Living Water and Flowing Wine - Longing and Light Advent Bible Study Episode 3

This week we’re headed to John 2, and we get to peek in on Jesus’ first miracle, with the recognition our Jesus is the Living Water and flowing wine.

Note the word that this miracle (along others we see Jesus perform!) is called in scripture – a SIGN. This will clue us in to how John wants us to see this story. Let’s see what we can take away about the God who came to earth as a baby, as we see Him interact with His earthly mother. As you start, take a moment and read John 2:1-12.

Here’s a reminder as we dive in today: Jesus comes, yes, for physical needs, but those are always pointing us to our truer, deeper spiritual need.

Just like when He provided food for the crowds following Him, He wasn’t just making sure they had a filling lunch, when He makes wine from water, He’s not just helping the wedding guests have a nice time. (See Psalm 34:8 – taste and see the LORD is good!)

Remember, John writes so that we might know who Jesus is and believe, to be saved! John Piper says this, “He wants to reveal the glory of Christ to us. And he wants us to receive the grace of believing. So it would be perfectly in accord with John’s intention if we ask now, What is the glory of Christ revealed in this story of the wedding of Cana?” (source)

Another author says: “The focus in the account is not on the spectacular part of the miracle, but on Christ and His glory. Those who had eyes to see knew what He did and believed in Him. John calls this miracle a “sign” (2:11): it pointed to something beyond itself, namely, to Jesus and what He came to do.” (source)

Every scripture is rich with meaning, but today I’d like us to look at five things we can see about the Messiah, Jesus, from this passage.

God is the giver of Joy.

We’ll see in a bit that often in the Bible, wine and joy are connected with each other! So when we see Jesus give His support at a wedding and provide “new wine” for the guests, we can remember that God is the Author of all that is good; He is the giver of joy.

In John 1:16-17, we read, “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

While much of the Old Testament focuses on the continuous cycle of God’s provision, man’s disobedience, God’s discipline, man’s repentance, and God’s forgiveness/continued provision, we often see great celebrations of His goodness. His people are called to follow the law (which will remind them of their need and point forward to the Messiah), but even as they are bound by the law, they experience joy in God’s goodness. Still, there is a weight to it that is heavy, as they await the ultimate release. One author says, “The contrast with Moses and the Law puts the focus on the new covenant blessings that Jesus provides. “Fullness” emphasizes the abundant blessings that Jesus bestows. Here He gives an abundance of wine, a symbol of the Messianic kingdom.” (source)

When we flash forward to Jesus’ coming and in particular the “Living Water and Flowing Wine” He provides and is at this wedding celebration, we see Him as the fulfillment of all the joy His people have known and will know. “Jesus is re-filling the empty, {often} joyless vessel of the law with wine, the joy of a new covenant coming with His death and resurrection!” -Stephanie Smith

Jesus is God – and He is the Son of God.

As we read the start of the story, we see what I’m calling Mary’s “mom moment.” She sees a need, grabs her son, and tells Him to “fix it.” When He challenges her, she tells onlookers to “do whatever He says.”

We see Mary here as clearly human, and we see both the God and the man in Jesus. It’s almost comedic. As a mom, I’ve gotten myself in trouble a time or two when I volunteer my kids for something they didn’t agree to. But like many of us have done, Mary shows us her confidence is in her Son’s ability to make this thing right!

We see Jesus as fully God, here, too – He is in control of created things. Remember Episode 29 – A New Beginning, with John’s use of creation language? We are being reminded here, as John reminds us elsewhere, Jesus is the Word. He is the agent of creation, who SPOKE all things into existence! He is God, and He has control over creation.

We see Jesus here, too, as the Son of God, who joyfully submits to His Father’s will. There’s an abruptness Jesus uses when He speaks to Mary. He addresses her as “woman,” and He’s making a point – she’s his earthly momma, but He has a higher obedience, a greater focus – doing the will of His Father. And ultimately, He will provide something WAY better than delicious wine at a wedding.

“…when I call him an obedient Son I mean the Son of his heavenly Father, not the son of his earthly mother. No doubt he was obedient to his earthly mother, but that is not the point here. In fact, I think Jesus’ words are intentionally chosen to reveal a radical allegiance to God’s will above his mother’s will—and above all human attachments and affections.” – John Piper (source)

Jesus is the Living Water.

“But the glory that Jesus manifested at this wedding was more than his omnipotent authority over nature. For those who could see it that day, a deeper, brighter glory of the Triune God’s abounding, all-sufficient love for foolish, weak, sin-impoverished people blazed forth.” – Jon Bloom (source)

If we look forward to John 4:10 and 14, we will also see that He is the “Living Water.” He is our salvation. (See John 4 and the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at the well. She enters a conversation about drawing physical water, and He tells her He IS her source for never thirsting again!)

