JESUS’ FIRST MIRACLE — John 2:1-11
My passion for the scriptures is the potential we have in Christ to be overcomers in this life.
I really believe that Jesus is sufficient for all of our shortcomings (to include our sins).
AND I believe He is sufficient to help me live my life the way the Bible instructs me to live…that is, righteously.
The sufficiency of Christ is so much more than just taking away our deficiencies (or providing forgiveness). Forgiving our sins is really the first step on a long journey with God. If you follow Dave Ramsey at all, you can compare this to Dave’s Baby Step #1. It’s the first thing…but it is what comes next where life with Jesus really gets exciting!
It’s being able to count on God to come through during the tough times in life…His grace and love are sufficient for this.
Sticky Statement: Jesus turns the ordinary into the everlasting!
Consider the Scripture we read about Jesus’ first miracle in Cana in Galilee at the wedding where He turned water into wine. He turned common, ordinary water into wine…
Suddenly the host discovers that they are running out of wine.
- Maybe they had more guests than they anticipated.
- Maybe it was poor planning…an oversight.
- Maybe their supplies were stolen…who knows why they were running out of wine, but it suffices to say that it would have been improper in Jewish culture of this time to not have wine.
- (Little cultural note …Jews did not get drunk at these celebrations—drunkenness was considered a disgrace).
- Legend (tradition) holds that the host could have actually been sued for such a breach of hospitality to his guests.
4 Observations:
I. John said this miracle was “the first of his signs.”
- A sign points to something
- Like when driving, a sign says New York on it…it is not NY, but points the way to get to NY.
Wine is a sign for something in the Bible. Wine is a sign of joy and a sign of God’s blessing (Ps. 104:15; Prov. 3:10; cf. Matt. 26:29). See the followings Scripture as examples:
- NLT Psalm 104:14 You cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth–15 wine to make them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin, and bread to give them strength.
- ESV Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
You see, Jesus’ first miracle was a sign pointing to something…But what?
Sticky Statement: Jesus turns the ordinary into the everlasting…
II. Our wine can run out, even with Jesus in our midst…
- The young couple thought they did everything right
- They wanted to have everything be right
- They even invited Jesus Christ to the wedding…He was right there…
- AND YET, they ran into problems
- They were at risk for running out of “wine,” or out of “joy.”
- In our own lives, we run into problems…we don’t mean to…we don’t want to…but, sometimes things happen, and it seems like we are at risk for running out of joy! Sometimes we are born with legs and then lose them…Sometimes our wedding plans don’t work out perfectly…
- Sometimes we just run into unexpected problems.
- Let’s broaden the conversation: In our marriage(s), we try to do everything right…In fact, everything seems just right…Jesus is with us…He is here…YET, sometimes we find ourselves in a place where there is no joy…we have run out of wine/joy.
- Let’s broaden the conversation even a little further, to the Church: we try to do everything right…In fact, everything seems right…Jesus is with us…He is right here…Yet, sometimes we find ourselves in a place wondering where the joy is…it’s not the same as before…it’s not the same as it once was…and we notice that we are jeopardy of running out of joy/wine.
- Today, we just accepted a charge on behalf of little Olivia…to be examples for her and to raise her up in a church that loves Jesus and models the Christian way of life…to provide for her a wonderful church experience…to be the Body of Christ for her..
- In doing so, we need to work together to provide a loving, vibrant church experience for her…
- for Jonah and for the other children in the church…those we pray for each week.
How do we do that? God honors a church that:
- Preaches and teaches His truth
- Serves the poor in its community
- Evangelizes—tells people about Jesus…testimonies
- Encourages and builds one another up in the faith
- Gives generously
Let’s never allow a perceived deficiency to define the reality Jesus makes for us…He creates something good and alive out of nothing…or out of what is common and ordinary in our lives…like water into wine.
III. Jesus takes the ordinary (regular drinking water) and turns it into the extraordinary…into a miraculous new creation…(into wine). Jesus takes the ordinary and turns it into JOY!…Jesus takes what’s broken in our lives…He takes what’s missing and turns it into what’s fixed and what’s right…He takes our lives and makes them meaningful.
In another place in Scripture, He takes mud and spittle and puts it on a blind man’s eye…he sees.
Jesus brings our joy back, He brings our sight back…He brings our focus back…
- Individually
- In our marriages
- In our church…
IV. When Jesus is with us, we have hope in all things.
- Not only to compensate for our deficiency
- But to create something new to help us reach new potential…not only our potential, but the potential we have with Christ in us…which is off the charts!
- He does this by taking what is ordinary in our lives and transforming it miraculously into something everlasting.
Jesus takes the ordinary (drinking water) and turns it into wine/joy!
Later he connects this wine/joy to HIS blood as He institutes the ordinance of communion…28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.
- It is in the blood of Christ where we find our joy…it is where we find meaning in life…it is where we find our purpose…it is where we find our miracles…It is through His blood that was shed on the cross where the ordinary is given life! Where the mortal becomes immortal! Where the Spirit rules over the flesh! Where the eternal comes into view and completely eclipses the life we live under the sun.
If you are in a place in life where you feel like you have done everything right…YET, you are at risk of running out of joy…AND Jesus is right there with you…you have “invited Him to your party” (so to speak), THEN, ask Him to make the ordinary into the extraordinary! Ask Jesus to do what He desires to do in your life…to make new the JOY in your life…It will be better than the joy you first experienced with Him. It will be a joy that redirects you in your life to focus on Him. It’s when we count on Jesus for our joy that the ordinary things in life (the common things/experiences) become blessings rather than burdens…it is then that we begin to experience the life that is truly life.
Do you feel like your life is sometimes dull, uneventful, drab, ordinary?
Let’s be honest…Do you feel like your walk with Jesus is dull and ordinary?
- Get a hold of the passion found here as Jesus’ first miracle was recorded. See the sign…
- Jesus turns the ordinary into the everlasting!