Title:

Title: When the Wine Runs Out

Summary: God has promised an everlasting era of abundant life in his presence now and into the life to come with all of its joy and peace, which comes through redemption in Christ who died and rose to bring this blessing to those who believe in Jesus.

Text: John 2:1-11

Scripture Reading: Ps 104:10-15

Intro:

1. Have you ever had a get together and run out of food?

a. It has happened at potlucks before, someone runs out and gets more

b. My brother's wedding, the caterer ran short of food - Ran out and got

more from the grocery store

c. At a wedding, it could be disastrous - bad memories

2. Today's miracle story is a similar situation (John 2:1-11)

a. Jesus and his disciples were invited to a wedding

- Not like our weddings. Could last for a whole week

- Guests would come and spend the week - great celebration

b. The wine ran out

- Don't know how far into the celebration they were

- Like the caterer coming up short

- This a serious thing in that culture

- Not unheard of for their to be lawsuits over something like this

c. Jesus' mother informed Jesus about this.

- Answer - Not my problem - Not my wedding

- My time has not yet come

= This phrase appears several times in John

= 7:30 - Tried to seize him, but no one did, hour not come

= 8:20 - No one seized him, because hour not yet come

= 12:23 - Hour has come for Son of Man by glorified

- His "hour" was when it time to go to the cross

- To do public miracle now, premature trip to the cross

d. Yet Jesus makes time and rescues the family with a miracle

3. What do we make of this miracle story?

a. Many very different sermons have come from this text

- Lessons about alcohol - This not justification to get drunk

- Lesson about "Whatever he says to you, do it"

- Lessons about Jesus approving of marriage

- And the list goes on

b. This are all good lessons, but perhaps misses the point of the text

c. John selects seven of Jesus' miracles for this Gospel he calls "signs"

- They point to a truth that the miracle illustrates or points to

- Most of Jesus' miracles accompanies by large blocks of teaching

- However, this sign does not. So we need to do some digging

d. Two major themes John highlights in Jesus' ministry in this Gospel

- One is belief - This word used in John more than other Gospels

- The other is life

4. Want to look at how this sign illustrates these themes

I. This miracle illustrates Jesus' desire for belief

A. Jesus' signs gave evidence of who he is so we can believe

B. The emphasis on belief

1. v.11 - Manifested his glory, disciples believed in him

2. Belief is absolutely necessary

a. Jn 3:16 - We know this passage

b. Do you believe in Jesus?

3. Other verses in this chapter about belief

a. (3:18) He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does

not believe has been judged already, because he has not

believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

- This is a life and death statement

- Rejection of Jesus results in God's judgment

b. (3:36) He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he

who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath

of God abides on him

- If you believe, you eternal life

- You expect the second have to say, "not believe"

- It says, "not obey"

4. This says something about the nature of belief

a. Too many think that belief it just acknowledgement

b. Do the demons believe in Jesus?

- Lk 4:33-34 - Demon said, "I know who you are, you

are the holy one of God!"

- Lk 4:41 - Demon said, "You are the Son of God!"

c. James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the

demons also believe, and shudder.

C. Belief is not just acknowledgement

1. If you say, "I believe in the constitution"

a. You can acknowledge the law

b. If not abide by it, it is just words

2. Belief and obedience go hand in hand

a. Ant for Obey - ignore, disregard, refuse, reject, evade,

neglect, overstep

b. Syn for Obey - accept, embrace, heed, surrender, serve,

assent, follow. Serve, abide by, serve, be ruled by

c. True belief encompasses all these things

3. Belief vs. Obedience - see the difference?

a. Acknowledgement vs. faithfulness

b. Demons vs. true Christians

4. ILL: Book - The Honored Society: A Portrait of Italy's Most

Powerful Mafia, by Petra Reski, Jan 2013

a. "Faith' in God and living like a Mafioso are fairly common

in the strange world of Italian mobsters.

b. Sicilian Mafioso Marcello Fava, who later left his mafia

clan, told an Italian journalist: "Before I had to kill someone, I would cross myself. I would say: 'Dear God, stand by me! Make sure nothing happens!' But I wasn't the only one who crossed himself beforehand and prayed to God. We all did."

c. When mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano was arrested,

the police found him with five Bibles, with hundreds of his own margin comments and passages underlined. In his home were 91 sacred statues, 73 of them Christ figures.

d. Did he believe like the demons, or as Christ wants?

