We're still looking at this miracle in John 2. I expect that this will be the last time we'll be here. Today, we're going to look expressly at the wine to see what Jesus is saying by this miracle. I have a couple of large points to make along with one or two smaller thoughts that I won't develop much. I'll let you do that if you want. So, let me start by reading our text, John 2.1-12.
My first point is one of those smaller thoughts. I think that it's important to see that while Jesus is teaching by this miracle, he is doing that without words. He is teaching by creating a picture: water miraculously changed into wine. Did you notice that he once he does the miracle adds no comment. He does not explain the picture. He expects his disciples to figure out his point. He was not necessarily expecting them to figure it all out right then. But the wheels needed to start turning. I think that this point about teaching by picture is important because we have grown up in a culture that emphasizes words over pictures. And there is a reason why this is. Words are usually more precise. And precision is a key virtue in the part of the culture that most of us live in. But the Bible oftentimes just uses pictures. Here, all you have to do is think about the book of Revelation. There are lots of pictures but not much comment. The Bible does this sort of thing to make an impression on the reader. There are times when it is necessary to be precise, and times when it isn’t. We need poets as well as scientists.
Let's move on. Let's look at this picture that Jesus has created. This is a picture about wine. Jesus makes a lot of wine. And where does he make all this wine? At a party celebrating a wedding. The picture is about an abundance of wine created for a wedding banquet. That’s the picture. What is it saying? If you're going to understand a picture (or any kind of art) you need to know the language it speaks. The Bible provides us with the language Jesus uses here. So, for one example, Psalm 104 describes God's greatness, but it does not do that so much with words as with pictures.
You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart.
The Psalm is about how great our God is, and it focuses especially on his works in nature. And in the midst of that the psalmist points to food. One of the examples of God's greatness is his giving us food. And you'll notice that one kind of food that is singled out is wine which is given 'to gladden the heart of man'.
Let me pause here for another small thought. Isn't it interesting how often food shows up in the Bible as some sort of big deal? Our problems with sin started in the Garden of Eden because of food. Much of the complaining of Israel in the wilderness was about food. Jesus' first temptation was about food. And in a bit, during the Lord's Supper, we will be blessed with the favor of God by means of some food, wine and bread. There is a theology of food in the Bible. And it provides some of the language that Jesus uses in this miracle.
These themes of food in general, and wine in particular, are picked up elsewhere in the OT. Listen to these prophecies from Joel and Amos.
And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim.
'Behold, the days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.'
These are pictures of prosperity, God's blessing, promised for some future day. They aren't intended to precisely describe what God will do. It's poetry intended to make an impression on people who lived close to the land.
Other prophets extend the image to more than just wine and some food being provided. They write about a feast. This is from Isaiah.
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Isaiah looks into the future and he describes - poetically - what God is going to do. He will swallow up death. He will wipe away tears, and all the rest. And how does he impress that upon his readers? He writes about a banquet. The day of redemption is coming. And it will be a celebration. It will be like a great feast with good friends, plenty of food and wine that gladdens the heart of man.
Do you see what those OT prophets were saying? 'When Messiah comes - Wow! - that will be something. It's going to be like a great party with our God being the host and all of us there having a blast. It is going to be amazing.’
These are some important themes found in the OT, themes that were given to the people of God to encourage them, themes about food and wine and feasting and the joy of being rescued from every form of death. This is the language of the picture in our text.
Jesus picks up on all of this. He uses this language and not just in our text. He uses it in his parables. So, in Matthew 22 we read Jesus saying this, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son...' He uses the same imagery elsewhere. Jesus paints pictures using those OT themes.
So, do you see what Jesus is doing in our text? He is teaching using a picture of wine, a lot of wine, and that at a feast, a wedding feast. And once you understand the language that he is using, the lesson is clear. It's as if he were saying, 'Do you remember all those OT promises about the coming days of God's blessings? They were about lots of food and wine and everyone was happy and celebrating at a great feast. You know, the ones about the coming of the Messiah. Well, I'm here. Let the party begin. And to get things off on the right foot, let me provide the wine.' That's what Jesus is teaching by the picture of this wine. The Messiah has come. Let the party begin.
All of that was about what the text means. Now, we're ready to see what the Spirit is saying to us by it. To get at that, let's ask a question. 'So, those OT prophecies about the coming of the Messiah and the feasting with the food and the wine and all of that - those prophecies that are the point of Jesus' picture - are they now fulfilled? Can we say, at this point, that God has kept his promise? After all, the Messiah has come.' Good question, no? And the answer is Yes and No. Let's examine both of those.
First, the Yes. It is obviously a qualified Yes, since there is also a No, but there is still a Yes to those OT prophecies. The Messiah has, in fact, come. Jesus has arrived, as promised. So, what was promised to occur with his coming must also have arrived. And one way to express this qualified Yes is to say that the party has begun. It is not in full swing yet, but it has begun.
