Turn back to John chapter two.
The Bible answers the question that no other religion even asks. How God can be just and justify
the ungodly. I've entitled this message Christ's
most important miracle. Now somebody may be thinking,
and I wouldn't blame you, how do you select what miracle is
the most important miracle? Well, I'm not doing it. This
is what the scripture says Christ's most important miracle is. Because
you'll notice in verse 11, This beginning of miracles did Jesus
in Cana of Galilee. Now he doesn't say this was the
first miracle in terms of chronological order of events or sequence of
time. It says this beginning of miracles
Christ performed. Now this word beginning means
that which everything else comes from. Christ is called the beginning. Who is the beginning? He calls
himself the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
There you see the difference. There's beginning and there's
first. He's the beginning. That which everything comes from
him. He's the beginning. He's before
all things. Everything comes from him and
he's the end. Now this beginning, Now, in the
Gospel of John, there are seven miracles that the whole book
is based upon. There is the healing of the nobleman's
son. There's the man who was paralyzed
for 38 years and Christ told him to get up and he got up.
There is the feeding of the 5,000 where matter is brought into
existence that was not there before. There is when he walked
on the water, he gave a blind man that was born blind sight,
and he raised Lazarus from the dead. And this is the first miracle. First in order of events, yes,
but the word beginning tells us that this is the most important
miracle. And this illustrates to us how
God can be just and justify the ungodly. Verse 1, And the third day there was a
marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,
And both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. What a special thing, a marriage. The Lord took time to attend
this marriage. Marriage is honorable in all. And a man and a woman in love
committing themselves one to another for life is something
God has ordained. When the Lord was invited to
this marriage, he attended, showing his approval of this, I don't
know if I wanna call it institution, I don't know what you'd call
it, but it's, God made it. And he's showing his approval
of this in attending this marriage. He actually took the time to
be there. And you and I should follow his
example. If he did this, we should as
well. Verse three, and when they wanted wine, now
something very embarrassing took place to the host. They ran out
of wine. They wanted wine. It was gone. Now, if you do not drink wine
or alcohol and feel like it would be wrong for you to do it, you
shouldn't do it. It's a sin to you if you do it. Don't take that from the scripture
and think to drink wine or to drink alcohol is wrong or sinful
because it's not. The Lord drank wine. These people
were drinking wine. The Lord was accused of being
a wine-bibber and a gluttonous man, the friend of publicans
and sinners. Obviously, he was drinking wine. Look what the ruler of the feast
says down in verse 9, when the ruler of the feast had tasted
the water which was made wine and knew not whence it was, but
the servants which drew the water knew. The governor of the feast
called the bridegroom and said, every man at the beginning does
set forth good wine. And when men have well drunk,
and that word actually means intoxicated, that does not justify
intoxication in any way. It's not saying it's okay, but
you can't become intoxicated by grape juice. They were drinking
wine, real wine at this time. And they ran out of wine. The word wanted is the same word
used with regard to the prodigal. He began to be in want. This is a blessed place to be.
He began to be in want. Poor and needy. They ran out of wine. They had no food. Wine. Now this thing of being in want,
you know, you really can't hear the gospel. I can't really hear
the gospel. I can't really preach the gospel
unless it is as poor and needy and being in want, needing him. Now, the Lord's mother said, and when they wanted wine, verse
three, The mother of Jesus saith unto him they had no wine. Implied in that statement is
do something about it. She knew he could. They're out
of wine. Do something about it. And look
at the way the Lord answered her. Jesus saith unto her, this
is his mother whom he loved. whom he had respect for, he is
the only one to ever keep the fifth commandment and honor his
father and mother perfectly. He did that and he loved his
mother. You remember when he was on the
cross, he said to John, He said first to his mother, woman behold
thy son. And then he said to John, behold
thy mother. And John took her into his home
from that, took her into his home from that very hour and
became fully responsible for her. Even from the cross, the
Lord was taking care of his mother. He loved his mother. Yet he says to her, woman, what
have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Now I know this, it's never right
to tell the Lord what to do. Amen? No one is to tell the Lord what
to do, including his mother. Woman, what have I to do with
thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Now, David said, do as thou hast
said, but he wouldn't give the Lord a commandment, was he? He
was saying, Lord, you said you'd do this. This is my great desire. Do it. He wouldn't give him the
Lord a commandment. We are never to tell the Lord what to do. This is our desire, but we don't
tell him what to do. Every time we ask him to do something,
it's always with this disclaimer, if it be thy will, if it be thy
will. And his mother at this time was
saying, they want wine, do something about it. And he says, woman. What have I to do with you? Mine hour is not yet come. And
I know exactly what he was talking about when he said mine hour
is not yet come. He's talking about the hour for which the
universe was created. Father, the hour is come. Many times it says his hour has
not yet come. The hour of the cross, the hour
of his death, the hour when he would make a way for God to be
just and justify the ungodly, the most glorious God-like thing
God's ever done, the cross, why he created the universe, the
reason behind everything. But mine hour has not come yet,
that time when men will be allowed, according to the purpose of God,
to do what they want to do. Luke goes on to tell us He delivered Jesus to their will, what they wanted. But that time
has not yet come. Woman, what have I to do with
thee? Mine hour is not yet come. I think of that time when the
Lord said, what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.
