The Miracle Working Christ

I want to read a few verses from the second chapter of John’s Gospel:

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

“And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

“And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

“His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

“And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

“Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

“And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

“When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

“And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

“This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”—John 2:1–11

You will notice it is said here that this was the beginning of miracles; it was the first miracle Jesus ever performed. It was two months prior to this that He left His home in Nazareth and went out to the Jordan where John was baptizing; where John was preaching so directly against sin, to offer Himself to the Jewish people as their Messiah. In these sixty days some of the most wonderful things in the life of Christ occurred. You will remember that forty days and nights of the sixty were spent in the wilderness in a terrible conflict with the powers of darkness. All that our Lord passed through at this time, we will never know at least in this life; but we know that there Jesus triumphed over Satan. Where I failed Jesus triumphed, and, when He came to the people again, John the Baptist pointed Him out as the Lamb of God that could bear away the sin of the whole world. It seems when he first made that announcement he was preaching to a great congregation of people, but the next day following he was talking to two men personally, and Jesus again came by, and, as He passed, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

And these two disciples immediately left John the Baptist and followed Jesus. One of these was the writer of the Gospel of John, and the other was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. They followed Christ for some time, and, when they came near to Him, He turned around and said, “What seek ye?”

They said, “Rabbi, where dwellest thou?”

He said unto them, “Come and see.”

That is a very precious little word—“Come and see.” It suggests that we are not afraid to have our Christianity tested. Have you noticed that this is the invitation they all used when they went to bring somebody else to Jesus? Just “Come and see.”

He turned and said, “Come and see,” and they spent the day with Him. I sometimes wonder how they did spend that day, and what He said to them. How we would like to know! But we never will know until we see Him face to face. At the end of the day, they both left Jesus to go and do what is the most natural thing in the world for anybody to do that has been in His presence one day—to go out and find somebody else. Andrew started out and found his own brother, Peter.

Have you found your own brother? Some people talk about being afraid of strangers. I am more frightened of my own than strangers. It is easier to preach the Gospel to strangers that to my own. When you go to one of your own and lead them to Christ, you have had the biggest triumph possible in the Christian life. When that man Andrew went to that blaspheming brother of his and looked him in the eye and said, “I have found the Christ,” he did a big thing. That is a big testimony to give. “I have found the Christ.”

It is suggested that Peter hesitated a little bit, and he used the invitation which Jesus gave to him—“Come and see.” And once you come into His presence you never question any more.

So Peter came, and then we find that this little company came in touch somehow with Philip. I have never been able to find out how they touched Philip, but Philip came into the little circle, and he, in turn, did the same thing. He said, “I must find somebody.” That is the way to preach the Gospel; that is the way to spread the glad tidings.

Dr. Pearson, speaking in my church from that passage, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” he said, “That is the way the Lord intended the Gospel to be spread, from heart to lip and from lip to heart.” And when it comes from a heart that has just been freshly touched with the Spirit divine it carries weight, sometimes more than it does when it comes from very eloquent lips when the heart is a little cold.

So Philip found Nathaniel. Now, Nathaniel was a student of prophecy. Listen, friends, study prophecy if you want to get well acquainted with Jesus. Some folks who know the Bible fairly well miss the Lord. Do you think that is possible? If you do not think that is possible, read Luke 24 and see how some folks can be actually blind to the Scriptures, have them opened to them, and yet not see the wonderful truths, and yet not know the Lord. Two men were walking with Him all one day, and He was quoting Scripture to them, but they did not know Him. Luke says, “Their eyes were holden that they should not know Him.”

So Philip brings Nathaniel to Jesus. Now, Nathaniel had some objections, but when he got into the presence of Jesus they all went away very quickly. It is wonderful how His presence solves all our problems. When once you get a man into the presence of Jesus many problems and difficulties dissolve all at once.

A minister who holds the more liberal view of the Bible asked me this question in all seriousness: “If a student from college were to come to your house greatly perplexed by the first two chapters of Genesis, and if he said, ‘Look here, our teachers teach us this is not the correct account of the creation and give the evolution theory,’ what would you say to him?”

I said, “I would first ask him a personal question.”

“What would your question be?”

“I would ask him if he knew anything about the third chapter of John.”

“What has that got to do with the first two chapters of Genesis?” he asked.

“It has everything to do with it. Jesus does not begin with the sinner in the first two chapters of Genesis, He begins with the sinner in the third chapter of John.”

“I mean that, when a man is born again, he will have no trouble about the first two chapters of Genesis, not a particle, it is all dissolved at once.”

I have long since given up trying to convince the unregenerate heart. Just get the heart in touch with the Spirit divine and all these difficulties will dissolve.

