NYUBF | New York UBF

John Lesson 4 (2012)

YOU HAVE SAVED THE BEST TILL NOW 

John 2:1-11
Key Verse: 2:9b-10

“Then he (the banquet master) called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice after the guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved the best till now.’”

During his earthly ministry, Jesus performed many miracles. At the end of the book of John, the author commented that if he recorded all the miracles of Jesus, even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. So what did he do? He recorded only seven of them and called them “miraculous signs” instead of “miracles” or “wonders.” (2:1-11, 4:46-54, 5:1-17, 6:1-14, 6:15-21, 9:1-41, 11:17-45) What is a sign? A sign is a mark or a symbol having a special meaning. We can marvel at miracles themselves and yet fail to recognize the deep meaning behind them. When we do so, we are only sign-seekers, not true believers. The seven miraculous signs in John’s Gospel reveal that Jesus is the Son of God who came from heaven. Therefore, it’s extremely important to pay attention not just to the miracle itself but also to the meaning behind it. Today’s passage, John 2:1-11, is the record of how Jesus performed the first of his miraculous signs. Let’s see what the first miraculous sign was and what this sign reveals about Jesus the Son of God.

Look at verses 1 and 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.” It had probably been three days since the day that Jesus had called Philip and Nathanael as his disciples. (Jn 1:43-51) A wedding took place at Cana in Galilee, which was Nathanael’s hometown. (21:2) We don’t know whose wedding it was. The fact that Jesus’ mother was already there, can help us assume that the bride or the bridegroom might be related to her family. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

Wedding banquets in the US and most parts of the world today generally take place after the official wedding ceremony. The Jewish wedding in Jesus’ time, however, was different. The banquet was first, and then the official ceremony followed. People would normally eat, drink and dance before they blessed the new bride and groom. Therefore, the host of the wedding event would make sure that they prepared enough delicious food and plenty of wine to go around. Sometimes, the wedding feast lasted almost a week. So it was very possible that Jesus and his disciples truly enjoyed the wedding feast, eating and drinking with other wedding guests, and dancing too.

While all the guests were having a good time together, the wine ran out, and the music stopped as well. No more dancing, no more joy! Oh, No. what happened! Maybe there were so many unexpected guests that the prepared wine was quickly consumed. Mary the mother of Jesus was the first one who noticed it. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly ran to her son Jesus and said, “They have no more wine.”(3) We don’t know why she had to come to Jesus for this matter because Jesus was just one of the guests. The majority of the guests there were not even aware that Jesus was the Son of God. To them, Jesus was just a carpenter from Nazareth and the son of Mary. But Mary came to Jesus because she knew that Jesus was able to do something to solve the problem. In fact, it was her act of prayer. We can think more about Mary’s humble attitude of prayer, but not today. Let’s focus on Jesus and what he said and did.

What was Jesus’ response to her words? Look at verse 4. Jesus’ immediate response was “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”  Definitely, we can tell through his response that Jesus felt pressure from his mother, Mary. He said, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” In other words, he was saying, “What business do I have with having no wine? But if you want me to do anything, you have to wait because it’s not the time for me to do anything as you might expect.” It was a definite “No.” In the past, Jesus used to do everything his mother said to do whenever she wanted. For example, he was working in his workstation as a carpenter and got a call from his mother, “Jesus, can you pick up a gallon of milk from Key Food?” he would drop everything to get what she wanted. He was the best son to her. But Jesus had just started his messianic ministry less than a month ago and he now made it clear, but gently and respectively, calling her “dear woman” that from now on he wasn’t going to do whatever and whenever she wanted.

We notice that in John’s gospel, Jesus often mentions about “My time”,  “the right time” (7:8) or “the time.” (17:1) All these mean the same. When Jesus said, “My time has not yet come”, he was talking about the time that he would completely reveal himself to the world as the Son of God through his resurrection from the dead. But I am not sure if she understood what Jesus meant.

Let’s look at what happened afterwards. Look at verses 5-8. “‘His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of banquet.’ They did so.” First of all, Mary went to the servants and told them to do whatever Jesus told them. She didn’t say why. They were the servants whose primary duty is to do whatever they are told to do. If they don’t, they got into big trouble.