5. Less extreme example: An interview with Stephen King

a. Interveiwer asked him, "So you always believed in God,

you were just bored in church?"

b. King's reply in part: It's certainly a subject that's interested

me, and I think it interests me more the older that I get. And I think we'd all like to believe that after we shuffle off this mortal coil, that there's gonna be something on the other side. … I choose to believe. There's no downside to that. If you say, "Well, OK, I don't believe in God. There's no evidence of God," then you're missing the stars in the sky and you're missing the sunrises and sunsets and you're missing the fact that bees pollinate all these crops and keep us alive and the way that everything seems to work together. Everything is sort of built in a way that to me suggests intelligent design.

c. Is this belief like the demons or as Christ wants?

D. Consider the belief the disciples demonstrated

1. They didn't just acknowledge Christ, they followed him

a. They didn't always understand, but they followed

b. They did as he instructed

c. They accepted his teachings

d. They followed his example

2. Because we truly believe, this is what we do

a. This is why you accept him as crucified and risen

b. This is why you let Christ rule your life as Lord

c. This is why you try to be holy, honest, kind, righteous

d. This is why you don't just say Jesus is Lord, but follow

3. If you have not obeyed the Gospel, do so today

a. Accept him as risen Lord, be baptized for remission

b. Pattern your life after him

4. The result of belief (Jn 20:30-31)

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the

presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

but these have been written so that you may believe that

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you

may have life in His name.

II. This miracle illustrates Jesus as life

A. Image of abundance

1. On the surface is the sign

a. Making good wine takes time

b. Jesus does so instantaneously

c. 6 stone waterpots each about 30 gallons

d. Enough for the rest of the week, not run out

2. But there is a familiar image behind wine

a. Lack of it a result of judgment

(Jer 48:33) So gladness and joy are taken away From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

b. Part of the image of restoration and blessing

- (Amos 9:13) Behold, days are coming," declares the

LORD, "When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will be dissolved.

- This image appears many times in OT

- Joel 3:18; Jer 31:10-14; Ps 104:15; Prov 3:10; Is

27:2; 55:1; Hos 2:22

c. Idea of fruitfulness, Messianic restoration, blessing

d. This blessing provided by Jesus the Messiah

B. Image of joy

1. (Is 25:6-9) The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for

all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

2. This is the joy and blessing of Messianic kingdom

C. Image of Life - This a prelude to Jesus' teaching about life

1. Jesus didn't give just water, but wine. Why?

a. This is a wedding, festive

b. It is associated with the joy of a wedding

2. Jesus relished life

a. God is God of life, not death

b. Mt 11:19 - Son of man came eating and drinking, and they

said, "Behold a gluttonous man and a drunkard"

c. Jesus bore our sorrows, but he did so for the joy set

before him

d. Jesus not just man of sorrow, but of joy

c. John 10:10 " I came that they may have life, and have it

abundantly."

3. Want to avoid the extreme of a health and wealth gospel

a. 1 Tim 6:6-8 Godliness is a means of grain gain when

accompanied by contentment … If we have food and

covering, with these we shall be content

b. Mt 6:25 - Is not life more than food, and the body more

than clothing?

c. Phil 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned

to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

d. Our abundance is Christ - He fills me up fullness NOW

- He gives us life now, not to wait for in the future

- Life, joy, peace -- is now

4. ILL: Many have realized we not need a lot of "things" for life

a. Like the young married couple - I don't have a lot, but I

have you, and I am full of joy with that

b. My Grandma told me about something that Dad did when

he was growing up

- They didn't have much at all in those days

- She managed to give him 50 cents for allowance

- He always got ice cream, they ate it together

- Such a simple thing, but it was a special time

c. Ps 73:28 - The nearness of God is my good

d. To outsiders, this abundant life not make sense, but it

does to us doesn't it?

D. This is all reminiscent of another wedding

1. This will be the wedding of weddings, full of joy and abundance

2. Jesus served best wine last, reminds us the best is yet to come

3. (Rev 19:7-9) Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to

Him, 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

4. Will delight in the abundance & joy of God's presence like never

before

Concl:

1. In this sign, we see that the Messianic age with all its joy and abundance has come in Christ and will culminate on the ultimate wedding day when he returns

a. In those stone pots, Jesus placed abundant wine, not water

b. Reminds us of the blood of Christ, which purifies and redeems us

c. Reminds us of the life we can have through his death

2. If you try to find life any place else, the wine will run out

a. Like Qohelet in Ecclesiastes, he came up empty every time

b. Whether it was wealth, building, success, etc.

c. But the wine of his presence never runs out

3. That abundance, joy, life, is available if you believe

a. Remember, belief is not mere acknowledgement

b. Jn 12:50 - I know that his commandment is eternal life

c. When we are faithful, devoted, obedient to Christ, we have life (inv)

4. If you have obeyed, delight yourself in the abundance of the nearness of God

a. All that I want, all that I need, is God

b. I may not have much, but I have more than I could have ever imagined

c. He is my Father