The Better Wine

Transcript

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. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, 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. So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water, now become wine, and did not 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 when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine, but you have kept the good wine until now. This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. And before we get into the text, would you please pray with me?

The Purpose of Signs

Father God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for reaching down to us through Jesus Christ. May your spirit help us to see you through your word this morning. May you be glorified and may we leave transformed. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Well, this morning, before we look at this passage, I wanna remind us of the perspective from which we should be approaching this text. This is the only time that this particular miracle is recorded in the Bible. The other three gospels, the synoptics, do not include this. But we know that the writer of the gospel of John had a very specific reason for writing his gospel. And this miracle aids in that purpose as we will soon see. So we read our text this morning in the context of that purpose, which we find in John chapter 20, verses 30 through 31.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. So what we see in our passage this morning is the first of the signs or the miracles that Jesus did and that were recorded in John’s gospel. So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. This is the context in which we read our passage this morning. Jesus, the very one through whom all things were created and by whom new creation takes place, according to John chapter one, is beginning his creative act of redemption in human history. And as we look at this passage,

we will come to see that the more we see the glory of Jesus, the more our faith in him increases. Now I’ve broken this section up into, I’ve broken this passage up into five sections that we will look at. And despite what you may be thinking, this is in no way an attempt to mimic Thomas and his frequent alliteration of sermon sections or points. I’m in no way nearly as creative as Thomas. These five points just make logical sense. And while Thomas is probably accurately characterized by his creativity, I care more about logic, reason, and order than creativity. So these five points make sense and just neatly and obviously appear from the text, all starting with the letter I. So first, we will look at verses one through two, where we see the invitation. Second, we will look at the issue in verses three through five. Next, in verses six through eight,

The Invitation

we will examine the instruction. Fourth, in verses nine and 10, we will see the interpretation. And finally, in verse 11, we will see the increase. And so that brings us to our first section, the invitation, verses one and two. 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. The stage is immediately set for the first sign or miracle from Jesus that we are going to be made aware of. We see that there is a wedding taking place and that the mother of Jesus was there. A few things of importance to note to help us understand the context of this unfolding drama. First, I wanna define a word that will be used this morning often that is not commonly used today, and that is bridegroom. A bridegroom is simply a man on his wedding day

or just before and after the event. Essentially, it’s the groom. But since our text uses the word bridegroom, I will also frequently use that word this morning. Now, weddings in first century Jewish culture were quite the celebratory occasion. Wedding celebrations were typically seven days long and incredibly significant when it came to one’s social standing in the community. The guest lists were often quite extensive and depending on the social and financial standing of the families involved, the guest list could include entire towns. This is in part due to the fact that weddings didn’t solely orbit around the bride and bridegroom coming together in a union, but more so involved the two respective families coming together. Furthermore, the financial burden of such an important occasion fell on the bridegroom and the family of the bridegroom. And additionally, we see that the mother of Jesus, as well as Jesus and his disciples,

were invited to this wedding. Interestingly, Mary, the woman we know to be the mother of Jesus, is never referred to by her first name. Think back to Andre’s sermon two weeks ago where he highlighted the ministry of John the Baptist crying out to all who would hear him that the son of God is coming onto the scene. Just as John the Baptist was to take a back seat to the prominence of Jesus, so too will we see that all people in this passage are eclipsed by Jesus. Even the mother of Jesus is not communicated to us as Mary. Rather, we hear of the mother of Jesus. Now, given that the mother of Jesus, as well as Jesus and his disciples, are invited to this wedding, it is more than likely the case that there was some sort of connection to the families involved in the wedding.

Whatever the connection, though, it is established that Jesus is at this wedding and the context is set for the coming conflict that will reveal itself in our next section, the issue, which we find in verses three through five. 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. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. Now, looking at verses three and four, we see that the wine for the festivities has run out. There is no more wine. This is a significant issue. As was stated previously, weddings carried quite the social significance within the community. The inability to provide enough wine for the guests present would have very likely been socially devastating. To run out of wine would have inevitably resulted

in a loss of family honor and status. So this is a very real, very significant issue. But this is also not the first place in the Bible that wine is mentioned. Throughout the Old Testament, wine is discussed extensively. Often, wine is associated with joy and happiness. Psalm 104, verse 15, states that wine gladdens the heart of man. The preacher in Ecclesiastes chapter nine, verse seven says, go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Back to our text. Why, though, does the mother of Jesus bring this news to him? Well, given this association of wine with gladness, it may have very well been that the mother of Jesus, by exclaiming to him that they have no more wine, was indicating that a source of joy was no more. The celebration is at risk of coming to a screeching halt.

