The Sign of the Son - a podcast by Lewis Marsh

The Gospel of John 1-7, Pt. 3

The Sign of the Son

By Louie Marsh, 5-2-2021

Intro:

Signs

The 5 Man Electrical Band

lyrics as recorded by The Five Man Electrical Band in 1971

 

And the sign said, "Everybody welcome. Come in, kneel down and pray"

But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all, I didn't have a

penny to pay

So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign

I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me. I'm alive and doin' fine."

Wooo!

 

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind

Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

 

5 picture Slides, last one the gas pump!

 

The story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana is found only in the Gospel of John.

 

1) I need to PAY ATTENTION to the Sign!

 

“11This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11, ESV)

 

John said that it was through this “sign” that Jesus revealed his glory for the first time. John saw glory in Jesus. Glory is a big word meaning honor, dignity, and splendor. These words point to the deity of Jesus. It’s interesting how quietly this miracle took place but how many divine attributes of Jesus can be seen.

 

• Focusing on whether there was alcohol in the wine is an ABUSE the text.

 

2) Jesus shows me I must live HONORING others.

 

“1On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”” (John 2:1–5, ESV)

 

Some say Jesus did this miracle simply to appease his mother. Or, as some have put it, he obeyed her. But Jesus was an adult and was no longer subject to her authority. To this, they may respond that he was honoring her. Or could it be that she exhibited faith with her words, “do whatever he tells you,” and he honored her faith? Either way, we see honor.

 

3) Jesus shows me His way is always COUNTERCULTURAL.

 

“6Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.” (John 2:6–7, ESV)

 

Jesus had the servants fill the ceremonial washing jars, which were used for washing the outside of the body according to the law, and refilled them with something inside the body. This demonstration is just the beginning of his counterculture teaching. Over and over he would come to challenge the ways of the religious leaders, and the thinking of the people.

 

“8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8, ESV)

 

4) Jesus shows me His unmatched AUTHORITY.

 

8And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.” (John 2:8, ESV)

 

In changing the water into wine, Jesus demonstrated his authority over all things down to the molecular level. Some argue he didn’t turn water into wine but into grape juice. This is simply ridiculous, but just to humor such criticism, it takes a miracle for either transformation to occur. Water doesn’t change its molecular makeup without the authority of the Creator.

 

Dr. Cliff Lewis explains:

 

At a molecular level, the water, basically hydrogen and oxygen, was changed into wine that contains sugars, yeast, and water, which contain carbon and nitrogen along with oxygen and hydrogen. Thus, by changing water into wine Jesus demonstrated his authority over even the atomic structure of atoms by commanding oxygen and hydrogen atoms to disassemble and reform into other atoms of different configurations.

 

 The amount of energy it would take to perform this atomic deconstruction and reconstruction is staggering. This intermolecular energy being released is the source of the explosive energy from an atomic bomb. However, since Jesus caused the wine atoms to come back together, he would have to put this astronomical amount of energy into the atoms in order to have them reconstruct. To do so without any visible energy transformation of the liquid (John does not say anything about people noticing the transformation) indicates a mastery of natural law far beyond our current comprehension. And he accomplished it with no physical exertion.

 

5) Jesus shows me His unmatched POWER.

 

“9When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”” (John 2:9–10, ESV)

 

Changing water into wine requires demonstrating power over time and space. Wine requires many processes that cover a long period of time. The growth of the plant. The maturation of the grape. Harvesting the grape. Treading the grapes into juice. The aging time required for fermentation. Great wine takes a long time to ferment. Jesus bypassed the entire timeframe in moments, which only God can do.

 

6) Jesus teaches me to trust God not PEOPLE.

 

“23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:23–25, ESV)

 

“26Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” (Proverbs 28:26, ESV)

 

“8It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. 9It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” (Psalm 118:8–9, ESV)

 

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