“Replenish” (John 2:1-11)

The First Sign

Welcome back to the Gospel of John! Once again we are gathered to hear God’s Word. As a follower of Christ, each time we return to the Gospel, we see wonderful things in the Word, and we find that Christ becomes a little bigger and greater. It’s something like Lucy’s experience with the lion Aslan (the Christ symbol) in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, as she again gazed into his large, wise face.

“Welcome, child,” Aslan said.

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”[1]

In this gospel John uses the word “sign” (σημεῖον). There are six or seven signs written in John’s gospel. Today’s story – the wedding at Cana – is the first sign (v. 11). As we know, the signs “point us to something beyond themselves.” For instance, suppose you drive in the highway near Woodstock. You will see the traffic sign, saying “Houlton Me.” The sign itself is not “Houlton,” but it points us to “Houlton.” That’s the purpose of the sign. That’s the purpose of today’s passage. That’s the purpose of the entire book, John’s gospel:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name (20:30-31).

My prayer is that as we work our way through the signs of this book one by one, we may find Christ bigger and bigger and bigger.

Wedding without Wine

Today’s story goes like this: one day Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. In Jesus’ time the wedding celebration was considered to be the pinnacle of life. Instead of a honeymoon, the bride and groom had open house for a week. They were considered to be king and queen. Oftentimes all the people in town were invited to celebrate together. It was the whole town celebration. At the wedding banquet wine was essential. At that time to the Jewish mind, wine was a symbol for joy. So “without wine, there is no joy.” But in today’s passage something happened. The wine ran out. “They have no more wine!” the mother of Jesus said. Running out of wine during the wedding celebration brought shame to the family. But even more than that, it meant joy had run out.

Spiritually, a life without wine is life without Christ. If we think about our own life and the lives of people around us, often it is when life is at the pinnacle that the wine runs out. We are full of health; money increases; we have plenty of food, plenty to drink, and a warm place to sleep. But somehow the wine fails. And we are searching for joy. It can happen to the youth. It can happen to young adults. It can happen to the middle aged. It can happen to seniors. Ultimately it catches everyone. If you feel like your life lost its sparkle, if you are still wandering and searching for joy, for the meaning and purpose of life, today’s story is for you.

Water into Wine

Many of us in this room already invited Jesus into our hearts, but oftentimes we treat him as our guest, perhaps special guest at best, but not as the Master. There is a clear limit and boundary for guests. They are not allowed to get involved in our private matters – such as our family matters and finances. In today’s story at first Jesus was invited as a guest. So at the beginning he couldn’t do any might work there, even though he was the Son of God Almighty (cf. Mk 6:5). But later, we see some people who believed in Jesus and treated him as their Master. First, Mary believed in Jesus as her Master and said to servants, “Do whatever tells you.” Second, the servants. At the wedding banquet there were six stone water jars, altogether holding up to 180 gallons of water. And Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up, not to half, but to the brim (v. 7). They showed complete obedience. Then Jesus said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the chief steward.” And they did. They showed immediate obedience. There is no logical relationship between turning water into wine and filling the jars with water and taking it to the head steward. There is no logical relationship between looking to the bronze snake and being healed (cf. Num 21:9). But the key is “obedience.” When we trust Jesus as our Master and obey him, he turns our water into wine, he turns our tasteless, insipid, sparkeless life into rich, satisfying, joyous life.

In Robert Munger’s classical book, My Heart Christ’s Home, one young man invited Jesus into his house. He gave Jesus access to the library, the dining room, the living room, the work room, and the rec room. He thought that Jesus had finally finished the remodeling and was comfortable living with him there. But then, one day he found that Jesus was waiting at the door. Jesus said to him, “There is a peculiar odor in the house. There is something dead in here, in the hall closet.” The man knew about that closet, but he had the key to it and wanted to keep it off limits. He certainly didn’t want Christ to see what was in there. In fact, he was angry with Christ and thought, “This is too much! I’m not going to give him the key!” All of us in this room have our own “hall closet.” But, as long as we have the key to it, Jesus is our guest, at best a special guest. As long as Jesus remains as our guest, he has no authority to run the house. He has no authority to make changes in our lives although he is almighty God. Only when we transfer the title, he turns water into wine.

If I say, “I am 85% faithful to my wife Joyce,” then I am not faithful at all. In the same way, there is no such thing as 75% loyalty to Christ. It’s all or nothing. Jesus is either the Master or a guest. Tim Keller compares the Lordship of Jesus Christ to “a life-quake.”

When a great big truck goes over a tiny little bridge, sometimes there’s a bridge-quake, and when a big man goes onto thin ice there’s an ice-quake. Whenever Jesus Christ comes down into a person’s life, there’s a life-quake. Everything is reordered… any view, any conviction, any idea, any behavior, any relationship. He may change it, He may not change it, but at the beginning of the relationship you have to say, ‘In everything He must have the supremacy.’[2]

Joy, Joy, Joy!

