The Good News is… so good it catches us by surprise -- Matthew 4:1-11; John 2:1-11 (1st Sunday in Lent)

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These are two very different gospel stories. In our first scripture (from the first chapters of Matthew), we have Jesus in the wilderness, fasting, being tested by the personification of evil.^[1] In our second scripture (from the first chapters of John), we have Jesus and his mother at a wedding party where folks are having so much fun that the wine has just run out.^[2]

Before we start to compare and contrast, let’s name one thing that these stories have in common. As we’ve mentioned, they are each near the start of a gospel. They are not the first stories, but they are early stories, where we – the gospel readers – are first encountering this Jesus, and learning, moment by moment, story by story, who Jesus is, and what he is all about. So these early stories, in different gospels, in different contexts – each in its own way carries the same underlying question: Who will Jesus show himself to be?  In the wilderness facing down evil, or at a wedding about to run aground on the shoals of scarcity:  

Who will Jesus show himself to be?

In the Matthew scripture, Jesus has just been baptized, and he is immediately swept out into the wilderness. Wilderness – in the scriptures – is a world stripped bare. As one writer puts it, it is a place of boundlessness, void, empty, and perhaps also... a place of possibility.^[3]

And in that wilderness, Jesus encounters the devil (diabolos in Greek). Now we’ve talked about this character of the devil, the diabolos, in Scripture. In the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, the “devil” or “diabolos” or the “satan” has a very specific role. It’s not what our culture has spun out over the centuries as a pointy-eared figure who presides over a place called “Hell.” That, actually, is not biblical. In the Bible, the diabolos or satan means adversary– one who challenges –  kind of like a prosecuting attorney.^[4] The diabolos in this story is conducting a cross-examination of sorts. (I’m going to use the Greek word diabolos so we don’t get confused.) The diabolos is an adversary...  it’s also fair to say that the diabolos is a personification of evil – there’s some of that here too.^[5] The diabolos is here in this story to stand in opposition to what Jesus stands for so that we can see something of who Jesus is. As the diabolostests Jesus: Who will Jesus show himself to be?

The diabolos offers Jesus three challenges. Notice the challenges, and notice how Jesus responds – what Jesus refuses and rejects.^[6] First, the diabolos tells a fasting, hungry Jesus to use his power to turn a stone into bread. Jesus refuses to use his power for self-satisfaction. Second, the diabolos takes Jesus to the Temple and tells him to throw himself off – “Make God save you” – as a way of proving he’s the Son of God. Jesus refuses to use his power to grab a prerogative that is not his – God decides when to act – not anyone else. And third, the diabolos puts Jesus on a high mountain and says, “You can have power over all this, over every nation, if you but bend the knee to me.” Jesus refuses the offer of domination-power to grab and gobble up more power.

Jesus shows himself to be (1) one who refuses to use power for his own interests; (2) one who refuses to take prerogatives that are not his; and (3) one who refuses domination-power, refuses the urge to grasp ever-increasing power-over.

Now we hear that – just as the first listeners heard that – and we know that – refusing power, giving up power – that is not how the world works – not the world of Herod – not our world. We know that  from Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail – that the powers rarely give up their power voluntarily, they always strive to hold on to their power and  to grasp more power.^[7] That is how power works.

We know that from the world we see every day –

·      where so many leaders nowadays unabashedly serve self before others – where leaders now make a profit from what used to be called public service; where leaders put their own name and image on anything they can, for their own glory; while other leaders cower in fear and fail to speak up to lies and wrongdoing just to protect their own political self-interest – Jesus refuses to use power for self, before others.

·      And, in our world, we see leaders, every day, reaching beyond the power that is theirs – grasping prerogatives beyond their elected authority – imposing tariffs; invading sovereign nations; activating security forces that operate outside of constitutional boundaries; reaching, grasping, and throwing tantrums when there is even the slightest measure of accountability.

We know and see how the world works – how Herod’s world works, and ours. Jesus refuses and rejects every bit of that and shows himself to be different and more. In this testing, Jesus shows himself to be one who is introducing a New Humanity. Remember, right after this, Jesus will begin healing all those who are sick, and announcing a new vision for a new world – coming to life – ready to be embodied –right here, right now:^[8]   

Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful,

 the peacemaker, and those who hunger and thirst for justice.

