(John 2:1)
�And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:�
This, A New Beginning, is probably a very apt title considering that we are just a few days into a new year. It�s also somewhat apt considering that this message is being delivered by one who has been absent from this place for about three months.
A few days ago I found some pictures of my late wife with her hair down. Normally Linda would wear her hair up in a �bun.� I loved it when she wore it down; it was really beautiful. But, since her hair would fall down past her knees, she tried to persuade me that it was just too much work to let it down. I have very few pictures of her like this.
I appreciated the picture of her with her hair down; but what really impressed me was that both of us (I was in the picture with her.) looked so young. This picture was probably from the early 1970�s. Neither of us were yet into our 30�s; I guess we were young.
Of course Linda always looked younger than I. I remember when we were dating that I would go to her place of employment to pick her up after work. One of these times she told me that a friend of hers came in and said, �Linda, you father is in a car waiting for you.�
I guess I could understand the mistake. I was much older than her. About fifteen months! I guess that, while she looked young, I�ve always looked old. I still look old. I was at the Veteran�s Administration Medical Center a few weeks ago when I was asked which war I�d fought in, WW II or the Korean War. I was in the war in Viet Nam.
My granddaughter likes to be told that she looks older (�bigger�) than her five year old age. By the time someone reaches my age (Did anyone say �Methuselah?�) we prefer that fact not be mentioned.
Anyway, there were images of Linda and I staring back at me from a long ago photograph. We were young. We didn�t realize it but we were just beginning the journey of our life together. Our wedding had been in 1968. I had spent a year in Viet Nam shortly after that. We really began to live as man and wife in late 1969. This picture wasn�t too far past that date.
That is what was happening here with this couple in our extended text. They were just beginning to start the journey of marriage. Into this life changing ceremony came a life changing Man, Jesus Christ. Most of the eyes of the gathered multitude were upon the wedding couple. Few eyes were upon Jesus.
There could be a sermon here as to the lack of attention that most of us spend looking upon the Person of Jesus. Our eyes are too enraptured by the cast of the present drama of life.
Sermons could be written, from this passage, about the need of an awareness of Jesus as we wend our lives down the seasons of time.
Application could be made to the great honor of His presence in our lives. This is something we often take for granted, isn�t it?
But, what I wish to dwell upon today is the fact that this incident marks the beginning of the ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Whereas the first chapter gave a picture of John the Baptist pointing toward Jesus, and of Jesus calling the first of His disciples, this chapter shows the beginning of the public aspect of the ministry of Jesus.
Note, first of all, that this was a new day. �And the third day��
This very phrase, �the third day,� presupposes the existence of a first - and a second - day. The concept of continuation is important. We do not live our life in �scenes� as does a movie actor.
When a movie is filmed the scenes are often �shot� out of sequence. The ending may be filmed before the beginning. The planning, I would guess, is made so that each scene shot in any specific location would be shot while at that location. The crew would then move on to film scenes made at other locations.
This is why Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes of �Gone With the Wind�) could be famously remembered as only studying the scene for each days shooting without having any inkling of the flow of the finished product!
Life, however, is not like this. We live our days plying each new experience upon the foundation of those that have gone before. Two follows one and three follows two. If we are to have any sort of favor with God we need to prepare our hearts and souls. A Saturday night of carnal carousing will not produce a Godly presence on Sunday Morning.
If we are ever to do anything at all for Christ we need to prepare our hearts and lives, moment by moment and day by day, to be ready to exhibit Him before the world.
I was a soldier in Viet Nam in the late 1960�s. Before this I had been instructed in jungle warfare. Before this I have gone through army basic training. Can we be any less prepared to be a soldier in the Army of the Redeemed!
I want you to notice what my simple illustrations above reveal about me. My illustration about a movie and actor betray my early fascination with the entertainment industry. My illustration about my military service betrays the fact that I spent twelve years as a soldier, both active and reserve. The fact, here, is that what we are today, and will be tomorrow, is tied into what we have been.
We need to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ at our earliest possible moment if our lives are to give evidence to the fact that we�ve walked with Him. We need to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ at our earliest possible moment if our lives are to be so centered upon Him as to make us useful in His service. We need to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ at our earliest possible moment if we are to be able to relate the Good News to others that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity.
