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THE
MARRIAGE MIRACLE
by
Karen & Ron Flowers
Directors, Department of Family
Ministries, General Conference
1997
| Theme:
Jesus' transformation of water to wine at the wedding feast
symbolizes His transformation of the marriage institution. God's
redemptive act in Christ lifted the curse, permitting couples
to enjoy equality and mutuality in marriage without the control
of one by the other and the abuse which so often results. |
| Theme
Text: John 2:1-12 |
| Presentation
Notes: Throughout the following outline, numbers in
parentheses (1), (2), (3) will indicate illustrations, quotations
and other material found in the section called Sermon Illumination
that may be helpful in your sermon development and delivery.
|
John 2:1-12.
In the wedding feast at Cana, we see Jesus endorsing marriage,
transforming marriage, and supplying married couples
with their needs.
Jesus Endorsed
Marriage
He enjoyed a wedding festival. The serious business of the
work of the Kingdom did not stop Him from participating in the joyous,
light-hearted atmosphere of a wedding reception. Such social fellowship
was, and is, an important aspect to life in His Kingdom community.
He inaugurated His ministry for the human race at a wedding.
At creation, a wedding ceremony marked the climax of the Creator's
activity when He made the first man and woman. Sin had radically
altered the relationship between the sexes and the institution of
marriage. In His redemptive work, Christ's first activity was in
the context of a wedding ceremony. Even as humanity was redeemed,
so marriage itself as an institution was recreated by the Savior's
ministry. (1)
God has not changed His mind about marriage. Despite the
sad state to which marriage had deteriorated, He who created it
and pronounced it very good still desired for His people to know
the lasting commitment, the friendship, and the romantic delights
it afforded. At Cana and elsewhere (Compare Matt. 19:4-8) Jesus
announced that His ministry would endorse and uphold marriage as
it was meant to be. (2)
Jesus declared Himself to be the Heavenly Bridegroom. In
the most extravagant tribute thinkable, Jesus magnified marriage,
making it a symbol of the union between Himself as the Bridegroom
and the redeemed, His Bride (Matt. 9:15; John 3:29). A wedding parable
described the kingdom of God (Matt. 22:1-14; 25:1-13).
Jesus Transformed
Marriage
Marriage before and after the Fall. In their sinless state
neither of the sexes ruled the other. They were co-regents over
the earth, each reflecting the Creator's image, each blessed and
charged with the responsibility of procreation, two genders in one
humanity, equal to each other in every respect, true partners in
marriage (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18, 23, 24). With the entrance of sin,
marriage fell under the curse (Gen. 3:16). (3) Henceforth, where
sin reigned, marriage suffered from human selfishness and the tendency
to exploit or dominate one another. Even among God's professed followers,
women fared but little better than in pagan societies. The practices
of taking more than one wife, infidelity, easy divorce, and denigration
of womanhood became commonplace. The Pharisee's daily devotional
prayers included, "I thank God that I was not made a woman."
Difference between the curse and the gospel. Sin perverted
marriage, but the gospel restored its purity and beauty. (4) The
kingdom of God has come to us in Christ (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20;
17:21). Believers are rescued from the powers of this present evil
age (Gal. 1:4) and enabled to taste the powers of the age to come
(Heb. 6:5). In Christ there is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). As
Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, we may be "filled with
all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19). In Christ the curse
is removed. (5) In the place of division and strife between individuals,
there is peace in Christ (Eph. 2:14-17). (6)
The miracles of Jesus have a symbolic purpose. The miracles
are "signs" portraying the special characteristics of
our Lord's person and work (John 2:18; 6:30). The loaves and fishes
miracle, for example, goes beyond simply supplying a meal for a
crowd of weary listeners. The disciples did not understand the greater
meaning, otherwise their experience on the lake after the miracle
would have been different (Mark 6:51, 52). On the day following,
Jesus contrasts the manna of Moses' time with the "true bread"
which the Father sends from heaven, namely Himself (John 6:26, 27,
48, 51, 58). He appeals to His hearers to receive Him, to let His
words be spirit and life for them (John 6:63). Through this feeding
miracle, the glory of Jesus is seen to supersede the practices and
traditions of the past.
The wedding miracle manifests Christ's glory. The water-to-wine
miracle is a "marriage miracle." Like the miracle of the
loaves and fishes, its intention is more than the supply of an immediate
need. It manifests His glory (John 2:11). Cana heralds the arrival
of the gospel. (The gospel teaching of Jesus is compared to new
wine in several places: Matt. 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37, 38.) The
waterpots at the wedding reception represented the past with its
customs and traditions. They have been supplanted by the One who
offers an abundance of the new and better beverage of the gospel
in His new kingdom age.
Jesus not only transformed water to a superior drink, but redeemed
and elevated those divinely designed religious and social institutions
that had been trodden down by the curse of sin. (7) He taught principles
and practices of gospel living which would have a profound effect
of renewal and change in the hearts of married couples and others
in whom His Spirit dwells. These principles and practices would
be incompatible with old forms and traditions and would require
containers new and pliable, like new wineskins (Mark 2:22), believers
with converted hearts (Ez. 11:19; 36:26).
