John Chapter 2. We may touch on all things in John Chapter 2, but we'll focus on verses 1 through 11. Hopefully, as a sermon of encouragement, also as preparation for the Lord's Supper, which will be the highlight, but the end of our service this morning. So we'll read from verses 1 through 11. This is the account of the first sign, the first miracle that John has set apart in his gospel. And perhaps it's a surprising one. So please hear the word of God as I read John chapter 2 verses 1 through 11. On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, whatever he says to you, do it. Now there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons a piece. And Jesus said to them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim And he said to them, draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. When 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 the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, every man at the beginning sets out the good wine. And when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior, You have kept the good wine until now. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. This is the word of God. May God, by his spirit, teach us and convict us according to his will. This morning, you may be seated. The opening chapter of John's gospel uniquely starts from heaven in eternity. If you remember John 1, we spent at least three Sundays walking through John 1 at the beginning of the year. And that opening chapter describes Christ in great majesty and wonder. We begin John's Gospel in chapter 1 with the Word was with God, and the Word was God in the beginning. He was with God. And He created all things. And He's the light and life of men because He is the light and life. And the Word became flesh, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Then that wonderful line, "...and His fullness we have received, and grace upon grace." It sticks in my mind like the waves of the seashore. Grace upon grace. As one subsides, another wave comes. This is the fullness that we have in Christ Jesus. And then the rest of John 1. From the perspective of John the Baptist, in part, we see that he's the Lamb of God, he's the Messiah, he's the Christ, he's the Son of God, the King of Israel, and the Son of Man. And you'd think that with that chapter, and the majesty of it, that then we get into chapter two, and we see the first of seven signs that John specifically accounts for in his gospel to show who Christ is. that something otherworldly and astounding would be happening in John chapter 2. What would this first sign be? What would this first occurrence be? But instead, the first sign, the beginning of signs as we saw in John chapter 2, verse 11, is a wedding with wrangling over wine, if you want to alliterate, with a woman and water pots. This is majestic and wonderful. Why would we begin with this sign of all that Jesus did? This is the first sign that John, by the guiding of the spirit, records. So it might be surprising if we step back and think about it, but I do think it's important. The first sign that John records and makes a point of, through this we see the importance of joy for the Christian and for the church. Christians and the Church of Christ are to be marked by a supernatural settled joy. We're not talking about a happy, slappy, just giggling joy. We're talking about settled, contented joy that can only be known through Christ and from a human perspective is incredibly attractive and shows there's something different with these people. In Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23, we have the fruits of the Spirit. And you know what the first fruit of the Spirit is? It's love. But what's the second one? It's joy. And that will be part of our memory verses for this month. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are things that should mark us as well. In Romans 14, 17, Paul records, the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace, and what? Joy in the Holy Spirit. And in the book of John, if you were to read John 15, 16, and 17, where Jesus is preparing his disciples for something that they can't be prepared for, to see Christ go to the cross and to see him suffer and have their whole world turn upside down, Jesus frequently brings up joy to them as he's preparing them. In John 15, he says, Would that it be that my joy would remain in you, he says, my joy would remain, which means he's joyful as well. And that your joy may be full as a result. In John chapter 16, he says, your sorrow that you'll soon know will be turned to joy, and no one can take that joy away from you. And then in John chapter 17, when Christ goes to the throne room of God and prays on behalf of his people, and we are included in this, he's praying for his people. And when we first began our church, how many years ago is that? 16 years ago. And we went through using James Boyce study on the marks of a church, using the prayer of Christ in John chapter 17. Surprisingly, the first mark of a church that Jesus prays about is joy. You could think of all sorts of things that you'd think he'd pray for. May they be evangelists. May they be holy. That's second. But all the things you'd think, but he prays for their joy. He says in John chapter 17, verse 13, he says, but now I come to you because now his hour has come for him to be glorified. And these things I speak in the world, speaking of all the teachings and the doctrine and even his works, all these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy. fulfilled in themselves. He prays that we might have his joy based on what he's been speaking and what he does fulfilled in themselves