Good morning. I told Charlene yesterday how delightful it would be for me to have an old brethren girl read about this miraculous manufacturer of alcohol. And I I I figured she wouldn’t be able to get through it without stumbling over something, but she managed. So I I once walked into this church many many Januaries ago and it was a few months after I’d completed seminary in Dallas. Charlene and I had moved back to Edmonton. We now had three offspring and I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do next. Been a banker and I thought for a minute about going back into that world and Charlene and I had been very involved in uh Christian campus ministries. So we thought of going on university and being involved there and uh missions work was another option and pastoring a church not maybe foremost in our minds but it hovered in there somewhere and a friend of ours was attending Knox Church at the time and he invited me to a weekday event to hear a speaker named Brian Stiller who was the head at the time of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. So, I just walked into this room to hear him speak and I I didn’t really know anything about the Evangelical Free Church, the denomination. It turned out he was speaking at an event in which all of the pastors and the pubs of the Evangelical Free Church had gathered for their mid-inter ministerial meeting and there were some district superintendents around and they found out that I just completed seminary and they wanted resume and they invited me then to stay for the proceedings. part of the day was kind of a business type meeting of their ministerial and I was sitting over there kind of where Tavi is just a fly on the wall. I had no commitment. I had no connection to what was going on. And the issue they were somewhat heatedly discussing that afternoon was whether to make it a requirement that all evangelical free church pastors totally abstain from alcohol. Now I I had no dog in that fight. I didn’t know any of these people. But at one point, I remember it was like yesterday, there was a fellow who uh stood up, a pastor who stood up right about there and uh he looked around the room and he began by saying that he himself didn’t drink, but he felt it was wrong to impose that restriction on others. And the less than tactful way he put it was this. He said, “Looking around this room, I’d say that our church leaders have more of a problem with gluttony than drunkenness.” Now, I don’t know if that was the wisest thing to say, but he basically fat shamed any colleagues who uh who might be inclined to impose their legalistic alcohol standard on others. As a neutral observer, I thought it was kind of fun and it was deliciously transgressive. I’ve cherished that kind of in my heart ever since. And what he and others said that day uh in that discussion, it did help ward off a piece of unnecessary legalism. And the next month I signed on to be an evangelical free church pastor. And with a couple of pauses, I seem to have been one ever since. And this morning we’re looking at this familiar passage in in John chapter 2 where Jesus very early in his public ministry attends a wedding, produces copious amounts of high quality alcohol, gallons and gallons and gallons of red wine. And he does it in a way that swallows up the legalistic traditions, replacing legalistic legalities with joy and with freedom. He knows how to throw a party. And at the end of our passage, John writes that this was one of Jesus’ miraculous signs. Now, you’ll notice throughout the Gospel of John, John prefers not to call the supernatural things that Jesus does miracles. He prefers to call them signs. And a sign of course is something that always points towards something else. So if you see a sign on the highway that says watch for falling rock, the sign itself doesn’t have any meaning, but it points to the potential danger of getting crushed by a boulder or having to navigate around one on the highway. So the sign points to a reality beyond itself. The miracle Jesus accomplishes in our passage, it is a sign that points to something else. And as we go, we’ll reflect on what it’s pointing to. Reynolds Price of Duke University said of this passage, “If you were inventing a biography of Jesus Christ, that is, if you were just making up stories about Jesus to get across his power and his glory, who would invent as the inaugural event of Jesus’ career, a miraculous solution to a mere social embarrassment?” He’s saying that if you were making up stories about Jesus, if the gospel accounts are nothing but imaginative legends, you wouldn’t begin with something as benign and mundane as using your power to spare a young couple the embarrassment of not having enough wine at their wedding reception. So, if you’re making up stories about Jesus to demonstrate his power and his glory, help uh starting out by just helping out a couple of disorganized teenagers, probably wouldn’t be the first place you’d start. So, what that shows, I think, is that this story is not at all made up. It really happened. The wedding miracle, it’s like the first lead single in the ball game of Jesus’ earthly ministry. this inaugural sign of Jesus. It wasn’t to perform a miraculous healing or to make a blind person see or to uh cast out a demon or preach a sermon. It was to produce 150 gallons of at least 150 gallons of the finest wine so that he could keep a party going. So if this really happened, then we want to investigate what is this sign pointing toward. Our passage gives us a little timestamp related to the events we looked at last week in John 1. It says the wedding occurred 3 days later. And last week we saw that Jesus began to attract followers, uh, disciples, uh, people who would leave what they were