The Beginning of the Miracles

Transcript

GR 338
11/18/1979
The Beginning of Miracles
John 2:1-11
Gil Rugh

John’s gospel, chapter 2. As we noted when we began our study of the gospel of John, John has condensed a great amount of material into a little bit of time. And the gospel of John seems like a long gospel, but in reality, it covers a brief period of the life of Jesus Christ. Or brief events in the life of Christ perhaps I should say. And he balances out interestingly. He gives more attention to the details of the opening of the public ministry of Christ, and then he gives details of the closing of the public ministry of Christ. And in between, he just hits some of the highlights to draw our attention to the greatness of the one we are considering.

Through the first 12 chapters, we consider the public ministry of Christ. Then in chapter 13 we move into events on the last night of Jesus’ life. And chapters 13-19 carry us on in those events into chapter 20 with the resurrection and then 21. So the bulk of the book is dealing with the last night and then those days following the crucifixion. And on the front, the public ministry began with chapter 1, verse 19. And he gives us events in the first week and a little more, more in detail because when we come to chapter 2, we are within the first week, the seventh day, of the public ministry of Jesus Christ that began with chapter 1 verse 19. Started out by the public ministry of John the Baptist introducing Jesus to the nation Israel as their Messiah, their king, and as the Son of God.

Then we saw at the end of chapter 1, Jesus calling to Himself those who will form that inner circle of disciples, apostles—those who will be closest to Him during His earthly ministry.

Then when we come to chapter 2, we come to the first miracle that Jesus performed. And you'll note that chapter 2 begins, "And on the third day.." And that’s the third day counting from the calling of the disciples at the end of chapter 1. If you’d take time to go back from chapter 1, verse 19, to chapter 2 verse 1, you’d find that 7 days have transpired in that time from when Jesus is introduced to the nation and when He calls His disciples, and now for His first miracle. In chapter 2, we will really be zeroing in on these events and still within the first week, two and a half weeks of the ministry of Christ because the Passover in verse 13 is close to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

Now we’re not going to spend time talking about miracles and the pros and cons of miracles. My understanding is that when you're talking about God, you're talking about supernatural. And the Bible is a revelation of God, so I expect it to contain the supernatural. I expect that it will unfold to me the workings of a God who does great and miraculous things. Since Jesus Christ is the Son of God, I expect that He will do miracles and the miraculous. And the doing of the miraculous is taken by John as proof that Jesus is the King of Israel, the Son of God. You remember chapter 20 John says that he has recorded these miracles to prove and give evidence to us that Jesus is the Messiah the Christ, the Son of God, so that as a result of believing in Him we might have life in His name.

Now many discredit the miracles. And we won't take time to do that. This miracle is not any different. If you come to the Bible with the presupposition that it is not a revelation of God, you come with a presupposition that it does not record God's intervention into human history, then you naturally have to explain away the supernatural. But it amazes me that men who call themselves theologians who want to study God feel compelled to remove any supernatural from the study of God. And I'm not sure what kind of God they end up with except a god that is human, a god of their own imagination. Let me just give you an example of how one man interprets this miracle. He's intelligent as the world would view him. He's a good enough promoter at least to get it in print. He explains this miracle where Jesus turns the water into wine. And what happens at this feast is they run out of wine. So they come to Jesus and say what can we do? So Jesus says to fill the water pots with water and pass it out and everybody tastes the water and jokes Oh, this is good wine. It's all a joke. It's just been water all the time. Now a man who actually believes that. You know, you'd think if he actually believed that he'd be too embarrassed to put it into print. But he does.

So we're not going to spend time trying to explain miracles. I cannot explain them. They are by their very definition that which transcends the natural processes. They intervene in the natural flow of events, to bring something supernatural to pass that without that intervention could otherwise not have occurred. So they do presuppose the working of God, and that's their proof.

Second, I want to note about this miracle before we begin. In verse 11, chapter 2 of John, "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee"— this is the first miracle that Jesus ever performed in His life. This first of miracles, beginning of miracles. Now that is significant because some of the Apocryphal books record many miracles that Jesus did during His childhood. Trite and grotesque things. For example, Jesus was out playing one day and one of the kids ran into him and knocked him down. So you know what Jesus di? Struck him dead! Now doesn't that fit the character of Christ? No wonder they are an Apocryphal book. They are not true. Jesus is out playing and everybody makes clay animals and birds, and to show Jesus' superiority, Jesus touches His and they fly away or become real. The Bible solves that kind of thing. It tells us John chapter 2:11, this is the first miracle that Jesus did. It tells you something about his childhood and early life. Here he is 30 years of age, but not until he formally presents himself to the nation as Messiah does he offer proof of His Messiahship which are his miracles. So He had a rather normal childhood. We could call it normal from the standpoint he wasn't running around doing great displays of power and giving great evidence of who he is. Not until he begins his public ministry.

