John 2:1-11
The first manifestation of the Glory of Jesus.
Introduction: Why did John
by inspiration of God record this the first miracle of
Jesus? He recorded these words that you
might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing we
might have life through His name.
In this text Jesus turns water into wine. Lest you should misunderstand I want you to
know that I am a teetotaler. I do not
believe that it pleases God nor does it bring honor and glory to His holy name
for men to use alcohol as a beverage (1 Cor. 10:31). I believe that alcohol may have medicinal
applications which are desirable and even necessary (1 Tim.
John 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage
in
John 2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his
disciples, to the marriage.
There are at least three
possibilities for which day this was.
First it could have been the third days since the Priests and Levites
had questioned John. Second it could
have been the third day of the wedding feast.
Samson put forth his riddle on the first day of a seven day wedding
feast. The third possibility is that
this is the third day after Jesus came to
John 2:3
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
They have no wine.
John 2:4
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
This wedding supper
was going well until a problem arose. The ran out of wine.
This would have been an embarrassment to the family for they should have
known how many were invited and how much wine they would need. Some have said that they had not planned for
the extra five men which Jesus brought.
The verse says that Jesus was invited and also his disciples. I believe they knew how many were going to be
at the supper but just simply under estimated how much wine they would
need. They should not be too hard on
themselves for it is in the plan of Jesus to use this occasion to manifest His
Glory.
Mary shows her
concern for the family by telling Jesus about the problem. Perhaps she expected Jesus to do something about
this problem. Perhaps she expected a
miracle. Maybe she just wanted him to go
and get them some more wine. She
expected him to do something.
Jesus responds to
her in what seems like a rebuke. It
seems almost disrespectful the way it is worded in our King James Bible. We know that Jesus never sinned. His words are the words of the Father for
Jesus came only speaking the words which the father gave him to speak. The phrase “What have I to do with thee”
needs to be put in words which will help us to better understand the
meaning. Jesus is saying to his mother
that this problem does not concern them.
It is not their place, nor their marriage supper. They are but guests at this marriage
supper. Jesus goes on to say “Mine hour
is not yet come”. Here Jesus speaks as a
prophet. This wedding is not His
wedding. This marriage supper is not His
marriage supper. There will come a time
when He will have a bride and He will have a marriage supper but this is not
that time. On the day He is crucified He
will institute a supper which will commemorate His death until He comes. One day His Glory bride will make herself
ready and there will be a marriage supper of the Lamb. Today is not that day. These first followers of Jesus get a hint
from Him what will happen in the future.
Jesus does not mean
by anything He said in this verse that He will not help them with this
problem. Mary did not take what Jesus
said as indicating He would not help them but instead instructs the servants to
do what He said.
John 2:5 His
mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do [it].
The words of Mary
to the servants ought to abide always with us.
Whatsoever He saith unto you, Do it!
Jesus will later say “if you love me keep my commandments”. There is no better way than the Lord’s
way. We need to hold tight to the truth
and be obedient to His every command!
John 2:6
And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the
manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
John 2:7
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they
filled them up to the brim.
John 2:8
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor
of the feast. And they bare [it].
It is here in verse
six that we find out something about the people who are holding this marriage
supper. The water pots were used for
washing. Jesus was questioned by the
Pharisees on one occasion concerning the reason His disciples did not wash
before they ate. The Pharisees did a ceremonial
washing before each meal. They would
wash from the elbows to the finger tips in a ceremony which they thought help
to keep them ceremonially clean. The
ones attending this marriage supper were provided water sufficient to perform
this ceremonial washing. Jesus will turn
these pots which were used in this show of religion into a demonstration of His
Glory.
The servants are
instructed to fill the pots with water.
These pots are made of stone and thus are very heavy. All together this would amount to between 10
and 14 gallons of water. They filled
them to the brim. The water could be
clearly seen in the mouth of each pot.
Jesus then instructs them to draw out and take a cup to the governor of
the feast. They do so without
hesitation. They did not question Jesus
concerning His instructions. They simply
did as they were told. When we follow
His instructions we may expect success.
John 2:9
When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made
wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;)
the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
John 2:10
And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth
good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: [but]
thou hast kept the good wine until now.
The servants bring
the glass of water to the ruler of the feast.
He takes one swallow of this water and the servants watch his
reaction. He is puzzled. Is he puzzled as to why they have brought him
water in stead of wine? He calls for the
bridegroom. He begins to exclaim over
the contents of this cup that it is the good wine. The servants are amazed for they know what
has happened. These servants have seen a
manifestation of the Glory of Jesus Christ.
John 2:11
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in
This is the first of many miracles which Jesus will
perform in the course of the next three and a half years. The purpose of each of these miracles will be
the same. These works of Jesus testify
as to who He is. This is the Christ, the
Son of God. The purpose of this miracle
was accomplished in that the disciples believed on Him. We too may see through the Word of God the
works of Jesus and know for a certainty that Jesus is indeed the Savior of men,
the very Son of God.
Why did Jesus choose this
miracle to be His first? Jesus knew what
these five men needed to see in order to cement their belief in Him as the
Christ. Nathanael had seen his
proof. The others had heard the
testimony of John and believed that Jesus was the Christ. These men will forsake all to follow Jesus
and they will need assurance from Jesus. Following Him will not be easy. It will require every ounce of faith they
have and every encouragement Jesus will give.
Conclusion: Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. Changing water into wine is an amazing
miracle indeed. It is a thing that can
only be done by Jesus. Cleansing a lost
sinner of his sin is also a thing that only Jesus can do. If He can turn water into wine He can forgive
you of your sin and what’s more He has promised that all who will repent of sin
and come asking for salvation He will save.
Want you trust Him now.