"Given a Sign" (John 2:1-11)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11).

 

The account of Jesus at the wedding at Cana is often used as an example of the high place Jesus gives to the sanctity of marriage. While it is true that Jesus honors the marriage of husband and wife, St. John tells us that this miracle of Jesus turning water into wine is a sign that manifests Jesus’ glory. St. John tells of the events at Cana for one purpose and one purpose alone: that “His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11).

 

So, at the wedding in Cana, Jesus gives us a sign that reveals Him as our salvation. 

St. John writes, “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11). But St. John does not speak of signs as we may think of them. You see, often, we may think of signs as mere symbols, or something that stands for something else. For St. John, this is not the case. For St. John, the word “sign” really means something that points to, or is linked with. Quite literally, the Greek word that we translate for “sign” here means “mystery.” In the same way, “mystery” in Latin is translated as “sacrament.”

 

A sacrament is a mystery and a mystery is a sign that points to something or reveals something hidden from ordinary sight.

 

So, these “signs” reveal something that you would not otherwise know or recognize unless someone or something revealed it to you. A “sign” is something like a gift waiting to be opened. That gift is a mystery until it is opened and revealed. A sign is something visible for our faith to hold on to. And so it is with the Lord’s gifts of His Means of Grace manifested in lowly water, simple bread, and wine. They are signs. They are mysteries. These Means of Grace point to Jesus because they are linked to Jesus. Holy Baptism, Absolution, the Word, and the Lord’s Supper are signs of Jesus’ real bodily presence among us as the Creator and Redeemer. In these signs, we experience the death Jesus died to give us life.

 

This is how Jesus has chosen to reveal Himself to you and to come to you, in signs in which He resides. But there is a problem. Now, the problem is not with the signs. The problem is us. We are all poor, miserable sinners who seek after all sorts of signs, and not just the signs that Jesus has given to us. 

 

You see, sometimes we seek Jesus through emotions, which lift us to heaven so that we can feel His presence, while we ignore Him when He is right in our very presence in water, Word, bread and wine. We often pray for miracles and signs instead of relying on the miracles and signs He has already provided. You may be afraid that Jesus will not fulfill what He has promised unless we see or experience some sort of a miraculous sign.

 

Because of that fear, we often cannot find comfort in what Jesus has already given, so we seek Jesus in the Law. But the thing is, the Law is empty. The Law cannot save you. The Law can only accuse us and destroy us. So many of us have drank this inferior wine and how has it left us? Not satisfied. We drank the bottles dry and all we have left is pain, despair and death.

 

But Jesus came to fulfill the Law. Just as there were six stone jars to be filled, Jesus fulfilled all that was commanded in the Law. He lived the perfect life for you. He accomplished what we are unable to do. And for living the perfect life, He was falsely accused as a blasphemer, a fraud. He would suffer and die as the perfect sacrifice for yours and my sins.

 

We know Jesus was the perfect sacrifice since He is no longer in the grave. He lives! After spending three days in the belly of the earth, He gives us His greatest sign. His grave is empty! He is not there! He is risen! Jesus has fulfilled the Law to the brim, and now His cup of grace runs over.

 

Through His death and bodily resurrection, Jesus now gives us a new and better wine. We are not purified by the Law, but instead by His holy and precious blood shed for you and me for the forgiveness of yours and my sins. In Him and through Him, we are given the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation!

 

And Jesus loves life! This is why He came into this fallen and dark world. He came into a world that was made through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. His own people did not recognize Him. They did not receive Him. 

 

On this Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, we recall how many parents sadly do not recognize their own offspring by choosing to live in the dark. This darkness has a name, and it is sin, iniquity, and evil. Many parents only see their offspring as a “choice” rather than a life. But there is an answer for this darkness. You see, “the light shines in the darkness” (John 1:5a). Despite our sinful selves, Jesus enters as He drives away the darkness by His everlasting light. He died blameless to absolve all guilt and He rose from the dead so our consciences would have release.