together and collectively. So I think it's important as we look at the water turned to wine and a wedding to understand the importance of joy in the Christian life. I think as well a second thing as we'll see as we walk through these These short verses will see the abundance of Christ's grace upon grace that we saw in chapter one, the abundance of Christ's grace upon grace for those who come to him. This abundance of grace is good for us individual and as a church to rest our hearts and minds upon in general. But I think it's good for us as we partake of the goodness of Christ at the Lord's Supper today as well. to think of the goodness and the abundance of Christ's grace upon us that strengthens us and guides us. So as we walk through these 11 verses, there is a short outline in your bulletin. We'll see the wedding, we'll think about wine and water pots, and then the wonder at the end of it all. The wedding, the wine, the water pots, and then the wonder that we see in this. So first of all, let's think of the wedding in verses 1 and 2 in John chapter 2. And since you may have forgotten John 2 verses 1 and 2, on the third day, there is a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. It's interesting when you look at the first chapter of John, and now you look at the opening of chapter 2, he counts out seven days. There's something interesting about this. I don't know necessarily what to make about it, but it's still kind of neat that when John begins, we have the picture of creation. And in the beginning, the word was with God, and the word was God. And he counts out seven days. And now, in a sense, this would be the Sabbath, if you will. Seven days, and now we're resting in a wedding. There's something nice about that with the first sign that John will record. And John doesn't give us many details in this account of this wedding. And if you read commentaries, there's a whole lot of speculation. It's almost impossible not to speculate a little bit But John handles this account in a way that makes us look at Christ and his interaction and his actions instead of all the other stuff. You might be thinking, where is this Cana? Well, it's surprising. We're not quite sure where this is. There is actually more than one Cana. We're not sure. There's not a lot of details. How were Jesus and the disciples invited? It appears maybe from the original that Jesus was invited, and he brought the group with him. But we really don't know. Whose wedding was this? Is this family? Friends? Why is the mother there? There's some things that would make sense, but we really don't know. And you have to forgive me if I say something later, because you have to think a little bit about these things. But again, the point is that the focus on all of this is not going to be all the details. And if you've ever prepared a wedding, there's a lot of details that distract you from the main thing. Here, the main thing is Christ and who He is, what He says, and what He does. It says the mother of Jesus was there. It's interesting, John often leaves himself and his family to be anonymous when he records things. So some have speculated that Mary may be the aunt of John, that she was a sister of Salome, which may have been John's mother. We don't know, or it could be this. We do know this, that from the cross, Jesus himself assigned John the care of his mother. And he said, He said, behold, your mother, he tells to John. So maybe he's not using the word Mary because he's caring for his mother. We don't know. But he refers to Mary as the mother of Jesus throughout his gospel. And why was Mary there? Again, it's speculated. Maybe she was an assistant at the wedding. Maybe she was friends of the family. And that would explain why she could pretty bluntly know that the wine was running out, and she could say, do what he says. Why does she have us? But we don't know. But we do know that she was there, and Jesus and disciples were invited to the wedding. And it shows us off the bat that Jesus was not an ascetic. He did come eating and drinking, it says in Matthew chapter 11. He enjoyed life. He attended a wedding, and we assume he enjoyed the joy of a wedding. He was a man, a perfect man at that. I think at the outset, when just in verses one and two, it shows that Christ honors the bond of marriage, that Christ honors the bond of marriage. And it shouldn't surprise us. If you sit back and look at all of the references in the scripture to the bridegroom and the bride and the wedding feast and the marriage supper, the symbolism is throughout the scriptures. And even in John chapter three, he's referred to as the bridegroom. And in Revelation, he's the bridegroom who by means of incarnation and the work of his redemption and his final manifestation comes to his bride. It's a glorious symbolism and picture throughout the scripture. The kingdom of God in Matthew 22 is referred to as a wedding feast. The presence of Christ. is referred to as a time of rejoicing. When the bridegroom's here, you don't have to mourn and fast. When you think of Ephesians chapter 5, verses 22 through 33, where we see that marriage was designed from the very beginning, all the way back in Genesis, and maybe even designed before Genesis, marriage was designed to represent Christ and his church. As Christ loves and dies for nourishes and cherishes his bride and promises to present her blameless before the father. As recently counseling with a young couple who's soon to be married. This month even. As explaining to him that marriages for the Christian and the non Christian. Marriage is a part of the common kingdom. It's part of the Noahic covenant. It's a creation