Jesus is the Master of the Banquet
Why Jesus came?
Text John 2:1-11
Key Verse 2:11
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galille. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples to put their faith in him.
Setting up the message
1. Ask if they have attended any weddings this year.
This is a story about Jesus going to a wedding with his single disciples.
This is the first sign.
Prayer
Open ours to see your glory. Have us to hear you and put our faith in you.
May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing to you.
Lord, my rock, my redeemer.
Amen
1. Jesus showed who he is by his first sign
He brings his best wine to us
A sign, not a miracle
What is this the first miracle? Why this miracle?
What is he going to bring?
Disclaimer: I am not promoting drinking.
1. Jacob’s wine. Jacob and Leah in Gen 29.
1 How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince's daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of a craftsman's hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
(A big waist woman)
3 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
(A small breasted woman)
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
(A long elongated neck)
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
(A super long nose)
looking toward Damascus.
(Perhaps Rachel was like this woman. She might be that beautiful in our modern sensibility.Love blinds us. Jacob was completely blinded).
2. Jesus is the master of the banquet.
How can Jesus bring this taste wine and joy of God to us?
v. 4 Dear women (NIV)
Too polite.
In the original text there is no dear.
Woman. -So rude and so out of ordinary.
It is almost like that his time is not right for the miracle.
Woman what does this have to do with me. My hour has not yet come. (ESV)
My hour -my hour to die
Why is he saying this?
We are invited to Jesus’ heart.
What was Jesus thinking about in the wedding?
When you go to somebody else’s wedding, what are you thinking about?
What is Jesus thinking about?
John knows about Jesus who is the bridegroom.
One way to get wine.
I have to die.
I have to die to bring wine.
The jar of the purification. The cleansing is not accident. We drink from the jar of ceremony of cleansing.
This wine cleans you and makes you beautiful.
How does Jesus change you?
He dies to make us his brides.
Ed Clowney’s comments (Tim Keller’s teacher)
We are here.
The experience of watching a bride coming down.
The wedding dress makes the bride pretty.
What she looks in reality, when she is coming down the aisle, everyone stands up and beholds her. She looks beautiful.
The wedding dress got it right.
The woman in that dress looks pretty.
For example, Dennis Rodman who is the ugliest guy looks good in a wedding dress.
There are no ugly brides.
Just the way you are describes one guy’s love toward a girl like this:
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are (Bruno Mars, Just the way you are)
This is how Jesus sees you.
So difficult to believe. Bruno Mars talks to a girl who is self conscious about her looks. He continues like this.
When I compliment her
She won’t believe me
And it’s so, it’s so
Sad to think she don't see what I see (Bruno Mars)
I know this is difficult to believe but this is how Jesus sees you.
Augustine who was IMHO the best teacher of the church said it like this:
Adam loved Eve because she was beautiful
It was Adam’s love that made her beautiful.
So if this is man’s love for her, much much more the love of God that will make us beautiful to our bride Jesus.
3. Applications.
If you want to get this kind of joy, you need to know Jesus today.
Admit you are always short. You are empty. You need to taste the joy of Jesus, his wine.
Go to Jesus.
He died for you.
He rose from the dead.
Go to the Father. Take credit of what Jesus has done for you to bring this kind of joy.
How can we have a deep relationship with Jesus?
How can we grow in the knowledge of God?
1. Go to Jesus for anything.
The wedding was disorganized. Not a good project manager. We have every opportunity to bring everything to him. It is OK.
You can talk about your loneliness.
Your hurt.
Your happiness.
You can go to the Father in prayer
2. Ready to obey him
Mary got ‘No” from Jesus.
She told servants, “Do whatever he asks you to do.”
But we are ready to obey him.
Because we know that Jesus loves us with his blood.
In this we can experience the transforming power of Jesus.
Only those who obey Jesus, the servants of Jesus can know this.
3 Meditate and reflect on his love daily
Think what Jesus has done for you.
The one spouse that can wipe out and make me a child of God.
Your wedding is not your fulfillment. If you are going to marry, you cannot make your spouse the “one.”
Jesus is the one.
If you are single, then you have to see Jesus.
Meditate and reflect on Jesus.
Jesus sat in the joy of a wedding.
He was sipping the coming sorrow so that we can have joy.
You can sit in the midst of sorrow, you can sip the wine of Jesus.
You can have joy in the midst of your sorrows.
Jesus is there in your joy.
He is everywhere.
4. Taste the sweetness of God daily.
Jesus came into your life and gave you wine.
Lamenations 3: 23
They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
Taste Jesus’ wine daily and its newness each day.
Why are you settling only for small things?
Seek his presence and he will give the biggest banquet for you.
His wine is sweet. It is more beautiful than Rachel.
The bride of Jesus who makes me clean moves you and you want to be near him.
We can taste Jesus’ wine daily and see the future glory.
You want to be with him.
You want to worship him daily.
Prayer
Father
We do need your presence and to learn to taste your wine.
We are fooled by the wine of the world like Jacob.
But in the morning everything becomes stale and old.
Help us to see your beauty and faithuflness.
Thank Jesus who became the master of the banquet by his death and resurrection.
Thank you for drinking the wine of suffering for us.
As we partake the bread and wine today, help us to remember your grace. Help us see your glory shown in your bread and wine.
Help us to put our faith in you only, our only Glory.
I pray in your Son’s name. Amen
References
You can find many resources on the web regarding on the late Ed Clowney
Augustine
Bruno Mars,