doing and where they were to go and be with him. And as we saw last week, these early followers are starting to express some ideas as to who Jesus is. John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the lamb of God. and two others who had been following John the Baptist and went to follow Jesus, they uh rather respectfully addressed him as rabbi or teacher. And after spending a little time with Jesus, one of those guys, Andrew, he upped the ante by telling his brother, “Hey, we found the Messiah. We have found the Christ.” Philillip went on to describe Jesus as the one who Moses and the prophets had written about. And then Nathaniel, the last guy, he taught them all by boldly referring to Jesus as the son of God, the king of Israel. So that’s a very short time, matter of days. There’s this growing realization among a small handful of followers, there’s much more to Jesus than meets the eye. Now, to his home community in northern Israel and Galilee, especially his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus was referred to in Matthew 13 simply as the carpenter’s son. And in Mark chapter 6, simply as the carpenter, Joseph, Mary’s husband, Jesus’ stepdad, he really he hasn’t been heard from in the Bible since Jesus was 12 years old. And at the wedding we’re looking at this morning, we find Mary, Jesus’ mother, but again, no mention of Joseph. So, it’s it’s speculative, but it’s quite likely that Joseph may have passed away by this time. And by referring to Jesus as the carpenter, the fortunes of the family may have depended on his manual labor and that of his half brothers. These weddings in Israel were uh New Testament times often celebrated over several days. The wine provisions are running low. Mary, Jesus’ mother, she seems to feel some uh responsibility for the embarrassment. Maybe it was a wedding of relatives or friends. Mary feels it’s a burden that it uh she feels a burden that it needs to go well. So, a small crisis is erupting. She goes up to Jesus, her very special eldest child, and says, “They have no more wine.” I don’t know what she thought Jesus might do about the problem, but his reply to her was short and brusque and almost sharp when he said,”Woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” Now, in saying that, it’s not that Jesus is reluctant to help this young couple out. He was about to do a miracle that would prevent any embarrassment at all to the wedding party. When he said, “My time has not yet come,” he uses the Greek word for hour. “My hour has not yet come.” And throughout the Gospel of John, whenever Jesus speaks of his hour, he’s referring to the hour of his death. So with this first miracle, this first sign, Jesus was taking a step on the journey that was going to lead to the cross. And he knew it. This was the first step that would lead to his final hour. So a preacher named Edmund Clowney once spoke on this passage and he said something that I think opens up the meaning of this passage for all of us. He said, “Jesus sat amidst all the joy of the wedding, sipping the coming sorrow, so that today you and I can sit amid all this world’s sorrow, sipping the coming joy.” At the wedding, Jesus sat amidst all the joy, sipping the coming sorrow, so that today you and I can sit amidst the world’s sorrow and sip the coming joy. When Jesus said to his mother, a mother, she was going to need Jesus to be her savior from her sin. when he said,”Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” There’s a there’s a tinge of sadness. There’s a there’s a moment of a dark shadow passing over that conversation. I mean, the shadow’s not there long. It quickly dissipates. We find ourselves back at the party. But Mary, she doesn’t seem to be insulted at all by how Jesus addressed her. She seems to sense something of the spiritual magnitude of the moment, and she just says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus looks and he sees six stone water jars. Jars that we’re told had the purpose of being used uh by the Jews for ceremonial washing. And not not washing for sanitary reasons, but washing is a ceremonial legalistic tradition, a way of saying I’m throwing off the impurity of this world. And a whole tradition seems to have developed around such things. Because we read in Mark chapter 7, the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they don’t eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions such as the washing of cups and pitchers and kettles. And the reason we’re told that in Mark 7 is because the Pharisees and the teachers of the law notice that Jesus disciples don’t bother at all with any of the ceremonial washings before they eat. They don’t follow the traditions of the elders. Jesus made no demand on his followers to pay any attention at all to the ceremonial washings, the efforts of the Pharisees to somehow try to make themselves pure. And it’s no coincidence that Jesus chooses these six stone vessels set apart for the ceremonial washwater. And he orders them filled right up to the brim with fresh water. Jesus next asked the servants to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. and the master of the banquet tasted it. He was delightfully surprised because it wasn’t water. It was wine. And it was wine of exceptional quality. Now, there’s so much of it. The lowest estimate is 120 gallons. That’s 2,4 glasses if you’re interested. And you can probably have a pretty good wedding reception with that kind of volume of good wine. And the master of the banquet had no idea where all this stellar vintage came from. So he went to find the bridegroom and he took him aside and he said, ‘You sneaky devil, where were you hiding this good stuff? You know, no one brings out the quality wine at this point in the feast. You