ordinance. It's for Christians and non-Christians alike to be married, and it's a blessing for Christians and non-Christians, if done well. And in general, marriage is meant for companionship and cohabitation and children. That's the three general things our confession puts forth and scripture says as well. But I told this young couple, but when Christ is the center of your marriage, that's what makes the marriage sing. That's what makes the marriage sing. It's interesting here, Christ is at a wedding. I'm thinking he's bringing joy to this wedding and this marriage as well as he does in our weddings and our marriages. He would not dishonor that thing that is a symbol of his own relationship with his people. He would honor it. And this should encourage us to guard and to glorify Christ in and with our marriages and know the joy of marriage that we're meant to know. So we see the wedding. And Christ is there. Then in verses three through five, we have an emphasis on the wine. So reading verses three through five. And when they ran out of wine, which by the way is not supposed to happen, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. Mary is precise with her wording. Jesus said to her, Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. And his mother said to the servants, Whatever he says to you, do it. Now for us, I don't know if it registers as much, but in Jesus' day, wine was considered a staple food, an article that everybody would have and you would use. but it also represented joy and plenty and refreshments. We see that throughout scripture. In our study hour today, we'll see in Genesis chapter 14, where Melchizedek, who's the priest and king, comes to Abram and blesses him, pronounces favor upon him, and refreshes him with bread and wine. That means something. Yes, it may be looking forward to the Lord's Supper in some way, but on the surface, he blesses Abram with bread and wine, and it may have been a sense of rewarding him for his obedience and what he was done. And God used him to deliver Lot and the people from the four kings that had had captured the spoils and the people of the five kings. We'll see it in study hour. And that itself is a wonderful thing that we've seen, even in Hebrews chapter six, that God rejoices in his people. Our God is a joyful God. He rejoices in his people because of what Christ has done in and through them. Even in Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 17 a passage I'll have to preach at some point we read the Lord your God is in your midst the mighty one will save he will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with his love he rejoice over you is singing. A joyful God or to be a joyful people. But wine is used to represent that joy and that plenty and that refreshment that God provides in Psalm 104 verse 15. Speaking of what God brings us, he says, and he brings wine that makes you glad, the heart of men, oil to make his face shine and bread, which strengthens a man's heart. In Nehemiah chapter five, where Nehemiah is showing his generosity and his kindness to his people, they might be encouraged. He gives of the overflow of what he has. He generously provides for his people an abundance of choice meat and all kinds of wine, it's recorded in Nehemiah 5. Of course, we read in Isaiah 55, 1. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come by and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Now, obviously, scripture condemns the excessive indulgence or the drunkenness with wine, but it's a blessing. It's made to represent joy and refreshment. But what happens at this wedding, however? It says, fairly plainly, they ran out of wine. What's the problem with that? Well, obviously, it could be an embarrassment to the wedding party. You're throwing a big party. Their wedding feasts were a little bit, maybe more than ours were, or are, I should say. So the embarrassment of, we have no more wine. Maybe this is a poor family and they ran out because they couldn't afford more. Again, this is a speculation city, but that we don't know. Even worse, in this culture, this would be a way of of having a slur upon themselves because this is a case of hospitality and they would have nothing to give them in this. And even Leon Morris in his commentary says that if the culture at this point in time, it could even render a lawsuit against the family because they were legally required to provide a feast of a certain standard when you invite people to a wedding. If it's not there, it could even result in legal issues. At the very least, Running out of wine symbolizes that the bride and groom are not happy. This is not a happy occasion. The guests are not happy. Joy has run out, if you will. So they ran out of wine. And so then Mary says, or I should say the mother of Jesus says, they have no wine. It's interesting. No one knew any better than Mary who Jesus was, and no one would have an opportunity to know better of what Jesus came to do, or at least what he could do in a situation like this. Again, we just have to speculate. What is she saying here? Is she expecting? Is she thinking, this is a time when I want my son to be made known for who he is? Or is it just merely, I know who you are, son. Could you help our friends? Don't know. But she just simply says, they have no wine. And she doesn't say, son, do this. She doesn't put her hands on her hips, as far as we know. She just says, they have no wine. She mentions it, but I think there's an expectation that he would do something. And Jesus' response seems odd to our ears. He says, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. Kids, walk up to your mom, say, woman, please