 

Today, Jesus continues to provide His light through signs that point to Him. He has provided us mysteries in the Sacraments. There, Jesus is hidden in lowly water and simple bread and wine. In these divine miracles, Jesus is revealed to you. In the Sacraments, Jesus continues to reveal Himself as Lord over all creation.

 

As we heard last week, in the waters of Holy Baptism, Jesus says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). There in the waters of Holy Baptism, He makes you His own!

 

Now, it’s not the water only that makes you His own, for that is just plain water, but He makes you His own when His Word and command is added to that water.

 

So, just as He turned water into wine, with His Word and by His command, He also gave water the power to redeem you. Baptism is a “washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5) as it re-creates you in newness of life in Christ Jesus!

 

Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is a sign of your redemption in Jesus Christ. For “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This is a miracle that we will soon witness as Jesus’ true Body and true Blood under bread and wine forgives your sins and gives you life everlasting. Through these means, He restores His Bride, the Church. 

 

Today, we recall how Jesus began using signs to reveal His glory. And again, a “sign” points to something. And this sign as Jesus turned six water jars into wine provided a physical way to point to a spiritual truth that Jesus is the Son of God. This “sign” proved Jesus’ divine authority and majesty.

 

This, Jesus’ first sign, took place not in Jerusalem, but in the obscure village of Cana in Galilee. 

 

We may have expected a huge crowd of witnesses for this first sign. Instead, without fanfare, Jesus did what God set before Him to do. He needed to reveal Himself as the Messiah to strengthen the faith of His disciples. And He did that. “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11). They had new evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah. They saw the glory of God through this sign. We, too, see God’s glory through His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments.

 

So now let us do as Mary advised: “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). For Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15) and “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. Take, drink; this is My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Amen.  

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Fear Not, You Are Mine" (Isaiah 43:1-7)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1).

Isaiah 43 begins with an unexpected thought: “But now thus says the Lord…” This is unexpected because the last verse of Isaiah 42 announced God’s burning wrath upon His people. So, why was God full of wrath? It’s because His people did not obey His Law, and they were blind and deaf to all that God had done for them. Because of their sins, God “poured the heat of His anger” (Isaiah 42:25) upon them. But His people still did not change. They did not repent. They remained spiritually blind and spiritually deaf.

 

Since God’s people ignored God, you may expect that God would call upon Isaiah to speak of a fierce judgment. Afterall, they deserved God’s judgment. God would be justified to punish such ungrateful and stubborn people to their own sins.

 

But He does the unexpected. Instead, God says, 

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1).

 

Now, these are some unexpected words of love and grace. Despite their spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness, despite their sin, God does not announce His judgment upon their sin. Instead, He says, “Fear not, sinner. Fear not My people. Instead of punishment and judgment, I will give you deliverance.”

 

His unexpected mercy comes for three reasons. 

 

First, the Lord says, “I have redeemed you.” While God’s people were spiritually blind and spiritually deaf, while God’s people were in bondage to their own sinful nature, and while God’s people were headed toward certain judgment, it was the Lord who purchased them out of their predicament. It was the Lord who redeemed them. 

 

And this was a recurring theme. God redeemed Israel when they were in bondage to Egypt. It would be true again when Israel would be taken as prisoners of war and exiled to Babylon. This remains true for every sinner. God has also rescued us from ourselves and rescued us from the consequences of our own sins and failures.

 

You see, the word “redeem” implies that God’s people – you and me – are helplessly trapped and unable to gain our own release from sin’s bondage. We can’t save ourselves. But God says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you.” Now, that is an unexpected word of comfort and peace. 

 

Second, the Lord says, “I have called you by name.” Despite their unfaithfulness, their spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness, God focused on His people, not as a people group, but individually. You see, the “you” here is singular in Hebrew, not plural. It’s “you,” not “you all.”  This singular “you” denotes a focus that is individual and intimate, particular and personal.

 

God uses this expression, “I have called you by name” elsewhere in Scripture.

