5.18 - Did Jesus Really DO THAT? (Part 7)

Did Jesus really turn water to wine?
In John 2, we are told about "the first" of Jesus' signs which took place at a wedding in Cana. While this passage is often surrounded by secondary discussions, in this episode, we want to get to heart of this sign and understand what this sign tells about Jesus.

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Paul and Noah both preach and teach with the Cedar Park church of Christ in Cedar Park, TX. You can visit our site at: https://www.cedarparkchurchofchrist.org/

Transcript

5.18 - Did Jesus Really DO THAT_ (Part 7)
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Paul: [00:00:00] Well, welcome again to all who are listening today to the podcast, Stand Strong. We're dealing with in season five, Did Jesus Really? And Noah, we're continuing in this idea. Did Jesus really do this? And we're going back to a gospel account. We want to see something in the gospel of John. Did Jesus really do this?

And it has to do with not just a miracle, but I think John is going to tell us it was the first. Miracles. And when we want to see what Jesus did at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. 

Noah: Yeah, I think this is a really important story for us to consider and to look at. And it's one that has had a lot of discussion surrounding it.

There's a lot of questions about. What the purpose of this miracle was, what did it practically speaking, accomplish what's going on with the interaction between Jesus and his mom and some of the, you know, maybe cultural differences that we don't understand as [00:01:00] well. 2000 years later, there's a lot of questions that revolve around this questions that we're not going to be able to answer, at least not in full in this kind of a format.

But I do think this format is going to be good for a discussion of, you know, Okay, Jesus did this, but why? Let's talk about the main purpose of what, what we can learn about Jesus and about God. in this in this occurrence, in this event. 

Paul: I like it. All right, so let's just get the text. I'm going to read it from the English Standard Version.

If you're listening today, this is John's gospel, the gospel of John chapter two, we're just going to start in verse one, John two, verse one on the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine.

Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to his [00:02:00] servants, 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. Jesus said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. And so they took it. And when the master of the feast tasted, the water now became wine, and did not know when it came from, or where it came from, though the servants, it says in parentheses, who had drawn the water knew.

The master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to the bridegroom, 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. And then John just tells us in verse 11, this is the first of his signs that [00:03:00] Jesus did in Cana of Galilee.

Manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. Mm hmm. 

Noah: Yeah, so I mean, first of all, this is a pretty unique, Sign among all of the miracles that we have recorded for us that Jesus did while he was here on earth And clearly there were others that we we just don't know about but of all the ones that are recorded for us This is kind of a unique one not only because john tells us it's the first It's kind of kicking off his his ministry as we sometimes refer to it but We don't see jesus do this kind of a sign You Again, really, as far as, I mean, perhaps the closest we, we could think of would be something along the lines of feeding the 5, 000 where he blesses the bread and breaks it and he's just continuing to produce bread, but a lot of the signs that he does have to do with people [00:04:00] right directly with people healing people blind men, lame men, you know, those kinds of things, the woman with the issue of blood, all of those kinds of things. So this is kind of a, it's kind of a weird miracle. And it's also where it said where we're told that it's his first. Well, why, why this? Why did he start here? And, and what are we supposed to get from it? 

Paul: Yeah, I think that's, I think that's the relevant point here. And this is why I'm bringing this up.

You're asking, I think the right question or questions. That should always be asked when we're looking in a context that clearly he says this is the first of his signs So when you look at that word sign, it's telling us that this is intended to signify something and it is To manifest his glory. He manifested his glory.

Noah: Yeah 

Paul: through this sign This miracle. So here's a concern that I have, and I'm just going to state it in the beginning for those that are listening. And I, and I, and I, and I intend on explaining [00:05:00] a little briefly why I'm stating this. I think unfortunately we miss the things that the Lord wants us to see in John 2 because of all the noise that centers around What were in the pots?

Did Jesus really, is the theme of this, and so the folk, okay, did Jesus really turn water into wine and doing the word study and what was in the pots? Was there a degree of fermentation or was there not? Was it just the sweetest, best product of the grape or did it have a degree of fermentation in it? And look, there are good people on both sides of that issue, but I have seen it turn into such a divisive thing.

That personally, one man speaking here, I'm concerned that with all the noise. We miss what we need to see in John two. Now, a little briefly explanation. When I say noise, I'm not saying that's an unimportant conversation to have with regards [00:06:00] to, should we be drinking alcohol? And anybody that has a question about my position on that always come to me.

I've preached sermons here. I'm happy to give you the date. And when I preached it, you can listen to everything I said. You can come to me and ask me my position on alcohol. I don't drink in any form, in any amount. And I have cautioned others not to do that. And clearly I have preached that drunkenness is forbidden.

But look, in conversations and wine, alcohol comes up. We all have a bias. Most, all of us, to be fair, have a bias, which means I do. And so I know there's going to be triggered responses. That people have, if I were to say, you know, there is a good chance that there was a degree of fermentation in that.

Somebody is going to charge me of saying that Jesus, then I've turned him into a bartender and it can't be so, cause then he made a product in this amount [00:07:00] where people, if they had drunk this amount of it, then he, Jesus would be responsible for people getting drunk. And then that means Jesus has sinned and my Lord never sinned.

