Sunday, May 29, 2016

Sermon Notes



2016.05.29                           John 2: 18-25
                        Destroy This Temple
Good morning… It is great to be with you this morning… I have Good News for you!.. His Name is Jesus
We are studying the Life and ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of John… John’s gospel focuses on one central theme… and that is His deity…. He is determined to make sure that we understand that Jesus is the Messiah…. That He is God come in the flesh…   And John also tells us his purpose… John 20 v31… “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in His name.”
He wants us to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and find forgiveness and grace… He wants us to find genuine life in Him…   So his goal is our salvation…
Now the Word of God is clear on the Deity of Jesus Christ… The great truth that He is God… Is declared over and over in the New Testament…
John begins His gospel by declaring that Jesus is God… In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God… John 1:1…
He is the Word made flesh… The Memra…. He was with God in the beginning before creation… and He is God… Here is a statement pointing to the Trinity… Remember that John was the Theologian of the early Church… the New Testament affirms the deity of Christ often…
In John 1, John 20, and in Hebrews chapter 1… He is called God Himself... Paul and Peter both call Jesus  “Our God and Savior…
In Hebrews 1 v3Jesus  is the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe… He is the One who forgives sin… and only God can do that… He is the One who raises the dead… Because in Him is life… look with me at Col 2:8-10…
Colossians 2: 8-10           NKJV      slt 2000
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
 8 Habt acht, daß euch niemand beraubt durch die Philosophie und leeren Betrug, gemäß der Überlieferung der Menschen, gemäß den Grundsätzen der Welt und nicht Christus gemäß. 9 Denn in ihm wohnt die ganze Fülle der Gottheit leibhaftig; 10 und ihr seid zur Fülle gebracht in ihm, der das Haupt jeder Herrschaft und Gewalt ist.
v9… For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily… the apostle Paul adds it all up perfectly…
This is a clear short statement on the Christian doctrine of Christ…. It is from this book…. The Word of God…  He is both  God and man… He is the living Word… the eternal God made flesh… Immanuel…. God with us… He is 100 percent God and man...
Last week we saw Jesus go up to Jerusalem during the Passover… He confronted the people with their Hypocrisy and greed…. He gave them a vivid illustration of the Seriousness of sin and pride and greed… He drove them out of the Temple… He rebuked the Corrupt Religious system… He did what every Prophet of God has always done…. The message of every true Prophet of God is the same… Judgment is certain… Repent the Kingdom of heaven is at hand… Jesus called the nations to repentance and genuine Worship from the heart
This morning as we pickup the text in verse 18… Jesus has just finished cleaning everyone out of the Temple courtyards… And He now is confronted by the Jewish leaders… They want to know why He had the right to take control of this place… Let´s read the first verse… v18
John 2: 18                            NKJV  slt 2000
18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
 18 Da antworteten die Juden und sprachen zu ihm: Was für ein Zeichen zeigst du uns, daß du dies tun darfst?
v18… The NLT reads this way… What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
Hey mannn… What are you doing?
This is a very important question…
Jesus threw everybody out… including all the animals… We are talking about 10s of thousands of people….. He put the fear of God in them…His Deity is on display… He does something that a mere man could not do…
When Jesus cleaned out the Temple…. He had displayed His Divine and Righteous Anger at their sin and greed… Now the leaders were very angry… They’re outraged… What is this that you are doing… “Who do you think you are?”
That’s their immediate question… That is the question that they will ask Jesus many times during His ministry…
They will ask it often…  Because He takes power and authority over things that they think belong to them… They are the representatives of God… They are the interpreters of the Law… Not some carpenter from Nazareth…
Jesus… Who do you think you are!!
You’ve got to prove to us that You have authority… Show us a Miracle… some proof…
They know He’s claiming to be from God… Because in verse 16… He just said… You’ve turned My Father’s house into a business…This is My Father’s house and you’ve defiled it…
So they want a sign… If God is Your Father and You’re the Son of God… Then you prove it…  give us a sign that You have the authority to do this…
This Phrase… “the Jews”   is a term that John uses to speak of the enemies of Jesus.... The group of enemies who are always attacking Jesus… The High Priest and religious leaders who make up the Sanhedrin… The scribes and Pharisees…  Jesus is not a priest… He’s not a Levite… He has no authority inside the Temple… That power and authority belonged to the priesthood… And to the spiritual rulers and Elders… They were called the Sanhedrin  Jesus is not an official anything… They are offended and  outraged...  
