Lord of the Wine pt.1

John 2:1–11 (ESV) — 1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 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 10 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.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

____

There are a lot of people that reject or turn away from Christianity without really understanding it. The misconception is that if you want to have fun, you have to do that apart from Christianity.

There are reasons to reject Christianity but that’s not one of them. If you have rejected Christianity because you believe that you can’t have fun and be a Christian then you have rejected it without understanding what it is.

Do you like partying? Dancing? Celebrating? Can you imagine going to a party that lasts and entire week?!

That's what a Jewish wedding was like and that's the setting for this text. At Jewish weddings there would have been tons of food, wine, dancing and games. The party would have been huge to; it’s likely that the whole community would have been involved.

The first miracle that Jesus performs is at a party like this. I'd like to point out that Jesus isn't standing outside the party being "holy" while everyone is inside having a good time. Jesus was right there, inside the party. Jesus was actually known to hang out with the “unrighteous” and was constantly invited to different parties. Some of His critics actually accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard.

Now, this isn't just a miracle that Jesus does here...it's his first miracle and the Bible tells us it's more than just a miracle, it's a sign. That means that there's more meaning to this, it actually is a parable of what Jesus entire ministry is going to be like.

This miracle also has the earmark of authenticity. Let me tell you what I mean. If you were going to make up a religion and you were writing fictional stories about the miracles that your deity is going to perform....you would want the deity's first miracle to really set the stage. You would want it to be awesome and really make a statement. Think about how important first impressions are, your deity's movement is going to be judged by this first "act." It's just like a website, your first look at a website should impress you and invite you in further, if it looks shady or lame you don't want anything to do with it.

What was Jesus' first miracle? He saves some irresponsible teenagers from being embarrassed by throwing a poor party and only the servants and his disciples knew about it. That's not exactly a grand entrance. He could have raised the dead or made a blind man see or walked on water....but instead He makes a bad party into a great party and the only people who even knew about it were those that were low on the social ladder, without any influence in society. That's the calling card that He leaves.

That's a mark of authenticity...you wouldn't make that up! It's too unimpressive; it would only be recorded that way if it actually happened that way.

Because the Bible tells us that this is a sign, we know that Jesus is making a statement here. This miracle shows us what he's really come to do. He has come to take our lives (that are quickly coming to an end just like the supply of wine at the wedding) and make them new and abundantly more than we had before.

Jesus didn't come to the earth to condemn it; He came bringing joy...which is what He does at this party.

In verse 9 you see a man referred to as "the master of the feast." This is the guy that would have been tasked with making the party fun. You know the type of person, this guy in our day would announce the new husband and wife as they walk into the reception dinner, or that gets everyone over to the dance floor. It was his responsibility to keep the party going and to make sure everyone was having a good time.

Jesus, however shows Himself to be the true Master of the Feast. Jesus is the one that saves the party from being an embarrassment and provides more wine...and just not box wine....the good stuff!

There’s a misconception that Christianity is something like this, "Well, I have to follow these rules...I don't like it but it's either this or hell."

Or

"Well, I've had my fun...now it's time to buckle down and start being a good person."

Christianity is actually a continual chasing after pleasure. You see that Jesus didn’t rebuke the people for partying; He actually elevated the party to a whole new level. That’s what Christianity is like. As humans we have a deep-seated desire to chase after pleasure, once you become a Christian you still chase after what gives you the most pleasure…but you’ve found something that gives vastly more pleasure than the tiny pleasures that our culture has to offer. Jesus is saying that following Him is actually the highest pleasure.

A Christian treasures their relationship with Jesus and finds more fulfillment and joy in that than they do in the pleasures of the world. It’s the difference between seeing a picture of a gooey chocolate cookie and eating the gooey chocolate chip cookie. It’s the difference between seeing a picture of the Grand Canyon and white water rafting through the Grand Canyon. It’s the difference between watching a roller coaster on TV and actually sitting on the front row of the roller coaster as it descends into a 100-foot plummet.

So how do you get a relationship with Jesus that’s like this?

I’ll first tell you how not to do it.

You do not get a relationship with Jesus like this by modifying your behavior. You do not get it by doing good things and not doing bad things. You do not get it by getting more knowledge about the Bible. You do not get it by treating others as you would have them treat you. You do not get it by going to church. You do not get it by giving to the poor. You do not get it by sitting through a sermon without falling asleep. Do you see a pattern here?

Usually we assume that if I do A, B & C then I have put God in my debt, He owes me. If I just did A, B & C then my life would be better.

You know where this ends right? This will either end in pride or despair. Either you will buckle down and do A, B & C or you will try your hardest to do it a fail.

If you are the one that is able to succeed in pulling it off this is what life will likely feel like to you…there will be days where you feel great because you’ve had a good track record, then there will be days where you feel like you can’t approach God because of how you’ve let him down by not doing your end of the bargain. You will likely look down on others who are unable to perform as well as you. You may say that you are saved because Jesus died for you, but at the end of the day what you really believe is that you are saved because of how you’ve performed recently and your whole relationship with Jesus stands or falls on how you’ve done that day. This ultimately ends in pride.

Here’s the other path. You try your hardest to do A, B & C and you fail. You have realized that it’s not even possible to live that way. But you notice that other people seem like they are able to do it so you fake it. Even though you know you can’t live up to the standards you make it seem as if you are so that others will think that you are a “good” Christian. This just ends in despair; your whole walk with God is reduced to a sort of play that you act out and changes depending on who’s around at the time.

This it is not genuine Christianity. A life lived like either of these does not really believe that Jesus paid the debt in full at the cross. A life lived like this believes that Jesus paid some of the debt on the cross, but really when it comes down to it there is still some debt that you have to pay on your own. When the cards are on the table what it really comes down to is that you have to perform in order to please God.

That’s not what the gospel is.

So how do you get a relationship with Jesus that is founded on the gospel? It starts with admitting that you’re empty.

The party would have crashed and burned if no one admitted that they were running out of wine. That’s where it all begins. And notice that the problem was brought to Jesus. That’s where you need to start off. If you want a relationship like this, start by telling Jesus that you’re out, that you’re empty. It’s only then that Jesus will take your bad wine that’s quickly running out and replace it with far better wine in great abundance.

Jesus is the true Master of the Feast, He has come bringing joy…if you want to experience the joy that Jesus brings it all starts with saying, “I’m empty Jesus, please help me.”