First of all, the servants were told to fill the jars with water. And they did. Actually they filled all six jars to the brim, each of which contains at least twenty-five gallons of water. So they had to draw water from the well, at least 150 gallons of water in order to fill to the brim. They didn’t actually have to fill to the brim. They could just fill them halfway. But they filled the jars to the top. Some might have overflown. We could see that the servants were very willing. They weren’t grumpy when they were working hard. I think they really enjoyed what they did. That’s the secret. I often see our women coworkers preparing our lunch after the service. They really have to do a lot of things. And most of them work full time and are full time mothers. But how could they prepare huge amount of food and make it so delicious? It’s because they are so willing. They cook with their love and prayer. So our Sunday lunchtime is always full of joy. I also see our praise worship team members and our CBF and HBF teachers. Everybody is doing something in our ministry. They are all so busy. Most of them work full time and have their own family responsibilities. Some are students who are desperate to meet the deadline of their term papers, catch up their reading assignments and taking midterms and finals. But most of them don’t quit serving God. Instead, they have a very willing spirit even to participate in God’s work by doing small things. They are the backbone of our ministry. Some people may be over functioning by doing so many things at the same time, like Martha. But if we serve God with a grumpy heart, it’s harmful for us and doesn’t please God either. Such people must prioritize things that are most important so that they may not burn out but keep the spirit of joy and willingness.

Yet, the servants’ obedience to Jesus’ instructions is remarkable to our eyes. They were very different from us. We like to do things our own way. We don’t want to be told. We like to question everything. Unless we understand things, we don’t do them. Even though we say that we want to be servants of God, it’s not easy to have the attitude of a servant. We should be humble and willing to deny our own pride. And those who are given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Cor 4:2) In Msn. Peter Song’s New Year Message, we learned a lot about absolute obedience. So we will focus on something else.

Let’s think about the meaning of Jesus’ first miraculous sign. Look at verses 9-11. “And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servant who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’ This, this, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” Most of the banquet guests didn’t know that the miracle happened, except a few servants, possibly Jesus’ mother and Jesus’ disciples. Not even the banquet master knew it. Yet, this was the first of Jesus’ seven miraculous signs that revealed Jesus as the Son of God. What is the implication of this sign?

Generally, the master of the banquet is the one who prepare everything and make sure that the needs of all guests, family members and the newlywed couple. The success of the wedding banquet depends on the banquet master’s stewardship. But this guy didn’t even know what was going on in the banquet. He didn’t know even wine ran out. But one thing he knew was the taste of the wine he drank. When he tasted the water that had been turned into wine, he was so amazed. But not knowing how it happened, he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Wow, you are so cool! Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine… but you have saved the best till now.” The banquet master probably was an expert in tasting wine. The point of his testimony is not how the water had been turned into wine, but about the quality of the wine he just drank. The wine Jesus had just turned from water was not just ordinary wine. It was the choicest and the best wine ever. This wine brought so much joy to the banquet master and rejuvenated all the guests of the wedding.

What is the implication of the choicest and best wine that Jesus had brought? First of all, we learn that the grace we receive through Jesus is superior to everything and even better everyday. It brings us new joy and meaning. When we buy a new car, we really like it. We like its newness, the way it looks, the new car smell and the way it drives. It’s so shining. We feel new. So we keep washing it over and over. But after several years, it starts to have problems and the body gets banged up a few times, and it’s no longer new. The longer we use it, the older it gets. When you play a computer game, it’s so much fun for a while. But soon you get bored and have to buy a new game. Nothing in the world gives us a permanent joy and meaning. Due to my character, I change things around my house a lot. When people come to visit my house several times, they can easily notice that things are in different places every time they come to my house. Why do I change things around so often? It’s because I get bored. I want something new. Once my wife asked me “If you are bored of me, will you change your wife too”?  I said, “No. I swear I will never change two things: God and wife.”

