Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Weekend Sermon. It is good to be able to post the sermon this week. I pray that everyone is doing well.
It has been a wild week this week. On Friday night, a tornado came within one-half mile of my home. The winds were very strong, and one of my pine trees blew over just missing the house. I thank the Lord that the house was not damaged. There were people whose homes were entirely destroyed. The tornado also hit an RV park and destroyed several RVs. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
Work has gone fairly well this week. I am thankful to the Lord for my job. I am also thankful that I was able to get a lot of work done on the book this last week. All is progressing well on that front.
In prayer this week, let us continue to pray for those affected by the fires in the American West. Several of the fires have been contained, but many people have lost their homes. Let us also pray for peace in this world. Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan need our prayers. Let us pray that the message of Jesus' love will reach the nations of Sudan, Morocco, Mali and Tanzania.
For the past few weeks, we have been in a study of how the divinity of Jesus is presented in the Gospel of John. John's Gospel is unique in that its focus is on emphasizing Jesus' deity in a greater way than the other three Gospels. One way that John does this is by recording the eight "I Am" statements of Jesus. Last week we finished our study of these sayings.
Another way that John demonstrates the deity of Jesus is by recording seven signs that point to Jesus as God come in the flesh. For the next seven weeks, we will focus on these important signs as presented by John.
The first sign that John points to is the miracle that Jesus performed during the wedding feast in Cana as recorded in John 2. Jesus mother and His disciples had been invited to a wedding in the town of Cana which is not too far from Capernaum. During the course of the week long wedding feast, the host ran out of wine. In the culture of that day, to run out of wine during the wedding feast would have been a major social embarrassment.
Some scholars believe that Mary had something to do with being in charge of the wedding since she came to her son and told Him that the wine had run out. Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come."
Mary then instructed the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Jesus told the servants to fill the water pots used for purification with water. He then told them to draw out some water from the pots and take it to the steward.
When the steward tasted the sample, it had been changed into the finest tasting wine. The steward wanted to know why the best wine had been saved for last instead of being served right away.
John 2:11 states, "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him."
So, what does this miracle have to teach us today. First of all, let us look into the two controversies surrounding this passage. To begin with, some have remarked that Jesus spoke unkindly and harshly to His mother. This is not the case at all. In the original languages, this form of address is not nasty or disrespectful in any way. Jesus realized that His mother expected Him to perform a miracle. Jesus didn't really want to perform a miracle in this way at this time because I don't think that He was quite ready to display His power. However, out of respect for His mother who was associated with the wedding, Jesus performed the miracle.
Now for the other controversy. Some more fundamentalist Christians such as the ones I grew up with will say that Jesus did not really turn the water into wine, He just turned it into grape juice. They say this because they believe that the Bible is opposed to alcohol, so Jesus could not have made alcoholic wine.
I do not think that this is the case. The Bible does not oppose drinking, but it does say that it is a sin to be drunk. The steward in this miracle account was able to tell that this was excellent wine. He would have known the difference between wine and grape juice.
Now, let me say this. Drinking can easily get out of control and lead you down a path that you do not want to go down. I do not drink and I never will. Before my Dad came to know Jesus, he was a heavy drinker. It took a toll on him and his relationships. After my Dad came to know Jesus, he never drank again. He was totally delivered.
There is no other substance that I know of that has ruined more lives than alcohol. I truly believe that if people would not even get started on drinking the stuff, they would be much better off.
With those two controversies laid aside, let us get into the heart of what this account really is all about. This sign recorded by John demonstrates the divinity of Jesus Christ in two ways.
First of all, let us look at the significance of the water pots used for purification. These pots were found in every Jewish home. The water in the pots was used for ceremonial washing of dishes and the hands before eating.
When Jesus turned the water in these pots into wine it signified something of great spiritual significance. At the Last Supper, Jesus said that the wine signified His blood that was shed to redeem us from our sin. By turning the water of purification into wine, Jesus was signifying that His shed blood on the cross was the new means to bring purification to the soul.
This world can only be purified from sin and redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross. His precious blood was shed to bring us life and to remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. Though are sins be as scarlet, we can be white as snow because of the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.
Only God come in human flesh could redeem us. Jesus was both just and the justifier. He was the only one who could live a perfect, holy and sinless life. Only God could provide atonement and redemption.
The other way that this miracle demonstrates the divinity of Jesus is by the fact that this miracle demonstrates the power of the Lord over creation. Only God has the power to change one thing into another. Only the Lord God has the power to create. Through this act of transformation, Jesus clearly demonstrated who He was. This miracle caused His disciples to really believe the Jesus was who He claimed to be.
When we see what Jesus has done, we must decide if He is who He claimed to be. We must decide if we will trust in Him to forgive us and save us from our sin. If you have not placed your faith in the God-man Jesus Christ, I hope that you will do so today.
Next week, we will continue our series from John. On Monday, I will post the verses. On Wednesday, I will try to have a review. May God bless you all. Amen.
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