When I survey the wondrous cross,
on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count
but loss. ? Forbid it, Lord, that I should
boast ? ? Save in the death of Christ my God ? ? All the vain
things that charm me most ? ? I sacrifice in the name of Christ my God
? Look out, did such love and sorrow
meet, O'er thorns composed so rich a crown? Were the realm of nature mine,
? That were a present far too small ? ? Love so amazing, so
divine ? ? Demands my soul, my life, my all ? M number 236,
Amazing Grace. Amazing grace, how sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now
am found. was blind, but now I see. T'was grace that taught my heart
to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed. Through me. already come. His grace hath brought me safe
thus far, and grace will lead me home. When we've been back ? Bright shining as the sun ? We've
no less days to sing God's praise ? Than when we first begun ?
Unet lana iuweji ? ? Iga guya hei ? ? Nago josa iulose ? ?
Iga guya hona ? If you have your Bibles, turn
to the Gospel according to John chapter 2. We'll read verses
1 through 11. 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.
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman,
what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His
mother saith unto his servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you,
do it. There were set six waterpots
of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing
two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the
waterpots with water. They filled them up to the brim.
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear it unto the
governor of the feast. And they bear it. And 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 said
unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and
when men have well drunk, then that which is worse, but thou
hast kept the good wine until now. In this beginning of the
miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee manifest forth His glory,
and His disciples believed on Him. We are thankful that we can look
at your word and see the glory therein. We can see your word
manifest in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who was the
word and was made flesh and dwelt among us. We can see the beginning of his
ministry here in the preaching of the gospel. We are thankful
that you have recorded for us this miracle, the first of the
miracles. We're thankful that we can look
at it and see the glories of Jesus Christ. Father, we pray
for those who are sick. These two ladies have been added
to the prayer list. We ask, Lord, you be with them.
Be with those doctors that administer to them. Help them, Lord, as
only you can. Fix their hearts and minds upon
Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to remember those
on our prayer list and those who requested prayer. We pray
again for those, our neighbors, this area of North Carolina that
has suffered so from these floods. We pray for these people that
you'd be merciful to them. As winter approaches, it doesn't
look good for many of them. We ask, Lord, that you'd be fixing a way where they can survive
and cause us in our hearts to remember them and help them any
way we can. Father, let us remember each
other in prayer as we are a congregation, our brothers and sisters in Christ,
for truly the only thing eternal we have here is that which we
have in Jesus Christ. These are our brothers and sisters
that we'll spend eternity together with. Help us to call out your name. Help us to remember your name.
As I was preparing this message, I've been thinking about it for
about a week, and something came to my mind. in the 46 years I've pastored
here, I've never preached from this passage. I thought, how
about that? I've never preached about the
first miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ anywhere or any place
since I've been preaching the gospel. And that kind of surprised
me. I know I've read it many times
and studied it, but here I've never really preached from it,
so we're going to take a look at it tonight. In verse 11, the text says that
this was the beginning of the Lord's miracles. in the first
view the disciples got of his glory. Now the disciples had
followed him willingly, believing that he was the one promised
in the words of Moses and the prophets. But now seeing this
strange and wondrous thing, it says this, they believed on him.
To them this was a kind of proof that humanity and deity were
united. For he did something that no
human being could do. He turned water into wine. the
fact that they believed on him will be better understood as
we look at the rest of these scriptures discussing this particular
occurrence. This occurrence was a wedding
feast. It was attended by the Lord's
family, his mother and his brothers. It was probably a wedding of
some of their kinfolk. The evidence of any wine suggests
that they were not rich people because wine was always there
at the wedding feast. In fact, it probably suggests
that they were likely poor people. They couldn't afford it. The
Lord also brought along his five disciples, the five that he had
chosen thus far. And as was the custom at wedding
feasts, wine was to be served, and this feast had none. No wine. And the Lord's mother, Mary,
told him that they had no wine. And her son came with his five
disciples. She said, they have no wine.