That �earliest possible moment� is right now! We can not go back and undue, or redo, the experiences of our lives. Popeye, the sailor man, said this quite succinctly, �I am what I am and that�s all what I am.� But, we can begin to live a life in a new and deeper relationship with the Lord of the Universe.
And, importantly!, we need to continue that relationship day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, and even second by second so that this will become who we are and what we have become. This is the essence of a person who is a disciple of the Son of God. The word �disciple� is the route word of �discipline.� We really do need our thoughts, actions, and interests to be disciplined into discipleship.
May we notice that the witness of the first chapter of John became the Wonder of the second chapter.
In the first chapter we see Philip telling Nathanael to �Come and see.�
Even before this first miracle, Philip was a witness to the specialness of the One to Whom John the Baptist had pointed out as the coming Messiah. There was something within the heart of Philip which witnessed that Jesus was the One.
Jesus is powerful. He can still the winds and calm the seas. But, more often, he comes quietly speaking to our hearts. That, the quiet speaking, is a miracle of power in itself. The Holy Spirit is that �something� in our hearts which witnesses that Jesus is the One.
We don�t need mighty miracles to understand the Power of Jesus. We need to confidence of the leading of the Spirit. We do not need to be as Thomas, the doubter; we need to act as Philip, the faithful truster.
As Philip had the words of John, we have the Words of the Scripture to point us toward Jesus. That Word of Scripture is a more sure Word because it is a Word which has been energized by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. That Word of Scripture is a more sure Word because it is a Word which has withstood the winds of the adversity of time in the preserving power of God. That Word of Scripture is a more sure Word because it has the power to energize our very hearts and souls!
The preserved Word of God is able to convince the sinner. It is also able to empower the saint.
It was on the word of John the Baptist that Philip began his own ministry of bringing others to the Lord. It is upon the Word of Truth, which is the inspired and preserved Scripture, which can energize us to begin our own ministry of bringing others to the Lord. That is, after all, our purpose. We are to be witnesses before the world that we have been with Jesus.
We also note that the Person of the first chapter shows the power of the second chapter.
We tend to read these Bible stories and forget that they are not Aesop�s Fables. These stories are not morality plays designed to teach us a lesson. These stories are not mini dramas made to entice us into a course of action. These stories are not simple displays crafted to portray the power of the Savior. These stories may be each of these; but they are also true reports of actual events.
Consider that! Think about that! Jesus does not go into a room and perform a �magic trick� to impress His audience. He moves into a living, breathing arena of humanity and displays the power that is rightfully His in alleviating some of the pain, sorrow and misery of the human condition of man. Jesus is not Henry Houdini, the magician; Jesus is the Son of God.
In this second chapter of John�s Gospel, Jesus begins His ministry to �seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).� Jesus displays His power of death, disease and destitution as He actively seeks souls for the Kingdom.
Too many Christians, and too many churches, have the idea that Jesus is part of �dog and pony� show. �We call Him up to do wondrous works.� Well, wondrous works He often does. But, He came into this world to save souls. He has now given us His preserved Word to authenticate this message. We do need to see supernatural acts; but those acts are the salvation of men and women and boys and girls!
God may, indeed, give us a glimpse of His supernatural power from time to time. But, more blessed are you who have not seen and have yet believed. Trust His Word; that�s why He gave it. Trust His Word; that�s why He preserved it. Trust His Word; that�s why He said to study the Scripture.
Also, the walk of the first chapter shows the work of the second chapter.
I have been told that I need to walk more than I tend to do. The doctor seems to think that I�m a little overweight. Well, I�m not a little overweight. I�m a whole lot overweight!
I have trouble walking just for walking�s sake. I need to be going somewhere.
I remember when we were �house breaking� (potty training) our son. He wasn�t taking to it very well. We consulted his doctor; since he�d been a premature birth we were somewhat apprehensive when he was slower than others his age at anything.