There is no sign of shame or repentance…   They don’t have any desire to make things right with the Lord…  Because they don’t love God…  the truth is… If they did love the Lord… They would repent and believe the Good News… But the Gospel is only good news for sinners who need a Savior… And most of them do not believe the truth about themselves or the Scriptures… They are ruled by their pride and greed… Their hearts are black and full of sin…. They cannot stand to have Jesus shine the light truth on their wickedness and greed…  They hate the one  true God… and They reject the true way of salvation… by grace through faith… Justification by Faith… Because of the Grace of God… It is given to us by believing and trusting Him… That is clear throughout all of Old Testament history…
But sadly… They loved themselves… They loved money more than God…  They loved their rules… They hate common people... Their only desire is to rule over them… Jesus said... They make people into twice the sons of hell as themselves… Matt 23:15…
They demand  that Jesus give them some sign to prove that He has the right right to do this… He says, “Okay, I’ll give you a sign.” Verse 19…
John 2:19                         NKJV  slt 2000
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
19 Jesus antwortete und sprach zu ihnen: Brecht diesen Tempel ab, und in drei Tagen will ich ihn aufrichten!
v19… Destroy this Temple and in three days I’ll raise it up… This is a Prophesy of His own coming death and resurrection… They will kill Him in about 3 years…. He knows it and Prophesies to them…
This is the first time that Jesus shows the He knows the future… Jesus knew all things… That is Omniscience…  They don’t even know they’re going to kill Him yet… Because this is just the beginning of His ministry… So far they think He is only a small problem... Their hatred and desire to kill Him... will come in the course of time…   but He already knows They will decide to kill Him… But as we can see from this same text… He also knows that He will rise from the dead on the third day…
His resurrection will be the sign from heaven that ultimately validates His claim to be the Son of God… look at v19…. Do you see the word I…. In the Greek it means I… I Myself… Jesus says… You want a sign? I’ll give you a sign…. You will kill me… And I will raise myself from the dead….  
Destroy this Temple and I will raise it up… In Romans ch1…  it says that God through the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead… In 1 Corinthians 15 it says, “God raises the dead… So in Romans ch1 the Holy  Spirit raises Christ from the dead… and  In 1 Corinthians 15, God raises Christ from the dead…  And here, Christ raises Himself from the dead…
Here again this morning we see the Trinity at work… Perfect agreement and a perfect plan of redemption…. Perfect unity… They do all things together…. When God works the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus are also at work… It  is all the same…
We saw the same thing in Creation… The Trinity was active in creation…  That is what we talked about last week in the Vertikal and Foundations class…
God creates… the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit were active in the creation as well… This is the Trinity’s work… They are one in nature... They are one in operation… Let´s continue… verse 20…
John 2: 20-22                    NKJV   slt 2000
20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
20 Da sprachen die Juden: In 46 Jahren ist dieser Tempel erbaut worden, und du willst ihn in drei Tagen aufrichten? 21 Er aber redete von dem Tempel seines Leibes. 22 Als er nun aus den Toten auferstanden war, dachten seine Jünger daran, daß er ihnen dies gesagt hatte, und sie glaubten der Schrift und dem Wort, das Jesus gesprochen hatte.
v20… 46 years… This text says… Also according to Josephus… it had been exactly 46 years at this time that the Temple had been under construction… So they’re looking at Jesus and think this is a bad joke… This thing is 46 years in the building… And now you’re going to destroy it and put it back up in three days… You are nuts… Verse 21…
v21…“But He was speaking of the Temple of His body… When they expressed that they didn´t understand… He didn’t explain to them what He meant… Why? Because When it was the right time… He wanted the disciples to understand it… We know that later they did remember and understand… We will see this in the next verse…  This is another proof of His deity as He prophesies the future… v22…
v22a… When He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this and they believed the Scripture… What Scripture? All of it… Scripture about the Messiah and the future… The entire  the Old Testament is about the Messiah…  including Many many Prophesies of His death and resurrection…
v22b… They believed the Scripture and the Word which Jesus had spoken…
Notice here that even though they saw and heard incredible things… Even the Disciples had trouble believing…
That’s why Jesus said to them “O you of little faith!” They often wobbled in their faith…  But as they spent time with Jesus… their faith and trust grew… And finally after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to them… they understood all that the prophets had said was true…  And then… Just like the 2 Disciples on the road to Emmaus… When He spoke to them all the things concerning Himself from the Law and the Prophets and the holy writings… Finally their eyes were also opened…
Back to the Temple courtyard… These wicked men demanded a sign from Jesus to prove who He was… And He prophesies about HIs death and resurrection… Tear this Temple down…  In Matthew 16… Again the Pharisees demanded a sign from heaven…. They wanted irrefutable proof that Jesus was who He said he was…  And once again He pointed to His own death and resurrection… But the truth is if they refuse to believe the Scripture … They will not believe even if someone rises from the dead… Luke 16
Later Jesus did rise from the dead… but they still wouldn’t believe…
So our Lord’s divine nature is revealed…  He knows the future…
Later on… He lays out the details of His death in Matthew 16, Matthew 17, and Matthew 19…  This is the section where The Lord is teaching His disciples to prepare them… He gives them details from the OT…. Much of it is from Isaiah 52-53… He is warning them and equipping them for the hard times that will soon come… I will be arrested by the chief priests and the leaders of Israel… I will be scourged, I will be spit on… I will be beaten... I will be crucified… I will be buried… I will rise again… He gives every single detail… He knows the future… That’s omniscience…
Look with me at the last few verse from Ch2… v23-25….
John 2: 23-25                           NKJV  slt 2000
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
23 Als er aber am Passahfest in Jerusalem war, glaubten viele an seinen Namen, weil sie seine Zeichen sahen, die er tat.
24 Jesus selbst aber vertraute sich ihnen nicht an, weil er alle kannte,
25 und weil er es nicht nötig hatte, daß jemand von dem Menschen Zeugnis gab; denn er wußte selbst, was im Menschen war.

v23a,c… when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast… they saw the signs which He did.
This feast lasts for 8 days... the Feast of Unleavened Bread follows the Passover… and  Jesus stays for the whole feast…  And so for more than a week… He is performing miracle after miracle… They believed when they saw the signs… They believed in some sense… It seems they were not really converted because of the signs…. They were becoming fans of the miracle worker…. But much more was necessary for salvation... They needed to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and given a heart of flesh…. Ezekiel 36…
The Lord Jesus in His Omniscience… Knew that their faith was not genuine… He knows the secrets of men’s hearts... He knows the invisible world of human thoughts and motives…
v23b… Many believed in His name… That sounds really good… This is why he came… (10)
There is a play on words here…   “Many believed… that’s the Greek verb pistuo…  It means “to believe.” “Many believed in His name… in His name as Messiah… They believed that He was who He claimed to be… Look at v24…
v24… But Jesus did not commit Himself to them… [in the Greek…  it’s the same word pistuo, “believing… They were believing in Jesus… but Jesus was not believing in them… He had no faith in their faith… He had no trust in their trust… He didn’t believe in their believing.