Our Christian journey is a long obedience in the same direction. We come to know Jesus more and more through this long obedience. When I was in seminary, there was a life-quake. Jesus asked me, “Are you willing to give up your denomination and your prestigious school for me?” In 2018 there was another life-quake, when Jesus came to me and asked, “Are you willing to abide here in this place for decades for me?” And recently, there was another life-quake. Jesus asked, “Are you willing to give away your 401(k) and your college savings plan for me?” Indeed, each time Jesus came into my life, there was a life-quake. Everything had to be reordered. And I struggled. But every time I surrendered and obeyed, always there was joy.  

As I close, I want to share the story of one man whose life turned from a life like “insipid” water to a joyous life – a life with wine. His name was Blaise Pascal. He was perhaps the most brilliant mind of his generation. At the age of 19 he invented the world’s first mechanical calculator. He achieved both wealth and honor at a very young age, but for some reason at the pinnacle he felt miserable. He felt something was missing. There was no joy, no peace. Though he considered himself a Christian, to him Jesus was only a guest. On November 23, 1654 he got a horse carriage accident, but miraculously he was saved. He saw this as a warning directly from God. That night he humbly surrendered his life to Christ and encountered him in his room. In his journal Pascal said:

FIRE. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude, heartfelt joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. "My God and your God." . . . Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of joy. . . Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. May I never be separated from him!

That night Jesus became from a guest to the Master. Since Jesus came into his life as the Master, he always carried this note in his coat until he died. Since that day, in everything Pascal put Jesus in the center of his life. He listened to the Master and obeyed him day after day.

Obedience leads to knowing Jesus. In today’s passage all the people at the wedding feast saw the miracle and tasted the best wine. But for many of them it was just a miracle, not the “sign” pointing them to Christ. Only for those who obeyed – Mary, the servants, and the disciples, it was the sign. They saw the glory of Christ through the sign and they believed in him (cf. v. 11). And it’s a journey. It’s a long obedience in the same direction. As we receive Jesus as our Master, walk with him, obey him daily, may we continue to find Jesus bigger and bigger. May we be filled with joy, joy, joy, tears of joy! Amen.

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[1] C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian (London, Collins, n.d.), 124. quoted in Hughes, R. Kent. John: That You May Believe (Crossway), 483.

[2] Tim Keller, “The Lordship of Christ is ‘A Life-Quake,’” Preaching Today,  https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2016/march/3031416.html

“Jesus the Word” (John 1:1-14)

Who Is This Man? (1:1-3) 
Charles Spurgeon tells how George Whitefield, the great eighteenth-century evangelist, was hounded by a group of detractors who called themselves the “Hell-fire Club.” When Whitefield would stand outside preaching, this little group of guys would stand off on the side and mimic him. They didn’t believe a word of it. The ring leader was called Thorpe. One day Thorpe was mimicking Whitefield to his cronies. As he was delivering Whitefield’s sermon, perfectly imitating his tone and facial expressions, something happened. Thorpe himself was so pierced that he sat down and was converted on the spot.[1] 

The psalmist says in Psalm 19:7-8:

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”

 The Word of God in itself is powerful. The Word of God of itself is life-giving. That’s why it is so important to read, study, meditate on the word again and again. We find in the Bible that conversions come from preaching and listening to the word of God. Our Bible is like a gold mine. There we find all kinds of hidden treasure. But in order to find pure gold we need to ask the following question as we study God’s word:

 “What does this passage tell us about Jesus?” 

Jesus himself said to people, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (Jn 5:39 NIV). All Scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New, point us to one person – Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him, and in him we have eternal life. 

We have four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of the Gospels presents Christ with a distinctive emphasis. Matthew emphasizes his kingship, Mark his servanthood, Luke his manhood, and John his Godhood. Though it would be impossible to describe Jesus with one word, the Apostle John chooses one summarizing title for Jesus: the “Word.” From the very beginning John declares the truth that Jesus is the Word, who is the very nature of God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (v. 1). Jesus is eternally God. And he is eternally Creator: “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (v. 3). In the Old Testament we find the phrase “the word of the Lord came” more than 3,800 times. The Word of the Lord came as he created and led his people. The Word brings life. Jesus brings life. But what is really meant by “Word”?

Jesus, the Illuminating Word (1:5-13) 
In the first chapter John expounds further on what it means that Jesus is the Word. He uses three metaphors for this purpose – the Light, the Flesh, and the Lamb. First, Jesus is the illuminating Word. Jesus is the Light. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (v. 5). Here the Greek word phaino translated as “shines” is literally “shines on” or “continually shines.” In our human history the light has been continually shining – first through the prophets and saints, and finally through the true light, Jesus Christ. And this true light is continually shining and bombarding every corner of our hearts of darkness through his powerful word. 

