John 2 v 1 - 11
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no more wine.” Jesus said to her, “[Dear] woman, what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification (ceremonial washing), containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. Then He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter [of the banquet].” So they took it to him. And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had turned into wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew) he called the bridegroom, and said to him, “Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now.” This, the first of His signs (attesting miracles), Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly], and His disciples believed [confidently] in Him [as the Messiah—they adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him].
In John chapter 2, we have the first recorded miracle of Jesus performed: water being turned into wine. It's quite a strange little passage as we have Jesus at a very "normal" social scene with His mother, Mary, and we see a very rare interaction with Him and His earthly family. Mary seemed to know that Jesus could fix any problem. The wine had run out, but notice she didn't actually ask Him to do anything - she simply told Him, "they have no more wine". I can imagine in my mind's eye that Mary would have had a "mum" look on her face, eyebrows raised as if to say 'come on, Son, do Your thing'. There appears to be a knowledge that Jesus could do something about this situation. So although He tells her that His "time has not yet come", one could conclude that He has displayed miracles previously to some degree given the interaction between the two.On the third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no more wine.” Jesus said to her, “[Dear] woman, what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification (ceremonial washing), containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. Then He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter [of the banquet].” So they took it to him. And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had turned into wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew) he called the bridegroom, and said to him, “Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now.” This, the first of His signs (attesting miracles), Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly], and His disciples believed [confidently] in Him [as the Messiah—they adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him].
However, I think it's fascinating to look at the three types of people displayed in this small passage of scripture. First we have Mary as discussed. She tells Jesus there's a problem, and we know it's not just a passing observational or conversational comment because then she tells the servants, "Whatever He tells you to do, do it". I absolutely love this phrase from her, as this is the epitome of faith. She hasn't even asked Jesus to do a miracle, or fix the problem or even to toddle off and get some wine from the off licence. She knew Jesus well enough to just have to tell Him that there was a problem, and her personal knowledge of Him told her that He would do something about it because it mattered to her. Then she had the assertive faith to make ready for Him to act - by telling the servants to do whatever He said. You may say, 'well of course she had intimate knowledge of Him, she was His earthly mother! She raised Him'. That is true, but she represents anyone who loves and trusts Him relentlessly. She could have just told Him there was a problem as a passing comment as one may do in normal conversation. She could even have asked Him to do something about it, but the extra step of putting her faith in action is beautiful. This is how we know it applies to us, and this is a lesson for us to take on board. Put your faith into action, and it comes through intimate knowledge of Him.
We then have the servants. They've been pre-warned that they need to follow the orders of Jesus by someone with bold and strong faith, and they do so. I believe that if Mary had of not been sure whether Jesus would be intervening here, she wouldn't have been as assertive and her message to the servants would not have been effective. Had she said, "You may get some instructions from Jesus....but you may not. But if you do, would you do what he says?" A wishy-washy faith may have completely changed the events! But these servants were prepped, made ready for the word of Jesus because of Mary's faith and certainty in Jesus. If He'd simply come up to them with a command to fill the ceremonial pots with water, they may have given in to their initial thoughts and said "No, we aren't authorised to do that" but because of Mary's faith in action they were ready to receive the Word of Jesus.
The servants are now in a position to follow Jesus' instruction. Now let's not sugar coat this, the instruction Jesus gave was weird. Fill the jugs with water. What? These are not any old water jugs! These are the ceremonial jugs, they're used for a Jewish ritual not for some Man trying to appease the guests! And what has filling jugs with water got to do with a social faux-pas of running out of wine at a wedding reception?
These servants probably thought that they were filling these jugs for the sake of it, maybe thinking Jesus might add something to the water to make it look like wine to try and fool the guests. They may have thought He was being disrespectful by asking them to even touch the ceremonial jugs. Whatever they secretly thought, I'm willing to bet that when they poured out the water they just poured in, they never imagined it would come out as wine! And certainly not even better wine than had previously been served!! I can't imagine the looks that passed between them as that liquid was tasted. It must have been a priceless moment.
These servants were on the front line, obeying Jesus (as ridiculous as His order may have sounded), and they were the only ones who saw this wonderful miracle....water in, wine out! How on earth could that be? Imagine the honour and wonder of seeing that amazing miracle right before their very eyes.
Then there's the headwaiter, the man in charge of overseeing the party and keeping all the proceedings running smoothly. He and the guests are the beneficiaries of the miracle, completely unaware of what has gone on, but reaping the benefit by enjoying the great wine and the lovely wedding party.
Being in the presence of Jesus, everyone gets blessed and that's fantastic because that's the nature of Jesus. You can't really be around Him without something wonderful happening. But I don't personally want to just be in the wedding party enjoying the blessings by default. I want to be a Mary and I want to be a servant! And I believe that we can be both. Sometimes we'll be the person putting our faith into action and making the way ready, and sometimes we'll be following His commands and seeing the unbelievable happening in front of our very eyes.
We can choose to be the people of great faith, intimately acquainted with Jesus, so much so that our faith sets up a blessing or a miracle. We can also be on the front lines, serving Him and obeying His commands, and being a part of the blessing and the miracle. It doesn't matter where or who we are, He can and will use your faith and willingness to serve Him to do great things. But if we sit back and enjoy the party without being really connected to Him, we're missing the true blessings which are found in knowing Him, loving Him, and doing His will.
Blessings x