Right here at the very outset of the Gospel of John… we’re introduced to a very important issue… All through redemptive history… We see the presence of Hypocrisy… A Faith that is false and  superficial… You could say an artificial faith… It is a kind of faith that doesn’t save… Jesus taught about this regularly… He was always calling for genuine faith that is demonstrated in joyful… Thankful obedience…
We see this in the Sermon on the Mount… Matthew ch 5 through 7…
This is a great description of the true believer Beginning in Matt ch 5…  He teaches about the condition of someone who has been truly blessed by God… He continues with our mission to be salt and light… He tells us that he Himself is the perfect fulfillment of the law… He reminds us of  absolute necessity of a pure heart and genuine faith… It will produce good fruit… v 16-20… Then in ch 7… v21 Jesus connects genuine faith with obedience from the heart… Jesus says…. Not everyone who says Lord… Lord… Look at it with me… v21…
Matthew 7: 21-23                  NKJV   slt 2000
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
21 Nicht jeder, der zu mir sagt: Herr, Herr! wird in das Reich der Himmel eingehen, sondern wer den Willen meines Vaters im Himmel tut. 22 Viele werden an jenem Tag zu mir sagen: Herr, Herr, haben wir nicht in deinem Namen geweissagt und in deinem Namen Dämonen ausgetrieben und in deinem Namen viele Wundertaten vollbracht? 23 Und dann werde ich ihnen bezeugen: Ich habe euch nie gekannt; weicht von mir, ihr Gesetzlosen!
Genuine Faith produces joyful obedience from the heart… From a heart of gratitude and thankfulness to the Lord Jesus… How could we not be thankful… He has poured grace out on our lives… Godly obedience will be the fruit of our lives… We will Follow Jesus Not perfectly… But the trend line should be clear in our lives…. Less pride… Less rebellion…. Less lust…. More of Jesus and less of me… We begin to reflect the Grace and mercy that we have received from the Lord Jesus
Sadly in the church in the 21st Century… False faith is an important reality… Yes many will say… Lord… Lord… But unfortunately few will go through the narrow door… Most people who claim to believe in Jesus have a non-saving faith… They are only fans of Jesus… They follow Him for what they think that they can get from Him…
All belief in Him is not true belief... It is often superficial… It often lacks genuine repentance…  Genuine faith is demonstrated in a transformed life
True salvation shows up in a transformed heart… And in a life that is filled with prayer for others and in putting others first… Demonstrating the Grace of God… to our own families and to each other here in the church… Serving the Lord from the heart… We talk to each other not about each other… We put others first we pray for each other…. We serve each other from a grateful… thankful heart… Then people know that we have been with Jesus…. They will see that our faith is real… Look with me at…. 1 Peter 4…. v7-10…
1 Peter 4: 7-10                 NKJV    slt 2000
7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
7 Das Ende der Welt kommt bald. Seid deshalb besonnen und klar in euren Gebeten! 8 Das Wichtigste aber ist, dass ihr einander beständig liebt, denn die Liebe deckt viele Sünden zu! 9 Teilt euer Zuhause gastfreundlich mit anderen, die Essen oder einen Platz zum Schlafen brauchen. 10 Gott hat jedem von euch Gaben geschenkt, mit denen ihr einander dienen sollt. Setzt sie gut ein, damit sichtbar wird, wie vielfältig Gottes Gnade ist.
From these words of exhortation we see some very practical ways to demonstrate the Grace of God in our lives…
Grace in Action
1 Serious and Watchful prayer…
2 Fervent love for each other… It covers sin…
3 Be gracious and hospitable…
4 No grumbling and complaining…
5 Minister to one another…
As Genuine believers… These are the things that will become more and more a part of our lives…
Back to John 2…v23-25…
John 2: 23-25                       NKJV   slt 2000
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
23 Als er aber am Passahfest in Jerusalem war, glaubten viele an seinen Namen, weil sie seine Zeichen sahen, die er tat. 24 Jesus selbst aber vertraute sich ihnen nicht an, weil er alle kannte, 25 und weil er es nicht nötig hatte, daß jemand von dem Menschen Zeugnis gab; denn er wußte selbst, was im Menschen war.
v24… But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men…
As I said …. We could translate this… He did not believe in their believing… Or... He did not trust their profession of faith…
v25… and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man…
He knew what was in man…. He knew that many of them had a false faith… How did He know this?