And what follows has caused much conjecture among the holy theologians
concerning what Christ said to his mother and how he said it
to her. It seems to be a reproof and
it does not sit well with folks that a son would speak thusly
with his mother. Woman, what have I to do with
thee? People get stuck on that. Woman,
what have I to do with thee? And forget that the explanation
is in what follows. He says, what have I to do with
thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Now she knew he was the son of
God. The angel had told her that when
she got pregnant with him. And he knew that, and she knew
that he could do something about the need for wine. That's why
she said they had no wine. She said it to him. She didn't
say it to anybody else. He knew that she was asking for
a miracle. no doubt about that but the employment
of a miracle was to be used in a different manner that's why
he said this about his hour, my hour is not yet come he was
not speaking of his hour of the substitutionary sacrifice when
he hung on Calvary's tree which was also also referred to in
scripture sometimes as his hour he was speaking of his hour of
what was beginning here and that is his public ministry his public
ministry when he began to preach repent for the kingdom of god
is at hand in his public ministry and in the ministry of the apostles
that followed all the way through the apostolic age miracles had
a particular use now he wasn't preaching here he wasn't setting
forth the kingdom here he was just going to a wedding feast
and was asked to perform this miracle. He was speaking of his
hour of the public ministry and that ministry, that ministry,
miracles had a specific purpose. They were used to cause men and
women to pause at the wonder of the miracle
in order for them to stand still long enough to hear what was
preached. That was the design of the miracles.
When the gifts were given to the Holy Ghost of the Apostles
and given without measure to Jesus Christ as a human being
who was both God and man, when these gifts were given to them,
it was for this purpose. They were able to perform these
things so people would listen to what they had to say. It was
kind of a credence to the message. Now once the Bible was complete,
once the Word of God came to full fruition, miracles were
no longer needed And as the transition of the old covenant to the new
covenant was made, you see, at this point in time, until the
Bible was complete, these miracles attended the preaching of the
gospel. It was a time of transition. he had the old covenant, it was
plainly set forth from Genesis to Malachi, especially after
Sinai was set and all the way through the prophets. That was
the old covenant, you had the Old Testament, that's what they
preached from. But to begin to explain that the Old Testament
meant more than just the historical facts that it did. They took
the Old Testament and began to preach Christ. Christ quoted
the Old Testament over and over again. Thus saith the Lord. It
is written and so forth. It was a transition period. You
see, there was a progressive revelation at this point. Things
were being revealed that hadn't been fully revealed yet. Remember
what our Lord said to His disciples in John chapter 16. He said,
When the Holy Spirit comes, He's going to tell you some things
that you're not ready to hear yet. you're not ready to hear
yet but when the bible was complete according to first corinthians
chapter thirteen when the bible was complete these gifts were
no longer necessary but now we're in this transition period and
part of this transition period is that the miracles attend the
word of god this time in the church was a combination of what
we might say a combination of faith and sight faith and sight
the old testament was clearly all sight Now there were those
who believed the Lord. The remnant, according to the
election of grace, did. But it was about sight. You had
a visible high priest. You had visible sacrifices. You had a visible altar. You
had a visible temple or tabernacle. All these things you could actually
be seen and touched and held. They dealt with the five senses
of the flesh. but now something else is beginning
to happen. Jesus Christ is talking about
spiritual things things that can't be seen and while he's
talking about the kingdom being at hand and they couldn't see
the kingdom what that word kingdom means in the New Testament when
he talks about the kingdom being at hand was his sovereignty his
sovereign rule is at hand and they couldn't see that so what
was required to understand that was God-given faith. So you had
a mixture of faith, believing the gospel, and it was attended
by miracles to get you to stop and listen to it. That was the
design of the miracles. This time was a time of faith
and sight until the Word of God was complete in sight, then was
discarded. faith we walk by faith and not
by sight the just shall live by faith to perform a miracle
at this time without the preaching of the kingdom was not coming
to his hour and that's why he said you ask him for a miracle
and I ain't preaching my hour is not yet come the ministry
actually has not begun I have not began to preach the kingdom
of God yet which is to be attended by miracles. You're asking for
a miracle and I ain't preaching. So that's what he's talking about
when he said, woman, what have I to do with thee? The word of
my hour is not yet come. To perform a miracle this time
without the preaching of the kingdom was not the coming of
his hour. But when the disciples saw the miracle, they believed
on him. That's an interesting way. Didn't
they believe before? Yeah, they believed on him. But
now it says they believed on him. so we see that the intended
use of miracles to some degree had the influence that they were designed to have
that caused men to believe or at least stop now his mother's
response knowing he was going to do something told his disciples
whatever the lord asked you to do it tells you to do you do
it The Lord told his disciples to fill the six available plots
with water to the vim. Now these plots were stone casks,
and there were six of them, and they were purified. They were set for the purifying
of the Jews. Now what does that mean? Well, you remember that
the Pharisees and the Jews would not eat until their hands were
washed. They considered that a purifying
task. It was one of the things they called baptism. The pots
were in stone, were used for purifying, probably for washing
hands. And he told his disciples to draw out the liquid and give
it to the headman. After they had filled the water,
the six pots of the brim, he told them to draw it out and
give it to the headman at the feast. And the water was turned
to fine wine. Turned to fine wine. And the
ruler said that the best wine had been served. That was not
the custom. Normally, the best or the strongest, and that means
the strongest and most full-bodied and tastiest wine was served
first, and then the weaker wine, or what's called worse here,
but the word is translated weaker wine, it was not robust, it was
not full-bodied, it was less potent, had probably less alcohol
in it, followed, but that was designed to prevent men from
getting too drunk. They'd drink the good wine first, and then
if they were joyous and feeling good, give them a weaker wine.
rather than continue with the strong wine. So it was to prevent
inebriation. But here only the best wine was
served. That's what the governor said.