§  “The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship…’” (Exodus 31:1-4).

§  “And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me’” (1 Samuel 3:6).

§  “The LORD said to [Elijah], “What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:9).

§  “The LORD said to [Amos], “Amos, what do you see?” (Amos 7:8).

§  And: “The word of the LORD came to [Jeremiah], saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?”(Jeremiah 1:11).

 

Naming is a claim of ownership. For Jesus says, “To [the Good Shepherd] the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). Jesus calls His sheep by name. He calls upon everyone who listens to His voice. Jesus calls you by your name.

 

And even more unexpected is what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on this day nearly 2,000 years ago. On this day, we recall how Jesus stood in a line that He didn’t need to stand in. He stood in a line with sinners waiting to be baptized by John the Baptist. 

When Jesus reached the end of the line and met John, John knowing that Jesus was righteous attempted to prevent baptizing Jesus, as he said to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” (Matthew 3:14) But Jesus answered him saying, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

 

This was a shock for John the Baptist. But it all made sense when Jesus was baptized as “the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21-22).

 

You see, through Christ’s lowering of Himself to a sinner’s baptism, He has affixed the Name of the Triune God upon us who have been baptized into Christ!

 

Third, the Lord says, “You are mine.” We are His possession. God says, “You are mine,” for He has created you. God is the ultimate Creator for He created everything “out of nothing” (Genesis 1:1). Just as God took Israel out of nothing to be His treasured possession, He creates the Church on earth today. St. Peter wrote, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10). Although we were not God’s people, God created us to be His people as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). In those waters of Holy Baptism, God re-created us. He drowned the old Adam so that we would be His new creation in Christ.

 

These words of Isaiah 43:1 were sweet words of comfort for God’s people then. Those words gave comfort to God’s faithful people in the days of Isaiah. Despite all the hardship God’s people went through because of their sins, God claimed them as His special possession. Throughout all those troubled days in Babylonian bondage, these words of God sustained them.

 

These words of Isaiah 43:1 are also sweet words of comfort for God’s people today since He has redeemed us too, but from an even greater bondage. You see, by our sins, we were slaves of sin and thus we were in bondage to eternal death and eternal punishment. Then came Jesus. As He began His public ministry through a sinner’s baptism, He would complete His mission by redeeming us through His blood on Calvary’s cross. There, He redeemed us from the powers of sin, death, and hell.

 

Then, God called you by name when you were washed in the waters of Holy Baptism. And because of your Baptism into Christ, the Holy Spirit brought you to faith, and all who trust in Christ are His possession!

 

In Holy Baptism, Christ gives us His Robe of Righteousness that covers all of our sins. With His Robe, our shame is fully covered, He makes us holy, right, and good before God the Father.

 

Now, armed with Christ’s Robe of Righteousness, Jesus does not promise that we, who are in Christ, will escape all difficulty and pass through life without trouble. So, “when you pass through the waters, [God] will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2). By God’s power, Moses made a way through the Red Sea. That deliverance stood in the background of these promises. Just as the Lord had provided such deliverance in the past, He will provide an even greater deliverance in the future!

 

Here, God cites two dangers – water and fire. Water and fire symbolize all dangers God’s people would experience. And as God’s people – you and I – we experience the dangers of this fallen world and God Himself pledges His eternal protection. 

 

Today, the Lord, who created you, the Lord who formed you, the Lord who redeemed you claims you as His own! And even today, the Lord continues to form you and me through His Word. Yes, we often rebel and resist Him. We turn away and try other things to devote our time. Nevertheless, through His Word, the Lord continues to form us, shape us, and mold us to be His people. When we are out of shape and lazy because of our sins, the Lord remolds us with His mercy and grace. Through the confession of our sins, repentance and faith, the Lord reforms us daily in the assurance of forgiveness won for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He loves us. We are His own!

 

God has made us His people, so let us confess Him and serve Him, He who created you, He who formed you, He who redeemed you. We belong to Him. We are His. So, fear not, He has called you by name, you are His! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +