The Wedding Guest - Part A

I watched the best planned events go awry on the garden wedding.

But I did work room, fainted. Not once but twice. That was really beautiful day. They came in they were walking down the cold. Make sure you have a good meal in the morning. What he did do that got nervous and slightly as legs are locked up, just went back. We caught him and weeks kept going and keep did it so for the rest of the wedding. We had to have him sit in a chair while his bride stood tall next to him and he finished it on.

He'll never forget that. I'm sure that will come to connect was weaker division.

Weddings are memorable events for many reasons. Memorable for all the joy and excitement and also for all the stress and chaos there memorable for all the love and fellowship and help family and friends come together to celebrate something truly special and are also memorable for all the unexpected things are bound to happen. However, imagine just how memorable it would be to have Jesus as a guest at your wedding.

That's what will find in the Skip Heitzigs. He continues her series believe 879 today here in connect with script weekend edition. But before we get started, here's what we have for you this month in the connect was Skip resources or truly in the midst of hardship is a hallmark of the Christian life is possible to use linear heights.

Sometimes what a happy feeling proud and we have to figure out how to navigate. A lot of times God's purpose in allowing trial to get the opportunity to grow to the point where we genuinely experience joy in the midst of trial. Learn how to face trials with courage, wisdom, and yes joy with Linda's booklet happy trials and when you give $20 or more to help keep this Bible teaching ministry on the will send you a special bundle of three booklets by Linda happy trials don't tempt me and speak no evil keys to unlock the thought circumstances and fears that can cause you to give into temptation and encourage you to avoid setting fires with your word and instead use them to bring showers of blessing get your bundle of three booklets when you give $20 or more by calling 800-9222 80 online secure connectwithskip.com/walk today will be in John chapter 2 further in your Bibles Skip Heitzigs against things starting with a little flexion on just how stressful weddings can be wedding days are high. You are married and remember your wedding day.

More hands went up. You remember them. One of the reasons is because there were so many details, and there was months of planning and they all culminated on that day. High stress detail after detail.

There was a young woman who is getting married and she said to her mother.

Mom, this day is so important to me. I do not want to overlook one insignificant detail. She said don't worry sweetheart I'll make sure the groom is there. The groom is hardly an insignificant detail. However, in our story. The wedding supper at Kane at the wedding feast we don't know who the couple is there not mentioned at all. There's no mention of the bride or the groom by name there unnamed or unidentified, and there is no record that they even said a single word which may be a good thing. I think it was Ogden Nash, the American poet who said to keep your marriage brimming with love in the loving cup when you're wrong, admitted, and when you're right, shut up, but the real reason that John does not record that this couple is named or said anything at all is because they're really not the most important part of the story. The most important one in this story is not the bride was not the bridegroom of the mother of the bride is not the one who officiated the marriage.

It is the wedding guest. It is Jesus himself. Because what he does and what he brings to this wedding would change everything for a group of disciples who were watching I love this story and I love the fact that Jesus first miraculous sign was at a wedding and I thought as I was reading through the text this week how weddings would be really different if Jesus were the invited guest and how marriages would be different if Christ were the center of the home and how relationships would be different if that also was the case. I do a lot of weddings I have done a number of them for years, and one of the reasons I love them so much is because I see what nobody else sees. I have the best seat in the house standing up here. I get to see the sweat beat up on the brow of the groom as he is being watched by a whole bunch of people and sometimes his hands will shake uncontrollably. I get to watch that. It's a lot of fun.

I get to watch tears in the eyes of sometimes both the bride and the groom. I certainly get to see the love that is exchanged in just the looks that they have.

It's a wonderful wonderful time. No doubt this was also a wonderful moment for this young couple now John chapter 2 moves us geographically from the area of the Jordan River down south and moves us north northwest to the area of Galilee which will become the headquarters for Christ and just about 5 miles north of his hometown of Nazareth was the village of Cana of Galilee, Nathaniel this last disciple that we read about in chapter 1, his hometown was Cana of Galilee read through 11 verses of chapter 2 is one little point that isn't mentioned here that I want you to know about the day of the week. This wedding happened on was a Wednesday.

The reason I know that is almost universally in Jewish literature that was the appropriate day for the wedding of a virgin in Israel was a Wednesday, certainly not done on Saturday like in our culture because Saturday was the Sabbath and a marriage would not take place on the Sabbath.