Alright, let's look at the details of this miracle. "And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there; and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding." Now this is something of the background. Very sparse. It's the third day so we are within this weeks time that we have been talking about in chapter 1. There is a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Cana is mentioned a couple of other times in the gospel of John. It is called Cana of Galilee because there was also a Cana of Syria. And to distinguish this town from the town in Syria, it is called Cana of Galilee. We don’t know for sure where it is. It's not a very prominent town in the gospels but it is eluded to a couple of times. The mother of Jesus is at this wedding. Again, no details. Who's getting married? What's all the detail? Just the background. It may well have been a relative involved in this wedding because Mary seems to have something of a responsible position because in verse 5 we'll find her giving instructions to some of the servants. So she may be involved in this wedding as one of the relatives and that would also explain why Jesus was invited. He's invited and his disciples are invited. Again, not unusual for a Rabbi or a teacher to have his disciples accompany him. In those days when a teacher traveled, his disciples traveled with him. That inner circle, that core of followers. So it was to be expected that when he would be travelling somewhere, his disciples would be accompanying him. That's part of the learning process, to be with him wherever he was. And to learn by contact and being involved with him. So Jesus and His disciples are also at the wedding. Now that's the background. Whether it's a cousin or whoever it is, we don't know. And it's not important to the actual flow of what happens.

Now verse 3 gets to the heart of the matter and the problem. "When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'They have no wine.'"And Jesus said to her, ’Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.'" Now interesting the events that transpire. This wedding they run out of wine, hard for us to appreciate the significance of such an event. A wedding feast, a great occasion. Probably the local social occasion in this town. Now wine, and we know from some of the rabbinical writings, was viewed as a symbol of joy. And for the wine to run out was a catastrophic event. Would mark this couple for the rest of their married life. They would be the couple that had a marriage where they ran out of wine. It was a social disaster. This was a terrible thing to have happen. You know you could be sued for such a thing? Hard for us to imagine, to be sued at your wedding because you ran out of refreshments. But it was a significant and serious event, and Mary the mother of Jesus has the sensitivity toward this situation. Now it’s not as earth-shaking an event, obviously, as some other events could have been. I think that’s one of the significant things here. That it is on this occasion in this setting that Jesus chooses to do His first miracle. Now you have to appreciate Mary. She comes to Jesus and says ’They have no wine.’ And from the response of Jesus as well as the statement of Mary, you know that she is expecting him to do something about the situation. Here he is a rather poor, travelling Rabbi, now what is he supposed to do at the wedding? Obviously Mary has the confidence in him that he can do something to correct the situation. I think that speaks well of Mary. Sometimes we as Protestants are guilty of trying to hold Mary down. Because the Roman Catholics have elevated and exalted Mary to a position beyond what the Bible does, so we react the other way and try to play her importance down. But the Bible gives her a very significant part. The angel when he confronted her about the birth of Christ said that she was highly favored. She acknowledged that she would be recognized as a great person, and she is. And she displays something of her faith and confidence here, because she turns to Christ on this occasion.

Go back to the book of Luke just for a couple of occasions that would have been the background for Mary. Luke chapter 1. When the angel addressed Mary to announce the coming birth of the Messiah. Chapter 1 of Luke, verse 31, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end." So Mary had this input, this background, from even before Jesus was conceived in her womb who he was and who he would be and what he would accomplish.

Look over in chapter 2 and verse 19. After the shepherds have come and offered their worship, following the birth of Jesus. You note we’re told in verse 19, "All who wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." Down at the end of chapter 2, the account where Jesus was about 12 years of age. He was at the temple instructing the religious leaders, and when the parents find him he tells them he had to be in his Father's house carrying on his Father’s work. And the end of verse 51, "...and His mother treasured all these things in her heart." So these kind of events from the beginning, Mary has been storing in her mind, thinking about. I take it she would have been exposed to the formal introduction of John the Baptist presenting Jesus Christ to the nation. She knew who John was. Remember, she had had conversation with the mother of John regarding the children that they would bear. So when John presents Jesus, it would seem to entail in Mary's request of Christ, her comment to Him that they have no wine, comes out of this background. (Hold your finger in Luke, I want to make another comment about chapter 2) But it seems it may come out of this background. She is asking him at this time, here, to present himself as the Messiah. And the response of Jesus would indicate that this is what he is expecting. After all that she has been prepared for and now 30 year have gone by, that’s a long time to wait. And now here he is, a man having been presented by John to the nation. Here is the chance for you to present yourself to the nation as the Messiah of Israel. They have no wine. Jesus’ response is ’Woman, what is that to me and to you?’ What to me and to you? And that address ’Woman’ is not as cold and hard as it sounds to us.
He uses it in chapter 19 of John, verse 26, when he is on the cross. And he commits her to the care of John, ’Woman'. Obviously there is kindness and compassion and love expressed there. But I think it indicates a break. If you're still in Luke chapter 2, note verse 51. We’re told that "Jesus came with them and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them." So Jesus grew up as another child would grow up—submissive and obedient to his parents. But as he embarks upon his public ministry, I take it his address to her as 'Woman' is an indication that that relationship will no longer be operative. He no longer can function as a submissive son to her. There is still warmth and love and understanding in the relationship, but now he is functioning in a relationship to the nation as a whole. The same kind of issue involved when he said ’Who is my mother, and who are my brothers and sisters but those who believe?’ The family relationship recedes into the background, and that relationship of subjection can no longer function. So here at the feast. He can no longer be submissive to her leadership. So you come back to chapter 2 of the gospel of John.

"Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come," denotes something of the change that is transpiring and this would be new for Mary. Because here we are a week into the public ministry of Christ. She has things to learn as well. What to you and what to me? This expression as it is used in other uses denotes a difference in approach to things. There is a gap in their thinking. She is seeing things one way, He is seeing them in another. She is seeing it as a prime opportunity for Him to unveil Himself as the Messiah of Israel and make the necessary provision. Jesus says, We're not thinking on the same wave length. My hour has not yet come. Now, consistent throughout the gospel of John, the hour of Jesus refers to His crucifixion and subsequent glorification.

Look how John uses it over in chapter 7, verse 30. "They were seeking therefore to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come." Look over in chapter 12, verse 23. "And Jesus answered them saying, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." You see that the hour as Jesus talks about it refers to His coming crucifixion and with it His glorification. And He uses it the same way in verse 27, "Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour?' But for this purpose I came to this hour." Essential in the ultimate glorification of Christ, His ruling and reigning as King of Israel is His crucifixion followed by His resurrection. Chapter 13, verse 1, "Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father..." So He knows the hour has come. We are at the last night. Look over in chapter 17, verse 1. "These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said 'Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee." So when you come back to John 2, and Jesus says 'My hour has not yet come' it is interesting. Here at the beginning of the public ministry of Christ, before He performs His first miracle He has the sense, and awareness and knowledge of where He is and what He will accomplish. Mary didn't understand. 'I cannot be unveiled in all my glory now because essential to my glorification is my crucifixion.' Mary thought what a great time, a great opportunity. My hour has not yet come. We're thinking on two different lines.

You note. Mary is not offended. So we have to understand what Jesus says in the proper context. It does indicate that His relationship with His relationship with His mother is different. He addresses her now as 'Woman.' But, there is also the warmth there because she is not put down, so to speak. What does she say in verse 5, "His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it."' She has been made aware that you and I are not thinking along the same lines at this point. It is not time for me to be glorified. But she understands He is not saying He won't meet the need of the hour. Just as He will not do all that she has in mind for Him to do. So she is satisfied to say to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it. 'And you note, she acknowledges His authority. He in effect by saying 'What to me and to thee' that He can no longer be subject to her. And He has an awareness and a knowledge of where He is in the program of His Father.