In the early pages of the Gospel of Matthew, in the middle of the wilderness, this is who Jesus shows himself to be, with a glimpse of who we are too.

Now over in the Gospel of John, the setting of that early story couldn’t be more different. No one is fasting at the Wedding of Cana – it’s a grand celebration – a big party. Folk are feasting and drinking wine – probably dancing. Jesus too!  He is an invited guest just like everyone else. And in this story, Jesus isn’t being challenged by any diabolos. He’s being challenged by his mother. Because you see, the celebration is underway – and his Mother sees that the wine has run out – a potential threat to the hospitality of the moment. And that crisis raises the question:

Who will Jesus show himself to be?

Well, there’s almost more here than we can name. Notice that the story starts with, “And on the third day...” When we hear “And on the third day...” What do we think of? That’s right: Resurrection.^[9] There’s a hint of Resurrection already alive in the room, as we come into the midst of this wedding party.

And it’s so good to meet middle-aged Mary. In Advent, the Mary we meet and know and love is the young Mary, the fierce Mary, declaring that God is bringing down the rulers, and lifting up the lowly. And here, Mary has lived a bit of life. She’s raised a son and other children to adulthood. She’s a mother here at this wedding, who knows how the world works – a world of social responsibility – and she notices on behalf of the hosts – an impending social disaster: The wine has run out. Mary is strong and fierce, and here, we see that she also is practical, thoughtful, and kind.

Notice the exchange between mother and son. “Jesus, they have no wine.” And puzzlingly, Jesus responds, “Woman, what is that to you and to me?” Now, calling her “woman” isn’t rude, but it also isn’t warm and familial. This is a real question. My hour hasn’t come. My time hasn’t come. Remember that hint at the beginning of Resurrection – all this is pointing to something big. We know what it is – but it’s not yet fully there yet in the story.  And his Mother doesn’t insist or command. It’s as if she says, “Well, I’ll leave you boys to it,” and turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you to do.” Rather adroitly, his Mother sets up the question: Well here we are – who will Jesus show himself to be?

Jesus turns to the servants and tells them to fill six large stone jars with water, and take them to the master of the banquet. And there’s wine – not just wine, really good wine – and not just a little wine – 120 to 150 gallons of wine. There’s no fanfare. The master of the banquet and the bridegroom don’t even know there’s been a miracle. Jesus just does what he does – in the place of scarcity, abundance.

But the master of the banquet does notice that this is not how the world works – their social world – when he says to the bridegroom: “Most folks serve the best wine first, and then when the guests don’t know any better, they serve the cheap stuff. But you have saved the best wine until now”. This is not how the world works.

There are so many surprises here:

Water is changed to wine. The wine doesn’t run out.

This miracle isn’t happening among the powerful – it’s happening among ordinary folk, in an ordinary moment.^[10]

As Eliséo Pérez-Álavarez sees it, from a Latin American perspective, Jesus brings this miracle to a poor couple in an insignificant village. The people in this story are likely “folks who have been plundered by big vineyard owners.”^[11] And here they are with more than 120 gallons of wine.

Where there was scarcity – now there enough, enough for everyone – now there is more than enough.

In this story, Jesus honors everyone.^[12] He protects the hosts from public shame – and the couple – and the servants who might be blamed for the social catastrophe. There’s no hierarchy in this story. The master of the banquet doesn’t even know what happened – only the servants do!^[13]

Every bit of this should catch us by surprise.

With this miraculous abundance, Jesus shows himself to be one who comes into the midst of ordinary folks in ordinary moments – in the day-to-day challenges of life – the Word made flesh – in a world of scarcity, now overflowing with abundance – grace upon grace – providing enough for everyone everywhere all the time.

And this – this miracle at the wedding at Cana – it’s just the first sign – we’re only at the start of chapter 2– there is so much more to come – and so much more – and so much more.

