We are breaking in the middle
of the chronological life of the Lord, but we have to do that
many times. So in John 2, 1-11, and the third
day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother
of Jesus was there. And both Jesus was called, or
invited, and his disciples to the marriage. And when they wanted
wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus said unto her, Woman, what
have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother said unto the servants,
Whatsoever he says unto you, do it. And there were set there
six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of
the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus said unto
them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up
to the brim. And He said unto them, Draw out
now and bear unto the governor of the feast, and they bear it. 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 said unto him, Every man
at the first," or the beginning, doth set forth the good wine,
and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. But
thou hast kept the good wine until now." This beginning of
miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth
His glory, and His disciples believed on Him. We will eventually
come to that eleventh verse, that He manifested His glory
here, and it was an occasion of building up the faith of His
disciples or servants. Now, concerning the Gospel of
John, let's say a few things about it and about its nature,
that we might acquaint ourselves with it because we're studying
here for the next few sermons or so. There are many who would
probably say, that the gospel of John is their very favorite
gospel of all of those in the New Testament. And then should
we ask them the question, why is John your favorite gospel? Some might answer, because it
is the one that contains John 3 and verse 16, perhaps the most
famous verse in all of Christendom. Others might say that they are
touched and moved by the personal conversation between the Lord
and Nicodemus. And again, by his personal dealing
with that sinful woman of Samaria at Jacob's well. Or, of his forgiving
the woman taken in the very act of adultery. Or that famous passage
in John chapter 14 which we hear at almost every funeral today,
though it does not concern a funeral in its context. While the most
blessed truth to be found in John's gospel, however, is that
of a deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We'll say more about
that later. But it is John that wraps up
the blessed truth of the deity of our Lord. Before we concentrate
on the first miracle in the Gospel of John, let's stop and consider
the nature and then the contents of this fourth Gospel called
John. As all are aware, There are four
Gospels in our New Testament. There is one book of Acts, there
is one book of Romans, and one epistle under the Hebrews. Why
then are there four Gospels in the New Testament? Suffice it
to say, because the Holy Spirit of God has influenced men to
write them. And He has given us a fourfold
account of the things which Jesus began to do and to teach, Acts
chapter 1 and verse 1. He has inspired four different
men to write an account of the life, of the miracle, of the
ministry, of the teaching, of the death, of the burial, of
resurrection and ascension of our Lord and Savior. And each of the four Gospels
is in some sense unique, though having different authors to all
four of them, yet they are equally inspired by God, and none is
more inspired than the other. Now, the first three Gospels
are sometimes called In theology, the synoptic gospel, the word
synoptic is used from a theological standpoint or a theological context. It reflects upon the fact that
each contains many things in them that are alike and that
are parallel one with the other. The same things, the same parables,
the same sermons, the same miracles are included in all of the first
three Gospels of our New Testament. And, of course, John also includes
some of these things about the Lord in his Gospel. Now, it is
true, I believe, what so many expositors and commentators have
noticed, and that is, in John, there is that strong emphasis
upon the deity, the Godhood, the divinity of our Lord and
Savior. Something else. It is John and
John only that refers to the Son of God as the Word. It is something that is unique
with Him. Three times in the very first
verse declaring the eternality the deity of the Word, or of
the Son of God. And a threefold truth is also
there in that verse. A. That He was in the beginning,
which is a way of expressing His eternality. That He has always
been, that He has always existed, that He was with the Father in
the beginning. In the beginning was the Word,
it said. And then B, we notice, the Word
was with God, repeated in the second verse the same, or this
one, was in the beginning with God. Now this confirms the first
two statements and is a declaration of the Son or of the Word, as
John calls Him. Coexistence with the Father. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God. And then C, he takes it even
further, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning, he was
with God, and now the Word was God. Very God. Of the same nature
and essence of the Father. and as proof of His deity and
divinity. In the third verse of this Gospel,
John ascribes unto the Word creation. All things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. All things literally through
Him became. And without Him did not one thing
become. He is the Creator. Psalm had
pointed out the significance of the little word, was, here
in the early part of the Gospel of John. It is four times in
the first two verses of John's Gospel, verse 1 and verse 2. Robertson in his Greek word pictures
in the New Testament, Linsky, in his exposition, point out
that the word was, that is here four times in the first two verses,
speak of the eternality and also of the continual, unending existence
of Christ or of the Word. It amounts to saying, when all
things were brought into being, when creation became, The Word,
the logos, already was in timeless existence, even before creation. We can see this in two contrasts
found in John 1 and in verse 14 of the first chapter. The
Word was made flesh, and he uses a different verb here, became
flesh. not what it was before or forever,