You can never be bored of God when you are in relationship with Him. Jesus is the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world and baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus said that God is spirit. The Spirit of God works like wind and is so infinite that if you we try to put Him in the small box of our own understanding or tradition, we cannot truly see and experience the glory of God. The grace of God in Jesus is always fresh and new. It’s so deep and wide that the more we enter into the world of God’s grace, the better taste we get. People who do not know the true taste of God’s grace may feel that Christian life is boring and even burdensome. We have such wonderful blessings in Jesus. From the fullness  of his grace, we receive one blessing after another. (1:16)

People who lived in the Old Testament time were not able to enjoy the joy and blessings that we enjoy through Jesus Christ in the New Testament time. They only saw the shadow of what would come. But Jesus who came to this world is superior to all predecessors, like Moses, holy angels, all the prophets, and to the Old covenant. In Christ, all our sins are forgiven and washed away; we are always renewed in the grace of Jesus, rejuvenated and recreated by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s such wonderful blessing that God dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. We can have intimate fellowship with him and grow in His beautiful image. So if we are in Christ, every day is heaven. It does not mean that we will have no difficulty in life. But the grace of God will enable us to live a wholesome life. And we have even greater things coming ahead of us, that is, the glory of the resurrection body through the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am happy to see that young disciples are growing. They are very energetic and fresh. I am delighted to see them growing in Jesus’ grace. But I don’t necessarily envy them because I experience new life and new grace every day. I am full of hope and expect greater things than before. So how can we experience this kind of new joy and meaning of life? It does not happen automatically. It’s not easy either.

If we remain as old wine skins, we cannot hold the new wine in us. We should be renewed or experience rebirth, which we will study further in John chapter 3. Jesus said to John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees who were overly concerned about their religious ceremonies and rituals, “No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the win and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” Jesus is the new wine. But the problem is that it’s so easy for Christians to become rigid like old wineskins. When we were new converts, all of us had such wonderful joy and excitement. But soon, we don’t have that excitement any longer. Why? It’s not because the new wine has become old wine. It’s because we have become old wine skin Christians. So one of the key points of Christian life is how we can hold the new wine Jesus in us. How we keep our newness in us.

Martin Luther once said that the greatest threat to the church of God is not outside persecutors but the faithful people in the church. When I first heard it, I said, “What is he talking about? Aren’t we supposed to be faithful?” But what he meant is the faithfulness to the tradition not to the truth. Martin Luther probably said that way because he saw that many religious people don’t necessarily distinguish between loyalty to the tradition and loyalty to the truth, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time. I am not saying that we should be anti-traditional. We need good traditions. But traditions are not absolute.  Sometimes, we also need courage to challenge ourselves radically. Trust in God means not to live in your safety or comfort zone. It sometimes means to allow ourselves to be totally vulnerable in order to trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who works like wind. Are you willing to take the risks?

Due to tiredness and increasing stresses in life, people prefer entertainment and enjoyable church programs to personal struggles of faith. It’s hard to do anything serious when we are physically and mentally tired and exhausted. I see that many faithful Christians are burning out after years of dedication. We don’t want to be rigid or old wineskin Christians. But we can’t help ourselves. In fact, it has been my deep agony. Sometimes, I wanted to stop struggling. I think some of you are experiencing the similar things. But don’t worry. You are not alone. This kind of struggle is a part of our spiritual journey. No one grows smooth and fast without going through process. Hebrews 12:1-2 reads, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God…. Do not lose heart!”

Jesus is the best wine prepared for us. And the grace of Jesus the best and it gets even better everyday and every year. So let us not lose heart no matter what difficulties we may face. Instead, let us continually fix our eyes on Jesus as we continue our journey in John’s gospel study. And let the word of God tell us and guide us. Let us surrender ourselves to the Word who was in the beginning and is full of grace and truth. Let us take a deep breath in his word and in the Spirit. And let the truth of God set us free and make us a new person. Jesus is the new wine, the best and choicest prepared for you and me.

Jesus said in John 6:53, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The first of Jesus’ miraculous sign occurred at the wedding feast in Cana. He said to his mother, that his time had not yet come. He meant that his death for our sins and his glorious resurrection. Yet, Jesus performed this miracle as his first sign to reveal his glory as the Son of God. We are all invited to the wedding feast. We are invited to drink the new wine Jesus. Jesus wants to reveal his glory in and through us by enabling us to be fully alive. To drink the new wine, we need the new attitude.