Nobody needed to tell Him anything about anybody…
John is connecting us to the Deity of Christ through  His Supernatural knowledge…
In later years he will say…  “God is greater than our heart and knows all things… 1 John 3:20…
We see lots of false faith as we end ch 2… John is setting the stage for a dialog about the new birth…  Next week we will see the contrast between fake and genuine faith… We will meet Nicodemus next week as we begin ch3… Jesus´ conversation with Nicodemus will point us to true saving faith… It begins in our hearts… We must be born from above…  Let´s pray…

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Today´s Sermon Notes



2016.05.08                                      John 2: 1-12
                       The Wedding at Cana
Good morning… It is wonderful to see you this morning…. We want to wish all Mothers a very special and blessed day!.. What a perfect day for us to see Mary the mother of Jesus in our text this morning…
We are studying the life of Jesus in the Gospel of john… Last week we saw Jesus choosing the first disciples as we finished ch 1…  As we continue in the Gospel…  John is going to go back and forth between the words of Christ… and the miracles of Christ…  He’s going tell us the statements Jesus made that declared His deity…  and the works He did that demonstrated and proved His deity… Jesus will do what no one but God can do… And we see that in the very first miracle in chapter 2... John gives us seven of the miracles that Jesus did…  I don’t want you to think that these are the only miracles Jesus did… There were many others… They were a daily experience of those who followed Jesus… So that you might believe in Him… John 20: 30,31…
John is   giving us examples of these miraculous events so that  we know that Jesus is in fact God… because He does what only God can do… In chapter 1, verse 14, the Word, the divine Word, the eternal Word became flesh and manifested His divine glory. That’s John’s point… Jesus demonstrates His glory as God through these signs…
Now as we come to chapter 2… we have the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry…   His public ministry goes from chapter 2, verse 1 to the end of chapter 12…
When you come to the end of chapter 12… that’s basically the end of His public ministry… In Chapters 13 through 17 Jesus is having a more private ministry with His disciples… He is preparing them for the disastrous events that will shake their world and their faith to the very foundations… His spends most of this time with the apostles… As we will read…. Having loved His own… He loved them to the end… That is how this section begins… John 13…v1…
Then His death, resurrection and post resurrection appearances become the subject of chapters 18 to 21...
So now  we are going to start His public ministry… and we’re going to be following that till we get to the end of chapter 12… And it all begins with a supernatural miracle… Let me read it to you starting in verse 1, chapter 2…
John 2: 1-3                             NKJV   slt 2000
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

John 2: 1-3                             NKJV   slt 2000
1 Und am dritten Tag war eine Hochzeit in Kana in Galiläa, und die Mutter Jesu war dort. 2 Aber auch Jesus wurde samt seinen Jüngern zur Hochzeit eingeladen. 3 Und als es an Wein mangelte, spricht die Mutter Jesu zu ihm: Sie haben keinen Wein!
v1… “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee… Weddings were the most important event that happened in ancient family life…
Jesus and He disciples went to Galilee to the village of Cana… It is about nine miles north of Nazareth...
Jesus has been declared or revealed to be the Long awaited Messiah…  He has begun to call disciples to Himself… He has already chosen five…   Andrew and Peter and Philip and Nathanael and John…  
This wedding was a huge event… Marriage is sacred Holy… In those days… Devout Jews would pray and fast before they got married…. Still a very good idea if you ask me… They would confess their sins… And seek God´s wisdom and blessings too… Excellent oder?…
Cana is  Nathanael’s hometown… John 21:2… This is a very small village… There are many small villages in and around Nazareth and these first disciples all lived nearby… they fished and farmed in the same area… Nazareth was a bit bigger… The people in the outlying areas would come to Nazareth when they needed things that could only be gained in Nazareth…
Nazareth had about five hundred people at this time… It is safe to say that they all know each other… They and their families have been there for generations…   They are friends… And many are also family… and that would be true in all of the even smaller villages in the area like Cana… Jesus and His disciples are invited to this great event… So there’s a wedding in Cana… Jesus and his family and His disciples are all invited… This is a very significant event because of what Jesus does at this wedding…
