Water into Wine | John 2:1-12
Do you like going to weddings? I have done various weddings in various venues for dozens and dozens of couples over the years. One of the things that always gets me is when the bride comes in and walks down the aisle. Most of them, I am fighting back tears. Those tears turn to joy once the wedding ends, I get to go to the reception, and the party starts. My favorite part of the wedding is the cake! Unfortunately, there is a new trend in weddings where couples leave the CAKE in favor of doughnuts, pies, or ice cream. I love all of those but I need my cake. The problem with the cake is that it’s always at the end of the reception. You must go through the “wait” of the wedding party arriving at the venue, then you get the food served (I’m always put at the table that is last to be served), then you “wait” for people to eat (I’m a fast eater.) Then, there are all the “dances.” Finally, the CAKE! But I could not imagine what a wedding would be like if there were no cake. Would it really count? The first miracle in John’s gospel is at a wedding. The problem was not that they ran out of cake but that they ran out of wine and Jesus comes to save the day and restore joy.
There are 34 recorded miracles of Jesus in the gospels; John spotlights seven and calls them signs. He said that the purpose of telling us about these signs is that we would “believe” that Jesus is who He says He is: He is Savior and Lord of All. A sign is a symbol pointing to something greater. Each sign reveals a different dimension of Jesus’ character. The first sign John tells us that Jesus did was not walking on water but turning water into wine. He saves a wedding party and restores joy. This first miracle tells us a lot about Jesus and why He came: He came to give abundant joy now and eternal joy forever. John 2 teaches us we can have joy despite our disasters, joy because of our dependence, and joy out of His death.