What Do You Do When The Wine Runs Out?

What Do You Do When The Wine Runs Out?




2 The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:1-11



The first miracle of our Lord took place in a town called, Cana of Galilee. The event was a wedding. Cana was a inconspicuous little town that lay outside of Nazareth. Cana had no social prominence in its day!

It’s interesting to note: Jesus ministry, like his birth, began in a small, unimportant town, to common everyday folks.



Weddings were, and are, a big deal in the Jewish culture. There is a certain protocol that was to be followed. The wedding ceremony would take place late in the evening after a time of feasting. The father of the bride would take his daughter on his arm, and with the wedding party in tow, would parade through the streets of the village so that everyone could come out and congratulate the bride. Finally the wedding party would arrive at the home of the groom. The wedding actually took place in the front door of the groom’s house. It was no short ceremony….no the festivities lasted for days. It was a time of great celebration.



The groom’s family was expected to provide all the refreshments for this week of festivities.



Suddenly the host discovers that they are running out of wine. They had more guests than they anticipated. It would have been improper for the culture of this time to not have wine. Jews did not get drunk at these celebrations—drunkenness was considered a disgrace. But the host would have been totally humiliated if he ran out of food or drink!



Evidently they did not have the money to go and purchase more wine. We can assume that Jesus’ mother was a close friend of the groom’s mother and she heard about the problem. Who knows, if these families were close friends it is highly possible that Jesus was a close friend of the groom himself.



Jesus’ mother comes to Jesus and says, “Son, we’ve got a problem here, and we need your help.” “They have no more wine.”



The fact that Mary came to Jesus with such a problem is a reminder that Jesus is concerned with the everyday things in life that we face.



Jesus answers his mother in what seems like a harsh way. He was not being harsh, he was just simply already focusing on his life and ministry, and had began to detach himself from his family.



John calls this first miracle a sign. Signs are usually placed in places to give us information, or point us in the direction. The miracles of Christ were always meant to reveal to us the glory of God, and point us to who He truly is.



Let’s take a look at what this first sign means for us today.



Notice that first of all…

This sign informs us that…The wine can run out. Mary realizes the seriousness of the issue. You can hear it in her words… “They have no wine.” To the Jewish people wine symbolized joy. The Jewish rabbis had a saying, ‘Without wine there is no joy.” At the wedding in Cana their joy had run out!

It is a reminder of the emptiness of our life without Christ. This statement by the mother of Jesus goes beyond liquid refreshment at a wedding. It is symbolic of our lives. It is a scary thing when the “wine runs out.”



There are times when the wine runs out. The joy is dry! And you and I have no resources available within ourselves to replace the joy. Only new wine can come from Jesus Christ.



When we run out of wine …

This sign teaches us that…When the wine runs out, Jesus can turn the water into wine.

Mary came to Jesus and told him of the problem that they were facing. I can just imagine her telling the groom’s mother, “You hold on just a minute! I know just what to do with this situation.” She came to Jesus and told him…how about her instructions to the servants. “Whatever he says to you, do it” Just Do It!

Jesus took the water pots that were filled with water for hand washing. When the guest arrived someone would pour some of this water over their hands in a symbolic purification. To eat with unwashed hands would have been a defilement. Jesus took this water and made approx. 180 gallons of wine. What a wedding gift.



It’s interesting to note that Jesus took the water for purification and used it for his first miracle. The water in those pots was merely for an external cleansing. Jesus ministry over the next three years would teach people about an inner cleansing.

If we look at the first miracle of Jesus we see this truth…Jesus is not just the giver of joy…he is the giver of “abundant” joy. He not only met their immediate need, but he gave an abundance.

a. Jesus did not just make some ordinary wine. No, the wine that he produced was better than that which they had started the celebration with.

b. Jesus didn’t just doctor the water so that it tasted like wine. No, the water in those pots was transformed into the finest wine the people had ever tasted.

c. The truth for us is this—Jesus is not going to just doctor up our lives a little bit. Just put a Band-Aid on our needs—no he wants to transform our lives, just like he transformed that water. Our lives will take on a new nature.



Someone once said, “Don’t focus on the stone water pots—and miss the whole point—Jesus is about transformation.

He turned…

• water into wine;

• he turns frowns into smiles;

• he turns whimpers of fear into songs of hope;

• he turns deserts into gardens,

• he turns sorrow into joy;

• he turns sin into grace;

• death into life.

Jesus is all about transforming power. Changing people—that’s what it’s all about.



This Sign teaches us that…Jesus offers an abundance of new wine at the end.



Sometimes it’s hard for us to understand God not only meeting our need but providing for us an abundance. But that’s the story of grace. There is no measure to grace. There will always be enough grace to meet our needs. That’s the story of God’s love. There is nothing that you can do that will cause God to diminish his love for you. Understand this principle of God today…God is not just a God of the required—he is a God of the abundance.



10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! (Malachi 3:10) Not “just enough”—an abundance

Look at creation—have you ever been to the Smokies? There is an over abundance. God didn’t give us “just enough” beauty, it is all around us. Have you ever been to the seashore and looked out over the ocean. There is far more beauty that our eyes can absorb. Have you ever seen a field of wildflowers? Not just enough to fill a vase in your living room, but more than enough. This is the picture of grace…God always gives more than you will ever need!



So the wine is poured out and all the people who are present rejoice at the richness of this “new wine”. This was completely against custom. The best wine was always offered first. Isn’t that just like our Lord? The best always comes at the end. The grace we once tasted cautiously—we now drink freely. Jesus has poured out in us the richness of his love and forgiveness. There is one among us who is pouring out the rich “wine” and there is enough for everyone!



What do you do when the wine runs out? Mary showed us by example. She told the servants that if they would just do what Jesus commanded they would see a miracle. A miracle that not only met their immediate need...but a miracle of abundance.



Has your joy ran out today? Jesus wants to transform you! Bring your need to him!

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (Psalm 51:10-12)