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Jesus is Lord - John 2:1-11

By Charlie Vensel | March 13, 2007

Americans are bombarded with advertising slogans. In fact, according to CBS.com, “…we’ve gone from being exposed to about 500 ads a day back in the 1970’s to as many as 5,000 a day today.” In effort to maximize the impact of their message, marketers, perhaps better than any other profession, are gifted at both creating and perceiving the buyer’s culture. By creating the desires in our culture, they are able to paint the picture of what America should want; but they are not doing so in a vacuum. They also perceive the culture as it is, reflecting the cultural trends that already exist, echoing them back to us in sound bite form. If we look at just two of the recent slogans, I think that between the lines, we can catch a glimpse of what America values:

• Nike’s slogan, “Just Do It,” implies the autonomy of man, that he can do anything he wants. I ask, “really?” Can we really do anything we want by setting our mind to it, in our own strength? I think the American populous would largely answer in the affirmative by asking yet another question. How many have recently made a resolution to, “Just do it,” in the New Year?
• From pop-culture, the fictitious NASCAR driver, Ricky Bobby’s slogan, “If you ain’t first, you’re last,” implies the primacy of self, and if you have seen the movie, you know it also implies it at the expense of others. Again, I think Americans would largely affirm this.
We often see American pop-culture values expressed in one-liners too:
• “He who dies with the most toys wins”, smacks of materialism and selfish greed.
• “Looking out for number one,” idolizes selfishness.
• “It’s all good,” or, “If it feels good, do it” imply the affirmation of relativism, and protect the individual from any moral consequences for his/her actions.
• “God is dead,” according to the philosopher, Nietzsche. It is the unspoken mantra of those pushing the envelope to tear down our society’s social and legal structures and without question, higher education.
• And, lastly, Shirley McClain’s religious creed, “I am God,” reeks of new age spirituality, a pantheistic theology, and wanton individualism, not to mention blasphemy.

I think it valuable for us to understand that at the heart of these advertising slogans and worldview statements, is not cleverness, but the fruit of our idolatrous hearts. Therefore, the question I want to ask us this morning is, “what are our slogans?” Are they free of individual autonomy, or idolatry, if you will? Do they hold Jesus Christ at its core, as sovereign Lord over all, or something else? Do they keep the first two Commandments, or have we placed the Lord alongside all of our other gods to which we pay tribute, like the Philistines placed the captured Ark of the Lord alongside their idol, Dagon (I Sam5:2)? Is Jesus Christ Lord the whole week, or just on Sunday mornings? These are the things I want us to be thinking about today.

It may be said that man has a natural inclination to worship; in fact, you might even say that is the primary reason God created us. We were created to worship God in the pre-Fall state. Accordingly, I have heard there are three fundamental biblical laws to which all people are subject. “First, every person is serving god(s) in his life. Second, every person is transformed into an image of his god. And, third, humankind creates and forms structures of society in its own image.” Ideally, our affections and worship would focus on the Perfect One alone, we would be made over in His image, and begin to transform the culture around us into one of godliness in anticipation of His return. Indeed, this is the Christian goal for the individual, the Church, and the whole earth.

But, remember Adam and Eve put themselves in the place of God, worshipping self while exercising their own autonomy, when they decided to eat the fruit. That day, they moved from righteousness to sinfulness, from the kingdom of light to the kingdom of darkness, and a corresponding society sprang up that God had to purge by flooding the earth. We see the three rules at work here, don’t we? As offspring of theirs, we inherited this propensity towards idolatry. In other words, it is not only pagans with this problem. After the Fall, all people know there is a God, that he is our Judge, but so that we may sleep at night, we twist and distort this understanding, suppressing the Truth in righteousness; we are a very rebellious breed and at the same time, intrinsically religious by design (Romans 1ff).

Looking to Scripture, we see that God’s First and Second Commandments to the post-Fall Covenant Community are “Do not have other gods besides me,” and “Do not make an idol for yourself.” (Exodus 20:3-4 HCSB) I think it no accident these two commandments lead the list, for they are foundational for proper worship and thus, proper living. Yet, due to the sinful nature of man, we see that God had to berate Israel for their affection towards idols her entire history; indeed, it was their chief sin-their Cananization. The Period of the Judges describes it like this, “…everyone did whatever he wanted,” (Judges 17:6; 21:25 HCSB) worshipping anything and everything but God. Scripture is also littered with the idolatrous nature of the surrounding pagan cultures in both Testaments, and includes plenty of warnings for the New Testament believer. Christ himself tells us what Moses did very early on in Deut 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38 HCSB). This statement is a reaffirmation of the first two Commandments, in that God alone is to be the object of our affections. Clearly, idolatry is a problem, it has been from the beginning, and it is universal.