The fact that Jesus did His first miracle at a wedding points to the importance the covenant of Marriage…  Weddings matter… Public covenants like weddings and Baptisms matter… When we marry… We make a public covenant before God and before people…
Marriage is a relationship designed and ordained by God… It is the highest and best of all God ordained human relationships… No other human relationship is as wonderful as marriage…
 It is the most wonderful and most blessed of all common graces... Common grace is a gift from God to all people… God is His Grace and mercy….. Patiently gives all of mankind sunshine and rain… Matthew 5:45… He gives us people to Love and hope for tomorrow… Common graces include things like the beauty of the world… sleep… health… a good meal… falling in love… and of course marriage… It is the best gift that God gives to humanity…   Any society that honors marriage will be blessed… There will be less crime and less misery… It does not matter whether the people believe in Him or not…
The Lord Jesus honored marriage… Her attended and performed His first miracle at a wedding…
So Jesus went to the wedding… And the mother of Jesus was there… Not surprising…  I imagine that many generations of her family had lived in the little town of Nazareth? There were just a few hundred people in this area… Many of these people were related to each other…. By Blood or marriage… Or both… Sisters brothers and cousins… family and close friends…
This reminds me of the small farming village where my father grew up in Tampico Illinois… Everyone is related to each other… By blood or by marriage… I have family that are related to each other on multiple levels… Cousins who are married to each other… Whose parents are also distant cousins… And everyone from the same villages and churches…
Back to the Wedding… 
This is a major celebration…  it lasted for days...  Sometimes they would start early in the week and go all week long… Often lasting as long as seven days…
This is a really beautiful start to Jesus ministry… Jesus has lived for thirty years in Nazareth in this little village…    For Thirty years He has lived a simple private life… Now He’s going to begin His public ministry… and the bridge from His private life to His public ministry is a miracle for His family and friends… Do you see that? This didn’t happen in Judea… This Miracle happened for His family friends… They were the first ones who were to recognize what He had never demonstrated before… that He is the Creator God…
The wedding celebration is in full swing… verse 3…
John 2:3                            NKJV  slt 2000
3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
3 Und als es an Wein mangelte, spricht die Mutter Jesu zu ihm: Sie haben keinen Wein!
v3a… And when they ran out of wine… No wine at a wedding celebration? that’s a problem… In fact this is a major catastrophe… This is a huge social embarrassment… Because if there was anything that the bridegroom had spent a year trying to prove is that he could take care of his bride… He had to build her a house… he had to acquire everything that was necessary... He had to demonstrate his ability to take care of her for the rest of her life… Her father was handing her over to him… This is a problem… Maybe he can’t afford to be married…   
This is what all of you fathers who marry off your daughters fear... Is this guy going to be able to make a living? Is this guy going to be able to take care of you?   
They ran out of wine at the greatest celebration that this couple would ever have… Remember… life was hard in those days... This was the event of their lives…
No wine?… No way… This cannot be happening…
Wine was a staple drink in the ancient world… It was made from all kinds of fruit… But mostly grapes… And let me just remind you that the juice of any fruit would begin to ferment… because there was no refrigeration… That means that everything fermented and developed alcohol… Even bread would begin to ferment… My mom used to make homemade bread…. It would rise in the warm kitchen and if it was there too long…. The kitchen started to smell like beer… It was starting to ferment… No wine at the Wedding… This is a big problem… v3b…
v3b… the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Why her? We don’t know…. But she may be related to the bride and groom… Maybe she was serving in some way…  She certainly knew what was going on… When the wine ran out, everybody knew it… Remember this is a several day event… It would not be easy to calculate how much wine would be needed for a week long party… She sees the very big need… And she goes to Jesus… He was of course an awesome son…. He had been providing for and protecting her for years already… It is clear that Joseph has died some time before… We don´t know when… But Jesus as the oldest… would have taken the responsibility for his entire family… He would have served  as head of the household… That´s why He gives the care of Mary over to John as He is dying on the cross… But so far… Jesus has not done any miracles...  
Why would she all of a sudden want Him to do a miracle?