pass the milk. I don't know. It doesn't sound right in our culture. But in this culture, it was not rude. This would be like saying lady, which even that sounds odd to us, I suppose, because it is his mother, but it wasn't disrespectful. And it's actually by him referring to his mother as, well, woman, what does your concern have to do me? It's actually kind of Christ, which makes sense because he's a savior of joy and grace. But I think there's an aspect. Think if you were Mary and how much you know. Think of a mother with her child. No matter how old the child is, there's a hanging on to that child, this is my son. And Jesus, I think, by saying mother, it's a way of saying the relationship has changed and it will change. And you can no longer hang on to me as just son, but you need to hang on to me as Lord. In the next few years, things are going to get really dicey. As you even said yourself in the beginning, it's going to be like a piercing of your heart. So there needs to be a change to seeing me who I am and what I'm about to do. It actually looks ahead to John chapter 19 when Jesus does speak from the cross and he fulfills the law of God by caring for his mother. Even from the cross, he turns to his mother and he says, woman, behold your son, and points her to John the apostle. And then he turns to John and says, behold your mother. And he calls her woman then, so he's paving a way for her to understand more fully and to actually help her sorrow not be so sorrowful. But he says, my hour has not yet come. And you see this, especially in John, I think, when you when you get to the the account of Jesus on the cross, it's almost like he has a checklist of all the things that have to be done before everything is done and even see it here. My time has not yet come. He has a conscious conscious list of his tasks that he must fulfill to fulfill the will and the love of the Father for the sake of his people. There are details in his mind, I'm sure, for what lies ahead and what must be done first. And we've just begun. My time has not come. Now, when you get to Chapter 12, he finally says the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified as he moves his way to the cross. But then, Mary, tells the servants, whatever he says to you, do it. Whatever he says to you, do it. Again, we don't know. John is sparse with his language, because again, I think the point is, look to Christ. Maybe, though, she assumed that when he says, my time has not yet come, maybe she knows this, but she assumes it because she knows who he is, that he will act in this case at the proper time when the time is right as well. We don't know, but she speaks to the servants. Why would she tell them this? Well, do they know Jesus? Think if you're the servants at a wedding and someone you don't know says, Hey, I want to do this to provide the wine for the wedding. And nobody knows what's going to happen. They might not have known what to do. This is a preparation then for the servants to, to not be taken back when something odd, like fill up those water pots full of water would be said, and they might then do it. I think what we see in this section from verses three through five, though, we certainly see the joy that's represented by wine, but we also see the authority and the grace of Christ. There's no way he's telling Christ what to do. He does these things as he will at the appropriate time in his sovereignty. But when he does these things, they're unmerited. They're not deserved. It's his grace. It's his mercy on a given situation, which is the heart of our Savior. And then verses 6 through 8 we get to the water pots. The water pots, verses 6 through 8. Now they were set, there were six water pots of stone. You could have water pots that were clay and eventually they'd get contaminated. Stone water pots could be washed out and not be contaminated. These were the best ones. Especially for what they're used for, there are six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, which I think that fullness of that phrase means something. These are water pots, according to the manner of the purification of the Jews, notice it's not of the scriptures, but of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece. Now you don't have to have a math degree to add this up. If there are six water pots, if there's 20 to 30 gallons a piece, you've got 120 to 180. Is that right, Donovan? Gallons, oh, that's a lot. They would be heavy individually, but that's a lot overall. And Jesus said to them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them to the brim, which I appreciate. And he said to them, draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. You like the picture of the obedient servants here? They just did it. What are these water pots? Well, they were used in the purification rituals of the Jews, like you might see in Mark 7, verses 1-4. I'm not going to read there, but in Mark 7, verses 1-4, the scene is that the Pharisees were appalled at the disciples of Christ because they were eating with defiled hands, unwashed hands. And it says there in the first few verses of Mark chapter 7 that the Pharisees were under the tradition of the elders, and they would not eat unless they were properly washed. And in that passage, Jesus rebukes them. He says, as he quotes from Isaiah 29, vain they worship me, but their heart is far from me. The traditions of men, the holiness of men was clouding any sense of a heart before God. and the freedom one has before Christ. And what they would do with these water pots, and the purification rituals, is before a meal, the servants of the house, or the meeting, would pour water over