Jesus Turned Water into Wine (John 2:1-11)

Jesus Turned Water into Wine

 

John 2:1-11

 

Through our lives, we occasionally experience very radical changes. For example, a young man may join the army or one who has long been single marries to somebody. It was about 20 years ago when I was about to leave Korea and immigrate to a foreign country. Few days before my departure, one of my friends asked me, “How do you feel?” At that time, I answered, “Hmm…. My feeling now is like the mixture of that before the wedding and that before joining the army.” As a result of such a radical change, we live a life far different from the past. The young man who joined the army now has to observe strict military discipline every day. The one who married should take unlimited lifelong responsibility for his or her spouse and share every good or bad thing with the spouse. An immigrant will also struggle with new people, new language, new lifestyle, and even new food. Not one of them is an easy process. However, Christians go through a tremendous transition incomparable with these changes. It is meeting Jesus who is the Lord. We call Jesus “Lord.” That is, Jesus is “my Master.” I have been the lord of myself and led a free life. But one day, all of a sudden Jesus appeared before me and he became my Lord. And from now on, he possesses me, rules me, and guides me “absolutely.” “Lord” is not just a title that we call in prayer. We need to grasp the weight of the name “Lord.” We must know and accept in what ways Jesus is my Lord. only then, we can live a life of a truly changed sincere Christian.

 

A wedding took place at a village called Cana in Galilee. For all ages and countries, wedding is a very special joyful event. Ancient Jewish people had a year’s engagement period, and after the period, a grand wedding banquet was held in which the bridegroom led the bride to his house. This banquet usually took place in autumn when the harvest had been done and the weather was good for outdoor activities, and it lasted for a week and even two weeks. During the days, the bride and the bridegroom, their friends, and people invited from the villages drank wine and ate delicacies to the full, and enjoyed all kinds of games, dancing, and singing. We can imagine how exciting it would be. After having finished all laborious works, they sat together with lovely people in a cool day, and ate and drank, sang and danced until late at night. This suggests the image of the heavenly banquet that we will attend in the future. In such a wedding, Mary, was invited together with Jesus and his disciples. Then, a serious problem happened in the middle of the banquet. The wine was gone. Probably the guests were more than expected. Wine in such a banquet was like fuel for a car. It is not easy for the guests to keep rejoicing at the wedding with dancing and singing throughout one or two weeks. To tell the truth, the strength comes from the wine. Thus, the absence of wine in the banquet is like the absence of music for a singer. Due to the problem, the wedding, which should be the best moment for the couple, was almost turning into a bitter and miserable memory.

 

In today’s passage, Jesus solves this problem by turning water into wine and reveals who he is to the world. According to verse 11, this was the first miraculous sign that Jesus performed. Thus, this event can be regarded as a model or prototype of Jesus’ ministry ahead, and as that much, it carries many meanings. The most important truth revealed through this event is that “Jesus is the Lord.” Lord Jesus works “in his time.” What is more, Lord Jesus demands “absolute obedience.” Also Lord Jesus receives “glory and our faith.” In addition, lessons that we can learn from this miracle are about “how the Lord works.” First of all, the Lord works “by word.” The Lord works “through those who obey.” The Lord “gives the best at the last.” Lastly, all of the Lord’s works reveal his glory and strengthen our faith in him. In other words, the Lord’s work is always “marvelous and glorious.” Because of its many meanings, it is not easy to talk about everything of this passage today. We will see two or three today, and continue in the next sermon.

 

When she found the problem that the wine was gone in the banquet, Mary went to Jesus and let him know this trouble. Upon hearing this, Jesus said, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not come yet.” This word of Jesus shows that Jesus works in his right time. In fact, the absence of the wine in the wedding banquet was an urgent problem that had to be solved “immediately.” If Jesus was able to do something for this problem, he should do that first of all. “The situation” demanded it. Nevertheless, Jesus answered idly, “My time has not come yet.” To Mary or the host of the banquet, this may sound careless and helpless. Our problems and situations are always urgent. And for such problems and situations, we want “immediate” solutions. Our time is always “just now.” Due to this desperateness, we are ruled by problems or situations. That is, “problem” becomes our lord and king, commanding us and directing our thoughts and behaviors. In the face of a problem, however, Jesus never hurries. Even if the problem is now burning our hearts and consuming our souls, Jesus works “in his time.” And he wants us to be quiet and wait until that time. It is because Jesus is “the Lord.”