She knew He was about to embark on His public ministry… He had been baptized by John in the Jordan… John had identified Him as the Lamb of God… He was gathering disciples… This was all new… He had left home…
The exciting news of these things had been circulating in the entire area…  Maybe she was thinking… the miracles begin here…
Maybe she just hoped he would figure out something… He would know the way to solve the problem... And not only that… He cared about people… He was compassionate… He was kind and loving…
Who else would she go to?  I don’t think she was necessarily asking for a miracle… She just goes to the One she would always go to…  She simply says to Him, “They have no wine… She’s learned as a widow to trust in His leadership and His wisdom…Let´s look at v 4…
John 1: 4,5                          NKJV   slt 2000
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
4 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Frau, was habe ich mit dir zu tun? Meine Stunde ist noch nicht gekommen! 5 Seine Mutter spricht zu den Dienern: Was er euch sagt, das tut!
after Mary says … “they have no wine,” Jesus said to her…
v4a…Woman… He says Woman… Now it’s not harsh to say “Woman… It is respectful... Something like ma’am…  It’s courteous... By the way, it’s the same word that He used on the cross in John 19 when He said to her, “Woman, behold your son,” and handed her over to John… He called her “woman” there as well… Respectful and kind but It´s also not like saying mom… next phrase… Jesus says…
v4b… What does that have to do with us?”   This is   important... The years serving primarily His Mother as the replacement for His Father… Is being replaced by The start of His earthly Ministry…  He is now focused on doing His Father’s business first… Later on we will read in John… “I only do what the Father tells Me to do… I only do what I see the Father do…  John 5: 19,20…
He is distancing Himself from that mother/son relation which had existed for thirty years… The fact that Jesus used the word… “Woman” shows that she is now talking not just with her son… but with the Son of God... You could translate the phrase… What does that have to do with us? It´s like he is saying what do you mean us….
This is an interesting statement… This statement is used a few times in the Old Testament… It’s made in Matthew 8 and Mark 1 and Mark 5… it’s a very familiar expression… it’s a Semitic expression… literally it is as “What to Me and to you?”  It is a kind of separating statement... He is pointing to His Mission… It is now  is taking priority in His life… His family is going to play a smaller role as he moves forward… next phrase v4c…
v4c… My hour has not yet come… This is the first time we see this statement… but we’re going to see it again… We’re going to see it in chapters 7 and 8… And then finally in John 12….v23… Jesus will say… The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified… Notice that Jesus is saying that the cross and resurrection will bring Him Glory… And so this is a phrase that points to His total mission… It points to the cross… It points to His final permanent sacrifice… He will purchase our redemption… It points to the resurrection and His Glorification forever… Jesus is saying… I am on The Fathers Mission…  
So Jesus is saying to His mother…   That final hour of My death and resurrection is set by The Father… and all events that lead up to that are determined by the Father as well… next verse… v5…
v5… Whatever He says to you, do it…
She is not pressing the point…. She does not tell him what to do… Remember she has not asked that He do something miraculous… Only that He does something…
She believed that He would find a solution... But it was on the Fathers timetable that Jesus do this miracle for His friends and family…  v6…
John 2: 6-10                        NKJV   slt 2000
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”


John 2: 6-10                        NKJV   slt 2000
6 Es waren aber dort sechs steinerne Wasserkrüge, nach der Reinigungssitte der Juden, von denen jeder zwei oder drei Eimer faßte. 7 Jesus spricht zu ihnen: Füllt die Krüge mit Wasser! Und sie füllten sie bis obenhin. 8 Und er spricht zu ihnen: Schöpft nun und bringt es dem Speisemeister! Und sie brachten es hin.
9 Als aber der Speisemeister das Wasser, das zu Wein geworden war, gekostet hatte (und er wußte nicht, woher es war; die Diener aber, die das Wasser geschöpft hatten, wußten es), da rief der Speisemeister den Bräutigam 10 und sprach zu ihm: Jedermann setzt zuerst den guten Wein vor, und dann, wenn sie trunken geworden sind, den geringeren; du aber hast den guten Wein bis jetzt behalten!