We ain't got none of the bad stuff. At the end of the feast
you got everything. You got the very best wine. This is a picture of the gospel
where only the best is served. Only the best is served. This
episode in the life of the master was a manifestation of his glory.
That's what it says here. His glory was seen. In this account,
there is a sweet representation of the vital difference between
the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant.
Paul, writing of the difference, said of the letter, the letter
killeth. The letter means the law, or
the Old Covenant, killeth, but the Spirit, the New Covenant,
maketh alive. Now, our Lord and Moses both
had something to do with changing water into something else. Moses
had something to do with it, and so would the Lord Jesus Christ.
Moses changed the water into blood. Remember that? When he changed the river Nile
into blood? Blood is symbolic of what? It's symbolic of death,
of death. That's a picture of the Old Covenant. The application of the law can
only produce death. and only produced death. When
the law was applied to our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's tree,
after He had suffered our hell in three hours of darkness, then
He gave up the ghost. Why? Because that was what the
law required. The law required death. But Scripture
plainly says that everything produced by the law is dead. Over in Romans chapter 7, verse
5, it says, For when we were in the flesh, the motions of
sin or the passions of sins which were by the law. which were by
the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death."
That was fruit that was brought forth. This was the wholesale
result of the old covenant, all the way through the old covenant.
Nobody was made alive under that old covenant, not by the old
covenant, not by the obedience of the old covenant, because
no man obeyed it. Even Paul, who was a believer
in Romans chapter 7, said he didn't do very well under the
new covenant. he said that which I would I do not that which I
do would not that's what I do he says there's a principle a
law in me and my members that when I would do good evil is
present with me I'm a sinner I'm a sinner man so as a believing
sinner a man of faith an apostle whom God had called he set forth
the our condition that with our mind our desire we serve the
law of God but with our flesh we serve the law of sin and death
and that's the principle that's carried throughout all our lives
so nobody on the old cover which was condition upon human obedience
nobody under that cover nobody did their obedience if there
was any obedience it was temporary their repentance was because
they got caught in trouble they couldn't get out of and they
repented and god brought them out of their trials and tribulations
but that was all man's obedience never accomplished anything except
for one man's obedience and that man was the Lord Jesus Christ
he obeyed the law he fulfilled the law and he obeyed the law
and kept the law by dying under the law's penalty but the law
nothing but death the law this is the wholesale result of the
old covenant condemnation and death of any who apply to it
the law turned the water to blood or this speaks to the new company
representing joy common comfort I know when I was in Southern
Baptist Church they only quoted that verse from Isaiah wine is
a mocking strong drinking strong drink is a raging that was the
only verse I ever heard about wine they'd say things like live
to touch wine but never touch wine But, you know, in the Proverbs
it talks about wine making the heart of the king happy. Paul
told Timothy a little wine for the stomach sick. If you have
a stomach problem, a little wine will take care of that. Wine
was served at the table. The table. When they ate. And it was still served over
in those countries when they ate, they'd serve wine. Nothing
wrong with drinking wine. There's something wrong with
getting drunk. Because you lose your faculties, you're not able
to function. But there's nothing wrong with having wine. Nothing
wrong with that. Nothing wrong at all. Wine represents
joy in scripture. Wine represents joy, it represents
comfort, it represents ease, it represents calm. He turned
the water into the best wine. The very most robust wine. The
strongest and boldest wine. How wonderfully this speaks of
the new covenant. That issues in life, abundant,
eternal and everlasting life, the very best life. him life
and give it more abundantly, he said. The Lord took a common
thing, water, and made it into a finer thing, wine. And brethren,
that is our salvation. He took a sinner and made him
a saint. He took a dead thing and made
it alive. he took a vile and unclean thing
and made it the very righteousness of God. He turned water into
wine. In this His glory was manifested
as how His glory is manifested today in the salvation of sinners
and turning plain old water into robust, rich, eternal wine, a
heavenly cordial. Father, bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name. Amen. All right.