Sermon - Epiphany II 2024 - John 2:1-11

the Marriage at Cana, Fresco from the Visoki Decani Monastery, 14th cent.

Jesus’ glory is revealed in marriage.

1. The significance of marriage

2. What marriage is

3. The glory of Christ is made manifest in marriage

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His disciples… This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him.” Isn’t it wondrous that this first manifestation of Jesus’ glory is revealed at a wedding! This is no minor detail or random coincidence, because marriage matters, marriage is huge! Jesus’ glory isn’t only revealed at this particular wedding in Cana, but Jesus’ glory is revealed in every marriage.

In Ephesians we read today: “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Marriage is a profound mystery which refers to Christ and the church. The love between a husband and wife is a reflection of the love between Christ and His bride the church. Just as a husband sacrificially lays down his life for his wife, so has Christ laid down His life for us. Just as a wife submits to her husband, so does the church submit to Christ. In a well-ordered marriage we see a portrait of Christ and His bride. And so the significance of marriage extends beyond the individual couple and into Christ’s love for us.

If that were not enough, marriage is also profoundly important because it is foundational for civilization, human flourishing, and life on earth. From Genesis, the book which describes the generation of man, we read: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh… And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”” What is described there in Genesis is marriage! God specifically made man and woman in order that a man might marry a woman, and through this one flesh union God may bless them with children and make them fruitful. In a very basic sense the purpose of marriage is life! God is the God of life! Godly offspring are a blessing from God by which man is fruitful, multiplies, fills the earth, and subdues it!

To some extent marriage and the fruits of marriage are the theme underlying the entire Bible. Throughout the Bible when marriage goes well life goes well for God’s people, but when marriage goes poorly then life goes poorly. What led to the great flood? God’s faithful people married those who rejected God and so the wickedness of man increased. Or what’s the point of all the biblical genealogies that we often find boring? One point is to show us that God is always at work to faithfully bless the earth with more and more life, in spite of our sin, in order to ultimately lead to Jesus who redeems our lives from death. Those genealogies are all lists of marriages and the fruits of those marriages; they’re lists of life!

That marriage is imminently important to life is also evident from experience. The best indicator of a child growing up to be successful is having a married father and mother who remain married for life. Fewer drug and alcohol problems, less criminal activity, less mental illness, less likely to be abused, higher levels of education, better paying jobs, and generally happier. This doesn’t mean that those kids are guaranteed to be rich and never have problems, and of course there are exceptions, and this isn’t to denigrate faithful single parents who do their best in spite of tragic complications, but by and large and for the most part their odds are way better if they have a father and a mother who remain married to each other. The evidence simply shows that healthy marriages are incredibly important for life and human flourishing. 

It’s tragic therefore that marriage is in such a sorry state today that so few people even know what marriage is. So let’s get a biblical definition. From Genesis 2 we get the basic definition: “A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  At a recent pastor’s conference we discussed marriage, and from that Bible verse we defined marriage as consisting of a three sided triangle: 1. Leaving, 2. Cleaving, 3. Becoming One Flesh.

First the man and woman must leave, come out of their household, no longer being a son or daughter under their father and mother’s authority. This implies that marriage doesn’t come out of nowhere, but it comes from two other households in order to be united in one new household. Thus, under normal circumstances, the marriage of a man and a woman should have their parent’s blessing and be publicly approved.

Second the man and woman must cleave to one another, they must make a solemn and unbreakable covenant between themselves. A covenant is a legal action and is enforceable by law, otherwise if it’s not enforceable then it’s not really a covenant. Different cultures and civilizations have different customs and laws regarding marriage, but across all of them marriage is a publicly made covenant in which the couple must hold fast together. Thus today’s marriage license isn’t just a piece of paper, but it’s a legally binding action by which a husband and wife cleave to each other.

Third the husband and wife come together and become one flesh, they consummate their marriage. Because there are ladies (and children) present I won’t speak crudely about this, since we all know what the scriptures mean here. However, I will say that this becoming one flesh is reserved for husband and wife, and since it is a fundamental part of marriage, we celebrate it when we celebrate a wedding because of the fruit of life which this one flesh union often results in. So when Jesus was at this wedding feast and provided fine wine for the celebration, He did it so that all might celebrate that from this marriage shall come new life!

Marriage is the Leaving, Cleaving, and Becoming One Flesh, which thus usually results in the fruits of life! Newborn life comes from marriage! This life created in marriage is an eternal life because God created their offspring with an eternal soul. In a rightly ordered marriage the new life grows and matures so that those children become dutiful and obedient citizens who live among us. In a godly marriage Christian parents raise up godly offspring to spiritual maturity so that they might not only be children of this world, but children of God! In Malachi we learn why fidelity in marriage is so important: “Did God not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” Through the covenant of marriage God brings forth children who will be His eternal children.

Thus, it’s no wonder that Jesus performed the first of His signs and manifested His glory at a wedding! Jesus came seeking godly offspring, to give the right to become children of God, that we might have life and have it abundantly. So Jesus comes manifesting His glory, blessing this married couple, giving them the wine of gladness, not because marriage is ordinary and Jesus enters into our ordinary lives, but because marriage is extraordinarily important and foundational to life.

What this means is that when marriage is held in honor among us, and we support and encourage marriage, when we live well-ordered marriages, God’s glory is manifested among us. When a husband sacrifices of himself for his wife, Jesus who laid down His life for us is glorified. When a wife submits to her husband, Jesus who leads His church is glorified. When parents raise their children, Jesus who adopts us into God’s family is glorified. When weddings are celebrated on earth, Jesus who is the Bridegroom of the heavenly wedding banquet is glorified. So may we honor marriage, and so strengthen life on earth, and thus glorify Jesus as our eternal Bridegroom.