v6… Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece… That’s something like 500 or 600  liters of water…
All of this water is for ritual purification…  The Jews always purify everything… They wash their hands often… They washed themselves and everything in the kitchen… This is not about only cleanliness… this is about ritual purifications and ceremonies… purification rites and rituals and ceremonies for meals and many celebrations… They   would go through ceremonial washings before every meal…  And there were lots of meals in a multi-day Wedding experience… So there was plenty of water needed…  v7…
v7… Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim…
So Jesus said, “Fill the water pots with water…. I am sure that the servants were expecting another round of ceremonial washings…
So they filled them to the brim…  That is important… If they were not filled to the brim… People might say just say that He added really strong wine to the water… This way there was no room for anything… They were filled to the brim… let´s reread the last section… v8-10…
v8… Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast…
9… When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
v8-10… We are talking about an instant Supernatural Miracle…  This is impossible to explain… unbelieveable…
Where did it come from? What happened…The servants knew what happened… They might have been servants of the bridegrooms family… They might have been family friends like we see often see today… But they were certzainly believeable eyewitnesses to this miracle… They would not lie to these people that they knew very well… Plus we are talking about mass quantities of wine… Excellent wine… I probably represents a very large harvest… Hundreds of liters of fine wine…. This  is also a fortune in money… The chief of the feast is amazed…. Not about the miracle…   He didn´t know it was a miracle yet…  He says…. Why did you wait until now to serve the best?... They had certainly seen these water pots… If they had been filled with wine all during this celebration…. People would have known… No… It was water they put in those Waterpots… Now it is fine wine… These eyewitnesses gave testimony that He had literally created wine to replace water…  
So you have the testimony of an incredible miracle from people who have no reason to lie…
They did not want or need to prove anything about Jesus... It’s amazing and wonderful… This first miracle has a tremendous effect on the people and on the disciples… There is no human way to explain Jesus… He demonstrates complete control over creation… He has to be God…  He creates wine out water….. Instantly…
Do you remember ch 1… v3… look up here…
John 1:3                            NKJV   slt 2000
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
3 Alles ist durch dasselbe entstanden; und ohne dasselbe ist auch nicht eines entstanden, was entstanden ist.
Back to John ch 2…  verse 11…  
John 2: 11,12     NKJV   slt 2000
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
11 Diesen Anfang der Zeichen machte Jesus in Kana in Galiläa und ließ seine Herrlichkeit offenbar werden, und seine Jünger glaubten an ihn. 12 Danach zog er hinab nach Kapernaum, er und seine Mutter und seine Brüder und seine Jünger, und sie blieben wenige Tage dort.
v11a… This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory...
He manifested His glory… No wonder that John wrote this in ch 1… look with me at  John 1:14…
John 1: 14                   NKJV   slt 2000
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
14 Und das Wort wurde Fleisch und wohnte unter uns; und wir sahen seine Herrlichkeit, eine Herrlichkeit als des Eingeborenen vom Vater, voller Gnade und Wahrheit.
14… We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… John first began to behold that glory right there at the wedding of Cana because he was there… next verse…
v11b… and His disciples believed in Him...
That’s the whole purpose of the Ministry of Jesus… That is the reason for the Gospel of John…. He said so in John 20: 30,31…
These first disciples saw the miracle and His disciples believed in Him… Sounds great Right?  One might conclude that what we need today are more miracles… Then the people will believe… Many later rain prophets preach this… They say what we need are signs and wonders…  Is it true… Do miracles cause believing faith to spring up?...
Is that the conclusion we should draw from this miracle?...
No!...  Miracles alone do not cause Saving Faith… Not even for these witnesses of this first miracle… In just a few months many of these same people will try to kill Jesus… They will be in Nazareth in the Synagogue the day that Jesus stands up and reads from the prophet Isaiah… And they will try to kill the miracle working Jesus… because He said that he was the Messiah… Luke 4: 16-30…
Turn to John 12… John 12:37…
John 12: 37                     NKJV  slt 2000
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
37 Obwohl er aber so viele Zeichen vor ihnen getan hatte, glaubten sie nicht an ihn;
His disciples believed in Him…  But in this text…. We see that there were some who did not believe in Him... And both groups saw the same signs… What about you…. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ…. The Son of the Living God… You and I have so much more than this miracle of the Water being turned into wine… We have the Word of God…. Jesus´ Words of Life…  recorded for us… We have the entire unfolding History of Redemption… in this book…  It is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to show us the truth… Jesus is The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World…
Today is the Day… Dedicate or rededicate your life to Him… We need to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus… Just like these first disciples did…  It is the secret to the Joyful Christian life that we all want… Let´s pray…