but is being made or becoming flesh, had an actual starting
point, which was the incarnation of the Son of God in flesh in
the likeness of man. But secondly, in John 8 and verse
58, when the Lord said to some of the Jews, Before Abraham was,
I am." He did not say, before Abraham was, I was, but before
Abraham was, before Abraham came to be, before Abraham had a beginning,
I am. Now here in John 8 and verse
58, the I am denotes again that timeless existence of the Godhead. Thus, John presents the Lord
as the Eternal Son who is very God, one and equal with the Father. Now, another favorite way that
John loves to describe the Lord Jesus Christ is not only calling
Him the Word, but he refers to Him also as the Only Begotten
of God. the only begotten. And John uses this phrase, begotten,
four times in his Gospel in the early part. There in John 1.14,
1.18, 3.16, and again in 3.18. And John also puts it in his
first epistle in 1 John 4 and verse 9, referring to the Lord
Jesus as the only begotten Son of God. And this being the only begotten
does not refer to the incarnation. For in John 3.16 it is said that
God gave or sent His already begotten Son, which Gilroth means
He is such a Son as shares the same nature and the same essence
with the Father, even God. He, Jesus, is very God. He's the Son of God. He's the
Word. He's the Only Begotten. At no
point did He come into existence or have a beginning, and at no
point did He become God. Something else about the Gospel
of John, that is, as Gil and others were of the opinion that
John wrote his Gospel later than the other Gospels, and that there
already were eras and denials of the deity of Christ and perversion
of the person, thought to be propagated by some of the earliest
heretics as Ibion and Cyrenthias. So, says Gil, he begins his Gospel
with the divinity of the Lord against those heresies that were
already rising up. Setting these against those who
already were perverting the person of Christ, denying that He was
very God and that He was the Eternal One. But then coming
to the contents of John's Gospel as compared to the other three
Gospels, that go before. His gospel is unique. This is to take nothing away
from Matthew, Mark, or Luke. But by the Spirit's guidance,
the gospel of John is unique in that he skips over much of
what the others included. While on another hand, some things
there are only found in the Gospel of John. For example, the great
prayer of our Lord in John chapter 17. Only in this Gospel is that
high priestly prayer of our Lord recorded. The meeting with Nicodemus
is found only in the Gospel of John in chapter 3. The meeting
and conversion and revealing of Himself to the Samaritan woman
at Jacob's well is only found in the Gospel of John, that in
chapter 4. And in John it is that we have
those several great I am's of the Savior. I am the shepherd. I am the good sheep. I am the
good shepherd. I am the door. I am the light. I am the way. I am the truth.
I am the light. I am the resurrection." Now,
it's strange, but John passes over the Lord's miraculous conception,
making no mention of the virgin birth, but not to fear, for this
is well supplied and made up in Matthew 1 and in Luke 1. Nor does John include the lengthy
Sermon on the Mount that Matthew has in his Gospel. He makes no
mention of the transfiguration of our Lord before those three
chosen disciples or a literal record of the institution of
the supper of the Lord. And while the earlier three Gospels
abounded with the miracles and the parables that our Lord did
and spoke, John only is led to include a few of each. Only a few of the miracles and
only a few of the parables. So now we are ready to begin
a consideration of the miracle which John is inspired to include
and make the very first miracle in his gospel. John himself said,
remember, in John chapter 20 verse 30, through 31, that Jesus
did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not
included in this book. Or if they were, I suppose He
said that all the books of the world could not contain them. But there are many that are written
as evidence that Jesus is the Son of God And John says these
are written that we might know and that we might believe that
Jesus is God's Son. Again, he made a statement, John
does, in chapter 21 and verse 25 near the end of his gospel,
that Jesus did many other things not included in this book. coming at last to those miracles
that are included in the gospel of John. And if we do not miscount
or have not missed them, there are but six miracles of our Lord
that are included in John's gospel. Six if we include the miraculous
catch of fish in chapter 21, when Peter is recovered from
his fall. In chapter 2, we have turning
the water into wine at the wedding at Cana of Galilee. Secondly,
in chapter 4, the healing of the nobleman's son. We'll look
at this in our evening service. And by the way, these first two
miracles have a great uniqueness about them We'll look at that
as we study them. The third miracle is in John
chapter 5. It is the healing of the impotent man at the pool
of Bethesda in the city of Jerusalem. The fourth one that we have is
in John chapter 9. It is giving sight to a man that
was blind from the day of his birth. Chapter 5, or rather number
5, chapter 11, is perhaps the greatest of them all. Like Saul
stands head and shoulder above the others, it is the resurrection
of Lazarus from the dead. Number 6, chapter 21, that great
catch of fishes when all night they had fished and caught none. Now, of these six miracles, five
of them were performed before our Lord died. and one after
His death and resurrection. Can we notice the nature of some
of these miracles which attest to the sovereign power of Christ
over created matter and nature? For example, in John chapter
5, He made a man's body whole that had been afflicted for 38
years and was known by many in the city. In chapter 9, our Lord
gave sight to a man that was blind from his mother's womb,
blind from birth. Not a man who had lost his sight
at one time, had it and lost it, but a man who never had sight
is given sight. In chapter 11, the Lord raised
up a man who had not just died as the daughter of Jarius, or
was on the way to be buried as the widow of Nain's only son,
but he raised up Lazarus, who had been four days in death."