And she accepts that and simply turns to the servants and says 'Whatever He says to do, do it.' Instead of trying to provide direction to Him, she simply tells the servants to be submissive to Him. I think that speaks well of Mary. We have to realize she was just a human being. Just a mother. It's hard for mothers not to be mothers, and it shows great faith here on Mary's part. First the faith that hadn't wavered over the 30 years of waiting for this event, for Him to be unveiled and presented as the Messiah. It's still that quiet confidence in Him even on this occasion. So His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it.' That would indicate that Mary has some involvement in this wedding. She has the position to be able to tell the servants to obey Christ here. How the miracle is carried out, and it's rather simple. There were six stone water pots set "there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each." Now that's a lot of water. Six stone water pots, holding 20-30 gallons. That would be 120-180 gallons of water. What these were used for was Jewish purification. In other words, when they came in, you poured this water over their hands and it was a ceremonial cleansing. Remember when the Jews had a problem with the disciples of Christ because they did not wash their hands before they ate. They were not primarily concerned about germs, they were concerned about the ceremonial cleansing and purification. So if you would come in, you would have held your hands out, they would have dipped the water out and poured it over your hands and that would have been a symbolic kind of cleansing. So these are the six stone water pots. "Jesus said to them (the servants in verse 7) 'Fill the water pots with water.' And the filled them up to the brim." Now try to put yourself in
this story. And a good place for you to put yourself is as a servant. And you are there, you're aware of the situation and you've been serving. And the wine has expired, and Mary comes and tells you 'Now you do whatever He tells you. We really need wine.' And Jesus proceeds to tell you to fill up the water pots. Now what would you be thinking? Fill up the water pots. Didn't this man hear? We need wine, we don't need any more water for purification. We're out of wine. Jesus said to them 'Fill the water pots with water.' They filled them to the brim. These are obedient servants. I often wonder as I read an account like this, What would I have done if I was one of the servants? Probably filled the water pot. Well, I probably would have been thinking, Why fill water pots? I'm sorry, sir, you didn't understand. We are out of wine. That's the need of the hour. You fill the water pots. But what about the wine? Well, let's fill the water pots. But, you don't understand, we need wine for the feast. Fill the water pots. Alright. They filled them to the brim.

You know, you read these kind of accounts and it seems so simple because we have the whole story. You know in 11 verses I can look at how it comes out and say 'Well, of course, it was the right thing to do.' You know the hard thing would have been to be the servant here and not know the end of the story! They couldn't sit down and read John chapter 2! They had to live there! They filled them to the brim. Well, if he wants water, he’ll get water. Right to the top! That’s good because you know, sure enough, some unbelieving critic would have come along and explained what happened. That they only filled them part way up and then dumped the rest of the wine in so that you had a diluted wine, but there's no room for that. What you've got now is 180 gallons of water. Now that really has resolved the problem. Now the next step would really be mind-boggling. He said to them, 'Draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.' Headwaiter—I don't like that translation. It's an unusual word, this is the only time it's used in the Bible. The chief of the feast. Maybe like the Toastmaster, the guy who's in charge. He seems to be more than a servant because he has some kind of rapport with the bridegroom. He calls for the bridegroom and talks to the bridegroom. This wouldn't be fitting for a servant. So a man who is in charge of the feast, and the provisions and to see that everything is properly done. The servants are told to take it out and take it to the headwaiter. Now can you imagine what they must have been thinking? Got all this purification water here and now He wants us to go and give a drink of the purification water to the headwaiter. Can you believe this? "They took it to Him. And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, 'Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is poorer; you have kept the good wine until now.'" Now that's logical isn't it? Everybody comes in and they're thirsty and you want them to have the best. Because you know they'll remember that and say 'Oh, this is really good.' But you know after they've drank a few glasses, the quality isn't so important. And that's the same as everything in the area of our food. You know when you're really starving you sit down and say 'Oh, this is the best that you've ever cooked.’ But you know, after the edge is off your appetite, you might eat but it’s just not the same. Good logic here, the way they did it. Serve the best first and as it proceeds on, the inferior quality. The headwaiter thinks this is a significant event that he calls for the bridegroom because the bridegroom was the one responsible for the provisions on this occasion, for these feasts. You have saved the best wine until last. Now that ought to answer any questions of some who are unbelievers who say this is just diluted wine. That they mixed a lot of water to a little bit of wine to make it go further. You think this man is that stupid? He's saying just the opposite. He’s saying that this is the best quality wine. Verse 9 says that the headwaiter didn't know where it came from. Again, if I was going to orchestrate this miracle, I would have done it totally differently. Perhaps this is what Mary had in mind, I don’t know.

But you know, what a time for Christ to unveil Himself in the fullness of His glory. To call everybody at the feast together. Get this whole crowd together, maybe even a few reporters from the town. And say, ’We've got a man here, He's the Messiah of Israel and we’re going to prove it. We ran out of wine at this feast. Now He is going to resolve this problem. All of you hold your cup up. Empty, right? Now keep watching the cup. FULL!’ And everybody would have been amazed! Isn't that something? He just made wine. All our cups were empty and now they're full. Look at all the bottles on the table, they’re full again. That’s the better way to do it. I mean, you really want to make an impact, do it publically. Do it where it'll really make a smash. The headwaiter didn’t even know what happened. Here, the Son of God has come, the Messiah of Israel, He's done His first miracle and the headwaiter doesn't know what happened. You know who knows? The group of servants and disciples. You know, you get an idea they didn't know much about promotion and publicity in those days, don't you? But Jesus knows what He’s doing. His hour hadn’t come. You know what’s going to happen? The more public and open His miracles become, the greater their impact, the greater the opposition that builds to Him. And perhaps the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performed during His earthly ministry was the resurrection of Lazarus. And what happened? That was the culmination of the opposition to Jesus Christ. That brought Him to His hour because the Jews resolved that because of that they had to put Him to death, along with Lazarus of course since he was the living testimony. But here, the headwaiter didn’t know. The servants knew where it came from.

Amazing here how important the servants are. Amazing here to me, here in a miracle how God chose to use average, ordinary, mundane things. Why did He choose to use the servants? Why did He choose to use the stone water pots? Why did He choose to use water? You know, He could have just said ’Wine, be there' and the wine would have been there. It's rather amazing how He goes through, and you know the servants couldn't understand how it was going to come out. Because they obeyed, they had the privilege of being part of the great thing that God was doing in that place. The parallel is so obvious. God is not doing the same type of miracles today that He did in New Testament times. They served the purpose of validating Jesus Christ. His person and His authority, and the message of those that He sent. But His operation is basically the same. God carries out His work today, how? Through people. And what happens? People obey Him and great things are done. It's so simple here.

I wonder what I would have done if I'd been at that feast? Or one of those servants. It’s difficult to do what you're told when you don't know the outcome. It's easy for a servant here to be thinking 'This is ridiculous. This is a waste of time. There's no future in this.' But as long as you're obeying Him. Think of your own situation. How many situations we get in where it's hard. 'I believe this is what God wants me to do but I can't see any purpose in it. I don’t know how this is going to turn out. I don't know what the end of this will be.’ He doesn't ask me to know the end, does He? He didn't ask these servants to turn the water into wine, did He?
He told them to fill the pots with water and HE'D turn the water into wine.
But it's amazing that He used the servants. You think these servants weren't glad that they were serving at this feast? I bet they had something to talk about for the next 60 years. Nobody believed them, probably; but they had something to talk about.

Alright. Note verse 11 as he ties this together. "This beginning of His signs..." (and that's John's word for miracles you remember. They demonstrate or prove something. They give evidence of who Jesus really is.) Who else but the Son of God could create from nothing. Who could take water and make it wine in an instant of time. That's a demonstration that He has to be the person that He claims to be. "This first of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory." You remember John 1:14, where the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory? And it's the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Now here is the display of His glory. John was here. This is a display of the glory of Jesus Christ, but limited for a certain group. The servants got to see it. The disciples got to see it. See the result of it in verse 11? "His disciples believed in Him." You say you thought the disciples believed at the end of chapter 1. I mean Nathanael testified. The other disciples ran and said 'We've found Him.' Now what we have happening here is the development and a confirmation of their belief. Because these disciples already believed before John chapter 1. These were disciples of John the Baptist. They were saved in the Old Testament sense of the word. That's why Jesus could call Nathanael an Israelite in whom there is no deceitfulness. He was a believer in the Old Testament sense of the word. But now he is coming to believe in the Messiah. As God is revealing more and more through His Son now. They are coming to believe. And those who believe, their faith is confirmed. What you see happening here is the disciples’ faith is being confirmed and established. Crucial at the beginning of the public ministry of Christ that they be firmly grounded and rooted. No doubt that Jesus is the one. Here the first part of the week they are part of this first great miracle that He does and their faith is going to continue to grow. Because you know what happens? The more they are with Him, the more they come to know Him, the more their faith is grounded and established. And this will happen even through the crucifixion and after the resurrection. What happens? He reveals more, and they believe and they are firmly rooted. Same process happens with us. What happens? You become a believer in Jesus Christ and you really believe in Him. But what happens after you have been growing in the Word and maturing in the Word week after week and month after month and year after year? I believed in Him the moment I trust Him as Savior many years ago, but I really believe in Him now. My faith is more firm, more stable because I have matured. And the more I know Him, the more I trust Him. What you have here is the further establishing and confirming of the faith of the disciples so that they can be men that Christ can use in accomplishing His purposes. So the unbelievers are not impressed. There's no impact made there. And this is going to be the pattern. Primarily those who believe will have their faith established by the miracles. The unbelievers will have their opposition stirred up against Jesus Christ and what He is doing.