Alternatively, though, or in addition to that, the mother of Jesus may have brought this news to him due to the unique relationship they shared as mother and son. This is the same mother of Jesus that received this word from the angel Gabriel in Luke chapter one, verses 31 through 33.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

— Luke 1

(ESV)

This is the same mother of Jesus that would have heard the word from her husband Joseph of the word that he received from an angel of the Lord regarding the baby she was to have

in Matthew chapter one, verse 21. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. This is the mother of Jesus that has experienced him feeding at her breast. When he began rolling over as a baby, and then crawling and taking his first footsteps, she was the one there to encourage him. When he fell and scraped his knee, she comforted him. And in all of this, she witnessed his perfection, his sinlessness, his enduring patience with her in her frailty as a mother. This mother of Jesus knows his perfection, and she knows what was promised of him some 30 years prior. There’s reason to believe that by this point, Joseph is no longer alive. He has not been mentioned since the family journeyed to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12. In fact, Joseph is certainly no longer alive

when the time of Jesus’ crucifixion occurs as Jesus commits his mother into John’s care while on the cross. We know that Joseph was a carpenter, and that Jesus would have learned the trait of his earthly father. It is very likely that as the firstborn with the patriarch of the family, most likely no longer alive, Jesus’ mother would have been dependent on him to provide financial support for the family. What a unique and intimate relationship Jesus’ mother would have had with him. And all the while, in the back of Mary’s mind, she remembers the promise that this son will sit on the throne of David. And now 30 years, and nothing has seemed to lead to this outcome. There has been no sort of public ministry or steps moving toward the throne of David that she has witnessed. So perhaps she is attempting to take matters

into her own hands and usher in the ministry of Jesus through taking advantage of an opportunity presented to her. Or perhaps she wants to save the family of the bridegroom from experiencing the inevitable shame and embarrassment that would accompany failing to provide enough wine. Knowing Jesus’ love and perfection, perhaps she is attempting to compel him to act to prevent a terrible outcome from befalling the wedding celebration. Regardless of why the mother of Jesus has brought this information to him, the issue has landed at his feet. And we read his response in the next verse, and it is quite unexpected and somewhat jarring, in verse four. This question that Jesus utters to her would have certainly been a surprise for his mother. Woman, what does this have to do with me? Now my Greek is rusty enough to not dwell

on this issue too much, but this is also significant enough to not gloss over. The language Jesus uses here to respond to his mother is unusual. And there’s much that can be said about whether it should be interpreted as a harsh rebuke or something softer and gentler. And what helps somewhat in viewing the wording of this response, specifically the use of the word woman by Jesus to address his mother, is that there’s also one other instance in the Gospel of John where this address is used by Jesus. In John chapter 19, as Jesus is on the cross, Jesus, filled with empathy and love, addresses his mother as woman as he makes arrangements for her care. Verses 26 through 27 of John 19. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, behold your mother.

And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own home. So while there can be a case made for the use of this address as being somewhat of a harsh rebuke, that is certainly not what is being communicated here in John chapter 19. Rather, what I would submit to you is that here in John 2, 4, Jesus intentionally uses this word and this way of addressing his mother in order to create a relational distance between him and his mother. This way of speaking to his mother draws attention away from the blood relationship they share. In fact, this is not the only place in the Gospels that we see this relational distance communicated through the words of Jesus. In Matthew 12, Jesus is speaking to a group of people when others come to him to let him know that his mother and his brothers were trying to speak with him.