And look where the train gets off the tracks really quickly. John says, here's the first of his signs. He did it to manifest his glory and they believed. 

Noah: And his disciples believed. I think that that's what we need to key in on to understand why you referred to it as noise. Just to reiterate, you're not saying that the discussion about, The, the morality or wisdom involved in drinking alcohol is noise inherently, but in the context of John two, it's noise because that's not what John two is about.

Correct. That's not the purpose. And I think that verse 11 that you referenced just now really helps us get into What was the purpose of this sign? And the purpose was so that the people would believe, yes, they would believe. We're told his disciples believe, [00:08:00] and what we see in this sign. is a demonstration of power that only belongs to God.

Amen. Only God can make this creation, this transformation of water to wine. And not only that, but he does it in a way that only God can. He, he, he does it to an extent that only God can. It makes sense that if God is going to produce, if he's going to change water into wine, That it's going to be of the best quality and the best flavor and that's what we see right the the master of the feast What i'm getting at is he?

Manifested his glory and his disciples believed because he demonstrated power That only god has to a level of of excellence and quality that only god can 

Paul: yeah There's so much here that sometimes look I can't say I missed it You know, when I first started teaching and preaching and this subject [00:09:00] would come up, I had missed so much of what culturally is a part of a wedding feast.

Right at this time and you know seven days and I think it's interesting when you bring up This is John says it's the first of his signs that the first of the signs John what? Seven in his gospel, you know of the miracles seven something around that. He tells us later in the book that there were many other signs Jesus did.

Noah: Right. 

Paul: These are written that you might believe, believe you might have life in his name. And here he says early on, this is the first one that he's, he's doing this at a wedding feast and what people would be thinking. The guests, all who came to this and, and the, the dilemma that his mother can immediately see they have no wine, it's 

Noah: run 

Paul: out.

What that would have said about the family or the bridegroom, 

Noah: you 

Paul: know, if you're running out of wine, that was a big [00:10:00] deal. 

Noah: Yeah. Yeah. And 

Paul: she's very concerned about this. And then Jesus responds to her is, you know, and John too, why are you coming to me? Right. 

Noah: Right. Right. Right. I, I am not an expert I am not an expert in, in ancient Jewish culture.

I, I try to understand it the best I can, 2, 000 years later. But people that are much more informed about the, the language and the culture of the time than myself have made observations that I mean, you already observed this is a multi day event. This is going on for, for, for days at a time and there was a responsibility.

The understanding is there was a responsibility and obligation that the host of this wedding provide all that is necessary to the extent that if they ran out of something, not only would it have been shameful, but there could have been financial repercussions for, for running out of something like. The main beverage, the main drink at, at the at this feast.

And so the reason [00:11:00] we should take note of that and try to understand that best we can is this also indicates that this is not only a sign of Jesus's power as God, but Jesus's compassion. as God. This sign was not simply a demonstration of his power, but it was a demonstration of his character that he stepped in, he interceded and prevented something that could have been very shameful and very ruinous for this family.

Paul: Right. No, I agree. You know, I, there are other things. I'm, I'm, I'm resisting the urge, like things in John two that come up. After this very brief, from what we see, conversation between Jesus and his mother. I mean, think of the difficulty, I mean, we've got moms out there listening. I mean, your son, He has God in the flesh and you're having that conversation and you know, what, what you assume he should be dealing with and dealing with [00:12:00] now, but he's thinking on a whole nother level.

Remember cause your son is God in the flesh. Your son is about the father's business, but he's still, there's respect, obviously respect here, but she just simply after the conversation, she just simply says, Hey, Do whatever Jesus tells you to do. Yeah. You know, and then Jesus does what he does there and says what he says, but you know, you, you have a lot of product, whatever's in those pots.

There is a lot of it. 

Noah: Yeah. 

Paul: And culturally we, we need not to assume that just because you have 120 to 180 gallons, Whatever's in the pots that, that this turns into a drunken orgy. 

Noah: Oh, well, yeah, that, 

Paul: I mean, that, that was not, that was not something that Jesus and his disciples would have been a part of, 

Noah: right?

Paul: And plus you have the master or governor, depending on your translation of the feast, [00:13:00] who is responsible for the mix, mixture and the guests in order to guard against guests getting drunk. And he's there to keep order. Right. So sometimes that's missed to be fair. 

Noah: Yeah. Yeah. And there's a whole lot again, culturally, that is not intuitive to us reading in the 21st century.

But I like that you, you pointed forward to the end of John's gospel of John's record to point out that he says, there are many other things that Jesus did that are, that I didn't record. These are recorded, why? So that you may believe. And when we walk through the book of John, starting, excuse me, starting here with this miracle, we see the result of Jesus signs is that people believe.

And that's, that is what is still being asked of us today. When we read this, we need to recognize in it that who Jesus is claiming to be, both in power [00:14:00] and character, we need to recognize that and acknowledge that and accept it. We need to believe it. That's what's being asked of us when we read this passage.

Now, there are other applications that we can make. There are other observations we can make in the context that can be helpful for our walk in Christ, but we cannot miss What's being asked of us here is belief. 

Paul: Right. Yep. Belief. I mean, he manifested his glory. Jesus is the superior one. He always does what is superior and he does it at the right time at just the right place.

And, you know, when, when you run out of wine and what that represented, especially to a Jewish audience and it, and it's, it's now. in pots where water was used for purification. And now he's contrasting what they would be thinking of in regards [00:15:00] to their purification to now what it means truly to be sanctified and who's the one sanctifying you.

And where he's going with this. I mean, there, there, there are things I think that are taking place that reveal to us. I know we can, I can push the text further than it's designed to be pushed, but clearly revealing to us the superiority of Jesus. And now what you have is you have this superiority, his glory being manifested in abundance.

Noah: Yeah. Yeah. His, his ways are superior. His, his thoughts and his plans are superior. They're, they're not only. Of a greater quantity, but of a greater quality than our own. And the fact is that this demonstration of, of power is reflective of greater power. Having control of the physical world is something that, you know, is inherent to God's nature.

And he, we see him demonstrate signs across his [00:16:00] ministry that show this kind of create both creation. Creative and transformative type of control over nature. But in the end there is also, it's reflective of a greater power, even still. And that greater power that he has to transform us through his spirit and through the blood of his son.

This is, this is a reflection of that, that is as great as this miracle might have, or as great as this miracle was, excuse me, the, the transformation and the new creation that, that Christ's blood. has in our lives to change, though, to bring people out of darkness and into light. And we could reference all of the passages that talk about that process, as you mentioned of, of transformation and sanctification, that's an even greater power.

And it is also coming from a place of compassion. And it is also coming [00:17:00] from a power that can only be God's. 

Paul: Yeah. I want, you know, I want to briefly read a piece that I read not long ago. It was helpful to me, so I'm just offering this in the context of our discussion in John 2 of the first of Jesus miracles, the turning of water to wine.

And it references how, and if you go back in the Old Testament, you'll see clearly how wine, how wine was used as a symbol of blessing for blessings from God. Or, and so you, you've got Jesus turning water to wine and this author made this point, especially now the blessings of God that are to be delivered in the Messianic age.

I mean, who is this one who's performing the sign? It's manifesting his glory. They are believing in him. This is no ordinary man who's doing this. We know that no man can do this except God be with him, was what Nicodemus says. But anyway, especially now the blessings of God that's being delivered in the messianic age.

And without wine, [00:18:00] there was wrath from God, but with wine, God's favor. Therefore, what is this first sign? It's bringing wine when there is none. That is, the blessings in favor of God in abundance at a time when there was wrath. How unusual, but appropriate, he says, that they ran out of wine and only the miracle of God could change the situation.

And by this sign, Jesus has signaled the end of wrath and the arrival of the blessings of the Messiah. Hmm. That was helpful to me for all the noise. And I've been guilty of some of the noise. I admit that. But for all of the questions in the context of John 2 that are not easily answered, what can we see?

What, what does the Holy Spirit in John 2 want us to make sure we don't miss? The Messiah. 

Noah: Yeah. 

Paul: Belief in Him, His glory being manifested. 

Noah: Right. Right. Amen. [00:19:00] Well, there's a lot more that we could discuss given more time, but I think that we've done our best to get to the heart of this passage in the heart of this miracle that Jesus performed.

So did Jesus really turn water to wine? He did. Absolutely. He did. And he did it so that we might believe. And that's, that is a worthwhile reminder for, for all of us. He is the Messiah, He's the Anointed One, and His power that He has demonstrated ought to make us believe. 

Paul: Yeah, so if there's someone listening today and you want to know more, more about the Jesus that we're seeing in John 2, more about Him as the Christ, Son of God, and how because of Him and through Him you can have life in His name.

That's who we're all about. And if Noah and I can ever help you come to understand and to know this abundant life that's in Jesus, then that's what we want to do. We're all about sharing the gospel and it's the good news of the King and his kingdom. 

Noah: Amen. Amen. 

Paul: So where are we [00:20:00] going next, Noah? 

Noah: Well, Paul, next week, we're going to be doing one more installment of, did Jesus really do it?

And the question next week that we'll be talking about is did Jesus really get baptized? We, we talk about baptism, I think a good bit and, and I think that we should. But sometimes we don't stop to think about the event very early on in Jesus's well, even before Jesus's earthly ministry. Where he goes to the river, and there's John the Baptist, and he's dunked in the water.

He's baptized. Did Jesus really get baptized? 

Paul: But if John's baptism was unto repentance, and my baptism is for remission of sins, Jesus didn't have anything to repent of and clearly Jesus had no sin. Did you, he got back, but he did get baptized, but it's there in the gospel. There it is there. So we want to unpack that Lord willing [00:21:00] next week.

Noah: Yes. I'm looking forward to that until next week. We pray that those who are listening that you will continue to grow in your walk with Christ, that you'll continue to strive to be more like Christ, and that together as we serve Him, we can stand strong.