in John's gospel that Jesus ministry is directed. It's it's timely that there's a time and a purpose and a direction and intention. And for John, timing is really important for Jesus life. It's critical. And so when Jesus says, my hour hasn't come yet, what we're going to find out is he's talking about the resurrection, his his death, his resurrection at this time.

This this gift, this glory being revealed is going to come. But this wedding today in Canada, this isn't that time, mom. What are you asking me for? His hour is not yet come, and Mary, like most moms, is not deterred by their kids response. I imagine there was a pause, right? If you're a kid and you've ever said something to your mom that you think that probably didn't come out the way I intended it. There's this pause where mom looks. And it's like you heard me, right, yeah, you heard. And so she doesn't respond. She just turns to the servants and says, do whatever he tells you. Now again, we're going to come back to this in a moment. Do whatever he tells you. That's the response. Nearby stood six stone jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding 20 to 30 gallons. These were not small jars. These were large jars. In fact, these were the kind of jars that would have been used for, and folks kind of scholars disagree a little bit on it. Was it just for hand washing? Well, that's a lot of hands to wash. You know, you're looking at a thousand gallons or so. I mean, it's a it's a lot, maybe not quite that much, but a lot of gallons, a lot, a lot of water. Maybe it was for filling. They had a baptismal that you would walk through.

The church would walk through, people would walk through before they went in to worship to cleanse themselves. We're not exactly sure. All we know is there's six stone jars used for ceremonial washing, each holding 20 to 30 gallons. And Jesus said to the servant, Fill the jars, fill the jars with water. And so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. And they did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. And he did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Now, it's interesting, John starts this story with just this general explanation Jesus, his mom and some disciples are at a wedding in Cana. There's not who it's for. It's not really clear on on time of day, it's just there at this wedding. Then all of a sudden, here in verse six, he gets real specific. Now there were six stone jars that weren't just stone jars. There are 20 to 30 gallon stone jars, and they're not just 20 to 30 gallon stone jars, they're used for ceremonial cleaning. He's just all of a sudden he dives deep into the details. Now, Jesus instructs the servants to fill the jars, and they do it, but not just partially again, we get this detail how full are these jars? Just kind of barely there I come at.

Whatever did, I'll just fill this job. No, it's like to the brim. And it makes me wonder, had they done this before, like, why would they do it to the brim? Was it like fine, tough guy telling me to fill these, George? You're not the ball all this fine. I'll fill it up to the very top. Good luck moving that. Or no, they're going to need a lot of water, so I know if I just fill these jars half up, I'm going to have to do it again. Guys filled to the brim. Just fill it to the brim. Some will splash out, but but just fill it. We don't know why. All we know is they filled it to the brim. And then Jesus says. Takes them out and give it to the master of the banquet. We call them wedding planners, the folks who are helping make sure all the details happen. All the events that people come in at the right time and leave it the right time that folks are served in the right way. He says, take it to the master of the banquet. And they do, and the banquet master tastes it, and he's blown away. What is this? Where did this come from? John tells us he calls the bridegroom aside, and he said everyone brings out the choice wine first, then the cheap stuff when folks start getting drinking.

Loosely translated. But you've saved the best until now. Where did this come from? Right, most weddings, you start with the good stuff, everybody gets a glass of the good stuff, then you put that stuff away. Then you bring out the cheap stuff, that's when they're having the party, but not you. He's done the reverse. You brought out some good stuff, and we thought it was good until we tasted what came later. I had no idea you even had this, John finishes again the story. He finishes with that little reminder. This the first of his miraculous science, Jesus performed at Cane in Galilee, he thus revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him. So what is the sign mean, what is turning water into wine trying to tell us? I think there are a number of things that we could land on. I just want to point to three real quickly this morning. They're going back to that moment, that question where Mary talks to Jesus informs him of the problem. Jesus is always on time. One things I think the sign points is to Jesus is always on time. She takes she has a problem, she learns about it and she takes it to Jesus. His response, my hour hasn't come yet. You see, Jesus is anticipating another time, this time of glory that's coming when heaven and Earth will meet in a way that's never before been seen in the history of the Earth.

But you see John for John, signs are more than an object just pointing in a particular direction. There's this pointing to another reality. See, signs are places where heaven and Earth intersect. And though the wedding isn't the place where Jesus glory will be shown in its fullness, we get a little glimpse of the kind of fullness that's coming. The kind of glory that awaits, you see, the cross is this fulcrum of history, it's the moment in this place where out of the darkest moment, God's light shines forth in a powerful way. See, in a moment of celebration and joy, when the Messiah had come, we've been waiting so long for this king to arrive. And now he's murdered. And he's crucified. And he's nailed to a tree. In a small way, it's like having this wedding celebration where you're so excited for the bride and the groom and you gather your friends together only to find out you don't have enough, you don't have enough to eat. You don't have to drink. What kind of celebration is this? Only then to discover it turns out the wine hasn't run out, and not only has it not run out. It's better than what's been. It tastes better. Not only is the savior not dead. He's alive, and with him comes life and hope and joy and peace that we no longer have to be afraid of death now we can step into life.