Jesus responds by essentially saying that they are not his mother and brothers. Rather, he says, whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. So here at the wedding, Jesus is again making known this relational distance with his mother. And in a moment, we will see why that is intentional and even necessary. Now, not only does Jesus address his mother as woman, but he also poses the question, what does this have to do with me? What we see here is that Jesus will not be backed into a corner or forced to act if it is not what God has ordained. We know that Jesus must always be about his father’s business. Later in John 6, we read of Jesus having to do the will of the one who sent him, his father. Even with this response posed as a question,

Jesus seems to be placing relational distance between himself and his mother. Jesus’ response indicates an unwillingness to meet his mother on her terms. But why would Jesus be intent on creating this relational distance? It’s actually somewhat simple. We must always come to Jesus on his terms, not our own. We are the subjects, he is the king. The distance that Jesus implements between him and his mother is actually an act of care and love. Mary must not presume that she is right with God or acceptable to God due to her proximity to Jesus as his physical mother. And this is true of us as well. We must always come to Jesus on his terms. We must come to him as he is, as the one that he is declared to be by John the Baptist in our previous passage, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Coming on His Terms

We may not presume upon anything as we come to Jesus. We must come to him on his terms. How? In humility as Mary did, as we’ll see here in a moment, recognizing that Jesus is both savior and king. And children, this is a good point for you. Are your parents Christians? That’s wonderful, praise God for that. But your parents being followers of Jesus does not make you a follower of Jesus. In John 1, verse 12, we read that it is those who have themselves received the son of God who believed in the one through whom and by whom all creation was created. Those are the ones that are given the right to become children of God. And for the rest of us, are we willing to come to Jesus on his terms? We must be willing to come to God as he instructs us on his terms.

After responding to his mother with this question, woman, what does this have to do with me? Jesus then gives the reason for his unwillingness to meet her on her terms. My hour has not yet come. What a strange reason. The mother of Jesus may have brought the issue of the wine being gone, but there is another issue. Jesus’ hour has not yet come. But what is Jesus’ hour? Well, what we see throughout John’s gospel is that the term hour is a technical term that is always used to refer to Jesus’ death on the cross. In the rest of the gospels, it is often used more broadly to refer to Jesus’ exaltation to glory that occurs after his resurrection. But in the first part of the gospel of John, this hour is always said to be not yet. In fact, it isn’t until John chapter 12

that the hour shifts from being not yet to being now. There’s this incredible scene starting in John chapter 12, verse 20, where some Gentiles, that is non-Jews, come to see Jesus and worship. It’s in John 12, 23, with the arrival of the Gentiles to seek out Jesus, that the hour has come. The gospel is for all, Jew or Gentile, but we will get to that passage in a few months. So what do we make of this? The mother of Jesus comes to him with the issue of there being no more wine at the wedding feast, and he replies by distancing himself from her and by saying essentially that the hour of his death and glorification is not yet here. Well, as is often the case in the gospels, there is usually more taking place than what those interacting with Jesus in the moment would have picked up on.

Jesus, in stating that the hour has not yet come, is not declaring an inability to act to resolve this issue, it’s that this is not the sole reason for which Jesus took on human flesh and condescended. While the hour of his ultimate glorification may not be yet at hand, we are about to witness the inaugurating issue, the inaugurating act of Jesus’ earthly ministry, which will in every way begin revealing the glory of Jesus. Jesus was human in every way previously discussed. He was a child raised in his parents’ home, and he was simultaneously fully God. The prologue of the Gospel of John makes that very clear. This Jesus is God clothed in human flesh. This is the beauty and mystery of the hypostatic union, the divinity and humanity of God in Jesus Christ. And it’s this very heart of God in Jesus Christ, full of love and overflowing with kindness

that will lead him to act in a moment. Jesus is not unable or unwilling to act, but he will do so on his terms, and he responds in such a way that this is clearly communicated. The mother of Jesus may have brought this issue to Jesus, but he is going to respond in a way that he sees fit to do so. And this is true of us. We bring our issues to Jesus. We may even have a desired outcome in doing so, but he always responds in a perfect way that he determines to be best. Additionally, we know from the Old Testament, the prophets in the Old Testament, that wine would flow liberally in the messianic age. The prophet Isaiah foretells of a soon-coming suffering servant who would be pierced for our transgressions, and in doing so, he would accomplish God’s purpose of salvation. Looking ahead to that day,

we read in Isaiah chapter 25, verses six through nine,

on this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food, full of marrow, of aged wine, well-refined, and he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for him that he might save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for him. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

— Isaiah 25

(ESV)

So Jesus is essentially saying that while he may choose to address this issue

of no wine at hand currently, the hour of great wine, or the hour of his glorification has not yet come. This great wine only comes later. Whatever the motivation was for the mother of Jesus to bring this issue to his feet, we do know from Jesus’ response that a seismic shift has just occurred in the nature of their relationship. And what we see in the response from the mother of Jesus to this relational distancing is beautiful, and it’s something that we can all learn from. Verse five, his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. The deeper lesson here is that whatever Christ says, let us obey. Christian, is that your posture when confronted with the words of Jesus, the living word, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Is there a readiness and willingness to humbly obey all that he tells us?

