Why Did Jesus Turn Water Into Wine?

Why did Jesus turn water into wine? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on one of our social media accounts. In fact, you can watch us live right now on YouTube and send us a message that way. And, of course, you can always email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Michelle in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hi, Michelle, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Hi, yes, my question is, I'm 37, from 37 to 13 years old. I've been doubting my salvation, and I wanted to know what's keeping me from Christ. There's no change in my life. I don't know if I'm one of the elect, or if God wants me or not. I don't believe going to church or doing good deeds save you. I have bipolar, so I don't know if it's my mental illness keeping me from Christ. I'll be okay for a couple of days with Him, and then I'm out in the world for two or three months doing whatever I want.

I'm just tired. How do I know I really want Christ? I don't want to be a hearer, and I don't want to hear Him say, He never knew me, and I don't want to be religious either. So, I was just hoping for some help, because people in my church have kind of given up on me. They just say, believe the gospel, and I have it in my head, but I don't know how to find it in my heart. I don't know.

Yeah. Well, Michelle, you're not the only one who feels this way and who has felt this way. I know many Christians, genuine Christians, who struggle with assurance. Of course, having assurance of salvation is a really important thing. I think it's a good thing, but the fact that you don't have assurance doesn't necessarily mean that you aren't a Christian. Now, there are people out there who have a false assurance.

They think, I said a prayer someday long ago, and that is going to get me into heaven, that kind of a thing. So, we have to be careful with that as well, but it sounds to me like you're genuinely concerned about where you're going to spend eternity and whether or not you know Jesus. One thing you said in your question was, I don't know if God wants me, if I'm one of the elect, that kind of a thing.

And I think we can go on and on sort of speculating and wondering, what if, what if not, that kind of a thing. But the question is, do you believe in Jesus Christ? And if you do believe in Jesus Christ, it's solely because of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Now, if you struggle with going back and forth between, I feel like I'm walking with Jesus and doing well for a few days, and then I go back to the world, well, yeah, that could really put a hamper on your challenge, if you will, that sort of sense of assurance that we have, because when we're living in sin, it's not easy, and I don't even think we're called to have assurance in that particular situation. And that's where I think sometimes people can have the sort of false assurance that we were talking about.

But your assurance, first and foremost, it can't be in a feeling. And I think that's one of the problems that a lot of us have is we're looking for this sort of feeling of assurance instead of resting on the promise of God. There are days where you might wake up in the morning and feel saved, and there are other days where you might wake up and not feel saved. Your confidence has to be in Jesus alone in what he's done, not even in your works, not in your obedience.

It has to be a hundred percent in what Jesus Christ has done. And when we're resting in the promise of the gospel, what he has done, well, from that place, we're able to begin to follow the Lord. But if we're always questioning, am I truly a believer? Do I really belong to the Lord?

We're going to have a really hard time. So I think it sounds to me, Michelle, like you have to really embrace what the New Testament says about the new identity that you have in Jesus Christ through faith. Paul talks about it in places like Romans chapters 6 through 8. You are, by faith in Jesus through baptism, alive from the dead. Now, that doesn't mean that you're not going to still struggle with sin and doubts even, but that doesn't call into question your new identity through faith in Jesus Christ, and you have to live in light of that new identity. Now, one follow-up question that I have for you, Michelle, it sounds like you are a part of a local church.

Yes, but they don't, I mean, they're nice, but they've kind of given up on me. I'm kind of like the black sheep of the church because of my bipolar and always asking if I'm a believer or not, because I just see no change in my life. I failed first John loving people, and I've been loving the world, and I've seen no conquer over sin, and that's why, like, I was asking, like, how do I know that my heart really wants Christ? I just, I don't want to go to hell and face punishment. Is that enough?

Yeah, well, let me just say something too. Even when we come to the Lord in our repentance, we're always saying, God, even you going to Jesus and saying, help me even to want you, I confess to you, Lord, that there are times, even right now maybe, where I don't know if I want you, and I know that there are draws that I have to the world, but I don't want that. I think even that, Michelle, is something that you can bring to the Lord, and that's what repentance looks like, and the fact that you're doing that, that you're talking about that, is a sign of the grace of God in your life. Jesus does want you, and Jesus does love you, and he calls you to rest in what he's done for you, and one of the chief tactics of the devil is to convince us, to try to convince us that we're beyond repair, that we've just sinned too much, that Jesus could never want us, but Jesus doesn't love you because you're perfect. Paul made it absolutely clear in Romans chapter 5 that God demonstrated his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and so I would say, you know, you're very honest, I would say, taking that honesty to the Lord and even praying, and if the prayer is, God, I don't know if I want you, I struggle to desire you, and you know what, you're not alone in that.

That's all of us. Nobody, even in our repentance, none of us are perfect. That's why our confidence can't be in how much I want Jesus, or I feel like I love Jesus, or my obedience, my confidence. Your confidence has to be solely in Christ's work for you, and God demonstrated his love for you by sending his Son into the world.