So it's always good, it's always a good time to bring your problems to Jesus because Jesus is always on time, he's always mindful of our time. But not only that Jesus can transform any moment. Again, notice Mary's response to the problem that she encounters, she takes it to Jesus. And even when he protests some with his response, her trust and confidence in him are so great she simply tells the servants do whatever he tells you to do. Something powerful happens when Jesus is present and his people do what they tell him to do. See, I think the sign reminds us that the presence of Christ in our lives, as Scott reminded us here just a moment ago, that that his spirit dwells in us, that for those whose spirit, God's spirit dwells in them when they do what he asked them to do, amazing things happen. Something as simple as filling up a jar of water could turn into a wedding miracle. So let me ask you, what is what is Jesus telling you to do these days? What's he asking you to do? Do you have enough trust and confidence that you'll do it no matter what it is? Because, you know, as Mary did, it doesn't matter what he tells you to do, just do it. I promise it'll work out.

It will be what it needs to be. Mary understood that when Jesus was around, nothing was impossible. And so it didn't matter how big the challenge was, how overwhelming the circumstance was. Jesus can transform it. So, church, do we have the trust and the confidence that when we ask Jesus, when we tell him about a problem that we can simply respond by doing whatever it is that he tells us to do? Now, John shows us what Jesus could do with the jar of water. Imagine what he could do in your life. Well, not only does Jesus always on time, not only can he transform transform any person, any circumstance, any situation, Jesus reveals new life. He always reveals new life. See, there was a six stone jars for purification, and Jesus uses them to bring new wine. They were jars that had been around for a long time. They were jars that had a purpose and an intention, and they were jars that were just sitting there empty. And Jesus said, Fill them with water. And the next thing you know, those old jars useless, empty sitting to the side are now the focal point, the centerpiece of this amazing experience for people. You see, Jesus brings new life out of old things all the time. And in the Old Testament, when God wanted to give us people this picture of the joyful arrival of his kingdom, it was often this picture of abundance of wine.

And the prophet Amos, the prophet Joel, they prophesied these times when the people will be brought back out of captivity that they know the kingdom has come with this abundant flowing wine. Yes, I think that's why John reminds us that that the jars weren't just filled. Halfway or partial, it was to the brim. It was to the point that if you even nudged it a little bit, some was going to splash out. See, the presence of God's spirit in our life, empowers us, equips us, can fill us and bring us new life, so much so that when we bump into people, a little spills out. A little grace spills out, a little love spills out, little hope spills out. Why? Because you can't help but be be filled with it. Jesus reveals new life. See, when Jesus is present, he's always on time and he always transforms and he always brings life. And as we'll see here in just a few weeks and a couple of chapters, it's not just any life, it's abundant life, it's life to the full. Again, John ends with this verse in one. Well, Jesus did here in Canada, Angeli was the first of the signs. Now, I don't know how many times I've studied this, but I didn't know this, but that word first, right? There is not first sequentially like one two three four five six. There's a word for that in Greek.

That's not the word that John uses here. The first four that it's the beginning. John says. If you think water to wine is something. I'll just wait. Come and see. Come and see what's going to happen if you will open yourself up to the work of God's spirit in your life, if you will trust in Christ. If you'll take all your problems to him. It may not be this magical answer, but Jesus is always on time, and he's always bringing about transformation, he's always bringing life. If you think water to wine is something, oh, just wait. Come and see. Come and see. God, would you bless us this week as we go throughout our lives? As we face the different circumstances and challenges in our lives, whether it's a relational challenge, a work challenge, a school challenge, maybe it's something in our city, our state lord, we see challenges all over the world. How would you help grow our trust, our faith, our confidence in Jesus? They will do whatever he says, no matter what it is. And I know as a parent, that's my great hope for my kids. Is that I'd have the confidence in Jesus? The trust in his goodness. To impart that to them, so no matter what he says, no matter where he points, they'll go. Because I know that's that's the road to life. I got too often we want to stay safe.

You want to stay secure, we want to stay in that little bubble where we know what we know. And got it's so easy to build walls up around us and to just marginalize those who are different from us who think different than us, who live different from us. Because that's not who you're calling us to be. That's not the sign that John shows us here at the beginning of his gospel. Instead, we see this radical faith happening just even in the moment the disciples. They believed Jesus after seeing that we got we know. Many of us have read through the gospel, we know the disciples, oh man, they screw it up, they forget. They get lost. And yet Jesus is still faithful. He still renews, he still calls new life into them. He's still transforming them. He's still right on time. Oh, God, would you encourage us this week wherever we are on our spiritual journey, if we're just investigating and we're just checking this Jesus out to sea? Can I really trust him? Is he really faithful, God? Would you help these signs to be ones that point us to the incredible, incomparable? Life, transformation, revelation, anticipation that comes in Jesus. I got four for some of us who are like those stone jars. We just kind of sitting on the sidelines. Many of us are feeling empty. We don't have a purpose. How would you fill us once again? Phyllis, once again, with that new life that we step into that work situation where we know everybody plays their same old roles all the time and I'm I'm tempted just to play, my god, would you bring new life? Would you help me to be a peace maker? And that moment when normally I would just fire off a quick.

A quick word joke step. Instead, father, maybe it's. Staying quiet. Maybe it's refraining. Or right in that moment where question comes up and I and I have an opportunity to speak into the way that that you Jesus, have made a difference in my life and I'm tempted to want to shrink back God, would you give me the courage to step forward? And whatever it may be. We believe you are the author of Life and you were there at the beginning. You were there at our beginning. And you will be there to welcome us in the glory. But God, between that day and this, would you help us? Would you fill us with that water that can become a miracle? Yeah, would you do it in the perfect timing? Would you bring the transformation that's necessary? Yeah, would you open our eyes to see the revelation of the truth that you are our God? Father, thank you for our church. Thank you for those who are searching who are wondering. Yeah, but you meet them right where they are. It help us to be more fully yours. In Jesus name, I pray Amen.