the hands of every guest. And you think about these huge water pots, and you'd be pouring water, there'd be an ample amount of water being poured out on the hands, and they're having their hands out, and so you're pouring purified water from purified water pots to wash the hands off of the guests. And if there's a great number of guests, there'd be a great amount of water, maybe even 120 to 180 gallons. So that's the background. The interesting thing, though, these are water pots of purification rituals. They're meant for water, but they're dry, just like the Jewish religion had gotten They are dry, representing the dryness of the man-centered religion of the purification rituals. So I read here in verse 11 that this is the beginning of signs what Jesus is going to do when he turns the water into wine. And signs in John's gospel could be defined as miracles viewed as a proof of the divine authority and majesty of the one who performs the sign. The signs could be seen as miracles viewed as proof of the divine authority and majesty of Christ. And in John's gospel, everything's in seven. There's seven signs in particular that are made a point of, and this is the first one. And the idea of the signs in John's gospel especially is that it leads the attention of the spectator away from the deed itself, but then to the divine doer of the deed, which in this case is Christ Jesus. And oftentimes the sign, too, though it's a work of power in the physical realm, it would illustrate a principle that would be operative in the spiritual realm. It had something that was showing forth, not just the person who does it, but something about that person that sets him apart spiritually. It's the idea that that which takes place in the sphere of creation points away from itself to the sphere of redemption in Christ Jesus. So the examples, the fourth sign, if you're going to look at the seven signs, The fourth sign is when Jesus multiplies the loaves to feed the multitude in John chapter six. And that multiplying of the loaves is a sign that rivets the attention of the viewer on Christ as the bread of life who brings life to those who will never hunger or thirst because of him. The sixth sign is when he opens the eyes of the blind man in John chapter nine. So for this sign, the opening of the eyes of the blind man centers, then the viewer on Christ is the light and life of the world who brings life and light to men. The seventh sign in the book of John is when Lazarus is raised. When Lazarus is raised, it connects then Jesus as the resurrection in life, the giver of resurrection life in John chapter 11. So the signs are wonderful, and it points to the divine doer of the sign, but it points to even something greater. What about this sign? Turning water into wine? Maybe it just shows that Jesus loves bubbly or something. I can tell I don't drown even. Is there bubbly in wine? But I think this sign is trying to point to something. In John 1 and John 2, if you remember back in John 1, when the Pharisees and the representatives of the Pharisees showed up for John the Baptist, and you can picture them with their hands on their hips, saying, what are you doing? What are these baptisms for? What's going on here? Why are people going to you and leaving us? So you can see the dryness of the Jewish religion and seeing what's coming next. And also you start to see disciples of John the Baptist leave from the last of the prophets. to go become disciples of Jesus, and you see a transferring from the old to the new. And so then in John chapter 2, we begin with the matter of the purification of the Jews with the water pots. I think A.W. Pink summarizes this well when he says, here's what's going on in John chapter 2, the sign and what it's bringing about. It has the idea that Christ brings a life of grace and joy that was not being understood at this point in time. That's what the sign is pointing to. And A.W. Pink says, Judaism was but a dead husk at this time, and the heart and the life of it were gone. Only one thing remained, and that was the setting of it aside and the bringing in of a better hope. Accordingly, we read in Galatians 4.4, but when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son. Yes, the fullness of God's time had come. The hour was ripe for Christ to be manifested. The need of him had been fully demonstrated. Judaism must be set aside. He says, a typical picture of this was before us in John chapter 1. The Baptist wound up the Old Testament system. And in John chapter 1 verses 35 through 37, we are shown two of his disciples leaving John and following the Lord Jesus. And Pink says the same principle is illustrated again in the chapter that's now before us in John chapter 2. A marriage feast is presented to our view. And the central thing about it is that the wine had given out. The figure is not difficult to interpret. Wine in scripture is the emblem of joy." And he has some of the same quotes we looked at. How striking, then, is what we have here in John chapter 2. How accurate the picture. Judaism still existed as a religious system, but it ministered no comfort to the heart. It had degenerated into a cold, mechanical routine, as symbolized by the water pots. Utterly destitute of joy in God, Israel had lost the joy of their espousals. I think he's right. I think this is what we're seeing here. And then the result of what we see in John chapter 2 is that Christ brings life and grace and joy. Christ changes the water of Judaism into the wine of Christianity. He changes the water of Christlessness into the wine of richness and fullness of eternal life in Christ. He changes the water of the law the bentness