jesus and his mother

Do our requests influence Jesus?
INTRODUCTION
First miracle (SIGN) performed by Jesus in his ministry. Now if you were here last week, we spoke about Nathanael and how he would see heaven open up on Jesus, as Jacob’s ladder foretold and now we see the transforming power of God’s love bursting upon the present world
Water…lots of water, 150 gallons possibly, are turned into a wine that is exclaimed to be the best ever. Around this miracle is weaved a conversation between Jesus and his mother Mary as he is making the shift from a son of a Jew to the savior of the world. What is the message to us from the text? God is saying to these people and through the centuries to us the following:
• “I am interested not so much in your requests as in your faith.” God is not with us to meet our needs and we he wants us to make the shift to believe whatever He says for us.
• “I am ready to do not so much what you expected but far more than you imagined.” This
is an assurance to us that He is interested but also will respond greater than expected.
• “I am committed to break into your world not so much for your happiness but far more for my glory.” He is not here to fulfill our agenda

Imagine and out of them Tap comes beer. That’s what happened to Haldis Gundersen Western Norway. She told reporters she thought it was a
"Water to beer miracle." mistake in the plumbing—someone downstairs at the Bar hooked the beer hoses to the water pipes to Gundersen’s apartment.
And while Haldis was getting beer from her tap those at the bar were not so thrilled, as they were getting water from their beer taps. Asked if the turning water-to-beer was a blessing, she responded—not much— the beer was flat.
IN JOHN 2, however, we find a water to wine incident that turned out to be a real miracle (read 2:1-11)
The story turns sideways in places--prompting a host of questions
-why did Mary feel responsible for the lack of wine—was she the caterer?
-why was Jesus so abrupt in His response? Was He being a party pooper?
-why did He reject His mother’s request—than proceed to do it? Did she give Him that look?
-why did Jesus use ceremonial cleansing jars rather than just fill up the wine containers?
The reader is left with a simple story that has a deeper meaning and significance -above all else--what is God saying to us in this story, in this conversation between Him and His mother, that just might change our lives?
Right away we notice this exchange took place in the context of a wedding
The wedding took place in Nathanael’s home town, Cana,
-and while weddings are nice
-weddings were like our weddings, baptisms, 21st, 5Oths, golden weddings all rolled into one in ANE culture, all the village would be invited, all the neighbouring villages too, which is why Mary and Jesus are there,
-Weddings brought celebration and joy to a rather mundane existence
-There would be a public procession and merriment that often stretched out a week or more lots of free food and wine—time off from work
In this case--the appearance of servants suggests it might have been a high-class ceremony
-Only the bridegroom might have been cheap--they were running out of wine
-Which—in a culture where hospitality is everything—would have been a huge embarrassment -a major social faux pas, the family would have to live with the shame of it for a long time, the bride and groom might regard it as being bad luck for their married life, even a possible lawsuit
-w/o wine—the wedding falls flat—the joy vaporizes—the party ends
It all prompted a conversation between Jesus and His mother-read John 2:3
When the wine had given out, Jesus' mother said to him, "They are out of wine."(GNT)
It’s not clear what she expected did this represent a mother waiting for her resourceful son to do something? Was it a woman who perceived in her son divinity—time to do your God thing Jesus?
APP-All of us find ourselves in this conversation—we’ve had it often with Jesus
-we are the worried Mary—things are not going right here—and Jesus needs to fix it –our world is like this dried up party—fill the emptiness
And Jesus’ response is not what we anticipate
-but then His response to our requests can be perplexing as well
-there is an obtuseness—yet a directness 2:4
"You must not tell me what to do," Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."(GNT) -Jesus lit says-What is it to Me? What is it to you woman?
There is a seeming callousness and coldness in these terms
-“Woman, what does their problem have to do with me or you?”
But when we dig for clarity-we discover that Jesus is not speaking about their relationship to this wedding crisis—so much as their relationship with each other!!
“What is it to me, to you” was an idiom of the day that communicated this idea—
-What it is to you and what it is to me are two different things Let me illustrate with shopping what it is to me and what it is to my wife are two different things
-the other day- Donna and I were at tesco—we rarely go together—for the sake of our marriage -for me—it is a list, sales, speed (I actually time it) -for her-it is meander, talk, experience, try something new, time to enjoy
Here--Mary and Jesus saw the situation differently -she takes-“since we’re neighbours let’s be friends” seriously
For Mary—it was social crisis, a potential embarrassment, someone’s miscalculation- and Jesus needed to be informed -for Jesus-He understood the need
For Mary-it was about family responsibility, for Jesus-family definitions had changed
The language of “WOMAN” was intentional, things are changing Mary can no longer presume on the family tie
-for “family” has been redefined—His family is His disciples those who are His mother and brothers are now those who do His will- Mk 4:34
For Mary-it was doing her will—meeting her expectation—that her subordinate son—the oldest—will be resourceful -will find a way—and in the end—make her happy
for Jesus-the governing will of His life has changed from her to His Father in heaven -He is here to act on the authority of His Father-fulfill His purpose -He will not do ministry on other people’s terms
for Mary—it is time, for Jesus—it is not the time
-His ministry will have its moment in Jn 13:1-the hour has come—the Cross, the resurrection, the glory -the wedding in heaven-the consummation of the Bridegroom and His people, the church- the day will come when the symbol of blessing—wine--will drip from the mountains and flow from the hills-Amos 9:13 but not yet—not today
It was a critical moment in the conversation and you wonder where things will go from here how would Mary respond to these perplexing--even painful words?
-vs 5 tells us "Do whatever he tells you."(GNT)
On the surface—they could be understood as a mother who will nonetheless
have her way -but could it be these words declared just the opposite?
-this is Mary--pausing-reflecting—shifting -something had changed in their relationship
Illus-dad and me
Here-it was more than a shift in this parent-son relationship
-Mary was moving from an expectant petitioner to submissive believer -from seeing Jesus as subordinate to Jesus as Master No longer her will—but His will
-From “what I would like” to “whatever He says” -she will trust everything now to Him and Mary will now fade out of the story
But while the conversation ended—the story did not faith has been expressed—Mary has placed her trust now in His will -and Jesus always responds to these things
One can hear Him say--come on Nathanael—let’s see heaven open up
-let’s see something of the reality of GOD’S PRESENCE—something of the glory of God
-LET’S MAKE UP THERE COME DOWN HERE!
-for he is God who responds to faith
1-SO Jesus BLEW APART THEIR TRADITIONS-vss 6-7
-Jesus will not refill wine containers-John wants us to see this-vs 6
-He used the jars—those used for ceremonial washing -for the washing of utensils—the fulfilling of ritual washing regulations -symbols of Jewish law, custom, purification And Jesus did the unthinkable -He transformed these vessels of purity into containers of wine, God was doing a new thing in the old system, bringing purification, but in a new way, for Israel for the world
2-Jesus BLEW AWAY THEIR EXPECTATIONS
-150 gallons of wine—that should be enough—like about 900 bottles of wine -and not just any wine -not some cheap wine-but the best—wine served at the beginning-when palates are most discriminating and guests most impressionable—this wine that was anything but flat
No wonder-vs. 11 declares—it all amounted to a sign—all amounted to His glory
-Something of the kingdom of God was manifested-that broke all the categories
of possible and impossible - the kingdom of grace had begun
-The astonishing thing is that most were looking straight at the glory—and didn’t see it
-The servants missed it, the wedding party missed it -the master of the banquet was oblivious -and the bridegroom apparently was so distracted he could only but take the credit for whatever happened
So what is God saying to us in this conversation?
1-I AM INTERESTED—NOT SO MUCH IN YOUR REQUESTS—AS IN YOUR
FAITH
-it’s trust I respond to
-it wasn’t until Mary moved from her will to God’s will that something happened
-it’s the same with us
-like Mary-we usually tell God what is needed -but He will not conform to our will— or BE GOVERNED BY OUR DESIRES
-He is not here to meet our needs, fit our time frame -He is here to do the will of the Father—and respond to a faith that says—“whatever you say”
He is also saying 2-I AM READY TO DO—NOT SO MUCH WHAT YOU EXPECTED--BUT SO MUCH MORE THAN YOU IMAGINED
-when we have the faith to make the same shift Mary made -to lay our needs before Him and say—whatever you want -to avoid our attempts to tame Him (Aslan)
-we find not only that He is interested in the ordinary —the simple conundrums of life -interested in our dilemmas -He will do far and away more than we could have expected -blowing away our traditions, outstretching our imagination
And God is saying today to us 3-I AM COMMITTED TO BREAK INTO YOUR WORLD—NOT SO MUCH FOR YOUR HAPPINESS BUT GIVE YOU LIFE IN ALL IT’S FULLNESS—BUT EVEN MORE FOR HIS GLORY
-He is breaking in—do we notice? -His kingdom will not only come—it has come
-but when it breaks in—it is all about Him—not us-it is for His glory--this is why we exist—the universe exists -Christ does not exist to make much of us—we exist to make much of Him
CONCLUSION The transformation from water to wine shows the effect Jesus can still have today on people’s lives today, He came to give life and LIFE TO THE FULL, transformation only came when Mary said “do whatever he tells you” will you do whatever he tells you? Despite the failures and the disappointments of the past, will you do whatever he tells you?
REALISE HE WILL NOT DO WHAT YOU EXPECT BUT MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE
RECOGNISE THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS HE IS IN CONTROL AND HE HAS A PURPOSE TO TRANSFORM YOU AND GIVE YOU LIFE TO THE FULL
REMEMBER WE EXIST FOR HIM, NOT HIM FOR US
RESPOND IN FAITH, DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO AND EXPERIENCE HIS TRANSFORMING POWER