Please hear this morning, that idols are not necessarily golden, bronze, or wooden images; they are anything we come to value or worship more than God. For Israel, there were the Canaanite Baals, those jolly nature gods whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and ritual prostitution. For us there are still the great gods of Sex, Shekels (money), and Stomach (passion & gluttony) (an unholy trinity constituting one god: self), and the other enslaving trio, Pleasure, Possessions, and Position, whose worship is described as, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle.” (1John 2:16 HCSB) Football, the Firm, and Family are also gods for some. Indeed the list of other gods is endless, for anything anyone allows to run his life, internally or externally, becomes his god and the claimants for this prerogative are legion. In the matter of life’s basic loyalty, temptation is a many-headed monster.

Spending all but the last 8 years of my life outside the Faith, I know what it is like to have worshipped idols, both religiously, and more practically. There was a time in my pre-Christian religious experience when I agreed with Shirley McClain, believing that all was God, including me. All we as sojourners in this body had to do was realize our divine potential and we could command the god force in all things to our heart’s desire-it is witchcraft really, and not too far from the Scientology in which so many Hollywood actors are involved. Later, there were times when money was my god, sacrificing my wife and children through the fire, as to the god Molech in the Old Testament (Lev 18:21), while I tried to fill the god-sized hole in my heart while bowing to the almighty dollar. As a Christian now, there are still places in my life where I put other things ahead of the Lord, or where I choose to act as if there were not a God in heaven and operate in my own autonomy; it is a constant temptation. No, we Christians are not immune, especially me. Now, I suspect that if you are a human being, a Christian, and believe me when I say idols are not only made of gold, bronze, and wood, you too have wrestled with the temptation of idols.

However, onto our infectious temptations, the Gospel reading this morning offers us a healing balm. I propose to you, that because “Jesus is Lord”, we have hope of proper worship and a corresponding cure for our idolatrous hearts. Hopefully we, by hearing how Jesus Christ has showed forth his glory, may by the operation of God’s Spirit upon our hearts, and like the disciples mentioned in the text, be brought to put down our idols and believe on him and worship him alone as Lord and Savior.

Let us now turn to our Gospel text, John 2:1-11, and see what God’s Word might reveal to us. We enter Cana of Galilee where Jesus, his mother, and the disciples are attending a wedding feast. This is a special occasion, yet a rather common one. Presumably, being human, people are preoccupied with the celebration at hand. I imagine that the bride and groom are thinking ahead to a time when they would be alone. The parents are concerned about their image in the community, perhaps also with the cost of the event. The guests are comparing the spread with what they might provide for their children or that which they had at their own weddings. The singles are mingling, most unhappy that they are still so, dreaming of a day when they would marry, so that they might finally be happy. Parents are wondering if the children will be happy; have they made the right decision? What will our lives be without them, they ponder. The bride and groom might be nervous, wondering if this is the right thing to do at this time. Aside from the marriage at hand, I think it sounds a bit like a regular day for us, going about our busy plans while serving our gods of worry, fear, loss, comparing, impressing, lusting, and coveting. So distracted, they are too close to the forest to see the trees, for the true Lord is in their midst, and few realize it. However, in the midst of this celebration, Jesus breaks into the ordinary and begins his public ministry by performing his first miracle. He does not do this as a party trick, but to declare, “He is Lord.”

Turning to verse 4, the first person to honor the Lordship of Jesus here is his mother, Mary, for she went to Jesus to tell him the wine had run out (2:4), something that would have been extremely embarrassing for the hosts. Of all those present, no one knew better than Mary who Jesus actually was and what task had been assigned to him (Cf. Luke 1:26-38). Note however, that she did not tell him what to do, nor did she panic. She merely mentioned the need, but the hint was clear enough; that Mary knew Jesus was Lord, and expected a miracle from him seems certain.

Herein, Mary should be a model for us. What do we turn to in times of crisis, the Lord, or something else? Do we panic? Do we rush in our own strength to solve the problem, cowering before our false gods of fear and lack, giving the True God no opportunity to show forth his power and glory? Do we forget to pray? If so, let us put down the idol of our autonomy and its false notion that we can, as Nike would have us believe, “Just do it”. Our every breath is a sovereign act and gracious gift of God (Acts 17:25), so let us not presume we are able to do anything without him. Like Mary, let us see that Jesus is the sovereign Lord over all and that there is nowhere his arm cannot reach, and indeed, no concern of ours that is not also a concern of his. “All human attempts to find peace, joy, and contentment (heaven on earth), like the wine, will always run out. Our efforts to ease and numb the pain at living in a fallen world are not enough. Our own efforts to fill the void in our hearts will always be insufficient and that void will never be filled, with anything but the Lord.”