Some Christians fail to see Christ's redemption of marriage.
Many a woman even today can testify that the curse is alive
and well. Around that curse has developed a model of marriage that
some Christians perpetuate and defend. (8)
Radical changes
in marriage in the gospel. The marriage miracle at Cana was not
simply making the existing water more fit to drink or adding a few
more minerals or flavoring. The miracle was a radical change. Marriage
is different for Christians in Christ. Mutual submission to each other
under the Lordship of Christ is God's new plan for marriage (Eph.
5:21-25). (9) Husband and wife are heirs together of the grace of
life (1 Peter 3:7).
Ellen G. White described the effect of the gospel upon the husband-wife
relationship in marriage:
Woman
should fill the position which God originally designed for her,
as her husband's equal. . . . She should feel that she is her husband's
equal—to stand by his side, she faithful at her post of duty
and he at his. (The Adventist Home, p. 231)
Woman . . . may stand on an equality with her husband as adviser,
counselor, companion, and co-worker, and yet lose none of her womanly
grace and modesty. (Evangelism, p. 467)
Neither
husband nor wife is to make a plea for rulership. The Lord has laid
down the principle that is to guide in this matter. The husband
is to cherish his wife as Christ cherishes the church. And the wife
is to respect and love her husband. Both are to cultivate the sprit
of kindness, being determined never to grieve or injure the other.
(Testimonies, Vol. 7, p. 47)
Jesus Is
the Source of Supply for Marriage
The Cana miracle was evidence of Christ's ability and willingness
to supply our needs. (Compare Phil. 4:19). "They have no wine,"
said the mother of Jesus. What they lacked, Jesus supplied in abundance
and in a way far superior to their expectations.
God promises to give if we will ask. Jesus spoke about God's
willingness to give gifts to His people (Luke 11:13). His rest (Matt.
11:28) and His peace (John 14:27) can transform our homes, our marriages,
as we come to Him in faith.
God supplies grace that we may give to others. In God's covenant
we experience grace, love, forgiveness, commitment, acceptance,
intimacy, and even sacrifice, that our deepest needs might be met.
As what we have found in the gospel is reflected to our families,
our relationships take on characteristics like God's relationship
with us. Christian family members respond to the call to be gracious,
to love, to serve one another, and to forgive just as He loves,
serves and forgives us. Strength and grace from God are promised
to accomplish that to which God calls us (Jer. 31:31-34; Matt. 20:26-28;
Eph. 2:8; 4:32; Heb. 8:10-12; 1 John 3:16).
Some today may be in need of something very tangible, very material,
as were the couple in Cana. We can lay that need before Him also.
But in a special way today we ask Him to help us to repent of our
tendency to disregard His will, to confess our need for His plan
to be more fully carried out in our lives, and to enable us to receive
the supplies of grace and truth He has offered.
Conclusion
The Cana miracle has implications for our homes. First, Jesus' endorsement
of marriage must be proclaimed today. This institution coming from
Eden, this twin of the Sabbath, is deserving of the kind of attention
and consideration by Adventists that has been given to the Sabbath.
Secondly, God's redemptive act in Christ transformed marriage, lifting
the curse and permitting couples to enjoy equality and mutuality
in marriage without the control of one by the other and the abuse
which so often results. Finally, God will supply our needs. He will
give to us His grace and power to carry out His will in our marriages
and homes. Let us heed His call to live our married lives according
to His gospel plan.
|
Sermon
Illumination
|
| One
(1): He who gave Eve to Adam as a helpmeet, performed His
first miracle at a marriage festival. . . . Thus He sanctioned
marriage, recognizing it as an institution that He Himself had
established. (The Ministry of Healing, p. 356) |
| Two
(2): Neither Roman nor Greek civilizations provided an atmosphere
that elevated the marital union. The Greek statesman, Demosthenes,
(3000 B.C.) indicated that it might take several of this lesser
order of being—women—to take care of man's needs:
"Mistresses we keep for pleasure, concubines for daily
attendance upon our person, wives to bear us legitimate children
and be our faithful housekeepers." The wife could be repudiated
and simply dismissed for barrenness or even if her husband found
her unattractive or uncongenial. (Mazat, 1981, pp. 27, 28) |
| Three
(3): When God created Eve, He designed that she should possess
neither inferiority nor superiority to the man, but that in
all things she should be his equal. . . . But after Eve's sin,
as she was the first in the transgression, the Lord told her
that Adam should rule over her. She was to be in subjection
to her husband, and this was a part of the curse. (Testimonies,
Vol. 3, p. 484) |
| Four
(4): Like every other one of God's good gifts entrusted
to the keeping of humanity, marriage has been perverted by sin;
but it is the purpose of the gospel to restore its purity and
beauty. (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 64) |
|
Five
(5): Without any fuss or publicity, Jesus terminated the
curse of the Fall, reinvested woman with her partially lost
nobility, and reclaimed for his new kingdom community the
original creation blessing of sexual equality. (Stott, 1984,
p. 136)
|
| Six
(6): Faith in Christ abolishes all barriers, whether religious,
cultural, or social, that separate people from each other. Discussing
further the unity Christians know despite their background as
Jews and Gentiles, Paul exalted the cross of Christ as the source
of reconciliation. In doing so, he used language that one could
as easily apply to the separation between male and female (Eph.
