Sermon Notes
John 2
Passing Of the Peace
If you were Jesus, what would be your first miracle?
INTRO
TWO WEEKS AGO
New wineskins, (New Years’ Resolution. MATTHEW 9:17
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
LAST WEEK
When John the Baptist (Jean Valjean) knew who he was, his decision was easy on what he was called to do. Our identity leads our action. Are we true to our identity? Being true to his identity as the one who makes the path straight for the Lord,” he was baptizing people in the Jordan, that’s not new, what is new he is baptizing Jewish folks, now that’s outrageous! For the Jewish form of baptism is to baptize gentiles into becoming Jews; but John was baptizing jewish folks into becoming more jewish (new wine, new wineskins).
THIS WEEK:
The beginning of the ministry of Jesus, the New Wine
JEREMIAH 31 (New Covenant)
31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD.
33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
INTRO TO SCRIPTURE: John 2
Jesus performs a miracle that talks about something new (testament/covenant) coming. In this passage, (new wineskins: not the same old way of doing business) the days of Jesus, weddings (receptions) lasted a week. They were times of "eat, drink and be merry..." The following passage is one such wedding. Notice that Jesus is present, as you read this familiar passage, think about the concept of inviting Jesus to your wedding and how would you celebrate?
SCRIPTURE: John 2
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.
third - coincidence?
WEDDING
Q: Who here likes weddings?
Do you like weddings or wedding receptions better?
Cana - small town north of Nazareth
Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
WEDDING
Were recognized by the entire village (big event)
lasted a “week” (eat, drink and be merry)
Can you imagine?
NOTE: Jesus did not abstain from wine or parties (criticism of Pharisees)
Relationships! Not antsocial
Matthew 11: 18 - 19
8For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."
WEDDING/BANQUETS (illustration of the Kingdom of God/Heaven)
Matthew 22 (v 2, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son....
Matthew 25: (v.1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom...
Revelation 19: (v7 , For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready. 8Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
9Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."
POINT: eat drink and be merry, God’s way (Ecclesiastes)
Q: Who here has gone to a wedding reception and they had an open bar
(you didn’t have to pay for what you drink)
Do people drink more at weddings with open bar ($$$)?
This wedding had an open bar
3When THE WINE WAS GONE,
THE WINE WAS GONE
Question: Are you kidding me?
That’s like going to a wedding and they said, the Bride is gone.
impossible!
No wine is a huge mistake (dishonors the couple)
What are they going to do now for a whole week?
It’s like going to a New Year’s Eve party and they are serving tea.
Jesus' mother said to him, "THEY HAVE NO MORE WINE."
Question: why does Jesus’ mother feel responsible about the shortage of wine?
THEY HAVE NO WINE(?)
Question: is this a theological observation of the spiritual environment
Does this relate to the issue of New Wine & New Wineskins? (Mk 2:22)
Scripture: II Corinthians 5:17 The old has gone, the new has come”
4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?"
This sounds insulting/rude, but it is not. It is simple and formal.
It is odd because of it’s formality and some what inflexible.
John 19:26 “woman, your son”
4b Jesus replied, "My TIME (hour) has not yet come."
time/hour
(Foreshadowing) referring to the cross. Several times in John
5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
This is so parent-like.
6 Nearby stood SIX STONE WATER JARS, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
SIX STONE WATER JARS
These are not merely water jars, they are for purification (Mk 7:1-4)
purpose: unclean to clean (hands, etc.)
7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
NOTE: 20+ gallons each, over 120 gallons of wine
What do you do with over 120 gallons wine?
(first you take it to the master of the banquet)
8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
POINT: Jesus brings something unexpected to the wedding banquet, good wine. Better than any wine that has been drunk thus far.
11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
POINT: Jesus was one more visitor to the wedding, until he was called to act.
It was then, that the disciples saw for the first time something
they had not seen before, a sign.
signs - different than just a plain miracle (it is meant to be a sign)
Miracles reflect power; signs reflect that God is at work.
In other words, it is not about the act of power, it is more about what
the act of power says about Jesus.
the sign is a means to an end, not an end in itself
Question: If you were Jesus, what would have been your first miracle?
Of all the possibilities for the first recorded miracle, wine was chosen, why?
Why at a wedding?
SCRIPTURE: John 2: 12 - 16
13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the TEMPLE courts
TEMPLE
the symbol of judaism (the hub: Vatican City/Washington/)
14b he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"
QUESTION
Was Jesus happy about what was going on in the temple area?
POINT
Both of these stories need to be together.
New wine in the stone Jars, New wine in the temple (Jesus)
Jesus is the fulfillment/replacement to the Jewish institutions
Out with the old and in with the new (the ministry of Jesus begins)
The messiah has arrived, eat drink and be merry God’s way
TRANSITION
This is how the ministry of Jesus began, as recorded in the Gospel of John, with a sign
INTRO TO SCRIPTURE: Luke
Tomorrow is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday. He preached a sermon “Guidelines for a Constructive Church” (Bulletin Cover). His text:
POINT
In a sense, in the gospel of John, the ministry of Jesus begins in new wineskins, a wedding. In the gospel of Luke, the ministry of Jesus begins in old wineskins, the synagogue.
I’d like to share some of his thoughts on the beginning of ministry of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Luke.
BASIC GUIDELINES TO FOLOW
“And through his prophets, and above all through his son Jesus Christ, he said that “there are some things that my church must do. There are some guidelines that my church must follow. And if we in the church don’t want the funds of grace cut off from the divine treasury, we’ve got to follow the guidelines. The guidelines are clearly set forth for us in some words uttered by our Lord and Master as he went in the temple one day, and he went back to Isaiah, and quoted from him. And he said.
Scripture: Luke 4:28
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
“You see, the curch is not a social club, although some people think it is. They get caught up in their exclusivism, and they feel that it’s a kind of social club with a thin veneer of religiosity, but the church is not a social club.
The church is not an entertainment center, although some people think it is. You can tell in many churches how they act in church, which demonstrates that they think it’s an entertainment center. The church is not an entertainment center.
But ion the final analysis the church has a purpose. the church is dealing with man’s ultimate concern. And therefore it has certain guidelines that it must folow.
“...if the church is following its guidelines, it seeks to HEAL the broken hearted. ...”
“...if the church is true to its guidelies, it heals the brokenhearted.
In his day, Dr. King looked at the brokenehearted of school segregation and addressed it.
I do not know what he would look at as the brokenhearted today,
but I suspect on this very day, he might look beyond our country to the people of Hatiai
I do not know how many people were killed
I do not know how many people lost loved ones
I do not know how many homes were destroyed
I do not know how many things have come to a complete stop
What i do know is that as a church, one of our guidelines is to reach beyond ourselves in love and send what we can.
One way to do that is to make a donation and write on your offering in the special part of your envelope Hatai.
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 3:20
4"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and EAT with him, and he with me.
QUESTION: Where is Jesus?
Outside the church, knocking.
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