NYUBF | New York UBF

JESUS CHANGES WATER TO WINE

By Missionary Peter Song

John 2:1-11
Key Verse: John 2:7 

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

Happy New Year! I want to invite you all to a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Weddings are always a happy and joyous occasion. Many people get excited when they hear wedding news amongst their friends. Jesus and his disciples were invited to such an occasion. Jesus blessed a wedding at Cana in Galilee. People are expecting something new or miraculous at the New Year. Let’s think about the first miracle of Jesus in the Bible. This passage gives us a deep spiritual meaning and practical direction for our lives. May God help us to grasp this spiritual meaning and find direction for 2012.

I. Do What He Tells You (1-5)

Look at verses 1-2. “On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.” Jesus and his new disciples traveled from the south of Judea to Cana in Galilee where there was a wedding. In Jewish society, a wedding was celebrated by the entire community. The celebration could last for days. In the hard reality of daily life in Israel, wedding were a source of joy and happiness.

However a problem arose. What problem arose? The wine was gone. What does it mean that the wine was gone? Wine gives joy at weddings. It was a serious problem. Who noticed this problem? The master of the banquet? No, it was Jesus’ mother, Mary, who noticed. She was like a shepherdess. Did she complain to others? No. What did she do? We can learn from her actions by the three steps of prayer. The first step of prayer was that she brought the problem to Jesus. “We have no more wine.” It was her prayer. We all have problems. How we handle our problems is important.  It is easy for us to solve problems with our own thinking and from others before we pray.

How did Jesus reply? “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” Jesus reply sounded indecent, but it was not. He called his mom, “Dear woman” during his public ministry. (John 19:26) Why do you involve me? This means leave me alone, I will solve this problem with my direction. This simply meant Jesus loves his mom. “Dear woman, please wait for my time. My time has not yet come.” Jesus indicated that he was living according to God’s will. He was not saying no. He was submitting Mary’s request to God’s will and time schedule. What was Mary’s response? She was neither in a hurry nor upset. She respected Jesus’ word more than her own thinking.

The second step of prayer was that she simply waited on Jesus’ time schedule. She could have nagged Jesus to do something immediately as a mother, but she did not. Instead she waited on Jesus, believing that Jesus would deal with the problem in his own way. The third step of prayer was that Mary did what she could do. Mary didn’t sit around in an embarrassing state. She was looking for what she could do. She had an idea. She went to look for the servants and talk to them. Step by step, she introduced who Jesus was and said to them, “Do whatever he tells you.” She gave them a clear direction. She made a good environment for servants to obey Jesus’ word as a shepherdess and mentor.

II. Fill the Jar with Water (6-11)

Look at verse 6. “Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.” Six stone water jars, averaging twenty-five gallons each, totals around 150 gallons. That is pretty big. So filling them would be no small task. When I was young, I went the countryside and drew water. It took up to twenty minutes to draw only 1 gallon of water. Imagine how long it would take to carry the water without a car. The servants were extremely busy at the wedding feast. They had to listen to their master and to treat the guests well for several days. What did Jesus tell the servants to do? Look at verse 7. “Fill the jars with water.” According to human logic, this request did not make sense. There was no plumbing system and equipment such as today. It would have taken a lot of time and work. They could have said, “No way, Jose. “

However what did they do? Verse 7b says “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Wow! They obeyed Jesus word wholeheartedly with an A+ attitude. They must have been tired. Jesus was not their master. How could they obey Jesus? The servants heard about Jesus from Mary.

When we hear the word of Jesus, we can have faith. Look at Romans 10:17, “Consequently faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.“ When we have faith, we can overcome tiredness and any difficulties. When we have faith we can obey Jesus’ word.

How can the servants have such a good attitude? Look at Hebrews 4:12, “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thought and attitude of the heart.” No one can change our attitudes and thinking, but the word of God can. We cannot even change our own children. So we have to teach the Bible to our children. If we change our thinking and attitudes, our body automatically follows.

When Jesus saw their obedience, he gave another mission. This is one way Jesus works. Jesus gives more blessing to those who obey his word. Look at verse 8. “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” Jesus was asking them to take hand and foot washing water to the master of the banquet to serve the guests. This was even harder to obey. If they do it, they could be blamed and severely punished. The master of the banquet might have said, “Are you crazy?” There might have been another difficulty for them to overcome. They had the knowledge of water and wine more than Jesus. They were professional servants in this area. They know that water is water, and wine is wine. They never heard of water turning into wine.

What did they do? The Bible said, they did so. It is amazing. How did they do it? Through obedience. Obedience is possible when we take Jesus and his words into our hearts. Obedience is possible when we respect Jesus’ words more than our own thinking.

What happened to the water? Let’s read verse 9, “and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.” WOW!

A miracle has happened. The water turned into wine! It was the first miracle of Jesus, done through Mary’s prayer and obedience of the servants. “A Miracle Triangle,” (Jesus, shepherd, and obedient servant). Obedience to God’s words is the key to miracles. The world was cursed by one man’s disobedience to God, but Jesus obeyed God’s will. He died on the cross and saved us.

No one can change another person. No one can change himself either. Only the Word of God can change us. I was an atheist until I began to believe God and I accepted Jesus and his words through one-to-one bible study teachers, like Mary who helped the servants in this passage, and messages through God’s servants. I was a stubborn person. The word of God changed me from living by stubbornness to living by faith. So my life key verse is Romans1:17B “The righteous will live by faith.” A smelly sinner like me became a missionary. When I think about my life, it is a miracle by God.

I hold today’s passage in my heart since I accepted today’s passage. I applied both my mission life and business; it works very well together. We can see a miracle through Shepherd Daniel and Sam Solazzo, and Shepherd Steven Gonsalves, who changed their lives in 2011. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

The master of the banquet didn’t realize where the wine had come from, but the servants, who drew the water, knew. Everyone who was at the wedding was joyful through the servants’ obedience. They learned the secret of miracle through this event. Not only were they hard workers, but they also became influential servants of God. Our schools and workplace are examples of our mission fields. Even by studying and working hard, you can be an influential servant of God, when you obey Jesus’ word and live by faith..

Look at verse 11b, “He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” Here we can see why Jesus performed his miraculous signs. Jesus focused on planting faith in his disciples. They put their faith in Jesus. This is a great work of God. He performed a miracle and at the same time he raised up his disciples. Here we can learn Jesus’ purpose. He wanted to reveal his glory through this miracle and raise up his new disciples. When we have Jesus’ mindset we can glorify God and raise up disciples of Jesus in our time.

In conclusion, Jesus is not a magician; but he is God who came to this world in human form. When we read the Bible, we can find Jesus changing many people and performing many miracles. He has transforming power, so when we obey his word and believe him, we can be changed from dirty sinners into influential men and women of God, like tasteful wine. Jesus wants to save all people in the world. Jesus saved us and called us a servant of God. It is a great privilege. What can we do? We also have many problems of our own. How can we solve them? It is written in the Bible, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus said to the servants: “Fill the jars with water.” What does Jesus tell you when you read the Bible? Do what he tells you. In today’s passage, we are given a clear direction.

May God richly bless you all in 2012.

Happy NEW Year!