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Subject 16 : The Gospel According to JOHN
[Chapter 2-5] We Can Taste the Blessings From God Only If We Obey the Word of God (John 2:5)
(John 2:5)
“His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’”
Jesus Was Invited to a Wedding Feast
If we look at the Word in John 2, we see that Jesus was invited to a wedding in Cana, a town in Galilee. Jesus attended the celebration with His disciples, and Mary, His mother on earth. The wedding feast was most likely very crowded with guests, as the servants became distraught because they had run out of wine. “What should we do about this? There are so many guests here. What should we do?” At this moment, Mary said something amazing. She said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5). Mary is telling the servants this with Jesus in mind.
As you know, Jesus is not the Son of Mary in the spiritual sense. Jesus temporarily utilized the body of Mary as a means to come into this world. In Luke chapter 1, we see that an angel appeared to a Jewish virgin one day and said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28) That virgin was Mary. “Blessed Mary! A baby will be born through you. Name Him Jesus.” Obviously this did not make any sense in a worldly sense. So, Mary replied, “How is such a thing possible? I do not know men. How then can I give birth to a child?” However, Angel Gabriel said, “Your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant through the Word of God. Through your body the Savior baby Jesus will be born.”
This was the fulfillment of the Word of God through Mary, prophesized by Isaiah some 700 years prior to the birth of Jesus. Thus, after hearing everything, Mary accepted the Word delivered by the angel in her heart and said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Mary gave birth to baby Jesus 9 months after the Immaculate Conception. When the baby Jesus was born, the three kings of the orients came as well as shepherds. The angels from Heaven sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14) Mary experienced many of God’s wondrous works. Thus, Mary knew that Jesus was the Son of God, although He was born through her. Because of that, Mary said and believed, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5) when the wine dried up. Mary could say this because she had faith in Jesus in her mind and also because Jesus was sitting next to her.
“Whatever He Says to You, Do It”
Today, I am trying to tell you a very simple yet profound message. I am trying to explain why Mary said, “Whatever He says to you, do it” and how it was possible for Jesus to tell the servants what He said.
Mary correctly knew the Messiah, who had come to deliver the entire humanity from all its sins. Put differently, she knew that this Jesus was not a mere human but God the Savior who had come in the flesh of man. She knew that He was God. Thus, she could say, “Whatever He says to you, do it,” and at the very moment, Jesus heard what Mary had said.
The Palestine area where the Jews lived is a desert area. Because of this, they wore sandals and covered their faces and their heads with clothes and hats. They did so because there is a lot of dust in that area as well as strong sunlight. Because of the dust, every house of those days had water jars full of water in front of their entrance doors. When guests came, servants were sent out quickly to present a basket of water to wash their hands and feet.
At the front door of the house at Cana where the wedding took place were also six large water jars. After hearing Mary’s request, Jesus commanded the servants as follows. “Fill the jars.” Then, the servants filled up the jars as Jesus told them to do. With much effort, they filled up the six jars to the brim. Then, Jesus said, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” The servants drew out some of it and took it to the master of the feast.
When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, he called the bridegroom and said, “The usual custom at feasts is to bring out the good wine first and then bring out bad wine later. How is it that the wine gets better at this house? How is this possible?” The only people who knew the answers to these questions were Jesus, Mary, and the servants. It is written that the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew (John 2:9).
Dear fellow believers, what is God trying to tell us through this account? In our faith in Jesus as our Savior, it is important for us to know who Jesus really is. Who do you think Jesus is? What do you believe in Him to be true? This is the first step in our faith. We believe in Jesus. Yet, who is this Jesus? Do you know Him to be a mere human? Or is He one of the four sages of the world history? Or do you know Him to be merely a person with a great character? Is He a knowledgeable person? Or is He a patriot? Is He a revolutionist against the traditional religions? Is He a scientist, novelist, or an artist? Who is Jesus to you?
Today’s Scripture passage of John chapter 2 is about the first incident in which our Lord revealed His divinity after coming to this world. Jesus had many discussions with the Pharisees and He had preached on many things after He received the baptism from John the Baptist, but only now did He reveal His divinity for the first time.
