Speaker 1: 0:10

What does it mean that Jesus turned watering the wine? In John chapter 2, we're given the story of a wedding in Cana, jesus' first miracle and the first sign that revealed His glory to His disciples. At first glance, it may seem like a simple act of meeting a practical need, but John presents it as much more, a moment that points us to the obedient Son, the ultimate purifier and the all-providing Bridegroom. In today's message, pastor Harry Behrens invites us to see beyond the surface of this miracle and recognize the deeper reality that Jesus alone transforms emptiness into fullness, rituals into relationship and the old covenant into the new. Now here's Pastor Harry Behrens with today's teaching.

Speaker 2: 1:04

Hello and welcome again to the Takeaway. I'm your host, pastor Harry Behrens, and in today's episode we're continuing our study through the Gospel of John with the account of the wedding in Cana. If you joined us, in our previous episode we walked through John's opening chapter, where we traced the sequence of days, what we called wedding to wedding, the sequence of days, what we called wedding to wedding. John intentionally patterned those days to mirror the seven days of creation, showing that God was beginning something new in Jesus Christ. Just as the old creation began with light and life, so the new creation begins with the true light who has come into the world. And now, fittingly, the first week of his ministry closes with a wedding feast. All of it points us forward God is gathering a bride, preparing her for eternal joy and revealing that in Christ he is making all things new. This moment at Cana is not just about providing wine at a celebration. It is about Jesus revealing His glory, fulfilling the promises of God and foreshadowing the final wedding celebration when His bride the church will be with Him forever. So today we will see His glory revealed in His first sign and catch a glimpse of the future joy promised to all who believe in him.

Speaker 2: 2:26

Let's read together from John, chapter 2, verses 1 to 11. It says with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him they have no wine. And Jesus said to her Woman what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants Do whatever he tells you Now. There were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants fill the jars with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted, the water now become wine and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. The master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine, but you have kept the good wine until now.

Speaker 2: 3:39

This, the first of his signs, jesus did at Cana, in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. So John begins by telling us that this happened on the third day. Now that's not just a time marker, it's deeply symbolic. At first it may seem confusing because John has already described a sequence of days leading up to this moment. In chapter 1, we saw John the Baptist questioned by priests and Levites. That was day 1. On the next day, john points to Jesus and says Behold the Lamb of God. That was day 2. The following day, two disciples follow Jesus and Andrew brings Simon Peter to him. That's day two. The following day, two disciples follow Jesus and Andrew brings Simon Peter to him. That's day three. Then, on the fourth day, jesus calls Philip and Nathaniel. When John now says on the third day, he means three days after that fourth day, which completes a full cycle of seven days. So the timeline makes sense. John has intentionally walked us through a symbolic week mirroring the seven days of creation.

Speaker 2: 4:55

Just as God spoke creation into being in Genesis, jesus begins his ministry by inaugurating a new creation, one that would culminate in a wedding feast, and the third day itself is rich with meaning. It reminds us of resurrection, the moment when the disciples would finally come to believe fully in who Jesus was. And it's no accident that his first sign takes place at a wedding. Throughout scripture, marriage points us forward to the ultimate marriage supper of the Lamb. Throughout scripture, marriage points us forward to the ultimate marriage supper of the Lamb no-transcript. Now, when Mary comes to Jesus and says they have no wine, he responds Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. Now that hour, it's referring to his death and resurrection, the ultimate display of his glory. This is the main point of all scripture and we must not miss it. Glory in the biblical sense means the radiant weight of God's holiness, power and love put on display. The cross and resurrection are where that glory shines the brightest.

Speaker 2: 6:10

Jesus himself prayed in John, chapter 12, verse 23,. He says prayed in John, chapter 12, verse 23,. He says the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. And again in John chapter 17, verse one, he prayed father, the hour has come, glorify your son, that the son may glorify you. And Paul echoes this in Philippians 2, verses 8-11, declaring that because of his obedience to death on a cross, god highly exalted him, so that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father. So when Jesus tells Mary his hour has not yet come. He is pointing to the climatic moment when his suffering, death and resurrection would fully reveal who he is.

Speaker 2: 7:05

The miracle at Cana is just a preview. His glory is not first in displays of power, but in his self-giving sacrifice that secures our salvation. Glory is both who God is and how he makes himself known. Mary knew who Jesus was, but he reminds her that the time for full revelation has not yet arrived. Now, still out of compassion, he gives a sign. Notice, though, jesus is not moved by family ties. Even his mother was not saved by relationship alone. She too needed faith, and that's true for us as well. We are not Christians because of our heritage, our background or who we are attached to. Faith is not inherited. Faith is receiving from God. What he alone says identifies us our union with Christ.

Speaker 2: 8:07

Now John tells us that there were six stone water jars used for purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus tells the servants is used for purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus tells the servants fill the jars with water. And they filled them to the brim. Now that detail matters. When the jars were filled to the top, there was no room left for anything else to be added. What Jesus was about to do would be all his work, not a mixture of his and ours.

Speaker 2: 8:35

Now, altogether, this miracle produced somewhere between 120 to 180 gallons of wine, that's nearly a thousand bottles More than enough for the feast. That's a picture of the overflowing grace of Christ. He doesn't give just enough, he gives in abundance. And notice the symbolism. Those purification jars were about outward cleansing, but the wine pointed to inward cleansing, the transformation only Jesus can bring. As he later said in John, chapter 6, 53 and 54, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. The sign at Cana points forward to communion, the meal given to us as a lasting reminder that true life comes only through Christ's blood. So now we're going to see. Jesus tells the servants now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.