start out with the best and later when everyone is a little bit, the Greek word used is methical, which means inebriated. When everyone’s already a little flushed, they’re not feeling as much pain, their taste buds are numbed, their pallets are a little desensitized, that’s when you serve them the old stuff. kind of wine you buy in boxes with plastic spiggots on it. And and the master of the banquet congratulated the bridegroom and said, “You have saved the best till now.” Now, that first sign that Jesus did, it was really only semi-public. A few of his new disciples witnessed it, presumably a few of the servants, but it had the effect, it says, of revealing Jesus’ glory and causing his disciples to put their faith in him. So, that’s the sign. But now we have to figure out what does this sign point to. And let’s consider a few things pertaining to the meaning of that sign. One one has to do with the end of religious legalism. One thing the sign points to is is uh the traditions are done away with when Jesus is in the room. And when I was in this room many Januaries ago and the religious leaders of the free church were discussing imposing a legalistic behavior on all their pastors, they were attempting to control holiness through regulation. But none none of us really grow in holiness or in godliness that way. In the book of Titus chapter 2, it says that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. And then it meaning the grace of God. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled and upright and godly lives in the present age while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. What is it that teaches us to say no to the things that displease God? It’s not the law. It’s not the uh sword of judgment hanging over our heads. It’s not the rules that the religious authorities or denominations come up with to try to keep their people in line. It’s grace that becomes our teacher. Grace gives us the power and the motivation to live an upright, self-controlled life that pleases God. Grace makes us eager to do what is good. Let me give an illustration from Greek mythology. Some of you have heard this before, but following the Trojan War, Ulisses and his men, they embarked on their return journey home to Ithaca. It was going to be a long and perilous journey, and they were forewarned of some of the dangers that would experience along the way. They were especially told to beware of the island of the sirens. And the sirens were these beautiful women, and they sang seductive songs, and they lured the unsuspecting sailors close to the island, crashing on the hidden rocks. With soft hands and white arms, the sirens would bend down to receive the sailors. Each man would hear his own name being sung in their songs, and then the sirens would be revealed for what they really were. They weren’t beautiful women. They were demonized cannibals. And before them lay a great heap of uh men’s bones with flesh rotting off them. And Ulisses decided that he would safeguard the journey by having all of his men stuff their ears with wax so they couldn’t hear the songs of the sirens. He himself though was very curious to hear the song. So he instructed his men, “Tie me with ropes as tight as you can to the ship’s mast.” And he told his men that no matter how much he begged them to set him loose, they must bind him even more tightly until they were safely past the island. And sure enough, as they passed the island, Ulisses heard the seductive song, and he struggled with all of his might, and he begged to be released. But his men bound him even more tightly, continued rowing until they were safely out of earshot of the sirens. Also, another story in Greek mythology is the story of Jason and the Argonauts. And then in their journey in search of the golden fleece, they too had to pass by this dangerous island of the sirens. But Jason had brought with him man named Orpheus, the greatest of all musicians, whose skilled playing of the liars soothed and comforted the men when they felt the weariness of the journey or when their tempers flared against one another. When he played, time would seem to float by and peace and calm would come upon the men. So as Jason’s ship passed the island, that deadly song rose up from the sirens. Orpheus began to play a beautiful song of his own. He sang to the men about their true strength, their true identity as men of Greece, and how the stories of their heroic adventures would be told forever. He sang that although they were weary, they were true champions and they’d soon be welcomed home in their own land. And the song of Orpheus prevailed over the song of the sirens. and all. One sailor threw himself overboard and he swam toward the rocks. But the remaining men stood at their sat at their benches and they pulled steadily on the orars until they were safely beyond danger. Being compelled by the law to do what’s right. It’s like filling our ears with wax or being tied to the mast with ropes. Everything in us desires the seduction of the temptation. We would if we could. But the law but the law binds us against our will from breaking free to do what we really want to do. Grace though is like the music of Orpheus. As we listen to it, it drowns out the songs of the siren. Grace tells us who we are. Tells us we’re people valuable enough for Jesus to come to earth to die for. Grace speaks to our true identity. Grace teaches us to say no to the things that are going to hurt us and are going to hurt others. So when Jesus orders those stone jars filled right to the brim and changes the water into wine, the whole volume is filled. There’s no room left for the stuff of legalism. There’s no room for wine and water to ever be mixed. The first sign Jesus does at the wedding of Kaa signals the end of Jewish religion and ceremony and tradition. The new wine of the savior just makes all the old stuff obsolete. Second thing the sign points to has how Jesus I think comes into a situation of scarcity and brings abundance. The wedding reception if they ran out of wine it was it would fizzle in embarrassment. But Jesus enters that situ of scarcity situation of scarcity and he brings abundance. And if we see that what might that do to our own prayer lives. This young couple is facing social embarrassment. The son of God the king of Israel is in their midst. His power is divine and his time is precious. He doesn’t need to waste his divinity on a couple who failed to plan for their wedding properly. That situation maybe it’s no one else’s fault but their own. But the son of God steps in because the reason he came to earth says is because God so loved the world. And loving people means caring about all the little things in their lives. It means uh sometime sometimes I’ll be interrupted by one of my grandchildren because they need their little toy opened up with a precision screwdriver and filled with three more of my precious double A batteries that I try to hang on to. But they’re pretty sure from experience that I’ll stop and I’ll take care of that for them and get their toy working again. And if we can be like that, sinful, selfish people like us, how much more will our heavenly father receive our prayers and look after our needs, no matter how minor they are? That couple who were married in Kaa that day, they had an amazing story to tell of miraculous provision of someone saving their special day. And I don’t I don’t know if they even knew who did it, but maybe it left them enough leftover wine to enjoy their first year of marriage, watching me Netflix together. and uh and just enjoying some evenings and they may never have known that the one who did it for them was God, but he’s the one who did it. So the meaning of Jesus’ first sign, it said something about the obsolescence of religious legalism, said something about God’s provision of abundance in the midst of scarcity. And the last thing I think we’ll say about this sign is how it pointed to the cross, but it also pointed beyond the cross to the very end of the age. We mentioned that little fleeting moment of shadow when Mary took the problem to Jesus and he said, “My hour has not yet come.” That wedding miracle. It was going to start a chain of events that would lead later in the Gospel of John, John 13, where it says Jesus’ final hour had come for him to leave the world and go to the father. And it was time for him to show his disciples the full extent of his love. Later that same evening, Jesus would speak metaphorically of the cup of God’s wrath. And if it were possible, God, would you, Father, would you take this away from me? Cup of God’s wrath is a fearful thing to drink. In the book of Revelation 14, it speaks of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. But Jesus drained that cup on the cross for us. The wrath of God against sin, it was poured out full strength against the son so you and I would never have to taste it. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. We’re now we now are free to anticipate the great feast at the end of the age where wine is going to be in abundance because Jesus all alone on some windswept cross drank from the cup of eternal justice. When we put our faith and trust in him alone for our salvation, we can anticipate raising this cup of uh of great festival joy one day. Now, particularly in the Old Testament, a time of God’s judgment is characterized by a lack of wine. And the provision of wine is always the sign of God’s great blessing. In the great prophetic day of the Lord, Hosea chapter 2 says, “It’ll be a time of new wine and oil.” Amos 9 says, “New wine will drip from the mountains and it will flow from the hills.” Isaiah 25 describes the future like this. On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of good of aged wine, the best of meats, the finest of wines. On this mountain, he will destroy the shroud that infolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations. He will swallow up death forever. The sovereign Lord will wipe away all the tears from all faces. He’ll remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. So finally, let’s just go back to Edmund Clowny’s reflection on the passage this morning. Jesus sat amidst all the joy, sipping the coming sorrow, so that today you and I can sit amidst all the world’s sorrow, but we can sip from the coming joy. That’s kind that’s really what we do as we approach the Lord’s supper this morning. We will in a few moments. We remember how Jesus’ death opens up eternal celebration for us. We sit, life is good, but we still sit amid the world’s sorrows. There’s aging, there’s disease, there’s pain, there’s death. But we have this foretaste of an incredible feast. And we can handle the sorrows of the world. We really can because this small taste reminds us of the great feast that is to come. So Jesus is waiting for us at that great eternal table. But he also invites us to this little one where we get a foretaste of that glory this morning. And just a couple of things that I think we can pray about as we go to God together. Tom’s going to come and lead us in prayer in a moment, but maybe you’d want to pray that grace, not legalism, will motivate you to live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life. And thank God that he cares about all the smallest things in your life. And praise God for the rich feast that he has in store for you at the end of the age. This is just your moment with God. take some time to uh to pray and to reflect and and to ask him for these things. And I’ll close us off in a moment.