to try to be satisfying it into the wine of the gospel. It's a contrast between the old Jewish order of things bent on observing the law and the new Christian order that springs from grace and truth in Christ. Grace upon grace resulting in joy. Again, wedding feasts are used as the symbol of the kingdom of God. The presence of Christ is likened to the rejoicing because the bridegroom is with us. We contrast the new wine with the old wine, the new wineskins with the old wineskins. And Christ brings grace and joy. So then in verses 7 and 8, Christ says, fill the water pots with water. And they filled it to the brim. He says, draw it out and take it to the master. And they did so, 120 to 180 gallons of water. Immense amount is stated so he can show the greatness of Christ's gift. He says, fill the pots with water. That emphasizes the miracle of changing the water in the wine. If you fill them all up with water, it means they were empty before and nothing else was added. There wasn't like a little wine pellet dropped into it. No, it was filled to the top. It wasn't like a little bit of wine in the bottom. Well, it's pretty good now. No. They're empty. We fill them. And then what do they do? They fill it to the brim, which not only shows the miracle, but that shows the great abundance of Christ's gift. There's no rationing when Christ comes with grace and joy. It's all or nothing. Jesus says in John more than once in John, chapter six, he said, whoever comes to me shall never hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst. John chapter 4, whoever drinks of the water I will give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him, in him, a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. Paul tells the Philippians near the end of the letter to the Philippians, and my God shall supply all your need according to what? His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. According to means according to the limits. That means there are no limits to the riches and glory by Christ Jesus. So we have the grace and the truth and the joy that comes through Christ. So in verses 9 through 11, we see the end of the story. We now come to the wonder of it all. The wonder of it all. From the wedding to the wine to the water pots, now the wonder when the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, you like the way John makes sure you know what's going on here, and did not know where it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Can you just imagine him kind of peeking around the corner? The master of the feast called the bridegroom and he said to him, I don't think this is a rebuke, I think this is astonishment. It expresses not just the greatness of the gift, but the goodness of the gift. It tasted good. Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine. Why do you get the good wine first? Well, because by the end of the wedding feast, their senses might be dulled where it doesn't really matter what the wine tastes like. And when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior wine, But you have kept the good wine until now. In the beginning of signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. This is the first one and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. His disciples believed in him. This was the best wine. It emphasizes the goodness, the bestness of Christ's gift. It's not just the quantity, but the quality of eternal life that we have by God's grace and mercy. Internal life doesn't just mean that we live forever, which is kind of a good deal, but it means the quality of this life, the depth of it, it tastes good, it's joyful now, even in the midst of trial. The Christian life is not just pizza street where you have as much as you want, but it's gourmet pizza. It's like our feast every Sunday. It's real ice cream, which matches up with our God. Matthew 7-11, if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him? Ask. Please ask. Or James chapter 1. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. Are you thankful for every good gift you have is from above? And comes down from the father of lights with whom there's no variation of shadow or turning of turning. Verse 18 is wonderful of his own. Well, he he brought us forth by the word of truth. That means our salvation is by God and by God alone, by his grace and his sovereignty that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. That's part of the good gifts that we have from God, by his grace and abundantly. Jesus makes a bountiful gift to the wedding party. Were they poor? Were they embarrassed because there's no wine? Was there going to be a liability? We don't know, but Jesus is gracious and he lavishly, mercifully gifts the wedding party and the guests and even those being married with joy. And surely if he supplies so abundantly in the physical realm, will he be any less generous in the spiritual realm? I do not think so. So we go back to John chapter 1 verse 16. And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace, or grace upon grace. So verse 11 says, the beginning of signs then was this, where he manifested his glory and the disciples believed in him. His first sign is manifesting his glory and joy in grace in the common everyday life activity of man at a wedding with wine and water pots. You know, it makes sense. We start off saying this is kind of a surprise, but it does make sense. In John chapter one, we start off with the son of God, who's God before creation because he is the creator of all things. We saw his majesty as the sovereign world, but then we saw him then come become flesh. The Lord became a lamb. He came from glory to the earth. And