WTTW: HIS WORD "WILL WE?"

TEXT: JOHN 2:1-11 SERMON: “Will We?”

Introduction: In this passage John tells us Jesus’ disciples had faith In Him when He revealed his Glory (v 11) at a wedding banquet by:

A. Turning Water into Wine vv 1-7

B. Providing the Best Wine Last vv 8-10

Let’s look at the first way John tells us Jesus revealed his Glory at a wedding banquet.

John tells us Jesus disciples had faith in Him when He revealed his Glory by:

A. TURNING WATER INTO WINE

Explanation:

“His Glory” – Messiah, Christ, Anointed One, Son of Man, Son of God

Isaiah 35:1-2 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

“New Wine” – Gospel, Good News, New Testament, New Covenant

Joel 3:18 In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias.

Amos 9:13 The days are coming, declares the Lord, when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.

Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Luke 22:19-20 And he took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Illustration:

In the process of making wine after the grapes are picked they are crushed to squeeze out their juice and then the juice is allowed to undergo the process of fermentation – a process involving yeast interacting with sugars in the juice to make alcohol and carbon dioxide. Fermentation is a conversion process whereby grape juice becomes another substance wine. When Jesus turned water into wine this conversion occurred supernaturally, not naturally which is what the process of fermentation is.

Application: So what is the significance for us today that Jesus’ revealed His Glory by turning water into wine at a wedding banquet over 2000 years ago?

Jesus turns water into wine, water that is ordinarily stored in large stone jars for the purpose of keeping the Jewish sanitary laws – water for washing away the dirt from one’s hands to prevent one from getting sick.

Jesus turns the water into wine a common everyday drink created by the process of crushing grapes and fermenting the beverage which converts it from juice to wine

-a process not unlike his body went through when it was crushed for
our Sin, spent 3 days fermenting in the grave before rising in a
converted resurrected state – the conversion state of our resurrected
body.

– A process that also converted the harshness of the Law into something
new: God’s Grace and Forgiveness.

Not only is the dirt washed off our hands, our soul is cleansed of its Sin!

And He gave us a meal to remind us of what changed, the conversion that occurred when he died on the Cross and Rose again from the Grave

– a meal of bread to remember his crushed, broken body

– a meal of wine to remember his blood shed for our Sin.

– a meal of Grace - a Resurrection meal!

Summary: Jesus’ disciples had faith in Him when He revealed His Glory by turning water into wine at a wedding banquet.

We have faith in Jesus when He reveals His Glory by providing us bread and wine, His Body, His Blood at His banquet, His Supper - the Lord’s Supper – when we take and eat in remembrance of Him, in remembrance of what He has done for us, for what He did for us on the Cross, for the empty grave that He left.

Transition: John tells us Jesus’ disciples had faith in Him when He revealed his Glory to them in another way - by:

B. PROVIDING THE BEST WINE LAST

Explanation:

THE LAW WAS FIRST GIVEN TO MOSES

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (“I AM” Psalm 50:21) –dependable & faithful eternal God who desires full trust of His people – established the LAW with Moses

JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

JESUS FULFILLS THE LAW AS THE GREAT I AM

John: The Seven Great “I Am’s of Jesus

“I am the bread of life.” John 6:35, 48 – the living bread, the bread that gives life

“I am the light of the world.” John 8:12; 9:5 – God is Light (1 John 1:5) – Jesus lights the way for life

“I am the gate for the sheep.” John 10:7, 9 – the one way into salvation

“I am the good shepherd.” John 10:11, 14 – lays down his life, will die for his sheep

“I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25 – these are his nature such that final death is impossible for Him

“I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6 – I am the way to the Father in that I am the truth and the life

“I am the true vine.” John 15:1, 5 – real connection to God, allows production of quality fruit

Illustration: Wine Spectator’s: The Essentials of Wine By Harvey Steiman

When Wine is Release

In an old commercial for Paul Masson winery, Orson Wells intoned, “We sell no wine before its time.” The joke among start up wineries is that their banks say when “its time.” Its when the payment is due on the loan.

In Europe, appellation laws stipulate the earliest date that a wine can be released. In general, white wine is ready sooner than red; most regions get their basic whites out within a year, reds within two…

…In the New World, no regulations require that wine be sold at any given time. As a result wineries can release wine whenever it make sense for them. This creates a moving target for collectors and wine writers who want to know how good a particular vintage is and which wines are worth buying from it. For any given vintage the wines come onto the market over a span of two years for Chardonnays and up to four years and up to four years for Cabernets. At any given time store shelves are full of newly released wines.

We sell no wine before its time. When was Jesus’ time?

In John 3:16 it says… For God so loved the world that He sent… He sent His Son when it was time for Him to come..

Wineries releasing wines whenever they want is a little bit like today’s culture in which there are so many wines being released at one time, so many different belief systems and so great a cry for tolerance, so great a cry that all beliefs are equally true, equally valid and equally tasty to the pallet when in fact they contract each other.

Application: So what is the significance for us today that Jesus revealed His Glory by providing the best wine last at a wedding banquet over 2000 years ago?

The Law was given to Moses - prophesying about Jesus’ coming.

Jesus is the best wine – His blood is the best wine.

Jesus shed blood forgives us of our Sin.

It Liberates us from our burden.

It is our Salvation!

Jesus came after Moses. He came after the Prophets. He came last.

His Glory is revealed to us as being the best wine served last.

And, we have faith in Him because of His Glory!

No other belief system, no other religion has Jesus, has His Glory.

Without His Glory what would you believe in? have faith in?

Summary: Jesus’ disciples had faith in Him when he revealed His Glory by providing the best wine last at a wedding banquet.

We have faith in Jesus when He reveals His Glory by fulfilling the Law – when He reveals Himself as the Messiah, the Son of Man, the Son of God – the Great “I am.”

Transition:

In this passage, John tells us that Jesus’ disciples had faith in Him when he revealed His Glory to them at a wedding banquet. Jesus revealed His glory to His disciples by converting water to wine and by saving the best wine for last.

In this passage, John tells us that Jesus’ disciples had faith in Him when they recognized who He was by His Glory – the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lamb of God who take away the sin of the world.

Conclusion:

John also tells us that we can have faith in Jesus when He reveals His Glory to us:

whenever we celebrate His banquet – each time we participate in His
Supper - the Lord’s Supper

whenever we “take and eat” His body, His blood – a broken body that
in fulfillment of the Law sets us free from our Sin.

We will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper later in the service today.

Will we recognize Jesus Glory when we do?

As we eat and drink will we see Him converting water into wine?

Will we see the Glory of His death and resurrection – His converting death to life!

Will we see the Glory of God’s timing in sending His Son to fulfill the Law – in becoming the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the world?

Will we?

In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.