In each of these two stories, what Jesus does is not the way the world works. The powers don’t refuse or give up their power. And eventually, at every party, the wine runs out. What Jesus does should catch us by surprise. It’s not the way the world works – but it points us to the way the world ought to be. And not only that – it opens up to us the world as it ought to be ready to live right now – a world already filled with Resurrection – a world where the Word becomes flesh – a world where we can live out the fullness of our Humanity in every moment of every day. It opens up a present reality – THE present reality of who we are in Jesus Christ. Good News – right here – ours for the living.

As we set out on our Lenten journey, we are going looking for Good News like that, ready to embody Good News like that. Our theme for this Lent is “Tell Me Something Good: Grounding Ourselves in the Good News.”

When we think of Lent, we may think first of Lent as a “penitential season,” and it is. It’s a time to reflect and to change as we engage and encounter the life of Christ on the journey toward Holy Week.

But did you know that historically, Lent also has been a season of preparation for baptism. In the early church, Lent would be a time to study what was central to Christian faith, and then Easter would be a season to welcome new members in baptism.

This year, we are going to ground ourselves there – in that sense of Lent – thinking about the core good news of God’s love for us (and for the whole world) in Jesus Christ: What are the roots – the core, foundational concepts of Jesus’ life and ministry?

The invitation this Lent is to journey together through the life of Christ looking for Good News. Now, that is not to say we are going to wander through a bad-news world looking for a silver lining. No – we know that in this community we take seriously the bad news of this world – the realities of the world – and we are here to serve.

I think of it this way. We will be journeying together through a world of lies, looking for truth. We will be journeying together through this world of power-over, looking for power-with and power-for. We will be journeying together through a world of violence and harm, looking for justice, healing, and life. We will be looking for the Good News of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ – looking for grace and love abounding – more than enough for everyone to share – ready to live it out.

A couple years ago, I ran across this saying: No matter what you are thinking about God right now, God always loves us more. In any given moment of life, no matter how big we think God’s love is, God always loves us more. And when we glimpse that, the over-abundance of God’s love for us and the whole world, God always loves us more than that. More love. More healing. More grace. More than we can ever imagine.

The Good News is that God’s love for us in Jesus Christ catches us by surprise – because God always loves us and the whole world more. So our something to do this week is to go looking for the Good News of God’s love alive in the world. And when we come back next week, let’s say to each other: Tell Me Something Good. 

© 2026 Scott Clark

^[1] For general background on this text and the Gospel of Matthew, see M. Eugene Boring, “The Gospel of Matthew,”  New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. viii (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995); Herman C. Waetjen, Matthew’s Theology of Fulfillment, Its Universality and It’s Ethnicity (London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017).

^[2] For background on the Gospel of John and this text, see  Eliséo Pérez-Álavarez, Commentary on  Working Preacher at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-john-21-11-5; Gennifer, Benjamin Brooks, Commentary on  Working Preacher at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/wedding-at-cana-2/commentary-on-john-21-11-10 ; Gail R. O’Day, “The Gospel of John,” New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. ix (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995); Gail O’Day and Susan E. Hylen, John (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006); Gilberto A. Ruiz, Commentary on  Working Preacher at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/wedding-at-cana/commentary-on-john-21-11-3 ; Herman Waetjen, The Gospel of the Beloved Disciple: A Work in Two Editions (New York: T&T Clark Publishing, 2005), pp. 102-09.

^[3] See Waetjen, p.48.

^[4] See Boring, p.163.

^[5] See id.; Waetjen, p.48.

^[6] See Waetjen, pp.49-52.

^[7] See Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in A Testament of Hole: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. (J.M. Washington, ed.) (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1986), p.292.

^[8] See https://www.togetherweserve.org/post/and-he-sat-down-to-teach-matthew-5-11-20-5th-sunday-after-pentecost ; https://www.togetherweserve.org/post/a-world-full-of-blessing-matthew-5-1-12-4th-sunday-after-epiphany

^[9] See Waetjen, p.114.

^[10] See Brooks, supra.

^[11] Eliséo Pérez-Álavarez, Commentary on  Working Preacher at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-john-21-11-5

^[12] See Brooks, supra.

^[13] See Waetjen, p.117.