Wednesday was the typical day and you know Jewish weddings are like the coolest because the bride and groom get married under a canopy and as soon as the ceremony is done they lift them up and carry them through the streets with a canopy above their heads and their singing songs that the torchlight ceremony and they would make the most circuitous route to the town possible so that everybody in town could get on the bandwagon so to speak and say congratulations. God bless you muscle tall good Anya and that they would all be involved. This marriage was probably a wedding that was a friend of the family who is very close to Jesus and his mother Mary or perhaps even a relative because Jesus and Mary his mother were invited and Mary. It seems like is serving behind the scene. She's part of the workforce, so probably they were related release good friends.

But what I want to show you today is something I think John chose us as we go to the story receive Jesus Christ and his relationship to four separate entities. John brings them all out. First of all, his mother second. The moment third, a miracle that's probably what is most famous for fourth. His men, the disciple Jesus in relation to all four of those entities.

Let's begin in verse one. Read through the fifth verse what's highlighted there is Jesus and his mother 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 when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Jesus said to her, woman, what is 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. You know something always goes wrong at a wedding right or how much you spend, or how well you plan, there's got to be some detail that is unforeseen that will crop up. I remember my own wedding was wonderful.

It was a warm day but it was a beautiful day and the music was good and the food was great and linear look like I'm knockout a member I saw her I just want but there was one detail that just kind it change the day for me. I rented a tuxedo but I did not try it on before the wedding. I put it on right before the wedding.

If it fine except for one small item that was the shoes. They were one and 1/2 sizes too small for my feet. So the entire wedding I'd like bird cloth feet inside my shoes and if I shed tears during the wedding.

It was not out of joy it was out of sheer pain and agony. I never forget that I've done a lot of weddings. As I mentioned, and I watched the best planned events go awry. Never forget the garden wedding that I did work the groom fainted.

Not once but twice. That was really beautiful day. They came in they were walking down the aisle and I told the go. Make sure you have a good meal in the morning. What he didn't do that. So we got up there and is nervous in the blood leaves his head, legs are locked up and he just went back. We caught him and weeks Going in key.

So for the rest of the wedding. We had to have him sit in a chair while his bride stood nice and tall next to him and they finished it off. He'll never forget that. I'm sure never live it down. Then there was the silent wedding that I did strike the musician forgot that he had to play that day at a wedding, so there was no music was a silent wedding is like an old black-and-white movie and when she walked down the aisle. It seemed to take hours because every music helps well here's a wedding where they run out of wine. Now I cannot overemphasize the distress that must've been in Mary's voice when she said to her son. They have no wine because they have no wine was a social catastrophe which I'll explain in in a little bit what I want to focus on first is the relationship between Jesus Christ and his mother.

At this point and I do that because this is been a huge issue. Historically, Mary has been worshiped by some being called the mother of God. Some say that she was sinless.

Some say that her body was assumed into heaven, and that Jesus Christ crowned her the queen of heaven and the Queen of the universe, she has therefore been revered and prayed to and depended upon and she has been called the co-redemptive wrists of the human race and the co-mediate tricks of the human race. There's even a church in Rome and I've been to the Basilica that has Jesus hanging on the cross.

On one side of the cross, dying for the sins of the world and on the other side of the cross is Mary dying on the cross. Even Vatican to the 1960s spoke of, and I quote the union of the mother with the sun in the work of salvation." Well, with that background. Verse four is very very interesting because Jesus said to her, woman and great good and I woman, what is your concern have to do with me, my hour has not yet come. I don't know misunderstand this is not harsh. This is not inconsiderate or disrespectful.

It is polite to say woman.

Jesus will say the same thing to Mary when he hangs on the cross and says woman behold your son and gives her to John's care fact it's a typical polite way to address a woman six times in the New Testament in the Gospels, Jesus calls different women by the name woman that's like saying Mrs. or lady or ma'am ma'am, that's polite, but it is not intimate.

It is more formal and it indicates a change in the relationship that he would address his mother, like any other woman calling her ma'am or Mrs. couple that with the question, what does your concern have to do with me. In the Greek, I discovered it's even more poignant. It's TM like high soy good and I or literally what what with you and me woman and and and it's a little somatic rhetorical question that is meant to show where thinking into different galaxies were thinking in totally different manners. My thoughts are not your thoughts to divergent ways you couple that question with the formal woman and as I said, it indicates a change in the relationship. And here's the change. Jesus here is beginning his public ministry, and now earthly relationships will not determine his course of action but a different relationship.

Well, it's as if Jesus saying I'm not just your son, I'm to be your savior and I'm on a different agenda and and Christ predicted this day would come.

He was 12 years old when he did, and he member is lost in the temple and Joseph and Mary were like partway back to Nazareth where where is he, and had to go back and find him in Jesus. It didn't you know that I must be about my father's business and what father was he speaking about God the father. There's a whole another relationship that I'm tracking with even more than this relationship of son and mother. That is my heavenly father.