But let's push that a bit. So, the party has begun? But what difference does that make? Does it change anything? Or is all of this just a bit of fancy theology for ivory tower people who are interested in that sort of thing? This is important because the assumption among many, at least on an emotional level, is that very little, if anything, has really changed, even though Jesus has come. To be sure, Jesus' coming means that our sins are forgiven. And that's really good. But that's about it. Jesus has come, died on that Cross and then he left. And it's the same old same old, at least until we die. At that point we get to go to heaven.
So, bottom line, nothing has really changed much for the here and now even though Jesus has come. Our situation is pretty much like David's or Abraham's or other OT believers. We live, we die, we go to heaven. So, what's with all of that party imagery with the food and the wine and all the celebrating - all tied to the coming of the Messiah? What's all that about? What party? What's changed? Anything?
The easy way out is just to answer our question with a simple, unqualified No. 'No, the promise made in those OT pictures has not been fulfilled yet. It will be in the future, after we die, but nothing is going to happen before then.' And that's what lots of Christians have concluded. That's how they deal with day-to-day life. We live, we die, we go to heaven. Answering with a No does, however, raise a problem with our text. ‘So, Jesus' miracle was picturing what is still in our future, even though he's come? Yeah, that must be it. After all, nothing has changed.’
Or has it? Here is one thing that has changed: The Spirit has come. Pentecost. That's a huge change. The Spirit has come, and he is here in a way that he never was before. Something changed at Pentecost. The Spirit's coming, his advent, is part of God’s plan to save the world. He is here on a mission. Just as Jesus was sent by the Father to accomplish his part of the plan, the Spirit was sent by Jesus to accomplish his part of the plan. That's what happened on Pentecost. Jesus not only earned forgiveness of sin by his life, death and resurrection. He also earned the blessing of the Spirit. On Pentecost he sent the Spirit to be here in a way that was completely new. Something changed.
Now, is this a change that we can feel, or is it still just some academic theology gibberish? At this point, I could talk about the love, joy, peace and patience that the Spirit gives. Or I could talk about the apostles, prophets, pastor-teachers that the Spirit has raised up for the Church. But instead of talking about the Spirit's fruit or the Spirit's gifts, I want to talk about the Spirit's power. After his resurrection, Jesus told his disciples, 'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.' This is new. Now, since Pentecost, there is a kind of power that was absent before, the power of the Spirit of God employed to save the world. So, now there is power to change and be changed. Just to look at one narrow slice of this, consider love, joy, peace, patience and all the rest. Do you think people are born with these? Counterfeits, yes, but the real thing? We are all born sinful, and that affects everything about us, especially the possibility of developing those qualities. But the Spirit has come. Something is different. He is here, and he is busy. There is power for change. So, Paul writes, 'Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.' The Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of power, takes sinners and changes them. And that means that there's hope for you. Whatever sin afflicts you, the Spirit can change all of that. Whatever it is that trips you up so often, the Spirit can deal with it and get rid of it. Jesus has come and fulfilled his part of the plan to save the world. As a result, he sent the Spirit. He is here changing us and changing the world. We have something to celebrate. (And just to throw in another small thought: isn't that what Sundays are for?)
So, are those OT prophecies about the party with its celebration fulfilled? Has God kept his promises? Yes! The party has begun. Change has begun. The Spirit is powerfully changing lives, both our lives and the lives of many others. We have much to celebrate. And as time goes on, we will see more and more of that change. The Spirit is here saving the world. We can answer our question with a clear Yes. The party has begun.
The question for you to ask yourself at this point is simple. Do you believe this? There is no change where there is no believing.
I have not forgotten that there is still that 'No' that I mentioned. Are those OT prophecies fulfilled? Well, the party has begun, but it isn't in full swing yet. So, we need to acknowledge that No. It is a qualified No, since there is a Yes, but it's still a No. And that has a couple of things to teach us. It is my deep desire that each one of you experience, in this life, the power of the Spirit in profound ways. I want the Spirit to make all of you the most loving, joyous, peaceful, patient people. I want the power of the Spirit to fill your lives so that you shine in such a way that others can't help but notice. I want the Spirit's presence to be so abundant in you that it overflows like a great waterfall, splashing on those around you. I want to see all of that, and more, in each of you. And there is no good reason why these things shouldn't happen. But, even if these things happen to you ten times more - a hundred times more - than I have in mind, the party has only begun. Once it really gets going, all of these experiences of the Spirit will seem to be almost as nothing in comparison. We have no idea how good it will be when the promises are fully kept, when the party really gets going, when Jesus comes back. Paul wrote, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those that love him.' We cannot imagine how good it will be.
And knowing that is still not just some academic notion. Having some sense of the wonder and beauty of the age to come is an anchor to your soul. It will give you a reason to hope when life gets so hard. It will encourage patience with living as a broken person in a broken place. It will provide a wise perspective on this life and its temptations. The Spirit has many wonders to show us while we walk in this life. But who knows what our future in the age to come will be like? Whatever that might look like, it will be a celebration that will last an eternity.
Jesus pointed to all of this, and lots more, no doubt, when he turned that water into wine. He has painted a picture of the difference that that his coming makes. All that we understand right now is a bit of the corner of his painting. But that is enough for a start. In time, the Spirit will give us eyes that will be able to see more and more of the picture. And that will be such a help as we work our way to eternity.
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