The servants filled the jars with water because our Lord had told them to do so. Then, they drew the water and took it to the master of the feast just as they were told to do. The master of the feast tasted the water that was made wine, and said, “Wow! This is great wine! Who kept this good wine till now and is only now giving it out?” In this way, our Lord has shown a miracle through the water.
What do you know about Jesus? The meaning of the name “Jesus” is the One who will deliver His people from all their sins (Matthew 1:21). Then, who is Jesus fundamentally? He is the Son of God. Whether He is the Son of God or the cousin of God, let’s leave it at that from our limited human perspective. What I am asking is who Jesus is fundamentally.
When we look at something, don’t we ask ourselves what it is at its fundamental level? Whether it is a plant or an animal, don’t we have curiosity in our hearts to know its original nature? Just the same, we have curiosity about who Jesus is. Jesus is God. He is God the Creator of this universe and everything in it. He made not only me or you but also all plants, all animals, this earth, and the entire universe.
Jesus said to take the water to the master of the feast after filling up the six jars with water to the brim. The servants took the water to the master of the feast just as Jesus told them to do. Then, they came to find that the water had changed into good wine. Dear fellow believers, is it possible for such a miracle to take place? It is apparent that all magicians in this world use illusions. However, that Jesus turned water into wine is a matter of fact. Only Jesus can turn water into wine and give it to us. What I am saying is that there is no other Savior to us except Jesus Christ.
Who is Jesus? He is the true God who has created you and me and also delivered us from sin. If we look at the Scripture passage in John 1:1-3 carefully, it states who Jesus is in very clear terms. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3).
Who made this beautiful flower that is in front of us? All things were made through Jesus as it says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). The pronoun “Him” refers to Jesus Christ, who delivered you and me from all our sins and created the universe and everything in it. Without that Jesus Christ, everything that exists could not have come into being. Through Him, everything in this world was created.
Dear fellow believers, in Genesis 1, when our Lord said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth,” and it was so (Genesis 1:11), it shows God’s power and authority to do everything only through His Word. He created seeds, which bore vegetables, and then created trees that bore fruits. When God spoke His Word, “Let there be seed bearing vegetables,” seed bearing vegetables came into being. It is as simple as that. It is impossible for us to do, but it is easy for God. As our Lord spoke, so it happened in the exact same way.
The power of the Word of our Lord that created the world is still in effect. That is why even now the grasses and trees do not cease to exist. Rather, they grow wherever each of them is habitable, whether it is in the mountains or in the fields. When man does construction, they go in with bulldozers to flatten an entire mountain. Yet, the next spring, new life comes up anew in the same place. And in another year, the whole place is covered with grass and trees, although no one has sown the seeds. There is great power in the spoken Word of God that His works are still taking place throughout all the ages.
Hence, our Lord said that the world may disappear but His word will last forever without alteration. Because the spoken Word of our Lord is still with us, the living creatures in this world are still around. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe” (John 1:3-7).
Dear fellow believers, last time I shared a message about John the Baptist. Today I tell you that Jesus is the life of this world. He came to give us new and eternal life by recreating and renewing the souls of those who were destined to die because of their sins. Jesus came to blot out all our sins and include us with the righteous according to the will of God the Father. Because John the Baptist witnessed about our Lord, who came with that purpose, we are able to meet Jesus by that witness of John the Baptist. We received our salvation because we believed in Jesus. John the Baptist was not the Savior. He was a servant of God who witnessed about Jesus.
In John 1:10-12, it says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Verse 14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The God who had made the world through His Word in the beginning came in the flesh of man to deliver us from all our sins. As our Lord came into His own world, His own people did not receive Him. But, He gave whomever that accepts the Lord and believes in His name the right to become God’s own children.
Who is this Jesus to us? He is God the Creator of the entire universe. Everything was made through Him. And the same God who created everything came to this world in the flesh of man to deliver you and me from all our sins. And when He received the baptism, He took onto Himself all sins of the entire humanity, and then, when He was crucified on the Cross, He delivered you and me. Thus, we have received the remission of sin through this Word of Truth.