As soon as Nathaniel came, Jesus said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.”

Nathaniel asked, “From whence knowest thou me?”

“I have known you a long time, indeed ever since you were born.”

Jesus knows all about us; He knows all about our struggles, and He is waiting to carry our burdens and is so disappointed when we won’t let Him have them.

Then He told Nathaniel that he should see greater things, and that suggests Christ’s life.

I thought when I first became a Christian I had found the greatest joy a human being ever experienced on Earth. My mother was a Scotch woman, and she had many sayings that are foreign to us. If there was anything very good happened, she would say, “It is too good to be true.” And if it turned out to be true, she would say, “It is too good to last long.”

Now, the morning after I became a Christian I thought, “Is it really true that I am a child of God, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ?” It seemed too good to be true. It was a mighty big thing for a fellow to believe in a few minutes, but I have never doubted in thirty-six years that it was true. I thought, with all that delight rushing through my soul, it won’t last long; but, bless your heart, the way grows brighter, and “The path of the just is as a shining light,” and “In his presence there is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” The Lord never spoils anybody’s life.

He said to Nathaniel, “Do you believe because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree? Thou shalt see greater things than these.”

Ah, the new birth, the receiving of Christ into the heart and life as Saviour is only the beginning of the greater things that can be unfolded to the man of faith. It grows deeper and better all the way. Praise God forever!

This is the beginning of all true brotherhood of man. Isn’t it? There is no brotherhood outside of that circle. Don’t you make any mistake about that. There is no real brotherhood in all these secret signs and passwords. There is no real brotherhood of man outside that little circle that was formed on the banks of the Bethabara, but in that circle is brotherhood. “One is our Master, and all we are brethren.”

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

So here is this little brotherhood up in the highlands of Galilee, spending the whole day at a pleasure party, and Jesus is with them. Before He ever performed a miracle, here at the very beginning of His ministry, though He knew it was going to end in Calvary, He came with them. We find Him spending the whole day in a peasant’s home, and for no other purpose than making that home brighter, making that wedding happier. That is why He spent that day at that peasant’s home.

I want to give you two or three thoughts suggested by this miracle.

First of all, it suggest that Christ is to be associated with the common and ordinary affairs of our everyday life. I want you to get that. I say it suggests that Christ is to be associated with the common and ordinary affairs of our everyday life.

You know the Old Testament conception of the Holy One was that He lived in some sequestered vale, living apart from others like John the Baptist had been doing in the wilderness in some out-of-the-way place, and only now and then came forth with a great burning message, as John the Baptist came forth calling upon the people to repent. He came along the lines of the Old Testament.

The Jews objected to Jesus because He did not come that way, because He did not live that kind of life. Had you ever thought of that? Here is the beginning of a new order of things. He is born in a little village of a peasant mother, and He grows up in that dirty little gossipy place, and works as a carpenter, building houses and making ox yokes. He went about the village like other folks. He went to the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath day, just an ordinary kind of boy and man. Have you ever thought of that?

Then when He began His public ministry He associated with everything common. He picked out common men to be His most intimate associates, and to take over the work and carry it on and be the founders of the church. In fact, the educated class called them “unlearned and ignorant men.” Some of them were fishers of the sea, and He called one after another from this fishermanship and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” There was not much wisdom among them, and they did not commend themselves to the educated people of that day.

Do you remember what he did when he went out to work? He went in with publicans and sinners and ate with them. Did He relish their sin and their shame; did He like that kind of society? Why did He do it? He gave them just one explanation. He said, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” And He as much as said, “You cannot save them unless you touch them.”

Have you ever noticed in the ministry of Jesus so many times that one little expression occurs again and again, “He touched him.” The leper came to Him, and falling before him said, “If thou wilt, thou can’st make me clean.” And Jesus said, “I will, be thou clean,” and He put out His hand and touched Him.

The blind man came and said, “Lord, that I might receive my sight, and he put His fingers in his eyes. The deaf came, and he put His fingers in their ears. A dumb man came, and He put his finger on his tongue. He put His hand on the body of the dead boy and gave him back to his mother. He took the dead girl by the hand. Had you ever thought of that? He touched them.

That is where so many ministers fail. They do not touch them. There is a great gulf, I sometimes think, between the ordinary church and the great crowd of sinners; a great gulf between the preacher and the people. May the Lord help us to get a little nearer.

You will remember that one of the things which He did was to go right back to the little village of Nazareth and go into the synagogue, where He had been accustomed to attend, and they handed Him the Scriptures to read and, “as his custom was,” He took the prophecy of Isaiah and unrolled it until He came to a certain place and then read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it to the minister, and sat down.” And he said, “This day is the Scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

What a ministry, what a mission this was! I sometimes wonder if some preachers have a mission. They have a ministry, but they do not have a mission.