2:14-18). "To create out of the two a single new humanity
in himself, thereby making peace" (NEB) is good news that
addresses the curse on marriage in Genesis 3 and makes the way
possible for couples to know the "one flesh" experience
of Genesis 2. (Flowers, 1992, p. 83) |
| Seven
(7): Christ came not to destroy this institution, but to
restore it to its original sanctity and elevation. He came to
restore the moral image of God in man, and He began His work
by sanctioning the marriage relation. (The Adventist Home,
p. 99) |
Eight
(8): Robert Tislund was a powerful, pulpit pounding preacher.
He had schooled his thirty-one year- old wife Lucy and five
children in unwavering subjection to his demands. He expected
perfection from them all, he said, and he beat them regularly
to accomplish it, including their seven-year-old, twenty-five
pound, blind, deaf and brain-damaged son. When the child died,
Lucy grieved, but Robert beat her before and after the funeral
for doing so, saying that her sin had caused this "imperfect
child."
"He was my husband, and I knew I was supposed to follow
his decisions. You get married and the Bible says you are to
obey your husband. Right from the start he was the boss. ‘Wives,
be subject to your husbands as unto the Lord.' That was his
main verse."
Despite the violence, he bragged that there were no problems
in their marriage. She went nowhere without his permission and
had only twenty-five cents in her possession for a phone call.
She never wore slacks or make-up, except when he permitted it
to cover a bruise. Although he was her husband, Robert was referred
to by Lucy as "Pastor" or "Sir."
One day he came home furious. His questionable relationship
with a fourteen-year-old girl at the church school had been
found out. When Lucy questioned him about it, he beat her three
different times, beat the children and then, with a wild look
in his eyes, went to bed. She would never see the light of another
morning, he said, for he intended to kill her.
While he slept, she pulled the loaded revolver out from under
his pillow where he always kept it. He opened his eyes and began
to lunge toward her. Then she shot him. She then took her children
to a friend's house and called the police.
A troubled jury deliberated over her sad testimony. She was
finally acquitted. (Adapted from Alsdurf & Alsdurf, pp.
13-15, 1989) |
Nine
(9): In Fulton's Footprints in Fiji Eric B. Hare
(1969) tells of the conversion of Ratu Ambrose. The cruel chief
had squandered the lives of many of his faithful subjects while
pursuing his aggressive goals. Scarred and broken in body, one
old fisherman, Matui, had survived the torturous experience
of being one of the human "logs," men bound with ropes
and used as rollers upon which Ratu Ambrose had launched his
heavy war canoes.
Pastor John Fulton's evangelistic efforts brought both Ratu
Ambrose and Matui into the same Seventh-day Adventist church.
God's power to transform hearts and habits powerfully demonstrated
itself when the new believers celebrated their first Lord's
Supper and footwashing service. Ratu Ambrose quickly took a
towel and basin and knelt down before Matui to wash his feet.
The bent, elderly fisherman at first resisted. "It is not
right for you to wash my feet; you are a great chief."
As Ratu Ambrose went on to bathe the feet of his former subject
with tears filling his eyes and his heart, he replied, "There
is only one Chief here in this room tonight, and that is Jesus."
(Flowers, 1992, pp. 85, 86) |
References
Alsdurf, J., & Alsdurf, P. (1989). Battered into submission.
Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Flowers, K.
& R. (1992). Love aflame. Hagerstown, MD: Review and
Herald Publishing Association.
Hare, E. B.
(1969). Fulton's footprints in Fiji. Hagerstown, MD: Review
and Herald Publishing Association.
Mazat, A.
(1981). That Friday in Eden. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing
Association.
Stott, J.
(1984). Involvement: Social and sexual relationships in the modern
world. Old Tappan, N J: Fleming H. Revell Co.
White, E.
G. (1942). The ministry of healing. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press
Publishing Association.
White, E. G. (1946). Evangelism. Hagerstown, MD: Review and
Herald Publishing Association.
White, E.
G. (1948). Testimonies for the church. Vol. 3. Nampa, ID:
Pacific Press Publishing Association.
White, E.
G. (1948). Testimonies for the church. Vol 7. Nampa, ID:
Pacific Press Publishing Association.
White, E.
G. (1952). The Adventist home. Hagerstown, MD: Review and
Herald Publishing Association.
White, E.
G. (1955). Thoughts from the mount of blessing. Nampa, ID:
Pacific Press Publishing Association.
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