Tim Keller on John 2:1-11 — “Lord of the Wine”
I stumbled across a sermon by Tim Keller entitled “Lord of the Wine.” For those of you not familiar with Tim Keller, he is pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He is an amazing thinker, writer, and preacher. Keller’s diaconate ministry is the standard for those working in the US. His understanding of the Gospel is deep and his theology of the city is unparalleled. I was trying to better grasp the depth and breadth of the gospel when I came across a series of sermons he did at Redeemer on the Gospel (You can find the sermons on Redeemer’s website under the church’s Core Values page, and I can vouch that each sermon on the page is worth your time and energy to hear).
The Lord of the Wine explores Jesus’ first miracle at Cana. I am reluctant to give more explanation than this other than to encourage you to download the sermon and listen to it. It changed my understanding of this miracle. Here are a few of the questions that Keller addresses:
- Why is Jesus’ first miracle so — lackluster? Why start your ministry and perform your first miracle to prevent a social fopah (not enough wine)?
- Why does Jesus answer his mother so harshly when she simply asks for his help?
- Why does Jesus have such a strange answer in response to his mother’s request for help? It seems as if his mind is somewhere else…
This sermon changed how I thought about Jesus’ introduction to ministry. What are your thoughts?
