(John 2:7)
�Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them to the brim.�
Up until this point, as we have been looking at this second chapter of John�s Gospel account, we have seen narrative.
As a self described writer, this is something that is very hard for me to write. I have no real ability at writing narrative. That is one of the reasons why I am not a very good writer. Most of what we are able to recall in our lifetime has something to do with speech. We may recall a party because someone said something nice, or evil, about us. We may recall the things that a teacher has either told us or written to us on a returned test. We may recall another event because of what our minds voice told us as we experienced the details.
But actions, except those to which we voiced either silently or with our mouths, are harder to recall. So it is that words make up a very important part of our experience and life.
But, it is the acting upon those words which fill the days of our lives with real meaning. We may tell our spouse that we love them, and they will appreciate it. But when we give them flowers, for instance, for no other reason than to show that love we are bringing true meaning to those words which we have uttered.
Today we are privileged to see this story in action.
It is action that gives real meaning to our words. Those flowers are a picture of that. So, also, is the act of actually forgiving one who has wronged us that gives meaning to the phrase, �I am sorry.� So also is the act of standing by a friend in a time of his trial an indication that we mean those words which have expressed our friendship.
We might go so far as to say that witnessing to others about the Love of God is an action which gives meaning to our phrase, �Lord,� when we approach the Throne in prayer. After all, what kind of faith do we picture when we refuse to follow the leading of the Lord in our lives. Such is a faith that only wants and never really loves.
That may be painful for us to admit. But, folks, you know it is true!
The first thing I want to look at in our text verse is the fact of the word delivered. �Jesus saith unto them...�
Wouldn�t that be a real privilege, to have the Lord of Glory actually speak with us!
He does speak with us. That is the simple meaning of inspiration. Inspiration simply means that the very voice of God speaks to us through the pages of His Words. Sometimes we overlook the power of this fact. This Book which we hold in our hands is not simply a record of what God has said in the past. Inspiration is the act whereby The Eternal gives to us His very words.
As such, this Book is, Itself, eternal. This is God speaking to man past the barriers of time and from the portals of eternity. This is why these Words could give comfort to the martyrs of those first centuries of the churches existence. This is why these very same Words can give us comfort and leading here in the twenty-first century - and beyond if the Lord tarry His coming.
This is also why these Words can never be, and could never have been, lost from the hearing of the faithful in the churches which Jesus established. The Words are eternal as they emanate from the very will of the Eternal Lord of Glory. Written down by men, to be sure; but written down from the very breath of God as His special message to all humanity in all ages.
Notice that the words which Jesus spoke to these servants were words of personal instruction. He told them what they needed to do in the situation in which they were placed.
In preaching, and in writing, I�ve often likened the Bible as an instruction manual for the daily lives of real human people. I have a owner�s manual in the glove box of my car. It was put there by the manufacturer of that automobile. They made that vehicle and know, certainly better than nearly anyone else, what it is that will obtain optimum performance from that car.
That�s not hard to understand. It just makes sense.
Likewise, God is the Original Manufacturer the entire human race. Some mechanic, somewhere, may find something that the automobile manufacturer has overlooked; he may be able to �tweak� the engine to produce more horsepower. It�s possible. But, no one could possibly have more information about the workings of humanity than God. God not only made the race of men, he made the natural laws which govern our life on this planet. We need to listen to His guidance if we are to ever be able to be all we can possibly be as human beings.
That is only in the natural. Just try to imagine how much more we need His guidance if we expect to live to any potential in our spiritual lives. This, the spiritual life, is something that we can never fathom because we have no means to experience what this means from our own eyes and understanding. As beings whose lives have always been lived in the physical, and so also are the lives of every person we know on this earth, we are blind to these spiritual realities. We need the leading of the Holy Spirit as He leads us into that which we would never understand on our own.
I had a brother in law who was sightless. Whenever he accompanied me into a room in which we�d never been, he would take my arm so that I could guide him safely. If we can understand this in our natural lives, how much more should we understand the need to be led of the Spirit in our spiritual lives. The Spirit leads us, firstly, though the revealed Words of God in His inspired and preserved Scripture.
We need this personal instruction because it is a productive instruction.
When the servants in our text verse were willing to follow the instruction of Jesus they were able to witness a miracle beyond what they were able to consider beforehand.
Remember that this was an actual event. So often we will look at these stories from the Bible and imagine that they are little different from the other stories we�ve heard from childhood. Folks, these ain�t fables. These are facts which happened in history. We are called to learn from the experience of others, not from their simple yearnings. These incidents actually happened!
Consider the situation of these servants. The wine was gone. The mother of Jesus said, �It�s O.K., guys. He�ll take care of things.� Then, the first thing Jesus told them was to fill the water pots with water. My first thought would have been, �Well, I guess that water will work if we�re out of good wine.�
Imagine the surprise, and great joy, of these servants when they tipped the water pots and found good wine where they had expected to find, in this time frame probably not too good, water.
Jesus can still do more for us than we can ever think or imagine as we follow His Words from His Book. Live the Christian life style as set forth in God�s Holy Word. You will find spiritual peace as you are drawn near the Savior. And, what glories may await you are limited only by the unlimited grace of our loving God.
God has given us a preserved instruction.
The old adage is true: God did not write that we should build an Ark as did Noah. But, God did record that incident for us to consider as we walk in our present day life. What did Noah expect to see? He labored for forty years to build this Ark. He endured the taunts and threats of his neighbors and friends as he built this Ark. He went to bed tired and woke up with the task still before him, but with no real vision of what was to actually transpire. What did Noah expect to see?
It wasn�t what Noah expected to see that was important. What was important was what God saw. God saw that Noah was faithful to the task, even when, to Noah, the task must have seemed hopeless and endless - and futile in some ways. Nevertheless the task was completed simply because Noah was faithful to his God.
That is the same thing which God asks from us in this day! That is the same thing which God asks from us in any future days. That is the same thing which God has always asked from His people; He asks that we be a faithful people who trust a Faithful God. He will give us the results which He has prepared. He will bless faithfulness with fruitfulness. The �fruits of the Spirit� are ours as we follow His preserved Words. �For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.� (Ephesians 5:9)
Notice, also, that this was a word defined. �...Fill the waterpots with water...�
Jesus gave to these men a specific task. He did not ask that they change the water into wine. They could not have done this even if He had so ordered. All Jesus asked was that these servants do that which they were able to accomplish.
The call to complete the simple task which Jesus had requested was a preparation for service. These servants were to have a part in a great miracle. I know, some will scoff and say, �Great miracle? All He did was make wine out of water.� If your attitude is that this is not a great miracle, just try to replicate it!
This was a mighty miracle which could have been accomplished only by the power of God. It may seem like a small thing, a parlor trick by a part time magician. This was no magic act! This was no slight of hand! This was the calling into existence those elements which were not previously in existence.
Water and grape juice may share some similarities. But, they are not the same thing. In the grape juice are elements which are not present in water. I do not even begin to believe that Jesus needed the water in those water pots in order to perform this miracle. This was the Lord of Glory, the Great Creator of all that was, is, and ever will be. �All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.� (John 1:3)
I have heard people say, �When did Jesus ever claim to be God.� They are denying the divinity of the Savior. In John 8:23 Jesus plainly said, �...Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.� This was a claim of Deity on the part of Jesus.
Claiming something means nothing. I could claim that I was the world�s greatest athlete. I could never back up that claim and would be shown to be either a delusional braggart or an insane person if I claimed that as fact.
The same could be said of the claim of Jesus in John 8:23 unless He could prove His claim to be true. Folks, creating wine where there had only been water was a proof of the Divinity of Jesus Christ. It took creative power to accomplish this miracle. Jesus proved that He was not just another human on this earth. He proved that He was from Heaven. His creative act proved that He was God incarnate.
The water was for the servants sake. They were allowed to share in the wonder working power of The Eternal.
WOW!
Wouldn�t it be wonderful if we could be put in that position? Jesus asks that we do what we can, not what we can not. He calls us to witness of the Truth that Jesus died in time so that others could live in eternity. He calls us to pray Holy Ghost power into the lives of lost humanity so that they will respond to His message of love and salvation. He calls us to trust Him and witness His power displayed when we simply respond to �fill the water pots.�
We do not have to be great theologians. We do not have to be possessed of great powers of persuasion. We do not have to do anything other than that which we can do. He does the rest.
As we are prepared for service He provides the provision for service.
Jesus could have simply said, �Get some water.� That would have left some questions in the minds of those servants. How much water? Was the water to be in something or should they just �grab a handful?� What did He mean?
Jesus didn�t leave these men with questions. He said to fill the water pots.
In the same manner Jesus does not leave us with questions as to how we are to serve Him.
�And [Jesus] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.� (Luke 24:46-48)
Jesus didn�t just tell us to be witnesses. He told us that of which we are to witness. Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead. People need to repent. Sins need to be forgiven. We are to preach this message, in His Name and Power, everywhere. Lest we not understand that �among all nations,� He said to begin at Jerusalem. Jerusalem is where those people were standing when He gave the marching orders.
In other words, we are to begin to witness where we are and then to continue to witness wherever we go.
Simple. Understandable. Doable.
Jesus gave the preparation for our service when He saved our souls. Jesus gave the provision for service when He indwelt our lives at the point of salvation. Jesus also gave the prediction of service.
When Jesus said, �Fill the water pots,� what do you suppose He expected to happen? He expected those water pots to be filled with water.
When Jesus said, �Ye are witnesses of these things,� what do you suppose He expects to happen? He expects us to be witnesses of these things.
When I was in the army I was often asked to do something by a person who outranked me. That was just about everyone! They may not have said, �I order you to...� But it was understood that this was the meaning of the request.