His doctor told us not to worry. Ethan was fine, both physically and mentally. There was no damage from his early birth. If anything he was a little ahead of most children his age. That was part of the problem, she explained. The doctor explained that Ethan was fine with the diaper routine. He saw no need for any change of lifestyle. �Don�t worry,� she continued, �When he sees a purpose in potty training he�ll pick it up overnight.� She suggested that we buy him some �undies� with pictures of his favorite cartoon characters on them. �He won�t want to get them dirty,� she said, �So he�ll do what he can to make sure they don�t.�
It worked. Almost immediately, and basically by himself, Ethan began to use his potty chair. �Can�t get �Scooby Doo� dirty.�
I�m like that. I need a purpose, a destination, if I am to walk.
We also need a destination for our Christian walk. That destination is to become bearers of the good news that Jesus Christ died in time so that others could live in eternity. That is what Jesus did. He taught His disciples as He sought the lost. The purpose was so that they could continue His work of seeking the redemption of souls lost in their sins.
We need to learn doctrine. But, we have a duty to seek the lost. We have an obligation to live a lifestyle which is rooted in the standards of God as revealed in His Word. But, we have a duty to seek the lost. We must have a time of communion, a prayer life and systematic Scripture reading, with the Lord Who called and saved us. But, we have a duty to seek the lost.
Moving forward, we see a new destination in this verse. ��there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee��
When Linda and I were first married her home church was without a pastor. We were married just a few days before I was slated to be sent to Viet Nam in 1968. For that time, a little over a week, her church allowed us to live in the parsonage. But, when I came home after my one year tour of duty, my next duty station (I was still in the active military) would be in Louisiana. That is where we first established our home together.
This is the way it is with most couples. After the marriage they establish a home, apart from either of their parents, in a new location. It may be across town or across the country. But it is a new home to them. I am sure it was such with the couple being married in Cana.
For those newly commissioned disciples of Jesus, a new location was visited. They had just begun to learn at the feet of the Master. Now those feet moved out into the journey of ministry.
We do not know where Jesus will lead us in this life. We may be led to comfortable home with a high profile job. We may be led to a hovel with a bare sustenance level life. We may be led to the flames of a martyrdom. But, we will be moved into a play of ministry.
I know that many will say, �I�m a bank clerk,� or, �I�m a grocery store manager,� or whatever is the task at which the daily bread is earned. The supposed situation is not that of a ministry. �After all,� we are told, �The ministry is for those who are full time in the proclamation of the Gospel.�
The assessment that the ministry is for those who are full time in the proclamation of the Gospel is true. What we too often fail to understand is that all Christians, whether standing in a pulpit or setting in a pew, should be full time in the proclamation of the Gospel. I�ve worked many jobs in my life. I have done everything from pizza delivery to digging graves, and quite a few in between. In those jobs I have seen people would never darken the doors of an organized church. They would, however, listen to me because I was one of them.
The same tools their hands touched would touch my hands. The same time clock they stood behind was the time clock I stood behind. The same lunch room where they would eat their daily meal was the one that I could pray over my food. Rather than looking at me and seeing a �Holy Joe� in an ivory tower cathedral, they saw an �Average Joe� who looked at the same life they saw.
What an opportunity this was! And, what an opportunity you have in your work station, or neighborhood coffee klatch, or a classroom, to stand before others with a life that gives illustration, and a mouth that gives invitation, to the truth that Jesus Christ died in time so that others might live in eternity.
At this point in the chapter a new life was begun. It was a life of togetherness. Whereas before the two in the wedding had been individuals. Now the twain were one.
It is our new life, lived as though it were a new life of dedication to Christ, which will ultimately win the lost. The Spirit will use us in ways of which we cannot dream if we will but allow Him to lead us into the new life of the Christian.
I used to take Linda a bouquet of flowers nearly every week. There was no set �schedule.� It was just something that I liked to do to show her I really did appreciate her and all she did for me. She�s been gone to Glory for nearly seven years now. Still, when I go past the flower display at the local grocery I stop to look at flowers for her.
Why is this?
It is because I have learned to love the one who loved me. I wanted to show that love.
That is part of the new life of the Christian in God. We need to remember that we do love the One Who loved us. We should want to show that love in our obedience to our calling as Christians.
This is, of course, also a love displayed toward the world at large. We may not, in the natural, like some of them. But the love of Jesus in our hearts will reach out toward them with the message of eternal love and eternal life.