Next, Jesus’ response (2:4), “What has this concern of yours to do with Me, woman?” needs explanation. True, such an address today carries with it a negative connotation. However, it is the same term by which he tenderly addressed Mary Magdalene after his resurrection (John 20:15), and his mother when he was on the cross, John 19:26 (Compare also Matt. 15:28; John 4:21; 1 Cor. 7:16). In fact, we might also translate “woman” as “Lady.” It was a term of endearment and respect at the time. However, that he calls her “woman”, and not “mother”, was intended to show her, and us, that though she was his mother, as he was her human son, she was also his creature, as he was God. We see this distinction also in play when he asks, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” in Mark 3:33, implying not biological ties, but spiritual ones. As his ministry began, he would be taking on the role of Lord, not one of her child. That she was his mother and seeking favor would be presumptive; she would have to seek him as Lord now.

Perhaps some of us, like Mary, have fallen into a presumptive casualness with the Lord, thinking that our physical association with the Church or our good moral behavior obliges his loving favor. However, we are not wholly connected to the Savior except by obedient faith, not our outward actions alone. Therefore, let us put down the idol of self-righteous presumption. Remember, God can raise up children of Abraham from rocks. Neither let us believe in a Jesus who is all grace, frequently seen with bunnies and squirrels, winking while dismissing our rampant acts of disobedience. He is also a God of law. A presumptive casualness only demonstrates that we think more highly of ourselves than we ought, and indeed echoes the complacent hiss of the Serpent, “Has God really said?” or “No! You will not die.” (Genesis 3:4 HCSB).

Moving on, when Jesus says, “My hour has not yet come,” he is here not referring to his crucifixion as the phrase often does in Scripture, but in terms of a divine appointment to perform this first miracle, to declare publicly that, “He is Lord.” If it referred to some other time it would not make sense that after declaring such a thing, the Lord would accommodate this request of his mother. Neither would it make sense to speak of some abstract future event when the wine crisis was at hand, especially when he or the Gospel writers typically elaborate after making such a profound statement. No, rather, even though he issues mild and respectful reproof to Mary, he also intimates that he would do as she desired when it was time; “My hour is not yet come.” As though he had said, “The wine is almost, but not quite out; when they have come to a state of crisis in their helplessness, and recognize the need of my assistance, then will I show forth my glory, that they may behold it, and believe on me.” Her response to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you,” (2:5), should convince us that she understood this, that she was not offended, knew that he was about to act then and not in the distant future, and that the Lord is one to be obeyed.

It also serves as a reminder to us that the Lord is never early, never late, but always on time. As his children, we have right to expect his answer, but we should never presume to know when he should or what his answer might be. How many times do we go off in our own direction, growing impatient with the Lord? Do you remember Abraham and Hagar? Let the fact that Jesus Christ is sovereign Lord, displace our idol of thinking we so all-knowing that we know what and when is best. Let us return to trust, faith, and the wisdom of the Scriptures, through repentance, recognizing that it the Lord who has all things in his control, that he is good, and that he has our best interests at heart.

At last, we turn to verse 2:11, which summarizes the main thrust of this passage. His hour had indeed come as we read, “Jesus performed this first sign in Cana of Galilee. He displayed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.” (John 2:11 HCSB) With all of the other nuances of this passage, John is foremost showing us the second group that recognized his lordship; the disciples believed, “Jesus is Lord!” John’s implicit creed is the advancement of the ancient Israelite creed, Adonai malak, or “The Lord reigns,” expressing his sovereignty, provision, and guardianship. We saw that creed in our Psalm this morning, “Say among the nations: “The LORD reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken…” (Psalms 96:10 HCSB) John, in his style of writing, “so that we may believe,” (John 20:31 HCSB) is demonstrating by record of this miracle, that indeed it is this very Jesus, who is the very “Lord who reigns,” coming as the promised Messiah we heard in our OT reading. “I will not keep silent because of Zion, and I will not keep still because of Jerusalem until her righteousness shines like a bright light, and her salvation like a flaming torch. Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the LORD’S mouth will announce.”(Isaiah 62:1-2 HCSB) John is announcing to the world the perfect and final creed, Ku/rioß ∆Ihsouvß, or “Jesus is Lord.”