How is Jesus living and active in our lives? Through his living word! “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb 4:12 NIV). Jesus is the Light, who continually shines, continually enlightens, continually penetrates our hearts, our minds, and our conscience. This can be very painful, because it reveals the truth that we are darkness (Eph 5:8), that our heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful and wicked (Jer 17:9), and that we are not ok as we are. But this is the very first step for our salvation. Just as stars shine even more brightly in the dark, the light of Jesus Christ shines brightly in our darkness. Abraham saw this light, heard the word of God’s promise, and was glad (cf. John 8:56). Augustine saw this light and came to the light. John Wesley saw this light, heard the word and believed. Our spiritual ancestors saw the same Light, heard the same Word – Christ Jesus, and responded in faith. 

Jesus, the Incarnate Word (1:14-18) 
Second, Jesus – the incarnate Word. In verse 14 John proclaims one of the most amazing, magnificent truths about Jesus: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us!” This great mystery of the incarnation is the core of the Christian message, and a stumbling block to many. The Word, the very nature God, became human! In other words, not only did Jesus expose our darkness with his word of truth, but also he came to us and became one of us. The Bible says, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:18 NLT). 

Billy Graham tells us the mystery of the incarnation in this way. One time years ago he was walking with his younger son, and by mistake they stepped on an anthill. They looked down and a lot of the ants had been killed, and many of them were injured. Their little house was destroyed. He said to his son, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go down and tell those ants we are sorry and we care about them, and then help them rebuild their house?” And the son said, “Father, we’re too big, and they’re too little. There’s no way we could help them. The only way we could talk with them is if we somehow could become ants and live with them.” Billy Graham wanted to teach his son a little lesson, so he said, “One time God – the mighty God of heaven – looked down on this little speck of dust that we call the earth and saw that we were like those little ants crawling around. And God said, ‘I want to help them; I want to save them; I want to help them rebuild their lives.’ But how could the mighty God of heaven communicate with us? You know what God did? God became a man, and that’s what Jesus Christ was. Christ was the God-man who came to show us what God is like, and to die on the cross for our sins.”[2] 

That’s what God did for us. Jesus Christ our Savior really took human nature on Him in order to save sinners. Like ourselves, he was born of a woman. Like ourselves, he grew from infancy to boyhood, and from boyhood to manhood. Like ourselves, he hungered, thirsted, was wearied, wept, felt pain. He was tempted, really suffered and shed his blood, really died, really buried, really rose again, and really ascended into heaven! The Bible says, “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested” (Heb 2:18). Jesus is the God-man, the incarnate Word.

Jesus, the Sanctifying Word (1:19-34) 
Third, Jesus is the sanctifying Word. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, he declared, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) If we go to Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, we see this painting (on the screen) by Francisco de Zurbaran. The title is Agnus Dei, Latin for “Lamb of God.” Around the lamb’s head, barely perceptible, is a halo. We see that the lamb’s legs are tied in a sacrificial posture. We see that the animal is lying on a cross. Clearly this animal reminds us of Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God. Indeed, Jesus was the true Lamb that God had provided at Mount Moriah for Abraham (Genesis 22:8). Jesus was the true Lamb which the Israelites offered every morning and evening. Jesus was the suffering Lamb that Isaiah had prophesied – the lamb that would be led to the slaughter, but not opening his mouth (Isaiah 53:7). Jesus was the Passover lamb slain to make atonement for the firstborn. In short, collectively Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away our sins. Jesus became our sin. We became his righteousness (cf. 2 Co 5:21). William Cowper proclaims this great truth of substitutionary atonement in this way:

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

Come and See! (1:35-51) 
So it is John’s long answer to the short question: “What does this passage tell us about Jesus?” Jesus is the Word – the illuminating Word, the incarnate Word, the sanctifying Word.

But before we leave this place today, we also need to ask ourselves the second question: 

“How does this passage apply to us?” 

In other words, Jesus is the Light. But is he our Light? Have we come and seen the Light? Is the Light continually shining every corner of our hearts of darkness, continually penetrating our hearts? Jesus is the incarnate Word, making his dwelling among us. But are we really allowing the Word to dwell in us richly and impact our life? Are we willing to be formed and shaped by the Word again and again? Jesus is the Lamb of God. But is he our Lamb? Do we really believe he died for us?

There is a poem, titled “Flower” by Korean poet, Chun-Soo Kim. This poem tells us what it means to know someone and be known by that person:

You were nothing,
a mere sign,
till I named you.

But when I called you by name,
you came to me:
you became a flower.[3] 

 Jesus came to his own people. He called them by name. But sadly, he was rejected by many. But some received him and believed in his name. In John 1 Jesus called his first disciples – Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael – with a simple invitation: “Come and see!” And they did. With humility they received, believed, and followed Jesus. And they became different people! Jesus stills calls us today, saying “Come and see!” So let us come to the Light. Let us abide in the Word. Let us follow the Lamb wherever he goes. Then, we will see his glory, the glory of God's Son, full of grace and truth. Once we see that glory, we will be different people – “children of God” who are born from above, born of the Spirit! Amen.

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[1] Mark Dever. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (3rd Edition) (Crossway, 2013), 150-51.

[2] William Safire, Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (The Cobbett Corporation, 2004), 525.

[3] This poem is translated by Kevin O’ Rourke.