now we see in chapter two, he transforms the earthly thing to a glorious thing with grace and joy. Something really quick, and it will be quick as we close. The question might be, well, how do we know joy in Christ? I think it's really simple. When I preached a sermon like this almost over 16 years ago, we talked about these things then. I don't think anybody remembers that. I didn't remember it, so that's fine. But some simple things. First of all, how do we know the joy in Christ? Well, first of all, you must know him, and he must know you. If we had time, I wish we did. If we had time, we could look at the rest of the chapter. He's a savior of grace and joy, but if we look at the rest of the chapter, he cleanses the temple. He's holy. He is righteous. And so if you want to know him and know joy, you have to first recognize your sin and the judgment your sin deserves because he's a holy savior. But then as we look farther, then he, he predicts his resurrection. Tear down this temple. He just doesn't just cleanse the temple. He says, tear it down. And I'll raise it up in three days. He's predicting his death, burial and resurrection and his sovereignty over it. So not only does he cleanse the temple, but he can cleanse you through his death, burial and resurrection. So you come before him as the holy one with your sin to be cleansed. And at the end of chapter two, we see that he is the sovereign Lord. He knows what's in men. He has authority over the temple. He has authority over men. He knows what's in them. And so you go before this holy gracious Savior to be cleansed because of his death, burial, and resurrection, but you go in great humility and trust because of who he is, he will do it when you come before him. And then in John chapter 17 verse 13, that's where Jesus prays, but now I come to you, O Father, and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I think there's some simple steps that when you are in Christ, how do you have joy? Well, the first thing is seek to have a mind settled on Christ and the great truths and the goodness of Christ. Seek to have your mind settled on Him and the great truths and the goodness of who He is and what He does. It's through His Word. It's by His Spirit when He says, these things I speak in the world. It's speaking of His teaching, His doctrine, His works, His character. Have your mind settled on who Christ is and what He has done for you through the Word of God. We don't trust. We're not settled because we don't think rightly of who He is and rest in that. Number two, seek fellowship with Him and His people. These are simple. Have your mind set upon Him, but then seek fellowship with Him and His people. He says, My joy, I want My joy to be in them. His joy comes from His fellowship with His Father. He wants His joy to be in themselves. That's them collectively. It's their fellowship. It's not just individually. And it matches up with how John begins first John chapter one, where he says, we write these things. You might have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ. And these things rewrite you that your joy may be full. Have your mindset on him, have fellowship with him, seek it and seek fellowship with his people. And lastly, seek to walk in righteousness together with him. See the flow of mindset on him, fellowship with him and his people and walk in righteousness together with him. It's a holy life. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. But righteousness is a key thing. We aren't saved by our good works or our righteousness. We have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, but we are called to walk righteously. And sin closes the door on fellowship. It unsettles the mind from God, and it stifles and steals our joy. The righteousness of Christ gives peace, and it gives us a peace of mind which leads to joy, and in the practice of righteousness, empowered by the Spirit and according to the word of God and by God's grace, increases our peace and fellowship and our joy as well. As we come to the Lord's table, we can rejoice. The Lord's table is not necessarily meant to be a somber time. It's a joyous time where we can come and be fed upon the grace of Christ, on a regular basis because of His grace, and we can know joy. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I do pray, Lord, that we could get a glimpse of the grace and the joy of Christ, this first sign in John's gospel. It's about His grace and His joy, empowered by His sovereignty and His Spirit. Lord, joy doesn't mean giddy, but it does mean a settled contentment and joy and a resting in who he is and what he has done. Walking in fellowship with him, knowing our sins are forgiven, righteousness is imputed, we have favor before God that can never be taken away or even increased. And therefore we're freed to walk. with a righteous, holy life, according to your word, empowered by your spirit. It would be pleasing to you, but brings peace and joy to us. May we be a joyful people, like our joyful Savior. And Lord, may that then be a wonderful witness to a very unjoyful and angry world. It would be very easy for us to be different, for us to present Christ to a world with lives that represent the grace and love and joy of Christ among them. I do pray, Lord, for those who are outside of Christ, Lord, that they would come to know the joy of Christ, the eternal joy that wells up from within them from the Spirit of God by his sovereign grace. I pray, Lord, that they would come in repentance and faith and bow before this Lord and believe as the disciples did and know this joy both now and forever. It's in Jesus' name we pray these things, amen.