WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT
#858 WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT
Scripture John 2:1-12 Orig. October 17, 1989
Passage: 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,[a] 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.[b] 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, 9 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 the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Purpose: Continuing a study of the gospel, here calling attention to Jesus’ beginning of appeals to his disciples for their faith.
Keywords: Bible Study Miracle Series, John Christ, Glory
Timeline/Series: Bible Study/John
Introduction
This is not to be a treatise on or against the use of beverage alcohol. If it were, I would use some other text. This passage has a much deeper, much more lucid meaning for us to grasp.
But I will give you a testimony. I will remind you that alcohol remains the true nemesis of our times. I grew up in a home where it was the principal source of strife. The absence of it frustrated my father, the presence of it was my mother’s strongest antagonist. I can still remember times in young childhood when my dad was picked up for public drunkenness. It was not a difficult decision for me to make to decide that my children would not have to struggle with that, nor their mother. I contend, to this day, that leaving the use of beverage alcohol out of my life has cost me nothing, and gained me much. That’s all I have to say on the subject.
Let us now get back to what the text does say. Let’s see that when Jesus and his disciples (Andrew, James, Simon Peter, Phillip, Nathaniel, and John) arrived, Mary was already there. She may have been an official part of the proceedings, a hostess, if you please. It could well have been a kinsman who was the groom. Some say John himself. For instance, the women who come to the garden tomb to prepare the body of Jesus are identified. One is called Salome (in Mark). Matthew mentions another woman, without naming Salome, and calls her the mother of Zebedee’s children. They say, then, that Mary and Salome were sisters.
Mary’s responsibility in the household was certainly official. She saw that the refreshments were gone, and that embarrassment was ahead.
I. So, Jesus Has Begun His Earthly Ministry. V1 “The third day was a marriage in Cana, of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there.” The form of the verb “to be” suggests station. It is imperfect—she has been there all along. Jesus came at her request. Six extra guests didn’t deplete the wine. His purpose was to define his role for the disciples.
The groom made his choice, makes arrangements, and has come to his father’s home, or to his new home. His guests waited there. Her guests entered after their return.
Mary reports to Jesus the embarrassment of having run out of wine. This is fermented juice of the vine. Without refrigeration, it’s the only alternative. I remember when Ann opened Welch’s grape juice out of an unplugged refrigerator.
Mary’s direct comment to the servants suggest some official position. Wealthy or poor cannot be derived. It is important that we note Jesus’ presence at ordinary events. Jesus was not an ascetic like John the Baptist. Luke 7:34 “The son of man came eating and drinking, . . . a friend of publicans and sinners.”
A comment must be made relative to the miraculous in Jesus’ ministry. Remember, John calls it a “sign” (sémeion) as he does throughout. John also uses numbers with significance. “And the third day” concludes a description of the first week. He has revealed six disciples, a number for incompleteness. Interestingly, there will be mentioned six waterpots.
Also, John selects only seven miracles. There were 35-40 in the gospels. Several are reported by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Five of the seven only John records. Here; healing the nobleman’s son (John 4); making the lame man walk (John 5); feeding the 5,000 (John 6); calming the storm (John 6); restoring sight to the blind man (John 9); and raising Lazarus (John 11).
II. He Begins This Earthly Ministry Coming to the Rescue of a Bridegroom in Distress. Undoubtedly, he has put his seal on the institution of marriage. Nearly every marriage ceremony affirms this. I would remind you that marriage is of divine, not Christian, origin. The institution preempts expensive ritualism and legal documents. Marriage is commitment to another person and to a divine mandate.
Mary calls upon Jesus to offer aid. Remember the status of her faith. She was chosen. She is celebrated in the Magnificat (Luke 1:47), “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
The aid he has come to offer is to define his Messiahship. He “manifested forth His glory” (v 11), that “his disciples believed.” The answer given to Mary is not as sharp a rebuke as it sounds. She is already called “mother of Jesus,” though this is the FIRST sign Mary knew her son. She may well have known John the Baptist’s identification of Jesus. She would conclude that “His time had come.” The hour of public assertiveness is on hold in concern for the disciples.
By the way, “woman” (gynaika) is exactly what he called her from the cross in John 19:26.
III. There Is a Spiritual Meaning Here Open to Each of Us.
V3 “They have no wine.” When the wine runs out, when that upon which all else depends is gone, what do we do? When life’s exhilaration vanishes, where do we go? He decided to provide the wine, but the true miracle is the message delivered to his disciples. To the six: “What will you do when the exhilaration turns to exhaustion, execution?” To all of us: “To whom (what) do you turn ‘When the wine runs out’?” Surely you have experienced it. The sun hides, birds hush, songs die. Life’s elixir becomes tainted. What do you do “when the wine runs out”?
It is in this context, then, that Jesus works a miracle. He instructs the workers to fill the six waterpots. 2-3 firkins would be 25-30 gallons. Water was always identified with purification (i.e., salvation). Isaiah 44:3 “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty.” 53:12 “he poured out his soul unto death.” 55:1 “He poured out his soul unto death.”
When the waterpots were filled to the neck, to the brim, it was not enough. Stone pots filled represent law. Filled, they suggest that now the law has been filled full. There was a stone pot for each of the six disciples. Six means “not enough,” incomplete. What do you do when the wine runs out? When all else comes up short? A hundred gallons of wine makes for a happy wedding, but who can make it happen?
F.W. Boreham (T47.8p209) quotes the old violinmaster to his pupil “before you have finished the world will do one of three things with you. It will make your heart very hard, it will make it very soft, or else it will break it.” When exhilaration becomes exhaustion, when the wine is gone, what do you intend to do? Jesus still holds the answer.
A final comment must be made on verse 10. “Thou hast kept the good wine until now.” Where but in Christ does exhilaration follow exhaustion? The world insists the best be used first. Beauty spends itself for maturity. Youth surrenders in time to age. And the world counts them losses.
The believer who stands by his faith sees it become. Jesus said to Nathaniel in John 1:51 “Hereafter.”
The choicest blessings of marriage await the exhaustions of time.