Who is Jesus from our perspective? He is God. He is a God, who turned water into wine. When they did as God told them to do, it was done exactly as He intended. Mary, Jesus’ mother in flesh, told the servants to obey Him, and Jesus Himself also told the servants what to do. The servants merely filled up six jars to the brim. Water was filled to the top of the jars. Jesus told them to draw from it and take it to the master of the feast. The servants took the water to him as they were told.
The master of the feast was amazed at the new wine. The guests were also astonished and must have said to the master of the feast, “Master! This is quite amazing. Master, you are doing a great job with this feast. Truly, I have never seen a master of a feast like you. Usually, people bring out their best wine first and then later inferior wines diluted with water. However, you bring out the better wine later. You are an incredible person. Quite precious.” The guests were patting the back of the master of the feast in commendation. However, I’m sure the master was confused because he had no clue on what was going on. The master did not know where the good wine came from, but the servants knew exactly what was going on. They knew very well that a miracle took place when they did as Jesus told them to do.
Even Jesus’ own disciples at first followed Jesus thinking that He was just an honorable man. Later, they realized that He is not an ordinary person, and that He had awesome power to solve every problem they had. The disciples started to believe from then on. All of us who have received the remission of sin believe that Jesus is God. And Jesus truly is God. Jesus Christ is the Creator God who made the universe and everything in it.
The word “Christ” means the King of kings, the God of gods. Jesus is the anointed One, the Prophet, the High Priest, and the King of kings. Who is the Creator of the universe and everything in it? He is Jesus Christ. This very Jesus Christ came to this world in the flesh of man and delivered us from all our sins. Thus, when we believe in that Jesus Christ, we receive the complete remission of sin. Because Jesus who was God came to this world in the flesh of man to deliver us from all our sins, we receive the remission of sin when we believe in Him. When we believe in the Word He spoke, we indeed believe in Jesus.
Jesus revealed His divinity at that moment. There is another thing we must come to recognize in our hearts and know. That is, they received true joy when they did as commanded by His Word. Although the command did not make any sense to the servants, a miracle took place when they obeyed as they were told in faith. God is telling us this very Truth.
Dear fellow believers, we struggle day by day to survive in this world until the day we die. That is life. Am I right or not? Some people resist dying on their last breath, saying, “No, I cannot die! I won’t close my eyes!” They die with their eyes open, and someone else has to close their eyes for them. Regardless of how stubbornly a person protests his own death, everyone stops breathing eventually. We can only live and die naturally in this way. Still, if we believe and obey the Word of our Lord, we are told that we will taste blessings of a life full of joy.
Dear fellow believers, what does our successful life look like? How can we succeed in our lives? We must know the truth about Jesus Christ. And we must believe in Him. We must believe in Jesus who is God, and we must be born again by receiving the remission of sin in our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By believing in the baptism Jesus received and in the blood He shed, we will receive the remission of sin. Only if you believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, will God cleanse all of your sins away.
You must also listen to and obey the Word of God, if you have received the remission of sins in your hearts by believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. If you do so, you will taste the amazing blessings of God. If God is telling you thus, you should believe and follow it as such. Although you cannot realize the gospel of the water and the Spirit on your own, you can hear the Word of God preached at the church of God. When the Word speaks so, you should listen and believe and obey. When you do so, you will surely receive the remission of sin.
We now live righteous lives because we have received the remission of sin at the church of God. In the church of God there are saints. Although there are many saints in the church of God, not all of them taste the miracles of God. Then, who are the people that experience the blessings from God like the servants in the today’s passage? Those who obey the Word of God and who believe and follow the instructions exactly experience the blessings from God. This is true even if the Word may not make sense at the time, like the servants who filled up the water jugs faithfully. God’s followers will experience amazing miracles and blessings like the servants did, and they continue to experience this throughout their lives.
Dear fellow believers, don’t you want to live in this world tasting the miracles at the church of God and receiving the remission of sin? I really hope that all of you can become like these servants. Although the servants really did not know anything, they experienced the miracle because they did as they were told. Because they did so, the servants found out who Jesus really was. Regardless of what Jesus tells us to do, we need to believe that if we do as He tells us, things will follow according to His plan. Even though the master of the feast did not know what had happened, the servants knew what was going on. We should have faith like that of the servants in today’s Scripture passage.