All of that to say simply that Mary is a blessed woman. She was a wonderful godly example of motherhood. Wonderful example of womanhood. A great wonderful example of spiritual submission, but she is not sinless, and she is not the co-redemptive wrists and she is not the co-mediate tricks of the human race. I'll tell you what she is and what she was. She was a disciple who needed God's grace and mercy like anybody else and I'm saying that because that's what she said about herself when she was told that she was going to be the mother of Jesus in Luke chapter 1 and the beautiful section called the Magnificat of Mary. She responds by saying my soul doth magnify the Lord in my spirit rejoices. Listen in God my Savior.

Your Savior will. Who needs a Savior but a sinner only sinners need Savior's sinless people don't need Savior's co-redemptive versus no need Savior's only those who know that they need God's grace and mercy because there sinners need Savior, so I would say to you if you want to honor Mary, please honor her by doing what she says to do in verse five, whatever he says to you, do it.

She points to Jesus and says honor my son, submit to my son so you want to honor Mary do that submit to Christ love Jesus obeyed Jesus make it all about Jesus because that's what she did. She was never given any special honor by the early church will never find a shred of evidence that that happened.

She was certainly never worshiped by the early church.

In fact, she's hardly mentioned in the Bible at all. After certain point she just drops off the page after acts chapter 1 now, don't you think that if Mary were to play a role in our salvation, or if she were to be prayed to don't you think the New Testament would at least mention that but it doesn't mention that in fact what it says is quite the opposite.

Matthew 12 Jesus is teaching in the house is packed full of people listening to his Bible study and as he's teaching. He gets interrupted by somebody's is to take your mother and your brothers are outside they want to talk to you number Jesus said Dingle my mother. He looked around the room and said, who is my mother and who are my brothers and he pointed to those listening to those who listen to God's word and keep it the same is my mother and my brothers then in Luke's gospel chapter 11. Evidently there was somebody already wanting to worship Mary back then and this person came up to Jesus and said blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nurse you Jesus immediately shot back and said blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and do it. So this is a good section to highlight as John does the relationship between Jesus and his mother, woman, what is your concern have to do with me. Second thing I want you to notice because John brings it out is Jesus, and the moment the relationship between Jesus and the moment you notice in verse one it says on the third day and so far haven't you noticed how John is very particular about recording what happens and what days if there's some schedule. Jesus is keeping.

If you have and I want you to notice back in chapter 1, after the prologue.

Look at verse 29 the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and down in verse 35 is another time in Decatur again the next day John stood with two of his disciples. Verse 43 the following day.

Jesus wanted to go to Galilee because he's got a wedding to go to and he found Philip and said, follow me, and then verse one of chapter 2 on the third day, so there was a couple of days to travel from down of the Jordan River to Galilee to cane up there in the mountains. But John is announcing the timetable, but the key verse is back in verse four, chapter 2, woman, what is your concern have to do with me, my hour has not yet come. I want you to notice that phrase could driven to see it five more times in the Gospel of John, Jesus will make reference to my hour my hour my hour my hour my hour.

What does he mean by that. What he means by my hour is the time of his suffering, death and subsequent resurrection. That is the manifesting sign of who he is and what is come to do that by his death and resurrection give you a few examples just a few. I will go to mall John chapter 7 verse 30 they sought to take him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come in John chapter 13 verse one it was before Passover and Jesus knew that his hour had come when he would depart from this world and go to the father John 17 verse one. Jesus is now praying to his heavenly father. Father, he says, the hour has come. Glorify your son that your son may glorify you. Okay I want you to see something want you to miss this part. Mary asked Jesus something by saying they have no wine.

And Jesus says woman.

What is your concern have to do with me.

My hour is not yet come so Mary couldn't have simply been asking Jesus to pull off a miracle like taking out the wine and you're really good at that because that would make any sense.

It would make any sense because Jesus rebuffed her and saying you know we don't share the same concern and then he makes more wine, which is what she's indicating know what she must have been saying and indicating to him is son. Now is the time. Here's the launching point here is the time when you can display and reveal who you are and what you have come to do give us some unmistakable sign son supreme manifestation that you are the Messiah and launch it publicly, so everybody will know where to go.

This is my hours waiting for time of Jesus that time is not yet come, but it will.

In the meantime, we have a duty to help prepare his many hearts and souls as possible for that event, which in many ways will be like a wedding exciting, stressful, unpredictable, and totally unforgettable. If you like a copy of today's message is available on CD for just four dollars plus shipping. When you call us at 1-800-922-1880 when you visit connectwithskip.com the wedding. Jesus attended was a significant event in more ways than one.

To be sure to join us next time to find out why your and connect with Skip weekend edition presentation of connection