Just the Beginning :: John 2:1-11

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We read: This [was] the beginning of the signs (v. 11).


Yes, it was just the beginning ... It was the beginning sign ... the sign of a perfect marriage and a perfect ministry and a perfect life. It was just the beginning ... the first sign of all the best things that reveal who Jesus really is. There are many other good signs that Jesus has done that weren’t written down (Jn 20:30). But if they had been, Saint John surmised, the world itself couldn’t contain the books (Jn 21:29). This one, however, was written. And it is still a marvelous sign in our sight. 

We love hearing about the sign of changing water into wine from John chapter 2. In it we see that ...

THE BEST COMES FIRST AND LASTS INTO ETERNITY
AS JESUS BLESSES OUR DAILY LIVES

This is our theme today. Jesus blesses us in his presence; He blesses us with his power; He blesses us with his purpose; and in the end he is still doing it every Lord’s day, always bringing us the best he has to offer. Talk about a marvelous sign!

1.

Weddings are part and parcel in our daily lives. Wedding planners today are expecting about 2.5 million marriages in the US this year ... about 6,800 every day! Most marriage venues are booked well into next year. This astounding statistic is a bit of an aberration in our daily lives. That’s because ... due to COVID-19 ... there were only 1.2 million marriages in 2020, so people are trying to catch up. But the real point here is, people in America love weddings. They think it’s romantic. So they’ve turned it into a $53 billion a year industry, which to me is a sign that they think they can bless their marriages ... that they can bless themselves.  

I think you could say that’s one of the things that happened in our Gospel reading from John chapter 2. As John wrote: a wedding feast happened in Cana of Galilee (v 1). 

Weddings ... or I should clarify ... wedding feasts ... were a big deal back in the day ... much bigger than ours today, which is saying a lot. Last year, the average cost of our wedding receptions alone was $22,500. And that was so they could celebrate for only a few hours, or at most a day. Go figure! 

In any case, in Jesus’ day, it was common for the wedding feast to last for a week. That’s because weddings are a reflection of six-day creation. They are a celebration of life. God used the image of weddings as a symbol for the peace and prosperity that his salvation brings. God caps off creation with marriage, and blesses marriage so that it will be fruitful. The words of Hosea are a classic example to express this. God tells Israel: I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice and in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you will know YHWH (2:19-20). 

2.

So not surprisingly, Jesus went to this wedding in Cana of Galilee, along with his mother and disciples, all of whom had been invited. And why wouldn’t he? Jesus loves to bless our daily lives. But just because Jesus was in their midst, blessing them with his presence, didn’t mean they wouldn’t run into problems. The mother of Jesus draws our attention to this shocking truth. Mary whispers into the ear of Jesus, They have no wine. 

No wine? 

Among those of you who don’t drink, maybe you think that isn’t such a big deal. But to use the saying of the rabbis, without wine, there’s no joy. Wine reflects peace. Wine was essential to daily living. Keeping wine on hand was a sacred duty for every family. Running out of wine during a wedding feast was especially humiliating. Even the poorest people had wine. They couldn’t drink the water, so they drank wine. 

3.

Jesus knew this of course, so he did what he does best: He blesses us with his power, giving us new wine, the best wine, the wine of joy, the wine that never runs dry for a feast that will never end. 

As John writes: Now there were six stone water pots there set aside according to the purification of the Jews, each having room for two or three measures, which most scholars will tell you is 120 gallons. Jesus then said to the servants, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them to the [brim]. And [Jesus] said to them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. So they took it. ... And as the master of the banquet tasted the water become wine, [he] called the bridegroom and said to him, everyone sets the good wine first, and when they’ve become drunk, the [cheap stuff]. [But] you have kept the finest wine until last (vv 6-10). 

Are you starting to see the picture here: Even as our celebrations of life fizzle ... even when they dry up, so to speak ... just like all the wine in our reading ... (because sin always does this to us) ... our Lord Jesus Christ blesses us with his presence, he blesses us with his power, and when we think it’s inconvenient to call on him, he blesses us with an abundance of joy ... the best that his life has to offer.

4.

No one saw that coming, except for maybe the servants who diligently obeyed the word of the Lord. They knew where that wine came from ... it came from water that was set aside for purification, not drinking. They quietly did everything Jesus told them to do, and everyone was blessed as a result.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us learn from this lesson: Heed the words of the mother of our Lord, who pointedly declares, to just do whatever he says. Which is to say, repent. Mourn the sin in your lives and all the ways you deny yourselves the blessings of life in Christ. And then believe the Gospel that Christ alone blesses our daily lives in word and sacrament so that his bride, the church, will have abundant life in his name forever. 

When we do, the forgiveness of sins is yours! Oh, what joy there is in heaven at this news!

5.

These are the blessings that come out of today’s sign. Jesus is manifesting his glory, revealing to us how he blesses our marriages, blesses our feasts, and blesses us with peace and joy. Jesus reveals how he cleanses and nourishes his people through word and sacrament. Jesus reveals that he will not leave you lacking, that he has given you everything he has to offer, and will continue to give you all things.

This was his promise to you from the beginning. We heard them in our readings today. As Amos declared: Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord ... when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will flow with it (Amos 9:13). ... Then as the Psalmist proclaimed: He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction (Ps 107:20-21). 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you know this true. 

You have been seeing the signs here all of your lives. 

6.

There are many more ways the Lord blesses our daily lives through his presence and power, even when his hour has not yet come (v 4). But it all starts with our Lord Jesus living for you, dying for you, and rising from the dead for you, giving you the promise of eternal life in his name. That was his greatest sign. He is the son of the Living God, and by believing in him we will have life in his name.

But the rest of the signs are no less important. Jesus has led us here so that we can return to the baptism he pours out upon us to save us. Jesus has led us here to hear his words of absolution that your sins are forgiven on account of all that he did. He has led you here so that he can deliver to you the forgiveness of sins through his marriage feast of the Lamb that has no end. He has led you here to provide you with the finest bread ... his own body given for you ... and the finest wine ... his own blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. 

So thank the Lord always and sing his praise forever. These means of grace will never run dry. Don’t deny his gifts to you ... they are for your good and his glory ... in Jesus’ name. 

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