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The Second Sunday After Epiphany
January 17, 2010
The Wedding at Cana

TEXT:  NKJ John 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
 
This is the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry—He has been baptized—He has spent His 40 days in temptation by the devil—and now He attends a wedding feast with His family and His disciples—why is this wedding important to us as Christians?—Jesus is participating in the wedding—this is a demonstration to us that the institution of marriage remains valid in the New Testament—what do we know of marriage in the Scriptures?—we know that God instituted marriage
 
(Genesis 2:18-24 NKJ)  And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." …21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
 
It is important to note that God didn’t make two women and give Adam a choice—God made one woman and the man and the woman became one—nothing has changed since Adam and Eve—marriage involves big changes for both the man and the woman—Scripture provides this most perfect example—Adam gave up his rib for his wife Eve—from that day Eve was a part of Adam—as Adam invested part of himself in Eve (his rib went into the making of his new wife)—marriage today is similar—the man must invest part of himself into the woman he marries—the woman takes part of the man for her new life and her new identity—symbolically and legally this involves the changing of her last name—this is the couple’s recognition of leaving their mother and father and becoming one
 
Marriage was instituted by God the Father—and marriage was ratified by God the Son in the New Testament—He ratified it in our text—Jesus performed His first miracle at the wedding feast—He turned water into wine—can you imagine how honored the marriage couple must have felt?—Jewish historians tell us that the family was poor—and there was not money for wine at the feast—especially not the fine wine made by the Son of God—now what do the Scriptures tell us about marriage and Christ?—first recognize that John the Baptist new Jesus was the Bridegroom promised
 
NKJ John 3:26 And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" 27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' 29 "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
 
In the Old Testament we hear reference to the wedding from Isaiah
 
NKJ Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.
 
New Testament Scripture offers several examples of the marriage relationship of a husband and wife being compared to the relationship of Christ and His Church.  Let’s look at just one that pretty well summarizes the message.
 
NKJ Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
 
Now a proper understanding of love will help us understand a proper marriage—if a marriage does not contain God—there is no love in the marriage
 
(1 John 4:7-8 NKJ)  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
 
Marriage should be honored by all—we are humans and by nature we sin—God will judge each one of us for our sins—but sin within a marriage will be judged harshly because one can cause another to sin
 
NKJ Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
 
As we consider that the Church is the Bride and Christ is the Bridegroom—and we seriously think about the times that we turn away from total obedience to Christ—as members of the Church we are turning away from the Bridegroom—the Son of God—the Christ—if the Church is the Bride—and we turn away from the Bridegroom—we are committing adultery—and God speaks much about adultery in his Word—adulteresses and adulterers were condemned to death
 
(Leviticus 20:10 NKJ)  `The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
 
If we are married to the Bridegroom—and we sin—we are really not being obedient to our Lord—and we are loving the things of this world more than we love the things of God—therefore we are committing a form of adultery—and if we correct the error of our ways—we, the Church in this world, can again walk in obedience and harmony with Christ—or we will be condemned to death—eternal death
 
The other option would be divorce from the Bridegroom—but God hates divorce
 
NKJ Malachi 2:16 "For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one's garment with violence," Says the LORD of hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously."
 
NKJ Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
 
The Word of God is filled with symbolism—we may not fully understand the symbols—but they are clearly there—in today’s text we see Jesus’ ministry beginning with a feast—a miracle takes place at the feast—water is changed into wine—we know that man cannot live physically without water—and man cannot live spiritually without God’s mercy and grace—Christ Jesus the Living Water and the Bread from heaven—offers Himself as a sacrifice for our sins—and our salvation comes through His blood
 
Jesus’ ministry ends with a feast—the Passover Feast—and at the end, Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper—a miracle is performed at that feast—Jesus offers the bread and the wine which are consecrated into His Body and His Blood
 
Jesus’ ministry begins with the sweet miracle wine—and ends with His bitter suffering and death on the cross—with all this as our background—we’ll close with some of the most misquoted and misunderstood words of Scripture
 
NKJ Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
 
Marriage requires constant thought and attention—it isn’t always easy—but it is a gift from God—and its purpose is to constantly remind us of our relationship with God—we the Church are the Bride—and we need to submit to the Bridegroom—Christ Jesus our Lord!
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!