Dear fellow believers, if we desire to live truly blessed lives, we need to become men and women of faith. What kind of faith? We need to have the faith in the Word of God. Believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must also be the people of obedience to God. Dear fellow believers, if you believe that the church of God shares the Word of God, listen and follow the instructions and preaching of God’s servants, who are your predecessors of faith. If you believe and follow the Word of God, you will experience many blessings of God, both big and small. In order to teach us this lesson, our Lord recorded these events in the Bible.
Dear fellow believers, we need to believe that Jesus is God. Furthermore, we need to also believe that Jesus has become our Savior. We need to believe that Jesus is our Pastor. We need to believe that the Word of Jesus is Truth. We need to believe that these blessings are bestowed only upon those who believe and obey the Word of Jesus. I hope that all of you have such faith. Receiving the remission of sins is not the end of our spiritual journey. We must also receive the guidance of God in addition to the blessings from God after we have received the remission of sin. We must grow into such people of faith. I hope that all of you can become such believers. Dear fellow believers, I hope that you truly live your lives in true faith.
Look at the servants of the wedding feast. Although it did not make any sense in their own minds, they filled up the jars with water to the brim just as Jesus had told them to do. And they drew from that jar and took the water to the master of the feast just as they were told. Don’t you think that the servants’ hearts would have been uneasy? They could have doubted and said, “Damn! If this doesn’t work there will be a lot of people making a scene today!” What would have happened if the guests really received water when they were expecting wine? If the water had not turned into wine for real, all the servants would have been in deep trouble that day. Jesus would have been embarrassed as well as His mother.
Dear fellow believers, our Lord was God of power and authority who took care of the problem of wine shortage with a single Word. I encourage you to believe in that Jesus as your God. We must live by our faith in God. What is impossible with human efforts can be solved if we are guided by the faith in the Word of God as we lead our life of faith in His Church. When we believe in and follow Jesus, we experience His blessings and power in our lives. I hope that God will give you the blessing of faith in the Word of God. I hope you will experience your spiritual growth and the amazing blessings of God day by day as we read this Word.
It is the human philosophy to live stubbornly without God. Regardless of how much a person relies on himself, all man is limited. Life is walking on four limbs when we are born, two when we are in our youth, and three when we grow old. There is no true progress in life. However, God did not work like that. The only true way prepared for us is to be born again by believing in His Word. To believe in God’s Word of Truth is to believe in God. We should not believe in strange dreams, visions, or illusions. We sometimes hear odd sounds when our hearts grow weak. All are distractions and are useless.
Blessings come from our faith in the written Word of Truth. You will be born again when you believe in the written Word of God. You will be blessed according to the Word when you believe in the written Word. God recorded what happened in the past in order to meet with us through this Word. That’s why God has recorded all of His Word through the prophets of the Old Testament times and the disciples of Jesus of the New Testament era. Throughout all the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, Who appears? Throughout these entire 66 Books of the Bible, Jesus Christ appears. Every single Book of the Scriptures is connected to Jesus Christ.
We have to believe in the written Word of God. When we believe in the Word of God, we believe in God, we meet with God, and we receive the blessings from God. That is because our Lord has come to us through this Word. Our Lord is God of the Word. Dear fellow believers, do you believe this? Yes, you do. I exhort you to believe.
Dear fellow believers, keep your faith and pray for the nonbelievers while leading them to God. According to your faith, come to the church of God and listen to the Word as often as you can. You will taste and experience the amazing miracles when the Word abundantly fills you up to the brim of your hearts.
Dear fellow believers, the greatest blessing in this world is to be born again by the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Bible says that we should not live by bread alone but by the Word that comes out of the mouth of God. There is nothing sweeter than listening to the Word of God. The second blessing to those who have received the remission of sin is the blessing to hear the Word of God.
When we listen to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit within us fills us in strong agreement with the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, which is the Word of God. “That’s right! Right indeed!” The Spirit is encouraging us to have faith in God’s Word.
I hope that you will really believe in the Word of God and truly obey Him like the servants did. When you do so, you will receive the blessings from God for the rest of your lives.
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