And he knew what he was going to experience as the sinner's
substitute, being made sin and suffering the wrath of God. He
said, and what shall I say? Father, save me for this hour.
For this cause came I in to this hour. Father, glorify thy name. And then his mother gives us
something very wise. And this is the rule of our life. You want a rule for life? Here
it is. Whatsoever he saith to you, do
it. That's good and simple, isn't
it? Whatsoever He saith to you, do it. Can't go wrong here. This is
His commandment that we should believe. Note that commandment. This is His commandment. that
we should believe on the name of his son and love one another
as he gave us commandment. If you love me, keep my commandments. He that keepeth my commandments,
he it is that loveth me. Whatsoever he saith unto you,
do it. Verse six. And there were set there six,
why six? Six is the number of man. Adam
was created on the sixth day. Every detail is inspired and
for a purpose of teaching us the gospel. And there were there,
set there, six water pots of stone. After the manner of the
purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins a piece.
Now, a firkin is nine gallons. So these were pretty good-sized
stone pots. They would hold anywhere between
18 and 27 gallons of water, and they were dry. And they were
set there after, and this is very important detail, they were
set there after the manner of the purifying of the Jews. Not God's way of purifying, but
the Jews way of purifying. Look in verse 13, and the Jews
Passover was at hand. Not God's Passover, but the Jews
Passover. They had prostituted it and it
had become the Jews Passover. And John says so many things
just like this. John 5.1, a feast of the Jews.
John 5.16, therefore the Jews did persecute Jesus. The Jews
sought the Moor to kill him. The Passover feast of the Jews
was nigh. The Jews then murmured at him.
The Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. No man spoke openly
of him for fear of the Jews. Then said the Jews, Say we not
well thou art a Samaritan and has a devil? There was a division
among the Jews Because of these sayings the Jews then took up
stones again to stone him the Jews manner of purifying Did
not purify All you were left with was empty
pots of stone with nothing in them. Six empty vessels. What do you have? Emptiness. Nothing. Here's God's way of purification.
When he had by himself purged, that's the exact same word used
in our text. When he had by himself made purification. for our sins. He did it by himself. That means
me and you didn't have a hand in this. He did this by himself. That's God's way of purification. The way of the Jews is empty
stones, stone pots with nothing in them. Well, Here's the miracle, verse
7. Jesus said unto them, fill the
water pots with water. And they filled them to the brim. They filled them up so full that
they couldn't receive another drop. Completely full. Colossians chapter two, verses
nine and 10. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are full. Plum full. Not one thing can be added to
you in Christ. Not one thing to make you any
more loved, any more accepted, any more holy, any more righteous. You are complete, full. filled to the brim. Nothing can
be added. You know, the next time you start
thinking, what am I lacking? And gosh, you lack nothing. You
are complete in Him. And we have this treasure, like
you said last night, in earthen vessels. There's an earthen vessel
with this fullness. Now let's go on reading. Jesus
saith unto them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled
them up to the brim. Verse eight. And he saith unto
them, draw out now and bear unto the governor of the feast. And
they bear it. This is the preaching of the
gospel. We're bringing the message that's in this miracle and We want men to taste it for themselves.