One minister said, “I never ask men to decide for Christ.”

I said, “You have no mission. You are just a preacher. When the Lord called me, He made me feel that there was one thing I must do, whatever else I left undone, and that was that I must make disciples.”

Jesus had a mission as well as a ministry. Do you see it? He was going to bind up the broken hearts, He was going to let the captives go free. In order to do that kind of thing, you musn’t be afraid to touch them.

Jesus came to teach us that we do not have to leave the world and live in some monastery, but that we could move among men and touch men and at the same time glorify our Father in heaven. This is a great lesson to learn. May the Lord help us to see it. That is one thing He wants us to see—Christianity is consistent with common life.

Another lesson is that He always gives the best first. When the wine ran out, and He performed a miracle, and took the wine made miraculously to the toast-master, I guess that is what they call him, they called him the governor of the feast, he said, “This is a strange method of procedure; this not the usual way, not the general custom. At a feast they usually put on the best first, then after men are well drunk they bring on that which is worse.” They can thin it down with water then. Isn’t that the way of the world; isn’t that the way of the Devil? It is the best first.

We make proverbs about that in Canada. They say, “Farmers always put the best apples on the top on the barrel.” We sometimes say, “They always put the best bargains in the shop windows.” And some folks are always the best on the outside. The world always offers the best it has first, then afterward that which is poorer.

You remember the story of the prodigal how he spent his living on riotous living, and then came the husks. Isn’t it strange that people cannot see beyond the glitter and the glamor?

I have met hundreds of wrecks in my life who were going down the same road as the prodigal. They started out to have a good time. They have said, “Oh, if I could only get away from home, away from the people who know me and have lots of money.”

The prodigal started out to have a good time, and he did for a few days, but he ended up with feeding the swine. Finally, however, he came to himself and said, “How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” But, “No man gave unto him.” Isn’t it true?

I had a fellow come to me some time ago for something to eat. They told me there was a drunken man at the door. I went out, thinking I would see an old man, but he was a young man. He had been on a terrible spree. His face was bloody and his eyes bleared.

I said, “Why do you come here?”

He replied, “They told me up yonder that you would give me something to eat.”

I said, “Come in.”

He sat down at the table and I waited until he had had sufficient. Then I said, “Would you do me a favor if you could?”

“You bet I would.”

I said, “We generally pray here after we eat. Will you kneel for a word of prayer?”

He looked a little stung, but he was a good sport and shoved back his chair and kneeled down, and we prayed. I did not pray at him, but I prayed for him, and I prayed for all in the house, and when we got through, he was crying and said, “I want to go.”

When we got out in the hall away from the others, he took my hand in his, and the tears were running down his face, and he said, “I have not always been a beggar; I have not always worn clothes like this; I have not always been ringing back door bells and asking people to hand me out something. In there when you prayed for me, I could hear my mother pray.”

“Where is she?” I asked.

“She is in the church yard in New York state.”

Then he told the same old story of how he had started out to have a good time, and there he was bound and driven by sin.

I said, “God sent you here, that is why you came, and He is right here.”

He said, “You do not know what goes on in here. There are times when I could cut a man’s throat for a drink.”

He was tied up with his own sin. That is as far as I got with him.

Listen, there is an afterwards to every life of sin as true as you are here. The world always gives its best first, and so does the Devil, and when you are well drunk, he will laugh at you and sneer at you and call you an ass and a fool. Isn’t that true? The world always gives the best it has first. May god help you to see that.

But then there is another truth suggested in that first miracle, when our own resources fail, then His power shall most prevail. He did not perform a miracle till their wine had run out. Have you noticed that? He did not make any wine for them as long as they had any for themselves. And as long as you have something to trust in, He will let you go on with your something until you get through with it, and when you have got enough of it, when you have reached the place where you are ready to surrender, then He will perform his miracle. I have found that out. Blessed be His name.

It is not our weakness that is in the way; it is our strength. I was almost going to say: “It isn’t our sin; it is our goodness.” Some folks do good for God, do righteousness for God; but it is not until we get to the place where we see that there is no good in us that He performs the miracle. When you get where you say, “I have no righteousness of my own,” that is when He gives you His righteousness. When you say, “I am a sinner, I cannot lift myself up, that is where He breaks the power of canceled sin. When your wine is run out, blessed be His name, he will work a miracle. He will turn the water into wine every time.