The jugs are specifically noted for “water for purification!” The old way of “being purified” is no more; while we have here a visible reminder of the “old ways,” we have a brilliant foreshadowing that Jesus will be the One who takes away our actual sins! 1 John 1:9 tells us later, “If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (In Episode 30, I think, we noted that we see elsewhere that Jesus actually scorns those who saw His miracles and didn’t believe. His miracles were to be signs to help those watching believe that He was the long-awaited Savior; He was God in the flesh.)

This is a new way of being: 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.!”

Jesus is the Flowing Wine.

This flowing wine may also point to His coming sacrifice as our hope for eternal life. As we touched on earlier but now in richer application, wine and blood and life weave together in scripture. In Genesis 9, Leviticus 17, Deuteronomy 12, God’s people were not to eat the blood of animals, because the blood represented the life of the animal.

This is illustrated in an article from Got Questions: “In ancient Israel, blood was not only a metaphor or symbol for life; it was equivalent to life itself. In most occurrences where blood was shed in Scripture, it meant that life had ended. To remove the blood is to terminate life. In Leviticus chapter 17, God gives instructions regarding sacrifices and offerings, particularly on the proper slaughtering of animals. The people of Israel were to bring each animal to the tabernacle entrance for the priest to offer. The blood of the animal was never to be treated as common food; it belonged to God, who is the giver of life (Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4; Psalm 139:13). Thus, the blood of animals had to be drained and offered to God on the altar. Blood was God’s ordained means of effecting atonement: ‘For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life’ (Leviticus 17:11). Atonement for sin was achieved by sacrificing an animal’s life in substitution for one’s own life. The shedding of blood was the most critical element—it was the blood of the guiltless substitute offered on the altar that served as payment for the people’s sins (Leviticus 16:15).” (source)

Jon Bloom says it this way, “Out of Jesus’s fullness the wedding guests received grace upon grace (John 1:16). They drank the very best earthly wine ever created, made by the Creator of grapes himself. But more than that, the wine they drank freely was a foretaste of the gospel.” (source)

1 Corinthians 5:7, Jesus is called “our Passover lamb,” who was sacrificed! His blood is the sacrifice for all time, for all who would see Him and repent and believe!

In Matthew 26, Jesus will offer the last supper. He’ll serve them wine… and He’ll tell them it symbolizes His blood. His blood equals our life. This is the New Covenant – His sacrifice for our eternal life. The life, eternal life, quite literally, is in the blood. We see yet again that Jesus is the Living Water and the “flowing wine.”

“Jesus is the bringer of living water and that water is transformed by His death, which we remember by sharing in the wine of communion. This one act, at the beginning of His ministry provides bookends to his life’s ministry. Christ gives living water and is transformed into wine.” (source)

Jesus brings us newer, truer hope, joy, and LIFE.

Elsewhere in scripture, we see an illustration of “old skins” (the law) “new wine/skins” – the new covenant! Mark 2:22 says, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”[

The old wine and skins (the Law) were still good and were still a blessing. The law was not bad, but it showed God’s people the need to repent and be forgiven, and it pointed toward Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice and Redeemer. The new wine/covenant is better! And another cool note: under the new covenant, in the “new wineskins,” we get Jesus Himself and the indwelling of the Spirit!

Ultimately, Jesus invites us to a feast – and we will join Him, as our Bridegroom. (We mentioned in Episode 30, The Bread of Life, – the feast in Revelation 19 – HE IS THE LAMB AND HE IS OUR BRIDEGROOM. He is our provider – and we are His bride!)

God is the giver of joy, and in Jesus, He brings us the ultimate JOY!

As we mentioned earlier, many old testament passages refer to wine and joy in the same vein. Lacking wine is associated with brokenness… GO READ Isaiah 24!!! It speaks of broken places of the earth and the people… it mourns the lack of provision from the vine, but LOOKS FORWARD to the coming of the One who will make all things right. In verse 14, “They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.”

Other connections of wine and joy:

Ecclesiastes 9:7 – “drink your wine with a merry heart.”
Psalm 104:14-15 (makes glad the heart of men)
Amos 9:14 – wine from your vineyard is a blessing from God
Jeremiah 31:12 “they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD – the grain, the new wine…”

This wedding celebration at Cana, this first miracle or “sign” we see Jesus perform, is another invitation to see Him for all He was and is and will be. Thinking about Jesus and all we’ve seen of Him through this first miracle, or “SIGN,” listen to these words!

Isaiah 25:6-9:

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

RESOURCES:

Do you want to grow in JOY and your relationship with Jesus this holiday season? Join the Advent study, Longing and Light, and receive weekly updates on this series for free!

Find all resources from this series here!

Hospitality Beyond the Holidays

My Everyday Welcome Cozy Holidays E-Book

Don’t miss this really cool article about the Lord of the wine and the whips

Many quotes in this post come from the John Piper sermon “Out of Your Heart Will Flow Rivers of Living Water”

I want to spend even more time digging into this Tim Keller sermon Lord of the Wine

This article from John Piper is amazing! It brings out thoughts on the issue of Jesus’ response to Mary I had never considered.