We bring it out that men might taste. Oh, taste and see that
the Lord is gracious. And this is what's going on in
the preaching of the gospel. Taste this. Taste this. That's what we want as people.
If you taste, you'll believe. If you taste this, you'll have
the same response that the governor of the feast had, taste. They
brought a ladle like this to the governor of the feast from
those stone pots filled with water and poured it in and he
tasted it. Now look, verse eight, or verse
nine. When the ruler of the feast had
tasted The water that was made wine. What did he taste? Water that was made wine. It was not water that tasted
like wine. It was not water that looked
like wine. It was not water that smelled
like wine. It was wine. The water was made
wine. It doesn't say Christ imputed
the qualities of wine to the water. It does not say Christ
imparted the qualities of wine to the water. It does not say
that Christ infused wine into the water. Now this miracle gives
us a glimpse of what could well be said to be the verse that
tells us how God can embrace us. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. Now remember, the question I
began with, the Bible, the gospel, answers the question that no
other religion even asks, how God can be just and justify the
ungodly. Now look in 2 Corinthians 5,
verse 21, for he hath made him You'll notice that to be is in
italics. It can be left out. For he hath
made him sin. For us, who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now here's how God can be just
and justify the ungodly. Now somebody may think, why can't
he just forgive? Why can't he just forgive? I'm
called upon to forgive people. Why can't he just forgive? Well,
what would you say of an earthly judge who someone murdered your
child, And the judge said, I'm a forgiving judge. They're forgiven. And they're let go. Would there
be any justice at all about that? That would be wrong. That would
be evil. We would get rid of him. This question, God is righteous. God is holy. This question must
be answered. How he can be just and justify
the ungodly. Now, Let's take this statement
at face value for what it says. It does not say that Christ was
made a sinner. Does not say that at all. Nor does it say that we're made
righteous. Doesn't say either of those things,
does it? It does not say that God imparted
sin to Christ, nor does it say God imparted righteousness to
us. That's not found in this text. It does not say God imputed sin
to him, does it? In this text. It does not say
God imputed sin to him. Nor does it say God imputed righteousness
to us. That's not in this text. What
does the text say? For he made him sin. Do I know what all that means? Certainly not. But here it is. He was made sin. You want to know what sin is?
Look at the cross and you'll find out. He was made sin. Who knew no sin. You and I know sin so intimately,
we're so aware of it, we're so used to it. He knew no sin and
he was made sin. Just like the water was made
wine. This is given. God's illustration. You know, preachers like to come
up with good illustrations, and I like to too. I wish I was as
good at it as I would like to be, but the illustrations the
Lord gives are so much better than any human illustration.
We don't have to worry about this. This is God's illustration.
That water was made, why? He was made sin. But what else does this text
say? We are made the righteousness of God. I want you to think about
that. It doesn't say we're made righteous. It says we are made the righteousness
of God. Now there's a reason for that.
The righteousness of God is the only righteousness there is.
And every believer is made by God because Christ was made sin. Every believer is made the righteousness
of God. Here is the miracle. Christ was
made to be what he was not before. Just as the wine, it was made. It was water. And it was made. I mean, it was just H2O. It was
water. And it was made wine. It was made what it was not before. Christ was made. And when I talk
about this, I feel so ignorant and frustrated. I know I don't
really know how to enter into what all it means, but there
it is. He was made what he was not,
sin. And we're made what we were not,
the righteousness of God. Now that is the gospel. That's what took place on Calvary's
tree. Christ was made to be what he
was not. Sin. When I think of that, it
just, it makes me feel bad. It makes me feel good, but it
makes me feel bad too. He was made sin. And we are made sin. the righteousness of God in him. On the cross, God was not punishing
the innocent. He was punishing the guilty. And because of that, the righteousness
of God becomes the personal righteousness of every believer. Listen to
this scripture. Revelation 19.8, to her was granted,
talking about the church, everybody for whom Christ died, to her
was granted that she should be arrayed, dressed, clothed in
fine linen, clean and white. But this fine linen is the righteousness
of the saints. The righteousness of God is the
righteousness of the saints. Listen, believer, you are, and
this would be blasphemous if the word of God didn't say it,
you are the righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who you are. Now that's I want to read a scripture from
Proverbs 17, verse 15. Listen to this. He that justifieth
the wicked and he that condemneth the just, even they both are
an abomination to the Lord. That's not what was going on
in the cross. God wasn't justifying the wicked. He was condemning
the wicked. And when he justifies the believer
because of what Christ did, he is declaring clean those who really
are clean, the just. Now, the governor didn't know
where this wine came from. Turn back to our text, John chapter
two, verse nine. when the ruler of
the feast had tasted the water that was made wine. Now, I don't have any doubt that
this is the best wine that there ever was or will be. There's never been wine like
this wine. And the governor of the feast
tasted this wine, When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water
that was made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the servants
which drew the water knew, the governor of the feast called
the bridegroom, and he saith unto him, every man at the beginning
doth set forth good wine. They begin with the best. And when men have well drunk
and their taste buds are not as sensitive, then that which
is worse, they won't know the difference. This is a lot cheaper. I'll put out the $20 bottles
at the first and then by the time it's over, I'll put out
the $1.99 bottles and no one will know the difference. That
is the way of men. We always have an angle on things.