Jesus wants to be a blessing in every home. Here is a young man and woman who are going to be married, and Jesus comes to that wedding and stands looking out at the wedding. Did He cast a chill on their joy? Don’t you think it was better because Jesus was there? Surely the feast was better because He was there. Everything was better because He was there.

It seems to me that at the very beginning of His ministry He says this, “I not only came to die on the cross for you to pay the penalty of your sin, but I am come to live in your home, I want you to give me a place at your table. There are times when the wine will run out, times when every source of human comfort and joy will fail you, and, if you have me there, I will perform a miracle.” Doesn’t He do it? Friends that is as true as you are here.

I have come to the conclusion that we never know Jesus fully until we have Him in the house, for it is while He is in the house that He makes Himself known to you.

You remember the two who were walking with Him to Emmaus. Their eyes were holden and they did not know Him. But they asked Him to come, and He made Himself known in the breaking of bread, when He sat down at the table. I do not know how He did it. Maybe He put up His hands and asked the blessing, and they saw the scars in the palms of His hands, but He was made known to them in their little humble home in Emmaus.

Our best visions of Jesus Christ come to us in our perplexities, the sorrows and misunderstandings of the home life. How can two dispositions come together quite different from one another and be blended without a little bit of trouble now and again. And if you do not have Jesus in the home, you may have to have a divorce, but, if Jesus is there and has His way, you won’t have to. He solves all the problems of the heart and home, just as true as you are alive.

It may be we never think of inviting Him. If we would have Him, just invite Him. That is why He was at the wedding in Cana. He was there because they invited Him, because they wanted Him there. He does not go where they do not want Him. There was a wedding, and it says, “Jesus was invited.”

There is not a man or woman is Chicago, I do not care how low or diabolical they may be, if they will only open the doors and say, “Jesus, I want you to come into my home,” He will come to be your guest, and He will make Himself known to you in your home life. What a change it makes when we let Jesus come in.

I know a man who has a bad temper. Did you ever hear tell of a bad temper? We have heard tell of bad tempered women, but this was a bad tempered man. He had a terrible temper. He used to say things in the home to his wife and sometimes to the family, and the home would be covered with gloom. To illustrate, on one occasion there had been a terrible outbreak of temper, and some very bitter things had been said. Then he went away to business. He felt bad, but he could not bring himself to confess. That is where most people make mistakes. Only big folks will come and say, “I was wrong.” Some feel as bad as they can over the thing, but it would just choke them to say “I am wrong.” They may buy a box of strawberries or a box of chocolates and try to make amends in that way, but it would be a bigger victory for them to go home and say, “Forgive me.”

So the thing went on until it became unbearable. The husband tried to read, but he could not read. He went to bed, but he could not sleep. Then he prayed, and he said, “Oh God, must I always live like this? Must we always go on like this in this home?” and he went to sleep, and he had a dream. I do not believe much in dreams, but this is a good one. What do you suppose he dreamed?

He dreamed that he was looking out of the window and saw a man coming up the path and through the shrubbery. He wondered who the man could be. It proved to be Jesus coming up the path, and he said, “Jesus has come to my house.” And he began to look at things. He began to straighten up the books. There came a knock at the door. He waited a moment. Then he thought I must let Him in, and he went to the door and opened it, and there stood Jesus, and He said, “May I come in?”

The man said, “Yes, welcome to my house.”

As He passed over the threshold, He put up His hands and said, “I will sprinkle you with clean water. I will take out the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to keep my statutes.”

The man woke up right there, and he believed it was God’s call to him. He saw himself and he got down beside that bed and called upon God to save him for Jesus’ sake, and the Lord broke the power of sin in his life.

When he came downstairs in the morning, his wife saw the change in his face, but could not understand it, and he said, “I suppose you are wondering what has happened,” and then he told them his dream and how God had broken the power of sin in his life. They all got down and prayed, and their boy was saved that morning. Wasn’t that worthwhile? And it was all because they let Jesus come into the home. Blessed be God for evermore.

I love the Lord for doing that sort of thing. When a man really comes to Jesus with his sin, he will know what the peace of God feels like in his heart. Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

You know when you have rest; you know when you have peace.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

“(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and which was manifested unto us;)

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.”

Praise God for evermore. May God help you to let Him in.

There is one thing I cannot overlook. They asked Him in as a guest. They said, “Come in, do not go any further.” And He went in as guest, but He became the host, and He broke the bread.

It is true, when once you let Him in and give Him a chair at the table, He begins to dominate things. It is wonderful, He turns the water into wine every time.

I just took this first miracle because I wanted somebody here to open his home or his heart and say to Jesus, “Come in.” I believe He is standing waiting to come in. There is no sin greater than the sin of rejecting Him.