The first sign: wine, risk, and reward

John 2:1-11 The first sign:wine, risk, and reward

Announcements • Bible Study, Friday 8-9pm • Fellowship, This Friday, 8pm. • Ideas?

Game/Icebreaker: Wall of Trust • What were you thinking when I told you I wanted you to walk into a wall with your eyes closed? • What does it feel like when you’re moving toward the wall (before you get caught)? • Did you worry or doubt the safety net person would let you walk into the wall?

John 2:1-11 PART I. ExegesisJl 3:13; Am 9:13-14

A. Background • Author: • John, the “one Jesus loved” • Brother of James and son of Zebedee • Date: • 90s AD. First of five books: 1, 2, 3 John, & Revelation • Audience: • Shunned Jewish-Christians • Against the Gnostic Cerinthus • Themes: • Full Deity and Humanity of Jesus • Eternal life to all who believe (Jn 3:16) • Miracles as Signs to elicit faith in Christ • Election and Security of the Believer

B. Book Outline • I. Prologue: The Incarnate Word (1:1-18) • II. The Signs of the Messiah (1:19-12:50) • III. The Farewell Message and Passion/Narrative (Crucifixion) (13:1-20:31) • IV. Epilogue: The Roles of Peter and of the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (21:1-25)

B. Outline • I. Chapter 1 • 1:1-18, Prologue • 1:19-28, John the Baptist’s Testimony • 1:29-42, The Lamb of God • 1:43-51, Philip and Nathanael • II. Chapter 2 • A. 2:1-11, The First Sign: Turning Water into Wine • B. 2:13-24, Cleansing the Temple Complex

C. The Signs in John • The Signs • 1st, Water into Wine (2) • 2nd, Healing an Official’s Son (4) • 3rd, Healing the Sick (5) • 4th, Feeding 5,000 (6) • 5th, Walking on Water (6) • 6th, Healing a Man Born Blind (9) • 7th, Raising Lazarus from the Dead (11)

D. John 2:1-6 1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

D. John 2:7-11 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was thefirst of the signsthrough which he revealed his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him.

1. They Have No More Wine (2:1) • 1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” • Pro 3:10; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. • Pro 3:5-6; 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight • Jn 1:4-5; 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

2. My Hour Has Not Yet Come (2:4) • “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”(2:4) • "30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come." (Jn 7:30) • 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (Jn 12:13) • Sign the Messianic Times have arrived. • “13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!” (Jl 3:13) • “13 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes.New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,” (Amos 9:13).

3. They Filled Them to the Brim (2:7) • “7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.” (2:7) • “and the vats overflow—” (Joel 3:13) • “3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.” (Is 9:3) • “4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind."(Jn. 1:4)

4. First of the Signs (2:11) • “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was thefirst of the signsthrough which he revealed his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him.” (2:11) • Signs

5. And Manifested His Glory (2:11) • “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was thefirst of the signsthrough which he revealed his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him.” (2:11) • “3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (Jn 1:3) • “14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14-18) • What does the word manifested mean? • What does His Glory mean?

6. His Disciples Put Their Faith in Him (2:11) • “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was thefirst of the signsthrough which he revealed his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him.” (2:11) • “46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”(Jn 12:46

E. Questions • Why did Mary go to Jesus and tell him about the problem of the wine? • Why do you think Jesus would tell his mother he couldn’t help? • How might Jesus’ idea of the type of glory he was going to reveal differ from Mary’s idea of what was going to happen? • Who in the story could see what Jesus did?

E. Questions • What would you have done if Jesus had told you to pour in the water and then taste it? If he told you it was going to be wine, what do you think you would have said? • Compare with Wall of Trust activity. • What do you suppose happened to the servants who did what Jesus asked when they took the new drinks into the party? What risks were they taking serving people drinks out of the pots they filled earlier? • Compare with Wall of Trust activity.

John 2:1-11 PART II. Exhortation

A. The Servants Obeyed

B. Jesus Came Through

C. The Disciples Believed in Him

John 2:1-11 PART III. ApplicationRisk and reward

VI. Application • What are some of your stories where you took risks for Jesus? What happened? • What seems toughest about following Jesus? • What are some rewards of being a Christ-follower?

VII. Conclusion • Jesus is trustworthy. • Evidence of Scripture. • Evidence of the Signs. • Evidence of the Resurrection. • Realize that God works through ordinary people who are willing to take risks for Jesus. • The Servants • The Disciples • Martin Luther • Billy Graham

The first sign: wine, risk, and reward