Matt Chandler - New Wine

Well, good morning! If you have your Bibles, go ahead and grab those. We’re going to be in John chapter two, not chapter one any longer. We’re moving on into chapter two, where we’ll look at the first eleven verses. I want to give you a little picture of where we’re heading. The next three chapters in the Gospel of John share a common theme; they are structured to communicate a simple and singular truth. It’s a truth that’s hard for us to grasp, so Jesus approaches it from a multitude of different directions in the hopes that we can understand it. If I could borrow from Paul to explain John, what we’re going to hear about and see over the next three chapters is that the old has gone and the new has come. That’s it! That’s the singular message that the Gospel of John is going to try to implant in our hearts and minds: the old is gone, and the new has come. I’ll highlight some of that today in verses 1 through 11. We’re going to see that the ritual purification system of the Old Testament has been replaced by new wine. Relax, Baptists, I’ll explain! Alright, it’s been replaced by new wine. Next week, we’ll see that the temple has been replaced by a resurrected Lord. After that, we’re going to get an exposition on new life, new creation, and then we’ll see that God’s people are sustained not by Jacob’s well but by the living water of Christ himself. From there, we’ll look at worship, which is no longer about place but about person. We’ll see that the true worshipers won’t worship in Jerusalem or here at Azama, but the true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. In all of this, we’ll observe that when John says Jesus was full of both grace and truth, he’s exactly that. By beholding Him and seeing Him, we will become more like Him. Right? So that’s where we’re going! But for today, let’s look at this text. John chapter 2, I’m going to start in verse 1: On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with His disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, «They have no wine.» Jesus said to her, «Woman, what does this have to do with me?» Does that make anybody else cringe a little bit? Maybe we were raised differently. Janet would slap the taste out of your mouth if you talked to her like that, and if she didn’t, you could count on big Steve—that’s my dad—coming off the top rope out of nowhere and snatching your soul! So, let’s talk about this text because you might be wondering, «Did He really just say that to His mom?» Maybe y’all grew up with parents who said, «I want you to sit here and think about how you talk to me.» That’s just not the house I grew up in, alright? I’m grateful for y’all’s. Here’s what happens: Jesus said to her, «Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.» His mother said to the servants, «Do whatever He tells you.» Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, «Fill the jars with water, ” and they filled them up to the brim. He then said to them, „Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.“ So they took it, and when the master of the feast tasted the water that had now become wine, he did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. The master of the feast called the bridegroom and 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.“ This is the first of His signs; there are seven signs in the Gospel of John. This is the first sign Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and He manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. After this, He went down to Capernaum with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples, and they stayed there a few days. So, as I said, we’re going to see the old being driven out and something new replacing it. I think there are things in this text that are unique for us to consider as Christians. If you’re wondering what I’m up to today, let me just tell you: Christian, non-Christian, if you’re a Christian, what I want to try to convince you of, what I want to remind you of now, is that the ritualistic purification system has been replaced with the new wine of the kingdom. I want you to rejoice and be glad in that! And if you’re not a Christian, what I want you to hear is the invitation to newness of life. If you’re tired of your life, there’s great news: there’s new life waiting for you! So, there you go! I’ve got no secrets now. That’s what I’m trying to accomplish. There are three things that are new in this text that begin to shape and mold us as the people of God who are in Christ, and I want to highlight those. Here’s the first: There is now in Christ a new nature when it comes to our relationships.