The First Sign

Order of Service

• Hymn — Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
• Call to Worship — Psalm 113:1-9
• Hymn
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Luther's Small Catechism (Second Article)
• Scripture Reading — Acts 27:21-44
• Hymn — Though Troubles Assail Us
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Hymn — Like a River Glorious
• Sermon
• Hymn — Nothing But the Blood
• Benediction — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

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Sermon Title: The First Sign

Scripture: John 2:1-12

I. A Sign That Points to the Authority of Jesus

A. The miracles of Jesus are demonstrations of his divine authority

1. Authority over demons, creation, and the elements — the disciples' response in John 2:11 is awestruck belief in the presence of divine glory
2. The servants witnessed the miracle but did not believe; only the disciples believed and followed him to Capernaum (John 2:12)
3. Miracles are not mere spectacles — they demand a response of faith and submission to Christ's lordship

B. Jesus's exchange with Mary reveals the nature of his authority (John 2:3-4)

1. "Woman, what does this have to do with me?" distances Jesus from any earthly direction of his ministry — his actions are governed by his heavenly Father alone
2. This echoes the episode in Luke 2:49 when the twelve-year-old Jesus said, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
3. Now baptized and inaugurated into public ministry, Jesus submits only to his Father as he treks toward the cross

C. Mary's response models what Scripture calls stubborn submission to the Lord's authority

1. Rather than walking away dejected, Mary tells the servants, "Do whatever he tells you" — she binds herself to his authority
2. This pattern recurs throughout Scripture and the Gospels: Andrew and the unnamed disciple (John 1), blind Bartimaeus, the persistent widow, the Canaanite woman, Moses interceding for Israel, Ruth clinging to Naomi
3. Godliness is a stubborn, relentless, and persistent submission to the Lord's authority — even when his providence frowns upon us

II. A Sign That Points to the Kindness of Jesus

A. The social and legal stakes of running out of wine at a first-century Jewish wedding were severe

1. Wedding feasts lasted several days (often seven); providing wine and food was the bridegroom's family's responsibility
2. Failure meant social disgrace and potentially legal action from the bride's family — the family faced both shame and poverty

B. Jesus's miracle transforms shame into honor and poverty into abundance

1. The master of the feast's words — "You have kept the good wine until now" — signal a complete reversal of the bridegroom's situation
2. Jesus's miracles always carry a personal touch; his transcendent power is not used to distance himself from us but to draw us into himself

C. This reflects the character of God revealed in Exodus 34

1. When Moses asked to see Yahweh's glory, God passed by and showed his goodness, grace, mercy, and steadfast love
2. Jesus came to do in flesh and blood what God had done only in wind and voice — his glorious power is displayed in the most personal of ways

III. A Sign That Points to the Joy of Jesus

A. Wine throughout the Old Testament symbolizes joy and abundance

1. Six stone jars for Jewish purification — together holding over 100 gallons — are filled to the brim, emphasizing overflowing abundance
2. Jesus does not merely remedy the situation; he goes above and beyond, providing the best wine (cf. the feeding of the five thousand with its leftovers)

B. This first sign announces the arrival of the Messianic age

1. In John 1, Jesus has been established as the Messiah; his first public act fittingly occurs at a wedding banquet
2. Old Testament prophecy pictures the Messianic age as a marriage banquet with freely flowing wine — Hosea 2:16, 19 ("You will call me my husband… I will betroth you to me forever") and Isaiah 25:6-8 (a feast of well-aged wine, death swallowed up forever)

C. The joy of this sign is grounded in the cross

1. Jesus's words "my hour has not yet come" (John 2:4) point forward to the hour of his death; the only other exchange between Jesus and his mother in John occurs at the crucifixion (John 19:26), forming a bookend around his public ministry
2. The jars chosen are jars of Jewish purification — pointing to the hour when Christ pours out his blood that truly purifies; the old covenant purification rites, which could never take away sin (Hebrews), give way to the new
3. The sweet wine of celebration comes only after Christ tastes the bitter wine of the Father's wrath; the abundance of joy for us comes through the abundance of sorrow for the Messiah
4. At the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19), we will see the nail marks on his hands and know why our hearts are flooded with everlasting joy — the best wine, the pure blood of the new covenant, shed for the remission of sins