“The Best Wine”
[John 2:6-12]
October 21, 2010 Old First Presbyterian Church
Why did Jesus change the water into wine?
We may remember when I was last with you we looked at the fact the Jesus and His mother, Mary, went to a wedding in Cana, and when they ran out of wine, Mary, knowing that her Son is Divine, told Him to do something about it. Jesus rebuked Mary and told her that it was not His hour – that is it was not time for Jesus to submit to the will of humans which would culminate in His humiliation on the cross. However, Mary makes the curious comment to the servants, to do whatever Jesus says.
Jesus had told Mary that it was inappropriate for her to command Him to provide wine, but Mary understood that if providing wine was according to the Will of His Father, Jesus would do it, so Mary told the servants to do whatever He said.
We are told that there were six twenty or thirty gallon jars which were used to carry water for purification rites. That is, they contained water with which a person was washed to remove sin – to purify them. We will remember that the baptism of John the Baptist was with water – a purification rite – where a person was cleansed of his or her sins – not because he or she got wet, but for having faith in the Savior that God was sending.
Jesus told the servants to fill the jars with water, and they filled them to the brim. We might wonder what they were thinking: they weren’t lacking in water; they were lacking in wine. What good was filling the jars up with water? Yet we see in their immediate response that they respected Jesus, so they did what He said.
It is important to note that we are talking about 120 to 180 gallons of water. That is a lot of water. Knowing that there was that much water, as Calvin points out, attests to what happened being a miracle. If the servants had shown up with several small jars of wine, it could be argued that they got it from the market or a neighbor’s, but since it was such a vast quantity of wine, it could only have appeared as a miracle.
It also shows us the apparent foolishness of the ways of God. Paul wrote, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing that things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (I Corinthians 1:18, 27-31, ESV)
Jesus told the servants to bring the wine to the master of the feast – the one who had organized it – to let him taste the wine. And when he tasted the wine, he tasted the best wine he had ever had – and he didn’t know where it came from – the servants didn’t tell him – Jesus didn’t tell him. And he called the bridegroom to him and complimented the bridegroom for going against culture – which usually served the good wine first, and then when people were tipsy, gave them the poor wine. Instead, he had saved the very best wine for last
Why didn’t Jesus say He had changed the water into wine? Why didn’t the servants say that Jesus had turned the water into wine? As an example fo the foolishness of God’s Ways – that God has chosen to work through human beings rather than just brazenly announce Himself and His Savior. Doesn’t it seem it would be more effective for God to supernaturally announce Himself and His Savior over a cosmic loudspeaker, rather than have human beings preach His Word week after week? But God in His Sovereign Wisdom has chosen to use us and to bring His Gospel to the world through what seems foolish to us.
In the changing of water into wine, we also see symbolism of regeneration – what God does to us in salvation. The servants filled the cold, stone jars with water, and God changed that water into the best wine. Similarly, God in salvation takes we who were spiritually dead – like a cold, stone jar – and fills us with God the Holy Spirit, causing us to come to spiritual life. This is the promise that was made in Ezekiel’s day: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26, ESV).
Yet, with all that being said, we have not said why Jesus turned the water into wine.
After John records the response of the master of the feast, he tells us this: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.” Ah. Jesus changed the water into wine to manifest His Glory. What does that mean? It means that Jesus changed the water into wine to show – to attest – to prove – that He is the Savior, God in the Flesh.
Jesus could have stood up and called to the master of the feast, “Everyone, I am Jesus of Nazareth, Son of the Living God, the Long-Awaited Savior, God in the Flesh. And to prove to You Who I Am, I will change these six jars – these six barrels – of water into best wine you have ever tasted.” He could have done that. But He didn’t. He called the servants aside quietly. They followed His instructions, but didn’t tell the master of the feast where the wine came from. The master of the feast thought the wine came from the bridegroom, and he, apparently, did not contradict that assumption.
So to whom was the Glory of Jesus Manifested? To the servants, the disciples, and Mary. To those whom God in His Sovereign Will and Wisdom chose to reveal it at that time. And they believed.
Jesus accomplished what He set out to do in that act: He changed the water into wine, revealing His Glory to the servants, the disciples, and Mary, and they believed in Him as the Savior Whom God sent.
How ought we respond to this? How then ought we to live?
Paul wrote, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31, ESV). Just as Jesus manifested His Glory, we are to do all things to His Glory. How do we do that?
Just as God worked through the servants to magnify Jesus and show His Glory to them, God also works through us to magnify Jesus and show His Glory. Is it the call of a servant to direct attention to himself or herself? Is it the job of a waiter to bring attention to himself or herself? Is it the job of a busperson to bring attention to himself or herself? No, they are there to point beyond themselves.
God has called us and put us in positions that we might point to Him and show Jesus to be Who He is to others. We wait in the shadows and direct the spotlight on our Savior through all we say and do. As John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, ESV).
Understand, Jesus is not calling us to be obnoxious: we are not called to file our taxes and then confront everyone we come in contact with saying, “I paid my taxes honestly and to the best of my understanding because I believe in Jesus ” Being obnoxious draws the spotlight on us; it takes the glory away from Jesus.
A more appropriate case would be if a friend were trying to get you to cheat on your taxes, and you said that you couldn’t cheat on your taxes because of what Jesus has done for you in salvation. That puts the spotlight on Jesus and draws the glory to Him. That is how we are to be – glorifying Jesus by showing that the reason for all that we do and say – except our sin – is in thanks to Him for Who He is and what He has done for us.
So let us bring forth the best wine, showing the manifesting of Jesus’ Glory – that He is God the Only Savior – in all that we do and say.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for manifesting the Glory of Jesus before the servants and disciples and Mary and us. We ask that You would help us to draw attention to You and Your Glory and Your Salvation through Jesus Alone. And may we be in all things, to Your Glory. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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