We always have a way to make it better for ourselves, or make
ourselves look better. We always have an angle on everything. And this man, he thought, well,
you're doing, this is what everybody does. They put the good wine
out first, and afterwards, that which is not as good, men won't
know the difference. But you've done something that
no man does. Thou has kept the good wine.
until now. You brought out the best right
now. You see, God is not like me and
you. Aren't you glad? He's not like
me and you. You see, he's independent. He
has no needs. And he doesn't need to trick
anybody. He's just generous. That's the
reason he brings out the good wine last because of his liberality
and his generosity as the glorious God. This is who he is. And this is a description of
heaven. Thou has kept the good wine until
now, the eternal now will be a continual experience of this. Beyond the best is always the
better. Always. And do you know in heaven,
each day will be the best day? I know there are no days in heaven,
I realize that, I'm only speaking as a ignorant man, but each day
is the best, yet the next one will be better. Each day is the
best day that could possibly be, and the next one will be
better. Thou hast kept the good wine until now. Beyond the best is always the
better with the Lord. This beginning of miracles. This chief miracle. Now, this miracle didn't take
more power than the other miracles. They all took omnipotence. I
mean, for Lazarus to be raised from the dead, what power that
took. For Christ to feed the multitude of 5,000 with Two sardines
and five biscuits, what power that took. There are omnipotences
involved in every one of these powers, but this is the chief
miracle because it gives us the illustration of what that very
message of the scriptures is. God can be just and justify the
ungodly through Christ being made sin and us being made the
righteousness of God in Him. That's why it's called the beginning
of miracles, the most important miracle. And what happened as
a result of this beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of
Galilee? Here's what He did. Two things. He manifested forth His glory. And His disciples believed on
Him. And here's what took place in
this miracle. He manifested His glory. This miracle explains to us how
Christ could say To that man beating his breast, crying, God
be merciful to me, the sinner. This miracle manifests his glory,
how he can say to that man, I say to you, that man went down to
his house justified, rather than the other. What glory he manifests
that he can do that. He manifested his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace
and truth. And then it says his disciples
believed on him. Now you're going to read two
phrases in the scripture with regard to believing Christ. You
read of believing in Him and you read of believing on Him. What's the difference? You can't
have one without the other. If you believe in Him, you'll
believe on Him. And if you believe on Him, it's
because you believe in Him. I believe in that airplane and
its ability to get me to wherever I'm going. I look at that plane
and I believe in its ability. I believe on the plane when I
get on board. Now I won't get on board unless
I believe in the plane. But if I believe in the plane,
I'm gonna get on board, I'm gonna sit down and while that plane's
in flight, I'm not trying to help it. I know I'm totally dependent,
100% dependent on that plane to get me there. He manifested his glory and they
believed on him. the beginning of miracles. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the simplicity and the incomprehensibleness
of your gospel. Lord, I ask in Christ's name,
that we all might, like the disciples then, believe on him. And how we thank you that your
son, you sent him, and you made him to be sin for us, who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We thank you for him, in his
name we pray, amen.