The Instruction

May that be so for all of us. And now we turn to the instruction in verses six through eight. Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, 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. So they took it. In this section, we immediately take a step back from being embedded in the story, and our attention is redirected to the six stone water jars that would have been placed in front of the house that were there for the Jewish purification process. Mark seven, three through four, explains this in better detail. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,

holding to the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. There are a multitude of Jewish purification laws aimed at maintaining holiness in the presence of God. And while a precise number of individual laws is difficult to determine due to the complexity and interconnectedness of these laws, they are generally considered to be a significant portion of the 613 commandments of the first five books of the Old Testament. And these six stone water jars present in our passage are specifically used for this purification process. But we know from having read the whole of this passage that these jars containing water for the purpose of purification are about to be filled to the brim with wine.

And the detail that these are stone jars is important versus them being jars of clay. According to Jewish purification laws, clay jars that were not fired in a kiln could become unclean. However, stone water jars did not become unclean. And is this not what we find in the gospel? Purification is no longer found in external things such as hands and pots, but it’s entirely internal. Salvation is a matter of the heart only accomplished through the saving work of Jesus Christ. And this purification, this salvation does not flow from tradition, but it flows from God. Our purification comes through the finished work of Jesus Christ. And we celebrate that salvation through Jesus Christ that results in our purification. Jesus is the object of the celebration. We do nothing to earn purification, but we respond in celebration. And this wine is then brought to the master of the feast

that is the one who is responsible for overseeing the celebration, which is where we then see the interpretation in verses nine and 10. When the master of the feast tasted the water, now become wine and did not 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 when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine, but you have kept the good wine until now. Here we see Jesus fulfill the role of the master of the feast, as well as that of the bridegroom, as he provides the wine for the celebration and ensures that enough is available. These two other characters, the master of the feast and the bridegroom that should have played the most pivotal role in the story, or at least the prominent role,

end up taking a backseat to Jesus. They had no idea what was going on under their own noses. Just as John the Baptist was to play a supporting role to Jesus, these two that should have played a central role end up paling in comparison to Jesus. And what we see here is a heart of generosity from Jesus as the stone jars end up full of wine and not just regular wine, but wine that is far superior to what had been being served. The master of the feast is quick to point out that most people serve the good wine first, but that the good wine here is saved for last. Jesus has saved the good wine for last. And isn’t that indicative of the economy of God’s upside down kingdom, where the first or last, the weak or strong, and the humble are exalted while the proud are humbled.

The least are the greatest, and it’s the meek that inherit the earth. In this economy, Jesus gives his servants the best wine last. The world offers their best wine now. The world encourages us to take whatever pleasure we can get now. The world says to settle for instant gratification. Jesus saves the best for last. And it’s not just the best wine that he saves for us. First in the Christian life often comes the hardships, the persecution. But in the end, we experience everlasting joy and peace in the presence of God. We experience hardships in life. And in the end, there is rest and glory that is ours because of the merits of Jesus Christ. So Christian, are you suffering right now? Many of us in this room are. Life is hard. We heard of many of our struggles in the pastoral prayer. We deal with sin and the effects of sin in our world.

We deal with fractured relationships, struggles with mental health, anxiety, and fear of what is to come. But Christian, hold on. There is an everlasting joy in Jesus. But sometimes we just have to endure before we experience all that Jesus has for us. Second Corinthians 4.17 tells us, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. The best is still to come in Jesus. And now we turn our attention to verse 11, where we see the results of this miracle, the increase. In verse 11, we read, this the first of his signs, Jesus did it Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. Now recall, the entire purpose of the writing of the signs of Jesus in the gospel of John is so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing

you may have life in his name. And this is the very result which we see with the disciples of Jesus present at this wedding. There would have already been some belief in Jesus from the disciples. Just last week, we saw the effectual call and response of the first disciples. We heard of the beauty and joy the disciples would have experienced in having found the one of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote. We heard of the promise given to them by Jesus of seeing the glory of heaven cracked open through him. The disciples were already disciples of Jesus after all, but as Jesus glory is shown through the miracle of making wine out of water, the belief of the disciples increases. That should be true of us as well. We see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The more we see the glory of Jesus,