What a miracle! Now, the miracles before us now,
in John chapter 2, it was a wedding. It was in the city of Cana. in
the territory of Galilee. And the miracle consisted in
what might seem a simple or easy or unimportant, the Lord turning
ordinary water, whether rainwater or well water, into wine. Verse 9, the water that was made
wine. It was water when it went in,
it was wine when it came out. Now let's notice something about
this miracle, that it was not just the first miracle which
John records in his Gospel, but according to verse 11 of our
text, it was the first miracle of our Lord's public ministry. Notice, this beginning of miracle. Working our way towards this
particular miracle, a marriage, a wedding was held in Cana. Mary was there. We learn in verse
1, the mother of Jesus was there. Verse 2, both the Lord and His
disciples were called. They were invited. They were
bidden. And some think that these are
some kind of kin to Mary or to her family. But it was a marriage. But neither the bride or the
groom are mentioned, nor are they prominent in this parable. Nor the parents, as the focus
falls strictly upon the miracle done by our Lord. Some pertinent
points with regard to this that we are studying. First, let us
consider the fact that Jesus was present at a marriage. a wedding. He did not consider
it a waste of time, did not snub a wedding of those who were in
the joyous union of marriage. He accepted an invitation to
attend. And these were among some of
the first acts of our Lord's public ministry. And it shows
us something. It shows us His approval of the
estate of marriage in the eyes of our Lord, that it is an honorable
estate. He does not disturb the marriage
or condemn it, nor give any support to that, quote, monkish asceticism
that has sprung up in certain places. He not only attends,
but He supplies them wine for their use and for their joy,
when they ran out. He does not condemn the joy and
the merriment that is certainly to be attached under the occasion
of a wedding. Again, there is no justification
in this for those who have advanced marriage and called it a sacrament
that puts grace in the soul of the one married. Now, will we
be led by this text? to consider Mary as a mediator
between the people and Jesus. A heretical doctrine born out
of text like this. She is not exalted in this place
at all, even mildly rebuked by the Lord. She is not called by
name. only as the Mother of Jesus. That's the only way from here
on that she is identified in connection with Him. She is not
called, my brothers and sisters, the Blessed Virgin, nor is she
called the Holy Mother, nor is she referred to here or elsewhere
as the Mother of God, neither here nor any place in the Word
of God. is Mary so exalted. But coming to the occasion of
the miracle, which was this. The wedding had been going some
time. I read that weddings in those
days in the East lasted day upon day. It wasn't like a two-hour
deal like we have and everybody's gone their way. But that it lasted
a day, the celebration and the feasting and such like. And it
came to pass that During this time, they ran out of wine. The wine that the bridegroom
had to serve was exhausted in verse 3. It was not the case
that they never had any wine, but they didn't have enough and
they ran out. And the supply was used up and
they lacked wine. We are told in the Scripture,
the host lacked wine, to supply their guests with wine at the
feast. And Mary tells Jesus, excuse
me, the mother of Jesus tells him in the third verse, they
have no wine. First, he tells Mary, he is not
to be directed by her in this work. Woman, what have I to do
with thee? Mine hour has not yet arrived. He is not to be directed by her
in this work. And the time had not come for
the full bursting out and blooming out of His work and miracles. Still, the Lord moves to relieve
their need in His graciousness to supply them wine. And to do that, He has the servants
there that are serving about. to fill six jugs that were there
for water, for purification for the Jew. He had them fill them
with water, which they did. Then our Lord commands those
same servants, draw out of the pots and put it in a drinking
vessel and go bear it to the governor of the feast, or the
steward of the feast, or the head waiter who evidently knew
his wine, having tasted it, he commends it to the bridegroom
as being contrary to the usual custom." He says, usually men
serve that which is best first. Usually they put the best wine
out for the first use, and then when men have drunk to their
contentment or to their pleasure, he brings out that which is worse. or that which is not as good. When their palates are sort of
satisfied by the good wine, and they are pleasantly pleased,
