Sermon: "Jesus Breaks With Tradition"
I. INTRODUCTION – WEDDING TRADITIONS
A few weeks ago Pastor Bill had us think about what we like or dislike about weddings. I want us to think about weddings again this morning, and in particular wedding traditions. Here are some we have:
- The groom’s family sits on the right and the bride’s family on the left.
- A reception after the ceremony.
- The bride’s parents pay for the reception.
- The groom doesn’t see the bride before she walks down the aisle.
- Throwing of rice/birdseed.
- Giving gifts.
- Only come if you are invited.
As I meet with couples to help them think about the ceremony, I keep reminding them that it is their wedding – they can do what they want. But it is amazing how similar all the weddings are because most people are reluctant to break with tradition.
Out of curiosity I looked up some wedding traditions from around the world.
In Holland – a pine tree is planted outside a new couple’s home.
In Japan – brides change their bridal attire several times throughout the wedding day. Also in Japan – ducks or geese were included in the processional because they are a symbol of fidelity.
In Italy – a couple shatters a vase at the end of the ceremony and the number of pieces of glass represent the number of years of happy marriage.
These are some interesting wedding traditions.
Our lesson this morning is about a Jewish wedding, and as we read it, some things sound very strange to us because some Jewish wedding customs and traditions are quite different from ours.
I understand, from various sources, that preparation for a typical Jewish wedding, during Jesus’ day, began with a betrothal period or engagement. The length of this engagement varied, but when it was time for the couple to get married, the bridegroom and his friends would process to the bride’s home. This procession was usually at night and the people carried flaming torches for light. There may have been some speeches and words of commitment made at this time.
Then the bride and the groom would process back to the groom’s house where he had prepared a room for them. The guests would all gather at the groom’s home for a feast. It was not unusual for the feast to last a week. The groom was responsible for feeding the people this whole time. It was very embarrassing for the groom and his family if they ran out of food and wine. But this tradition was so serious that apparently a guest could sue the groom if the groom failed to provide enough food and wine for the entire celebration.
This is the cultural context of the story that we’ll read this morning. It is the story of Jesus, his mother, and his disciples at the wedding feast. Let’ read about …
II. THE WEDDING AT CANA
It is very clear that John, when he wrote his account of Jesus, chose specific events to record. He tells us he records them so that we might believe this Jesus is the Messiah.
JOHN 20:30-31 – 30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
We will talk a little later about the words ‘miraculous signs.’ But knowing this about the stories John records, causes us to look at them on two levels. We must see them as real events in history – they actually happened. We must also try to understand what John wanted his readers to understand as they heard the stories. So here is the story …
JOHN 2:1-11 – 1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9and 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 10and 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.”
11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
This story has several puzzling statements for me as I read it.
1. What was the role of Mary, Jesus’ mother, and Jesus?
Apparently they were invited guests and yet Mary seemed to take some responsibility for the success of the feast, and implied Jesus should do the same. In fact, their whole conversation is puzzling.
2. Jesus’ response to his mother is puzzling, and in some translations even seems harsh.
King James Version (KJV) vs. 4 – “Woman, what have I to do with thee. Mine hour has not yet come.”
That doesn’t sound like the Jesus I know in the Bible. And then he proceeds to help in the situation. So is it time for him to help or not?
3. What about the stone water pots?
Was Jesus looking around frantically, kind of like MacGyver on TV and thinking, “How can I improvise and get us out of this jam? Oh good, there are some large stone water pots. This is going to be really good.” Or are they more significant than that?
4. Why didn’t the servant tell the master of ceremonies where the wine had come from and make a big deal about Jesus’ amazing miracle?
It reads like he tried to keep it a secret.
JOHN 2:9b – He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
5. How did Jesus reveal his glory?
It sounded like the master of ceremonies spoke to the bridegroom privately.
JOHN 2:9c – He called the bridegroom aside.
There were no bright lights, no angels singing in the sky, not even a voice from heaven, just the comment that the disciples put their faith in him.
At first glance this story raises more questions than it provides answers. So let’s take another look at it.
III. JOHN’S STORY EXPLAINED
We must be careful that we don’t try to offer explanations that are not clarified by John, or read things into this story that John never intended. For instance, we don’t know exactly why Mary took responsibility for helping the groom’s family. But we do notice something significant about the relationship between …
A. JESUS AND HIS MOTHER
First let me say that in the original language, Jesus’ response is not a harsh response. Jesus was not being a sassy child. The word he uses here to address his mother is the same word he used when he hung on the cross and tenderly gave his mother over to the care of the Beloved Disciple.
JOHN 19:26-27 – 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” 27and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
It is the same word he used to address Mary Magdalene at the tomb.
JOHN 20:15-16a - 15“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
So this should be thought of as a tender, rather than harsh moment.
And yet still Jesus had to make a very significant point to his mother. Remember, John is using this story to show Jesus beginning his public ministry. And from here on out his relationship with his family – even his mother, must change.
Look at Luke 2, the account of Jesus as a boy in the temple and his parents came looking for him.
LUKE 2:48-51 – 48When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Here we see Jesus submitting to his parents, but what happens as Jesus begins his ministry is the same thing he calls his disciples to do. Jesus discussed the cost of being his disciple and says to the crowd …
LUKE 14:25-26 - 25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.
Don’t think of the word “hate” here as one might use it when in an argument – “I hate you!”
Jesus means that his disciples must love him even more than they love their own family members.
When Jesus began his ministry he had to make it clear to his mother that his allegiance and submission must be to his Father in heaven ahead of his own family. That was a break with tradition, considering the strong family loyalties in Jewish families. But it was a necessary break. Jesus never asks us to do anything he is unwilling to do himself, so he shows us the way in putting the will of our Heavenly Father ahead of family traditions and loyalties.
I believe many a Christian, and myself included, has failed at one time or another to follow the prompting or leading of the Holy Spirit into an act of service for God because we have loved our families more, or we have been afraid to buck the family traditions. This should not be.
It doesn’t mean we can’t associate with our families or even help our families. Jesus proceeded to help his mother out.
John doesn’t tell us what other words were exchanged between Jesus and his mother, or what looks or gestures were exchanged. But it is obvious that Jesus’ mother expected he would do something to help in the situation, and so she told the servants … “Do whatever he tells you.”
Why should she expect this? Because she has seen him do other miracles as some scholars want to suggest? No, John is clear that this is his first miraculous sign.
I believe it is because she had seen a very clear characteristic in her boy, as he grew up. She probably did not understand fully who Jesus was, but I am sure she knew the Psalms and probably suspected that they applied to Jesus in some way.
PSALM 145:14-17 – 14The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. 15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. 17The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he had made.
PSALM 146:5-9 – 5Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them – the Lord, who remains faithful forever. 7He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The first application of this story to our lives is very simple and must not be missed.
Jesus cares about what is going on in your life and my life. He sees and knows the big things, like a death in the family, or devastating news that you have cancer. But he also cares about the not so big things.
Things like – “I need to clean the house but my vacuum just stopped working.” “I’ve go to get to work - but the car tire is flat.” “That habit my husband has frustrates me, but I’m afraid to bring it up.”
There are a myriad and one little issues everyday that concern us and at times get us into a state of worry and fear. John says to us this morning; like the Psalmist … “You are in a good spot – wherever it is, if your hope is in the Lord your God, and you will do whatever he tells you.”
You can’t go wrong because, “The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.” – that is in submission and pleading for God’s help. Moving on then to …
B. JESUS AND THE STONE JARS
JOHN 2:6 – Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Without going into complete detail about this whole section, there is a very significant detail John shares with us.
“Stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing.”
John isn’t explaining this to the Jews at the wedding – they knew what the jars were used for already. He is explaining this to Gentile readers.
Jewish religious ritual required that everything be washed before eating. Mark sheds some light on this.
MARK 7:1-5 – 1The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”
At a big feast with lots of people, lasting a week, there would need to be a lot of ceremonial washing.
These jars, and the water in them, would need to remain strictly off limits for anything but this religious ritual. Sadly the people thought they would be acceptable to God if all they did was follow this religious ritual.
Mark records Jesus’ words about this type of thing.
MARK 7:6-8 - 6He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”
At Cana, Jesus breaks with tradition again. He has the jars filled with water – not for a worthless ritual – but rather to show that he wants to replace dead religious rituals with a real relationship with him that is best described as the life of the party at a wedding banquet – the best wine the master had ever tasted.
I am not suggesting for a moment that we should stop doing our church services and replace them with drinking parties.
But John is showing us that if we just go through the motions of a religion and call it Christianity, it needs to be replaced with genuine relationships with Christ that are validated by the relationships we have with one another.
Again in Mark, Jesus describes characteristics of a life that can be religious but really have no relationship with God at all.
MARK 7:21-23 – 21For from within, out of man’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’
We can go through all the religious rituals and still have hearts like this. We can gather for church, prayer meetings, Bible studies, put money in the offering plate and still be unclean before God. Are any of those things in your heart? Jesus wants to change all that.
If we are just religious, we will want things. When we are filled with Jesus – he will give us something far better – contentment.
If we are just religious we will want control and influence. When we are filled with Jesus – he will give us something far better – the liberty and desire to be servants.
If we are just religious we will want revenge. When we are filled with Jesus – he gives us something far better – the ability to forgive and be reconciled to our brothers and sisters.
Not everyone gets this – it doesn’t make sense and isn’t even desirable to some people – but if you taste it you will find it to be the best wine you ever could imagine. You will find that when Jesus helps you break free from your religious habits, he will fill your life to the brim with joy, peace, contentment, compassion and love.
Now, in case you are looking for a bolt of lightening from the sky to usher in these changes in your life, lets look at …
C. JESUS AND SIGNS
JOHN 2:11 – This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
The New International Version (NIV) is a little misleading when it uses “miraculous signs.” Miracles tend to arouse wonder. Miracles are hard to explain. Miracles are often considered demonstrations of divine power.
God does all those things. They are necessary, at times, but people are often so enamored with the miracle that they miss the one who performed the miracles.
John actually calls this episode a sign, not a miracle. He uses a word that means: to signify, to indicate, to make known. A sign, as John uses it, is not an end in itself, but it points to a person beyond the sign.
John doesn’t want us to be awed by the power that can instantly change water into the best aged wine. John wants us to see God at work in the activity of Jesus and conclude that Jesus really is who he says he is.
There is no question that signs, as John uses them here, are from God and they point to God.
So when Jesus “revealed his glory” (vs. 11), there was no bright light and thunderous voice – rather his glory was that he looked like God by the way he behaved.
Jesus saw a human need. He saw the human inadequacy to meet that need. And so he met the need in an overwhelming, overflowing way.
The disciples responded with, “This man must be from God.” So this sign wasn’t as much a marvel as it was a demonstration of the nature of God at work.
If we will look around us, we can see situations transformed.
A marriage falling apart and God restores the love and trust between the husband and wife.
A man or woman totally controlled by an addiction and on a path that is destroying them – is released from the addiction and is now living with self-control and a hunger to know God better.
A family torn apart by jealousy and bitterness – the family members not even speaking to each other – then God intervenes and fellowship is restored.
This is the type of work God does. When we see it we are not to marvel at those people getting themselves straightened out, we are to see God’s glory and we will find our faith and trust in him growing.
CONCLUSION
What have we learned from this story of a wedding at Cana?
- Following Jesus means putting God’s will ahead of everything – including our strong family loyalties.
- Jesus cares about what is going on in your life.
- Jesus wants to exchange our tired religious habits for a vibrant satisfying relationship with him.
- As we see God at work in our lives and other people’s lives, our faith in him will grow.