 

When we read the Bible carefully, we find conflicts over “time” between God and men. Abraham, the father of faith, had to wait for 25 years until God’s promise to give a son was fulfilled. The Psalmist groans, “Oh Lord, how long will you look on?” (Psalm 35:17), and Prophet Habakkuk cries, “How long, O Lord, must I call for help?” (Habakkuk 1:2) Jesus’ disciples also press risen Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6) These groaning and impatience are also our groaning and impatience. Many people fail to wait until “the Lord’s time” and they hurry to solve their problem “quickly” with their own strength and wisdom only to meet a bigger problem. What is truly good is not “solving a problem immediately.” What is truly good is “waiting the Lord’s time by faith.” It is because the Lord’s time is the best time and the Lord’s solution is the best solution. Unfortunately, God’s time scale seems to be far different from ours. It is what we can hardly wait in patience. Without “faith,” it is often felt too long to wait. What is important is that we accept that time is fully in God’s hand, we believe that God’s time is the best time, and we wait with the hope to see God’s glory.

 

Having Jesus’ word, Mary said to the servants. “Do whatever he tells you.” To Mary’s request, Jesus answered, “My time has not yet come.” Depending on how she understood, she might think that Jesus had said, “No!” Surprisingly, however, to Jesus’ “No,” Mary responded by “Yes.” She called the servants and instructed them, “Do whatever he tells you.” This means that they should say “Yes” to whatever Jesus tells. While Jesus works in his time and in his way, we should obey him immediately and absolutely. For this, we should get ourselves ready and wait for his word. It is because Jesus is “the Lord,” and we are his servants. If our thought is circling around the problem, it would not be easy to accept the word “Do whatever he tells you.” If Jesus tells to fill the water jars, we may ask back, “Why should I fill the jar when the wine was gone? What is this for this problem? It would be better to go out to find wine.” What we should obey the Lord’s word is not because it is good for solving a problem. We should obey the Lord’s word because it is “the Lord’s word.” It is because the Lord says so.

 

According to John 21, Jesus’ disciples went out to the sea and threw the net overnight but could not catch even a fish. Then, risen Jesus appeared to them and said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they obeyed this word and threw their net on the right side, they caught so many fishes that they could not haul the net. Their big catch was not because a large school of fish was passing through that side just at that time. It was because they obeyed Jesus’ word. In 2King 5 as well, Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, visited Elisha, the man of God, in order to get healed of his leprosy. Elisha delivered God’s word to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” As he washed his body seven times in Jordan as told by Elisha, his flesh became like that of a young boy. His healing was not because the water of the Jordan River had the effect of healing. It was because he obeyed God’s word.

 

There is a Korean saying, “Compliments make even a whale dance.” Borrowing this saying, I would like to say, “Obedience make God dance.” God moves us by His word, and we move God by our obedience. Obedience is saying “Yes” to God’s word even if God says “No” to our expectations. That is, even when God just says a word without doing anything, we still should obey the word. In today’s passage, Jesus told the servants to fill six large stone jars that could hold almost 30 gallons’ water. While they were drawing water from the well and filling the six jars, nothing happened. Nevertheless, the servants filled the jars to the brim. When they obeyed to the full, the water turned into wine. God’s miraculous work was done. In the same way, Jesus’ disciples threw the net overnight in vain, but they still obeyed Jesus’ word and an unbelievable thing happened to them. For Naaman as well, he had to wash his body in Jordan six times without seeing any change on his flesh, but when he completed seven times of washing, his flesh was cleansed completely. When we obey God’s word 100%, we see God’s miraculous works are done and the words are fulfilled among us. This is how Jesus “the Lord” works. Jesus works by word through those who obey the word.

 

Jesus is my “Lord.” Therefore, our lives should be changed in the Lord. It is living according to Jesus’ time and according to Jesus’ word. Even if “my problem” is so serious and urgent, we should behave properly before the Lord. We should put God’s will and God’s time before my problem. It is because the lord governing my life is not “my problem” but Jesus. When we walk before the Lord by faith and obedience, we will meet God who is truly our “joy” and who dances to our obedience. I pray that each of us may live a blessed life by serving Jesus as “my true Lord.”