and their hearts are merry, and their spirits are lifted, then
the host will set before them the wine of lesser quality, whether
it be the sweet Lucy or the Thunderbird wine. but they usually bring
that which is worse last. The man says to the bridegroom,
you have kept, or you have saved, you have reserved the best wine
for the last, or until now. Of all those guests who had partaken
of wine that was exalted, you have kept back the very best
for the last. Now remember, The man John calls
the governor in this passage of the Scripture, he has no knowledge
at all of what has occurred yonder at the water pots. The best wine
and how it came to be. But the servants did who put
the ordinary common water in the jugs, they knew what had
happened. They knew that they had filled
them with plain water. and water only. And yet, in bearing
some out to the cheap steward, it was found to be wine. And
not just wine, but wine of the best or of the highest quality
or the best sort. It went from water to wine. It went in as water, and it came
out as wine. And not just ordinary wine, But
wine of the very best and the purest sort came out of the jug. When it changed, who can say? Don't ask me to tell you. Whether
as it was first poured in, who knows? After it sat there for
a while? As it was drawn out while in
the cup? Or as it reached the hand of
the steward and the governor? And we could not help but notice
that the Lord did not... And this is important. This is
what is unique about this miracle of the Lord. This is why it is
so blessed for us to study this. In that the Lord turned water
into wine. Yes, He did. But we notice that
the Lord did not touch the water. And He did not touch the jug.
He did not speak any words over it. He did not command the water
to become wine. He did not call upon the name
of the Lord God in prayer. These things our Lord often did
when He worked other miracles. Instead, as J.C. Ryle wrote on
this miracle, He simply willed the change and it took place. Just think about that. Here is
the crux of this miracle, that our Lord didn't touch it, didn't
touch the jug, didn't stir it with a stick, didn't say any
words over it in any fashion. He simply willed the change and
it took place. We read of no visible outward
action of the Lord, either before or after the change. He willed
that water become wine. He thought it, and it came to
pass. In His heart, He willed it. In His mind, He thought it. Now this, in a very real way,
makes the first miracle of our Lord unique. For example, the
Lord worked miracles often upon nature using material things,
upon unclean spirits and also upon people that were sick. Some
examples are in Mark 4, 37-39, when the Lord stilled the great
storm upon the sea, He did so by orally commanding the sea. He said unto the sea, Peace be
still. And we read, And the wind ceased,
there was a great calm. And the disciples exclaimed,
what manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey
him? Again, he prayed over the young
lad's lunch in John chapter 6 and fed 5,000 with food and despair. In exercising unclean spirit,
He commanded them with an oral command to come out. Luke 8 and
verse 29, in raising the dead. In Matthew 9 and verse 25, there
He took the hand of the deceased daughter of Jarius, or a certain
ruler. A daughter who had just died. And He took her by the hand and
she arose off of her bed of death. meeting a funeral procession,
entering into the little city of Nain. On one occasion, our
Lord met a procession coming out on the way to the graveyard,
a young man, the only son of a widow of that city, being carried
out and put to death, put to the graveyard. Luke 7, 12-15,
the Lord, in verse 14, touched the beer, or the coffin, and said, Young man, arise. And he that was dead set up and
began to speak. When he raised Lazarus in John
chapter 11, he stood before that tomb and he cried out with a
loud voice, Lazarus in particular, come forth. And he got up out
of the grave. When he gave sight to the man
born blind in John chapter 9, He mixed, and this is an unusual
one, He mixed spittle from His own self with clay. He put it
or spread it upon the eyes of the man, sent the man to wash
in the pool of Siloam, and the man could see. What a miracle! In Matthew 8, 1-3, Jesus cured
a leper. He touched him and said, Be thou
clean. And immediately, His leprosy
dried up. By the way, our Lord could touch
a leper without being contaminated and touch a dead body without
incurring any uncleanness. In Matthew 8, verse 15, Jesus
found Peter's mother-in-law in bed sick with a fever. The Scripture said, He touched
her hand. Her fever left her. She got up off of her bed and
baked them some biscuits or served them. She got up and immediately.
