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INJ
St John 2:1-11
'The Best for Last'
Morning Service
2nd Sunday after Epiphany | January 14, 2006
Dear Saints,
Every Sunday we keep finding Jesus in surprising places: in a manger, then in the temple in the arms of Simeon, then in Mary's lap surrounded by wise men from far away, then (twelve years later) in the temple again, sitting with the teachers (Mary and Joseph never expected Him there). Now, another eighteen years later, Jesus is in Cana at a wedding.
There with His mother, a few of His disciples, and the rest of the party. And this, then, is the setting for the beginning of Jesus' miracles, the first of the signs, the first ray of His glory coming over the horizon. The Dawn has come, the Sun is here, and His glory and His goodness is shining on them all.
This is, it seems, just a normal wedding, but whenever Jesus is there nothing is normal or ordinary. When the wine runs out, “I'll just let Jesus know,” Mary says, “Everything will be alright.”
But His time is not yet. Three and a half years He still has until His time would come, until the hour of His trial and abandonment and dying, but see how it is with Jesus: He looks with compassion on His mother, on the people, and something as trivial as “they have no wine” calls down the assistance of Almighty God.
Then follow the last recorded words of the Virgin Mary, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” That's good advice from Mary, “Listen to Jesus, no matter how strange the command, no matter how odd it seems to you, listen to Him and do what He says.” These words still ought to echo through the Church, “Whatever Jesus says to you, do it.” This, indeed, is how we are His followers, His disciples, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” “If you love Me,” says Jesus, “You will keep My commandments.” All of our own ideas about how things should go, about what is right and what isn't, about what's best for us, for the church, for the service of God in the world. All of these things must be thrown out, our consciences become captive to the Word of God; we simply do what He tells us.
And look what comes of it. There are six stone water pots, set aside for purification, for the cleansing that never cleans. They are filled up with water, and when the water is brought to the steward of the feast it is wine, 120 to 180 gallons of wine, that's somewhere between 600 and 900 bottles of wine, of the finest wine, so good that the steward comments, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then that which is inferior; but you have kept the good wine until now.” The best is saved for last.
What do we make of this first sign, of this turning water into wine?
First, Messianic expectation... The Rabbis used to speculate about what the time of the Messiah would be like, and one said that one cluster of grapes would yield 10,000 bottles of wine. But look, the Messiah has come and there is no need for grapes.
“Behold,” says the prophet Amos, “the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.” [Amos 9:13-15]
Indeed the day has come. Jesus is the promised Messiah, and the kingdom of God has come among men. This is the Messiah who would make all things right by His suffering and whose dying would bring the forgiveness of sin and His kingdom and life everlasting.
Second, the turning water into wine shows how Jesus does all things in abundance; there is an excess and lavishness to His provision. There is no way that the small village of Cana could consume all that wine in a day, in a week. Perhaps 20 or 30 gallons would have been enough, but not with Jesus. With Jesus there's 12 baskets full of leftovers after the 5000 have been fed. With Jesus there is extra manna and quail lying on the floor of the wilderness. With Jesus David prays, “My cup overflows.” More than enough, always some to go around. That's how it is with our Jesus, when He comes giving life, it's full life, eternal life. When He comes giving the forgiveness of all our sins it really is all of them, none left.
Third, with Jesus there is no ritual hand-washing, there is no being pure through the law. Look, all the water for purification is now turned into wine, the old ceremonies have found their fulfillment in Jesus, not the laws and requirements are replaced with the mirth and joy of sin forgiven. “It is not what goes in a man's mouth that defiles him, but what comes out.” Jesus is washing the heart, or better, taking our hearts of stone and giving us hearts of flesh, He's cleansing and purifying our conscience in the waters of holy baptism. Now the traditions, the outward pieties invented by men come to nothing, now there is rejoicing in the Gospel of the forgiveness of all our sins.
Last, unlike men, Jesus saves the best for last. The steward of the feast points this out. “Everyone gives out the good wine first, then, when the taste buds have been numbed and you can't tell the difference you put out the cheap stuff.” But Jesus saves the best for last.
We are, I'm afraid, given to thinking that the good comes first, and that everything is getting worse. We remember the good ol' days, and, looking back, think, “It's all downhill from here.” There is in the heart of every person a tendency toward the nostalgic, but not with Jesus.
“But pastor, I'm getting old. My life hasn't worked out like I wanted it to. Things were better when we were young.” Look , with Jesus, the best is yet to come. He saves the best for last.
Dear saints, your future is full of the Lord's promises, promises of life and salvation, the promise of the resurrection from the dead and a new body, a perfect body free from the stink of sin and death, the promise of eternal blessedness as we will all stand together before the face of Jesus and give Him all glory and honor and praise. The good things that the Lord has saved for last are unspeakable, unimaginable, and they are for you, for all who trust and hope in His promises.
And so, dear saints, we don't look back. Imagine Mary at the Cana wedding, “We've run out of wine. Remember, Jesus, when there was wine at this wedding, those were good times.” No, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, the one who endured the shame of the cross for us and our salvation, we look to Jesus who is our hope, and with Him the best is yet to come. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO
