Water Into Wine

Water Into Wine

(John 2:1-11)

Yearly Theme:  “Kindness is… Astounding”

Series Title:  “Kindness 24/7”

September 10^th, 2023

Something to think about:

According to Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner, “Vincent van Gogh noted that a life geared toward avoiding mistakes will be mediocre; those who would achieve greatness must be prepared to fail.  If we would warn our children away from investing in doomed efforts, we would simultaneously warn them away from investing in their own development and partial achievements.”

Mediocrity is a beast that most of us fight throughout the course of our lives.  Maybe it’s because we lose steam as we grow older, maybe it’s because we’ve believed the disparaging things that people have said to us about ourselves, maybe it’s because of nagging insecurities that we’ve allowed to hold us back from doing what seems impossible, or maybe it’s because we’ve grown all too accustomed to merely going through the motions and routines of everyday life that we don’t believe there is more to life than “this.”

But we don’t start off life this way!  From birth through about the pre-teen years, life is anything but mediocre.  Life is exciting and full of anticipation.  Every day is a learning experience full of possibilities and adventures.  The sky’s the limit!  Things like clouds in the sky become objects of wonder.  The wind on the face is truly a breath of fresh air.  The colors of rainbows, birds, and trees in Autumn are sights to behold and not merely distractions to pass by.  For a child, life is anything but mediocre.

As we consider the life of Jesus (specifically His miracles) over the next several weeks in our series entitled:  Kindness 24/7, we will be exploring the extravagant and exceptional side of GOD’s kindness through Jesus.  We will see how Jesus’ life was anything but mediocre, and how He approached people and situations with a sense of love and compassion through kindness in action.

Today we come upon the very first recorded miracle of Jesus in the Gospels:  Turning Water Into Wine.  Let’s take a look:

Turn in your Bible to:  John 2:1-11

Key Point:  “True acts of kindness are not mediocre, but exceptional.”

Let’s look at a few factors of the exceptional nature of the kindness of Jesus in this miracle:

• Jesus’  at the wedding at Cana was an expression of His  to celebrate life.

John 2:1-2 (NLT),  The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee.  Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 

• Jesus’  to His mother was a gentle reminder of what His life’s  was.

John 2:4 (NLT),  “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied.  “My time has not yet come.”

• The way that Jesus  this miracle was a clear indication of the  to which He was called.

John 2:6-10 (NLT),  ⁶ Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing.  Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons.  ⁷ Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.”  When the jars had been filled, ⁸ he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.”  So the servants followed his instructions.

⁹ When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.  ¹⁰ “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said.  “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine.  But you have kept the best until now!”

Something to take home:

Pastor, Missionary, Author, and Seminary President, the late Avery T. Willis, Jr. wrote:

“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed.  I have stepped over the line.  The decision has been made.  I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ.  I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.  My past is redeemed, and my future is secure.  I’m finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

“I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity.  I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.  I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, live by prayer, and labor by His power.

“My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable and my mission clear.  I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed.  I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

“I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.  I am a disciple of Jesus.  I must go ‘till He comes, give ‘till I drop, preach ‘till all know and work ‘till He stops me.  And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.”

Like Jesus at Cana, may our kindness drive us out of mediocrity and into the exceptional life of abundance in Christ.  May we become like little children again and live a life full of wonder and adventure.  May we be willing to get out of our ruts and do something with the grace, mercy, and love that GOD has so freely given us.  Let us give as freely as we have been given, let us love as we’ve been loved, let us live a life of exceptionalism for Christ, and never look back!  For we are the children of GOD, and He’s called us to walk with Him in the High places.

Key Point:  “True acts of kindness are not mediocre, but exceptional.”