And there are others throughout the Scripture where our Lord
used means and His actions were as we have described. Nor did
the Old Testament prophets work their miracles apart from visible
manifestations and many times using implements or instruments. But let's go back to the miracle
of the wine in John chapter 2. There are two witnesses here. to the authenticity of the miracle. Number one is the governor, or
the steward, or the head waiter, or however you see him, who tasted
the difference in the quality of the wine, calling it the best
wine. He had had the first wine and
this was best. Secondly, there is the witness,
the knowledge, the testimony of the servant. who filled the
jugs, who drew the water, and bare it to the governor." In
verse 9 it said, they knew that they had put ordinary water into
those jugs. They knew that they had served
fine wine under the steward in the container. That at some point
in between, the water had been changed into wine. And not just
wine, but the best wine. As is stated in the 9th verse,
if you look there, the water that was made wine by our Lord. I'll share something with you
from my Arminian days. When I was an Arminian, this
text really struggled me. I just said, I do not believe
that my dear, wonderful Lord would make wine. I just could
not believe that He would do it. But coming back to verse
11, this beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee
with a twofold result. We want to look at it in verse
11. A. He manifested forth His glory. A key word is manifested, which
means to show, to reveal, to declare, to make it become apparent
or bring it out into the open. And from a word here that means
literally to shine, to shine out into the open. And verse
11 indicates that this manifestation of His glory was done in the
turning of the water into wine. And He did it without speaking
to the water, without touching it, without stirring it about. though he might as easily have
done it by any of these methods. But it supposes the almighty
power and the unlimited sovereignty of Christ that what he wills,
he can accomplish without the use of any visible instruments
whatsoever. That by the power of his will
and the thought of his mind, He could change one substance
into another. That as the sea and the wind
obey His voice, so does the water in the jug obey His will and
His thought. The wine is not owing to the
quality of the water. It was not because the water
was so good or pure or decent. It is not owing to the water.
or that it was water used by the Jews in purification is not
the secret. And it seems it was the beginning
public miracle of the God-man as he is further unveiled as
one who has come down from God. This was a miracle too evident
to be denied. There were too many witnesses
for it to be a simple slight of hand. Now, are you surprised
that the first miracle that our Lord did work was not more spectacular
and sensational as if raising up a deceased one from the dead
or something of that sort? But then, B, there are other
witnesses, there are other reasons, rather, His disciples believed
in Him. They saw that. They were witnesses
of it. Not for the first time did they
believe in their Lord and Savior. Not that they had been up to
that point infidels and unbelievers. That is, their belief was confirmed
and their faith was increased by the miracle. How blessed were
they! to have seen these things, being
eyewitnesses of the majesty of our Lord. And yet, as the Lord
said to Thomas, John 20 and 29, you believe, Thomas, because
you have seen. Blessed are all of those who
have not seen and yet believe. Now, let us remember, miracles
done in one age to confirm the truth of God stand for all time
and for all ages. Such miracles are not necessary
to be repeated, and they're not necessary today. And the miracle
of the wine shows the sovereign power of Christ over even the
material world, over even inanimate or unliving objects, and His
ability and His power to raise an element higher than its natural
estate, to change one thing to another. Yes, and just as He
has turned our night to day, when we were in darkness, He
has turned it on to day and to light, from darkness unto light. He has turned our sorrow and
our hopelessness into joy and into hope, just by willing it
to be so. Isaiah 14, 24, As I have thought,
so shall it come to pass. And this closing thought, that
the Lord honored marriage, first with His presence and then with
this initial, unique miracle, for marriage is honorable, being
ordained by God, and not only so, but saved the bridegroom
the humiliation and the embarrassment of not being able to supply his
guest that he had invited. Unique is this miracle in that
our Lord neither touched, nor spoke, nor stirred, nor prayed,
and yet water was turned into wine. A miracle, a miracle. All
right, thank you, and let's stand to be dismissed in a word of
prayer, please.