The Better Wedding

the more our belief and faith in him increases. And what better way to see the glory of Jesus than to do so as his glory is revealed in the entirety of scripture, which is what I wanna do as we conclude. The mother of Jesus may have wanted Jesus to act in a way that would prevent embarrassment from overshadowing the wedding. But Jesus, looking ahead to a better wedding feast, the marriage supper of the lamb knew that the shame and embarrassment of the cross still awaited him before his ultimate glory and exaltation would arrive. Nevertheless, Jesus was willing to reveal some of his glory leading up to his ultimate glory and exaltation revealed through the cross and his resurrection and ascension. Everything about those six stone jars filled with purification water pointed to the old covenant with its laws and expectations. But God has something better for us.

A plan where a true follower of God is one inwardly and where circumcision is a matter of the heart by the spirit. A plan where purification is directly connected to rejoicing and celebration as we saw with the purification water being turned into celebration wine and good celebration wine. But here’s the thing, even this better wine at the wedding in Cana is not the best wine that Jesus has to offer. There is still a better wedding to come and that is the wine that we wanna be sure to not miss out on. The bridegroom of this wedding in our passage is nameless because as John 3, 29 tells us, Jesus is the true bridegroom. These are the words of John the Baptist in John 3, 29 through 30. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him

rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease. We just finished preaching through Genesis and the seed of hope of a snake-crushing savior is given in Genesis. And the wedding ceremony where this savior, the one who crushes sin and death, the one who is the true bridegroom who will be forever united to his bride—those he saves—is found in Revelation. All of scripture is about God’s great plan of redemption at work in the world. From Genesis chapter three where sin enters the world, but hope is offered through the promised snake-crusher to Isaiah chapter 53 where the foretold savior is described as being pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities as a lamb that is led to the slaughter to John chapter one where the word made flesh, the one through whom and by whom all things were created

steps into human history and is revealed as Jesus Christ, the son of God. To 1 Corinthians chapter 11 where we are reminded that as often as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again. To Revelation chapter 19 verses seven through nine where we read of the greatest wedding there is, the best wedding to come, the wedding that is better than all other weddings, the ultimate wedding feast where the perfect bridegroom, Jesus Christ is forever united to his pure and spotless bride, the church. We read in Revelation 19, let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted for her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. Friends, this is the wedding that you do not wanna be absent for. And the celebration wine there is the wine you do not wanna miss out on. But this is also a wedding feast with an exclusive guest list. It is only those who have believed that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, the one whose names have been written in the lamb’s book of life that are included in the bride who is to be forever united to the bridegroom. This is why when we partake of the Lord’s Supper weekly, you always hear one of the pastors say that if you are not a Christian, you should not partake of communion. Rather, you need to take in Jesus Christ through faith in him. Faith in Jesus is the way by which we enter

the marriage supper of the lamb. But the reason that the Lord’s Supper is often the crescendo of our Sunday morning service is that this act of communion together brings that future wedding banquet, the closest to the present that it can until we are finally there. The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the soon coming heavenly banquet. Jesus died for our purification, so we respond with celebration through the Lord’s Supper. Just as the wedding was at risk of having no joy without the wine, we would have no joy without the shed blood of Jesus. That’s why communion doesn’t just look back to the cross. It also looks forward to the return of Jesus when Jesus himself will feast with his bride. This is when the marriage will be finalized. This is when our faith will become sight. This is where the full glory of Jesus will be on display.

And this is where our belief will be perfected. And participation in this wedding supper is available to all those who embrace Jesus Christ as savior in faith. In just a moment, I will close in prayer, but then shortly after that, all of those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ and have followed in obedience to be baptized will together respond in celebration and with joy with the closest thing to this promise of the heavenly banquet that we can experience presently, and we will do so through the Lord’s Supper. Please pray with me.

God, we rejoice in the hope that we have in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We rejoice in your glory that we see in the face of Jesus Christ. May we, as your people, continually hold on to the hope that is found in the promise of the ultimate joy and glory that we will experience in your presence. Until that day, we pray that you would only enlarge our faith in Jesus Christ, the very one whom we have purification through. May we continually see the glory of Jesus, and may it change how we live. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, amen.