Later, this creed became the first creed of the early Church. They affirmed it to both state their identity and to contrast it against the pagan community surrounding them. However, like the Lord’s prophets, they proclaimed it in the streets, announcing Jesus’ lordship over all other false gods of the time: Greek philosophy, temple cults, political worship, and personal idols. It was light to push back the darkness; a society made over in a pagan image. It was the sharpest break with paganism imaginable. It was the proclamation that Messiah has come to establish his kingdom and that no god can stand in the midst of a culture that held up everything as lord except the Lord himself. “Submit or suffer the consequences of judgment,” was their message; many died as a matter of their proclamation. I propose to you that we are living in a time exactly like that today, paganism (not necessarily religious cults, but anything affirming a false god) and our charge as well is to push back the darkness. Once again we need to announce, “Jesus is Lord,” both in the way we live our lives and, yes, with words too, even if it means persecution. Remember the blessing Jesus promises, “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil, because of [your obedience to] the Son of Man.” (Luke 6:22 HCSB) Is anyone persecuting us? If not, perhaps we are not loud enough in our words and deeds, looking more like the pagan culture than Christ’s followers. Let us not miss our blessing.

So, it is established here, that “Jesus is Lord,” but what of the cure for our idolatry? Fortunately, we have hope, if like the disciples we believe in Him. Let it be said, that God is jealous for our affections and he will not allow his people to remain in the false religion of idolatry, he will cause our hearts to long for him, and lead us safely back to his feet, away from the misfortune of our following after other gods. As sons and daughters of God, our loving father will chasten us as it is written, “But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” (Hebrews 12:8 HCSB).

For example, “some years ago [the famous American preacher,] Donald Grey Barnhouse was counseling a young woman on the sidewalk after a service. She said she was a Christian and that she wanted to follow Christ, but she wanted to be a famous too, saying, “After I have made it big, I’ll follow Christ completely.” Barnhouse took a key out of his pocket and scratched a mark on a mailbox standing on the corner. “That is what God will let you do,” he said. “God will let you scratch the surface of success. He will let you get close enough to the top to know what it is, but He will never let you have it, because He will never let one of His children have anything rather than Himself.”
Years later he met the girl again, and she confessed that this had indeed been her life story. She had dabbled in the stage. Once, her picture had been in a national magazine. But she had never quite made it. She told Barnhouse, “I can’t tell you how many times in my discouragement I have closed my eyes and seen you scratching on that mailbox with your key. God let me scratch the edges, but He gave me nothing in place of Himself.”

No. He is not content to leave his children in idolatry and will frustrate their best efforts to the contrary. Praise God, for his discipline.

Let us also thank God for today’s Gospel reading, for it ought to scratch our mailboxes. It gives us a new creed, “Jesus is Lord,” to repel our idolatrous ones, and is one we ought to repeat 5001 times daily if the figures I quoted earlier are accurate. Here, I make no distinction between those of us that know Christ and those of us who have not yet made him Lord of our lives. Concerning idols, the cure is the same for both; repent and believe that “Jesus is Lord” over all. We must recognize that our idols will never satisfy, and Christ alone delivers us from their futility; it is his grace really. We must realize we can do nothing in our own strength, and we can turn no other place but to the Lord’s mercy in overcoming the false worship of self. We must confess to the Lord we have sought after other gods, proclaim that He is indeed Lord, Christ, and Savior, ask his forgiveness, and he will not leave us helpless, but give us the “heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26 HCSB) by the power of the Holy Spirit, to keep Jesus Christ alone as the object of our affections. Then, we will have all power in heaven and earth on our side and we will indeed see his glory as Lord, and participate fully in all of the Gospel promises, including the final one:

Christ’s ministry began at a wedding, and so it will culminate. As his presence was to announce he was Lord, he also validates the institution of marriage, which points to the relationship he with his Church; the Church is the bride of Christ awaiting the return of the bridegroom. This is an anticipation of things to come, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Recall at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus says, “’I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in My Father’s kingdom with you.’” (Matthew 26:29 HCSB) One day he will, when heaven comes down, and yes, it will be the perfect wedding with the finest wine that will not run out, and all who have purged their idols and believe on him alone as Lord, will be present to behold his full glory, and our idolatrous temptation will be no more.

In a moment, we are about to profess our faith with the Nicene Creed. I challenge us today, to say those words with careful intention, pondering the Lord we confess. We are also about to partake of the Lord’s Supper, to feast at his table. There we will not only remember his death, proclaim He is Risen Lord, join our voices with all the heavens, and have a foretaste of the Marriage Feast, but we will receive his nurturing grace. As we approach the altar today, may we ask him to renew our hearts of flesh, grant us eyes to recognize our idols, and that his lordship would prevail in all areas of our lives. Let us ask that he would remain our God, that we would be made over in his image, and that we would transform society by driving out the false and dark gods of men. Amen.

Sources: CBS.com, JI Packer’s various works.

Topics: Epiphany, John, Liturgical Seasons |

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