Speaker 2: 9:42

Now here's where the challenge of faith comes into sharp focus. These stone jars were not meant for drinking. They were for washing. They symbolize ceremonial purification. Now imagine being one of those servants. You've just filled jars designed for cleaning, cleansing hands and feet, not jars used for serving a wedding banquet, and now you're asked to draw from them and serve it to the master of the feast.

Speaker 2: 10:09

Everything about this would have felt wrong, even confusing. Think about it If the master of the feast had tasted water instead of wine and then discovered it was drawn from purification jars. The servants could have been shamed or even punished. They were stepping into a moment that seemed unreasonable and even risky. And yet that's exactly where faith is found. They obeyed without knowing what would happen. The water was changed, not as it sat in the jar, but in the very act of serving. The miracle came in motion, not before.

Speaker 2: 10:50

Faith often works that way. God calls us to act without guarantees, to trust without seeing the outcome in advance. From the outside, faith and folly can look similar, but the difference is who we are trusting these servants. They placed their confidence in the word of Jesus, and when the master tasted it, the water had become wine. He calls the bridegroom and says you have kept the good wine until now. That's the glory of Christ as the all-providing bridegroom. Where the earthly bridegroom failed, jesus provided in perfection, and that's the hope for us as well. As Charles Spurgeon once said when you begin to see him face to face, when you enter into the closest fellowship with nothing to disturb or distract you, then you shall say he has kept the best wine until now. Now John concludes this.

Speaker 2: 11:51

The first of his signs Jesus did at Cana, in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. Now Jesus revealed three glories here the glory of the obedient son when he says my hour has not yet come. The glory of the ultimate purifier, that was the jars of water transformed into wine. The glory of the all-providing bridegroom showing the abundance, joy and covenant love. Now this and this points us forward to the wedding feast of the lamb described in Revelation, chapter 19. It says let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory, for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. At Cana, jesus gave a glimpse of that glory. One day, all who believe in him will taste it fully. And here is where this sign still speaks to us.

Speaker 2: 12:47

Glory is not just something Jesus revealed long ago, it is what he calls us to live for today. The glory of Christ is the ultimate aim of our lives. It is greater than our accomplishments, stronger than our struggles and more enduring than our temporary trials. When Jesus manifested his glory, the disciples believed in him. That is the pattern for us also. We are to see his glory, believe and then live every part of our lives seeking to magnify that same glory in the world around us. Glory is the reason we worship. Glory is the reason we worship. Glory is the reason we serve. Glory is the reason we endure. Every act of obedience, every step of faith and every sacrifice of love is meant to reflect his beauty and point others to him. So as we look at this miracle, let it stir us to pursue the glory of Christ above all else, for one day we will join the great multitude and declare with joy he has kept the best until now. So what's the takeaway? Well, the servant's faith, though simple and uncertain, ultimately revealed God's glory. They obeyed without knowing what would happen and in doing so, they became instruments through whom Christ's attributes were displayed. The same is true for us.

Speaker 2: 14:09

To glorify God is not only to say how great he is, which we should, but to trust him in impossible places and watch him prove his greatness in what only he can do in impossible places, and watch Him prove His greatness in what only he can do. Sometimes, god calls us into uncomfortable, even in possible situations that feel like they could destroy us. Yet it is in those moments that His power, his beauty and life-giving grace are revealed. Just as he brought new wine from water, he raises us up from what seems like death and despair. This is how we glorify Him by living in such faith that our lives become testimonies of His work. We must be willing to step off the cliff if we ever expect to experience Him as he truly is. Only when we trust Him in the impossible can we know him in his glory. Like the servants of Cana, our obedience in uncertainty becomes the stage on which his glory shines.

Speaker 2: 15:10

Let's pray, father God, thank you so much for your word that teaches us how to walk in faith, to trust in your word, to trust in you and your character, that it's all for your glory and that if you command us to walk into the impossible, that it's for your glory, that you're going to do a miracle, that you're going to do something amazing that shines your light forth. It's not about us. It's not about us shining our light. It's about shining your light for your glory and for our joy. I thank you that we get to take part in that, that we're not sitting on the side just watching things happen, that you are inviting us in to take part in your glory and that we can have the joy of being a part of that. I pray that you empower us and lead us and give us the faith we need to step off the cliff, that we can walk where no one else can. All for your glory and for our joy. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.

Speaker 2: 16:07

Now, as always, I want to thank you for joining us today, and I hope this episode has helped you take a step closer in your relationship with Jesus and that you now have a deeper understanding of just how much God loves you and wants you to know him. And before we go, I want to encourage you to send us any questions or comments you may have using the text us link in the episode description. Your input helps us shape future episodes that speak directly to your needs and help you grow in your faith. It's our desire that this ministry be a tool to reach the lost and equip the saints for a life that brings glory to God, and in our next episode we'll continue in John 2, verses 13 to 25. There we'll see Jesus enter the temple, cleanse it and reveal more of his authority and identity as the true dwelling place of God. It's a powerful passage that shows us his zeal for his Father's house and points us again to the cross and resurrection. God bless, and we'll see you next time on the Takeaway.