That's an objective reality. The cross is this objective reality that you are called to lay a hold of and embrace for yourself, and you can do that because it's not for you as a perfect person, as a righteous person, as someone who always wants God and to do the right thing. It's for you as a sinner. It's for me as a sinner, and God calls you to lay hold of it, and as you lay hold of it, that's where I think over time assurance begins to be built and confidence and the ability to say, look, I'm no longer, you know, under the law.

I'm not the old unregenerate Michelle, if you will. I belong to Jesus, and so I ought to live in light of that reality, walking by the Spirit, and again, that's what Paul gets into in Romans 6 through 8, but not putting your confidence in how you feel or even in how much you want God, but in what God has done for you in his Son and recognizing, knowing that that is for you, that that Gospel message is for you. Sister, lay hold of it, and Michelle, I just want to pray for you right now. Father, God, you know how we can often struggle with assurance, with truly believing that you love us. God, when we look inside, oftentimes we see sin, and Lord, the sins that other people don't see, the things that we struggle with, the thoughts that we have, the desires that we have, Lord, the fact that we know so often we don't love you as we should, and Lord, we bring all of that to you, and we look to you as the God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and I pray for my sister, Michelle, Lord, that you would cause her to see your great love for her demonstrated in the sending of your Son, Jesus, not just for people who are out there in the world, but for her, so that she might experience your love, know it. God, would you help her to know it? Would you help her to rest in the promise of the Gospel, that all those who lay hold of the righteous robes of Jesus Christ by faith, are forgiven, and that if she believes in Jesus, she is forgiven, and she can rest in that and have assurance. Would you be with her and bless her in Jesus' name? Amen.

Amen. And Michelle, we'd like to recommend a resource to you that we know will be helpful. It's called Nine Ways to Know You're Really a Christian. You can find that on our website at corechristianity.com forward slash guides, and we'd recommend that for anyone who may have doubts about their faith, about their assurance of salvation. Again, it's called Nine Ways to Know You're Really a Christian. You can find that at corechristianity.com forward slash guides.

And Bill, can I just follow up, because I know that Michelle's not alone. I know that there are people listening right now who, you know, they have the exact same question, and there are people who for years and years and years struggle with this sense of assurance, and oftentimes I think what we do is we just look inward. We look to how we're doing, to the fruit that we're bearing. Well, of course, there is a sense in which, you know, we can see the work of God in our lives over a long period of time, and sometimes that might help us. That might give us some extra confidence or encouragement, if you will, but it's also the reality that bearing fruit and growth and grace is this long process of inner renewal, and sometimes it very much feels like, you know, one step forward, two steps backward, and it's the Christian fight. And it sounds to me, and it sounded to me like Michelle is in that fight, but the Bible also gives us other things that we can look to, more stable things, if you will, in order to be assured of our salvation, that we are in Christ. Paul, for example, in Romans chapter 8, he talks about the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are God's children. That's one thing, but the main thing is always the objective promise of the Gospel.

Not how we feel, not how we're doing, but what God has said in His Word, because that does not change. And for you who are struggling with assurance, wondering, am I saved? Flee to the cross. Run to the cross.

It's there, it's objective. The blood of Jesus is for you. Lay hold of it and know that you can, as a sinner, as someone who fails, as someone who struggles. And when you go to God even saying, Lord, I don't know if I want you, I struggle even to love you, that He receives you. And that even that prayer of repentance is accepted by the Lord, and we can rest in what Christ has done for us. And so I just have such a heart for those who are wrestling with this as a pastor, and I want to see people come into that confidence that they can have as Christians. Such a great reminder for all of us. Thank you for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, please call us right now.

We've got another 15 minutes or so. We can take your call. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

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Don't miss this one. So head over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to download it. You can also call us for that resource or any one of our resources. Here's the phone number again. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 833-843-2673. Let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our callers named Christine. I'd like to ask a question about John, second chapter. Now there in the fourth verse, why did Jesus answer his mother with a question? And you know, why does he make the wine? That whole 11 verse thing, why is it there? What does it mean? Now give me everything you got on why he asks his mother a question and then goes ahead and makes the wine. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I don't really understand. Thank you very much. God bless. Yeah, the first miracle Jesus does in John's Gospel. On the third day, John chapter 2, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there and Jesus also was invited the wedding with his disciples. And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me?

My hour has not yet come. And his mother said to his servants, do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rights of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. And Jesus said to his servants, fill the jars with wine. And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.

And they took it out. And when the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, he didn't know where it came from. Though the servants who had drawn the water knew the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, everyone serves the good wine first. And then when people have drunk freely, then they serve the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. And so why is this the first miracle in the gospel of John?

Well, a couple of things. First, in verse four, where Jesus talks about his hour, what's he referring to there? He's referring to the hour of his crucifixion, the hour for which he came. This is sort of a theme in the gospel of John. So she brings up this problem.

They're at this wedding. She wants Jesus to intervene, if you will. And Jesus says, look, my hour, it's not here right now. He's looking forward to the cross already here at the very beginning of his miraculous ministry. And so from the get-go in John's gospel, our eyes are fixed on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Now, wine in the Bible is often a picture of joy and celebration, God's kingdom. And so in that sense, this is sort of fitting that this is Jesus's first miracle.

He's ushering in the kingdom, the joy. But it's also, we know wine, a picture of forgiveness. You think of the meal that Jesus instituted prior to his crucifixion. We call it the Lord's supper, where he took a cup and he said, this cup, this cup of wine, is the new covenant in my blood. And it's sort of interesting that we're told that the water that Jesus used here, it says there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification.

Now, here you go. We have this focus on the cross, my hour, Jesus says. We have wine, the substance of purification, the blood of Jesus, and these six stone water jars used for purification.

In one sense, what we're given here at the very beginning of the gospel of John is a sort of foreshadowing of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, of the fact that he's the one who provides the joy, if you will, of the kingdom, and also the forgiveness that we all need. And how much does he provide? It's quite amazing.

There were 20 or 30 gallons in each of these water pots. Jesus makes hundreds of gallons of wine, if you will, more than they would have needed. And I love that because it's this picture of his grace, his love, his forgiveness, the blood of the new covenant. We have more than we need, if you will, and he supplies it for us.

And so there's a lot going on there, but that's where I would point to in this miracle in particular. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, if you'd like to email us a question, here is our email address.

It's questions at corechristianity.com. You can also leave a voicemail 24 hours a day on our voicemail system. We'd love to hear from you.

Call us at 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Catherine in Austin, Texas. Catherine, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Hello, thank you for taking my call. I read about Jesus and all that he did on the cross and how he suffered for righteousness, and he did all these wonderful things for us. And I keep wondering if I should stay in my abusive marriage, because I read also that if a woman leaves, she should remain unmarried. And I don't know if I would want to do that, and I'm just not really sure what to do, because I know it's not good and right, but yet I think about Jesus, and I know that he endured a lot of suffering as well. Yeah, Catherine, if you're in a situation that isn't safe, I would say to you, you need to get out of that situation. And I think that that's what Jesus would want you to do. I don't know what kind of abuse you're speaking of in particular, but I know that, no, the Lord does not want you to be in a marriage where you are being abused. And so I think there needs to be some separation there, some distance, if that is indeed happening. And if it's physical abuse, you know, I think getting the authorities involved is also very important.

Now let me ask you one follow-up question. Are you and your husband a part of a church, Catherine? He doesn't want to go to church, so I just listen to radio shows like yours and read the Bible, and I'm kind of isolated. You need a support system. You need people around you who are going to be able to walk with you in and through this and even be, I think, a buffer of support and protection also. You know, when we see these kinds of things happening in local churches, I think it's really important for the church to rally around victims. And you need that kind of, I think, protection.

So that's something that's really, really important. You know, sometimes people will say, well, the only grounds for divorce in the New Testament are adultery. And if that's not happening, well, if you're being abused, you just have to stay. And if you got out of that situation, well, then you couldn't remarry or that kind of a thing. You know, Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, he talks about basically divorce for the reason of abandonment. If one spouse abandons the other, he says if that's happening, you know, you're still free to be married. Now, the challenge is, you know, with abuse you can have, I think, a situation of abandonment even when two people are in a home where one spouse is going even further, if you will, than abandonment. They're actually not just abandoning, they're abusing their spouse. And so you need to get some extra help and support.

You certainly need to be in a church with other Christians where you can hear the gospel proclaimed and you can be encouraged and people can walk with you. And I would even encourage you to get some professional support as well. But no, I don't think that you are called to endure abuse. And again, I don't know what specific kind of abuse you're referring to, and I want to be careful here.

We try to be careful, especially because we don't know the entire situation. We're talking about marriages, and so that's why I'm stressing you need to get around other believers who are going to be able to encourage you and look at the situation, walk with you in this. But Jesus does not call you to be in a relationship, in a marriage where you are being abused by your husband. That doesn't mean necessarily that you have to get a divorce, but it does mean that there should be some separation.

You need to get into a situation where you're safe above all else. And so I think right now I just want to pray for you, and let's pray for Catherine. Father, it's such a difficult situation. We know what your word says about marriage, how marriage is supposed to be a reflection of the gospel, of Jesus's love for his bride. And God, we know that sometimes abusers can even take advantage of the scriptures or try to twist the scriptures in order to say, you have to be with me because God says you have to, and if you're not going to be with me, well then you're going against God, that kind of a thing. Father, I pray that you would give Catherine wisdom. I pray for your protection in her life. I pray for healing for her husband, that he would see his sin and that he would repent of it. Father, I pray that you would surround her with your people. And I ask God that you would open the doors for her to be able to get plugged into a good church where she can hear your word and where she can have a place of refuge. Would you be with her, Lord? Would you guide her? Would you protect her?

Would you give her wisdom? In Jesus' name, amen. Catherine, thank you for giving us a call. We will continue to pray for you, and feel free to follow up with us if you want.

May the Lord bless you and be with you, sister. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's program, your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.