So Jesus Christ has to be who He claimed to be. Here's a presentation.
Who else but the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, could do such mighty works? He's not doing the same things today, but the parallel and the pattern is the same. He still works to glorify Himself, only He works through you and I. And I don't want to spiritualize the significance of the miracle, but I don't want to miss the point either of what Christ is doing and the significance.

I have underlined in my Bible in verse 5, "Whatever He says to you, do it!" Because God's program is not any different today. He still is in the process of glorifying His Son, Jesus Christ. Here He does it through an overt miracle with the direct presence of Christ. He still is in the process of glorifying His Son, Jesus Christ. He does that primarily today through those who are believers in Him. But how essential for those who are believers in Him to do what He says. To trust Him. All I have to do is know what He tells me to do and do it. My problem usually is not in the realm of knowing what He wants me to do unless I am ignorant of the Scriptures, and then I need to remedy that. My problem usually is in a concern of how it's going to turn out. That's where I really get hung up. I know this is what the Lord says I ought to do. I know the Bible says this, BUT... How often do we say that? I know this is what God says, BUT. But what? But do it. Who asked servants to think? Servants DO. He didn't say, 'Here, servants, let's get together. What do you think about filling those pots with water?' You know what all those servants would have said? Stupid idea! So who needs thinking servants, folks? You know God wants to do great works through us and in us. You know what the problem is? We begin to think and we mess everything up. I've got to be practical. Whoever asked a servant to be practical? Do what you're told. Now what an exciting thing. I could be part of the work that God is doing in the world today in glorifying Jesus Christ. Not turning water into wine, but glorifying His Son nonetheless. You know what I have to be willing to do? Do what He says. 'Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?' Well, Lord, it's not often practical to do what you say. We don’t say it that bluntly, but that's where it brings us down to. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don't do what I tell you to do? Well, Lord, I've got to be practical. I've got to think. Now I'm not saying we need to put away our mind. But all my mind needs to be occupied with is the Word. And when I know what the Word tells me to do, I don't have to think about tomorrow. All I’ve got to do is do what I was told to do today, and allow the work of God to be going on in my life.

Two questions. One, here you are confronted with the first miracle of the ministry of Jesus Christ. Have you ever come to believe in Him? Did you ever stop to realize there was never another person like Him? Never another one who could do the works of power like He could do? Who else could He be but the person He claimed to be? The Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, the one who came and died on a cross. And you know if He could do these kind of things, He can also do what He claimed to do in forgiving your sin. He said if you believe in Him, you have forgiveness of sin. You're cleansed, you're forgiven.

And secondly, if you have believed in Him, do you really live in light of who He is? That's who we need to live in light of. Who He really is. I know who I am, but I need to see myself in light of who He is. I've got a lot of weaknesses, a lot of shortcomings. I don't have a handle on the future. There are a lot of things that are cause for anxiety. But you know what? I know who He is and He's in charge. Isn't that great? All I am is a servant. So the pressure is off me. You know, when the pressure is on you is when you've got to be the decision-maker. When you're responsible for the decisions. But you know, I'm not. I'm just a servant. He says to fill the water pots. I'm filling the water pots. What are you going to do with that water? I'm going to drink it as wine. You dummy! No. The Master will do it. He's the one who has the power to work in and through us as we allow Him. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for the greatness of the One who is presented in this simple yet awesome miracle. Father, we thank you for Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world. Father, your Lamb who came and died to provide redemption to mankind. Father, we thank you for this display of your glory, this manifestation of His person. Lord, that we can even read and consider it today and feel the impact of it. And be made aware of the fact that this One doing this mighty work of power is the sovereign Lord, the creator of all things, the One who has brought everything into existence, the One by whom all things hold together.