This is part of the new life which has begun when we first accept Jesus as our Savior.
This, loving those who we might not like all that much, is part of the new logic of faith which has been introduced into our soul. That logic says that mankind is in the throes of the disease of sin. Mankind needs the only Antidote which will effect the cure. We have found that Cure while others do not even understand their illness.
That Cure has become part of us. That Cure seeks out those who stand in need. So must we. Human logic says that we stay away from the sin cursed; Heavenly logic demands that we call the sinner to Jesus Christ.
A final thing to note is the new distinction. ��and the mother of Jesus was there.�
I want to make a point here about the Protestant denominations. I am a Baptist. The Baptist churches predate the great spiritual upheaval of the Reformation. The Baptist churches predate the Roman Church, for that matter. But both the Baptist and the Protestant churches have too often not given proper respect toward Mary, the Lord�s mother.
For the most part this lower status accorded Mary has to do more with a reaction toward the Roman quasi deification of her than with the Biblical record. Even the angel who appeared unto Mary at the Annunciation greeted her with great respect. �Hail, thou that are highly favored; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.� (Luke 1:28)
Mary was a woman, probably a young teenager at the time, who accepted a very dangerous assignment from God. She was chosen as the vessel through which the virgin birth would occur.
We know all of this. But, do we ever really consider just what could easily have been the consequences of her acceptance of this charge? Had Joseph not been a devout man and, himself, accepted the leading of the Lord, Mary would have been charged with harlotry. She could have been stoned. More likely, in the culture of the day she would have been reduced to status of beggar as no �righteous� man would accept her as an unwed mother. Few occupations would have been available to a woman in her state.
She understood all of this and still accepted her portion.
Her only explanation for her condition would have begun with these words: �Well, there was this angel��
Can you even begin to understand the courage of this woman! We can learn much from her example of devotion in the matter of the birth of Jesus. We can learn much from Mary in her stated devotion to the Lord as we read her testimony to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, as recorded later in that first chapter of Luke�s Gospel.
We can also learn much from Mary even at this marriage ceremony. When a problem arose at the wedding Mary did not say, �Talk to me and I�ll fix it.� She said, �Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.� (John 2:5)
Mary pointed to the power of Jesus. She did not assume the position that she could do anything. She simply said that Jesus was the Wonder Worker.
Likewise, in our own Christian lives, may we never forget that all power resides in Jesus. We are not so smart as to assume that we can attack the citadel of Satan. Even our own spirituality is an impediment when we begin to trust our own �great goodness.� It is only the grace given by Him that can energize our lives to be fruitful in the fields for Him.
Mary also pointed to the Person of Jesus.
Have you ever heard someone say, �What we need today is another Dwight L. Moody.� That is nice and respectful of Mr. Moody. But, it is terribly disrespectful of Mr. Moody�s Savior! We do not need another Moody. We need people who are as sold out to the Lord as was Moody. We need people who are as courageous in the proclamation of the truth of the Gospel as was Moody. We need people who are willing to spend hours in intercessory prayer and Scripture study as was Moody. But, we do not need another D. L. Moody.
We need individual Christians who are willing to stand in the gap with the good news that Jesus Christ died in time so that others could live in eternity. Will you be just one such person?
Mary pointed to the preeminence of Jesus.
We have a church culture today that demands we seek out the wants of the masses to build our attendance. �Give them what they want and they�ll come,� is the mantra of many of the so called �mega� churches.
It is much more to the Biblical point that we offer what people need. The people need to know that they are lost in their sins. To simply �go along and get along� is to grease the skids toward an eternity in Hell! The people need to know that the Bible message is from a Book which God not only inspired in ancient times but has preserved for our time as well. The people need to know that we have a Book that is more than simply the musing of men as they considered their path to Spiritual enlightenment. The Bible is the very message of God to man.
But, most importantly, people need to know that Jesus Christ died in time so that others might live in eternity!
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your own Savior?
Do you know that you are on your way to an eternal home in Heaven?
Trust Jesus to give you that assurance. Ask Him to save your soul on the basis of His Own substitutionary death on the cross of Calvary.
Do it today.