The Church of Eleven22 - Lent Devo Episode 5: The Wedding at Cana

Episode Date: March 6, 2020

John 2:1-11

What is it? Jesus is some of the miracles. Jesus has all your... The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Welcome to our Lent podcast. Hey, my name is Eddie Foy, worship pastor at the Arlington campus. The miracle of Jesus we're focused on today is found in John, Chapter 2, verses 1 through 11. It's the wedding at Cana.

It says, on the third day. there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, and they filled them up to the brim, and he said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. So they took it? When the master of the feast tasted the water,

now become wine, and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. So in this story, Jesus is at a wedding with his mother and his disciples, and because Jesus and his mother were both there together,

many believe it was very likely to have been the wedding of a family member or maybe a close friend. then the wine ran out. And in this culture, the first century culture, it would have been extremely embarrassing to have run out of something like the wine. And in this culture, wine was often viewed as a sign of joy or a sign of blessing.

In Psalm 104, verse 14 and 15, says you cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man. In Proverbs 3, 9, and 10, honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine. So what happened to this party? Was it a

miscalculation, poor planning, maybe even just a cheap host? No matter the reason, when Mary, the mother of Jesus said to him that there was no more wine, could it be because she had grown in her dependence upon him? Had she seen his steadfastness and ability to be resource. had she seen him take charge in desperate situations? Whatever her motivation for turning to Jesus in the desperate situation, she knew where to turn in a hopeless situation. Jesus says to his mother, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.

But his response seems slightly harsh towards his mother. The tone of, woman, what does this have to do with me, appears to show his ultimate submission to his heavenly father, even over his earthly mother. And as we see, he later meets the need still and provides the miracle of turning the water into wine, but only after giving a foreshadow of his hour to come, that hour being the crucifixion that was to come. When Jesus asked the servants to fill the six stone water jars with water, they're said to be basins for Jewish rites of purification. These were not water coolers for drinking. They were jars for bathing, cleansing, purifying.

they were part of a ceremonial cleansing where the entire body could be cleansed before a wedding, a meal, or a ceremony. The picture here of Jesus taking a thing meant for self-pureification and turning it into something only he could do is mind-blowing. It was a way of cleansing yourself. It's as if Jesus is saying, you cannot clean yourself up enough. I am the way to the Father. You cannot clean yourself up enough.

Jesus instructed the servants to fill the basins with water, then draw the water and serve it to the master of the feast. He immediately notices that it was a good wine and not something typically served this late in a party. So this being Jesus' first miracle, he still flew under the radar a bit. The text says the master of the feast tasted the water that became wine and did not know where it came from. It says though the servants who had drawn the water knew. couldn't Jesus have made it really clear to everyone, including the master of the feast? Sure, but John seems to focus more on Jesus' private, small, and personal miracle here in his ministry in this account. So running out of wine at a party exposes a problem that could not be reconciled by any person

other than Jesus. Not only does he replenish the wine and he does it with water, he replenishes it with the good stuff. This miracle reveals who he is, that he is the word who was in the beginning, Lord over all creation, ruler over all things, the one who can change the chemistry of water and cause it to become wine. The scripture says that this sign manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. This sign pointed to Jesus as the one who can provide in desperate situations. those who saw this miracle were confronted with the one true God and his provision. It was more than the meeting of a physical need, a party that had run out of wine. It was revealing that Jesus not only provided for a people lacking wine at a party,

but it was pointing to himself on a cross that would be poured out for the atonement for our sins. As we looked at the season of Easter and the path of Jesus from cross to resurrection, may we be reminded of his goodness towards us that he would reveal himself to us in a similar way. When we were desperate and dead in our sin, he would step in and make a way for us. Let's look forward to the resurrection with anticipation of the ultimate miracle of God,

breathing life into Jesus and walking him out of a grave, all pointing to the glory of God and his greatness. Let's pray together God, would you point our hearts, would you point our minds, point our spirits to you? You, the giver of all good things. You, the good gift giver. And as we look to the cross, we look to the resurrection in this Easter and Lent season.

May we look to you for that ultimate gift, the ultimate miracle of the resurrection that gives life to those who were dead. Amen. Thanks for listening. Our prayer is that this podcast, will help you deepen your relationship with Jesus. For more resources, go to C-O-E-22.com forward slash lent.