Folks, do we owe Jesus any less response than we would give to another human who just happened to have one more stripe on his arm? No!
If we are the recipients of His salvation, purchased by the agony of the cross, we owe Him our respect. If we are willing to call Him, �Lord,� we owe Him our allegiance. If we are humans who were sinners headed to an eternity in the pits of Hell until He called us to be followers of Him, we owe Him the simple courtesy of following the request He has made of us.
It should be a matter of simple expectation. It should be a matter of simple obedience. It should be a matter of simple gratitude. It should be simple part of our nature.
Did you ever stop to think about your breathing. Just do it. Hard to stop thinking about it, isn�t it. But, in reality we are going to breathe whether we think about it or not. I never tried it with my children, but I�ve been told that when a child says, �I�m going to hold my breath until I die,� just let him hold his breath. If he doesn�t stop, he will eventually pass out and begin breathing. That is just the way the body is made.
Our bodies should be made, those of us who have accepted Christ as our Savior, to simply follow Him. We may think about it from time to time. But, this just slows down our response. It is better to simply be in such a state of yieldedness to Him that we will just follow Him, and His dictates, as a matter of course. This is simply a healthful spiritual life.
Too many of us are not healthful and need to be put on a respirator.
That is a sad fact because we are called to salvation and service.
Notice that these servants did not have this problem of not following the dictates of the Master. We see His word done. �...And they filled them up to the brim.�
We often try to �hedge� our witness. The old story is told of the boy who went away to college. When he returned home after his first semester, his parents asked, �Did anyone give you any trouble because you were a Christian?�
�No,� he replied. �No one even suspected that I was a Christian.�
Isn�t is a sad commentary on the general state of Christians that this is an accurate picture of our walk in the world of life?
These servants at the wedding were not inclined to do things half heartedly. When Jesus said, �Fill the water pots,� they filled them all the way to the brim.
What a picture this is of what we need to be as Christians! We need to not only live our lives as active Christians; we need to live those lives to the fullest of our abilities as witnesses of the fact that Jesus died in time so that others could live in eternity.
That is service to our Lord and Savior. That is service to our fellow human beings. That is, glory to God for even the consideration, service to our own lives and souls as we will be drawn closer to Him.
The careful preparation of these servants was also a complete preparation. They filled the water pots as full as it was possible to fill them. They didn�t just settle for obedience. They went on until they had complete obedience.
At what point have we served Jesus enough that we can go on vacation from that service? Folks, it ain�t ever going to happen. We need to be constantly serving our Lord.
When I was a child I used to ride a bicycle to a small town about three miles from my home. On my way back to my home there was one hill that had been quite easy to traverse going to this town. It was downhill going out. Coming back it was uphill. A big hill. A steep hill.
Do you suppose that I rested from my pedaling when I was going up that hill? Of course not! What would have happened had I tried to rest, and believe me I surely wanted to rest on the way up this hill! Had I rested I would have slowed to a stop and, eventually, began to slide backwards. This would have made the climb even harder than it would have been had I continued to pedal.
That is a good illustration of our Christian walk. We should probably say �Christian climb.� That is what we are doing. We are constantly, or should be, climbing higher in our Christian life as we draw near the Savior. When we cease to attempt to draw nearer to Him we will tend to �back slide.�
�Backsliding� is a good old theological term that is somewhat out of favor in our day. That doesn�t make it outdated. If you have ever been closer to Jesus than you are at this precise moment, you are backsliden. You might not like to hear that. Well, deal with it. It is true.
Start pedaling! Get back to that joy you once felt in fellowship with the Lord. Don�t ever allow yourself to be further from Him. Our goal, our very joy in our salvation, is dependant on being ever closer to Him.
As these servants filled those water pots to the brim they were becoming ready to see a coronation of preparation.
A coronation is a ceremony which marks the beginning of official service of an earthly monarch. In essence, a coronation marks the beginning of something rather than the ending of a thing.
The closer we draw to our Savior, the more we will realize the need to continue to draw ever closer to Him.
The real �action� began in our text verse after the servants had done all they were asked to do by the Savior. It was after this point that they saw the full majesty of His miraculous solution to their problem.
We have talked quite a bit, today, about the need to stand in a place of service to the Savior. I might ask, have you ever come to the place of salvation? Are you born again by the mighty acts of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary? Have you accepted Him as your Savior?
I have bought many bus tickets in my time. I have traveled throughout this nation on busses. Never did my trip begin until I gave the ticket to the driver. You may believe that Jesus is able to save your soul. You may believe that Jesus is the only means of salvation from sin and peace with God. You may believe that Jesus died and rose again for your salvation.
Well, you�ve found the ticket. Isn�t it time to get on the bus. Give that ticket of your life to the Savior and accept Him as your own Savior. That bus, with the itinerary already planned and set, is really pretty useless to you until you get on board.
Accept Jesus today and begin your own trip to a Heavenly home.