“John 2:1-11”

Saturday, May 16, 2020

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour 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, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.’ So they took it to him. When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, ‘Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.’ This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”

---End of Scripture Verses---

This “beginning of His signs” (verse 11) has been the source of much consternation and analytical gymnastics. Did Jesus rebuke His mother? Why did He seem to say one thing and then do another? What did He mean by saying His hour had not yet come? Did Jesus make 150 gallons of intoxicating drink? Sometimes we can get so entangled in the details of an event that we miss the intended significance of it. Both the fine points and the big picture are, however, worthy of a close look.

FIRST THE DETAILS:

I do believe that Jesus mildly rebuked His mother. She was interfering in matters that she was not in charge of. The wine for the wedding was the concern of the “ruler of the feast,” and the use of miraculous powers was God’s business alone. But that didn’t mean that Jesus was unwilling to help. He just chose to do so in a very discreet way.

When Jesus said, “My hour has not yet come,” I think He meant that this was not a good time for Him to fully reveal His identity to the masses. If too many people knew too much about Jesus too quickly, it would have interfered with God’s perfect timing for the completion of His plan of redemption (consider Mark 1:43-45; John 11:47-50). So He performed this miracle in a private manner without drawing attention to himself. After the water had been turned to wine, only a few people were aware that anything out of the ordinary had taken place.

As for the kind of wine that Jesus made: the text doesn’t tell us. But I personally refuse to believe that Jesus would in any way participate in helping people get drunk. Drunkenness is repeatedly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments. The high quality of the wine existed in its taste, not its ability to intoxicate.

NOW THE MAJOR TAKEAWAYS:

“Whatever He says, do it” (verse 5). I can’t think of five more important words that anyone could ever speak. Whatever Jesus tells you to do, just humbly obey. There is no profit in doubting or questioning or arguing. Jesus would never tell us to do something that isn’t in our best interest, and when He utters a command it is spoken with the absolute authority of God Almighty. Lots of people claim to love Jesus and yet do and say things that He does not approve of. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

“And His disciples believed in Him” (verse 11). Even though the timing wasn’t quite right for everyone to see Jesus “manifest His glory,” it was important for His followers to be further convicted in their faith. Jesus continually took opportunities to build trust and confidence in the hearts of His true believers. It’s also significant to note that Jesus wasn’t just helping out some friends in the wedding party who found themselves in a tight spot. All of Jesus' miracles were performed to produce or promote faith (John 20:30-31).

Please read John 4:1-26 for tomorrow – The Samaritan Woman.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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